BIG LEAGUE SOFTBALL: DUNN A FAST LEARNER A.V. PITCHER CREDITS FATHER FOR SUCCESS.Byline: GIDEON RUBIN Special to the Daily News PALMDALE - Sometimes an area Little League coach would offer few pointers. A prominent high school coach would offer help, too. But Jessie Dunn's softball softball, variant of baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Invented (1888) in Chicago as an indoor game, it was at various times called indoor baseball, mush ball, playground ball, kitten ball, and, because it was also played by women, ladies' pitching development background primarily came in her backyard and at city parks under the tutelage TUTELAGE. State of guardianship; the condition of one who is subject to the control of a guardian. of her father, Bob, a former competitive church-league fast-pitch softball catcher. Her training comes in stark contrast to nearly all of her elite college softball-pitching counterparts who are products of a booming industry of private instructors and travel teams. Whatever she lacks in formal training, Dunn has more than made up for with sheer determination. ``I try to throw my hardest every pitch, even in warm-ups,'' Dunn said. ``I just will it.'' Dunn, a former Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley High of Lancaster standout, emerged as a collegiate col·le·giate adj. 1. Of, relating to, or held to resemble a college. 2. Of, for, or typical of college students. 3. Of or relating to a collegiate church. sensation earlier this year as a freshman at perennial national community college power Dixie State (St. George, Utah St. George is a city located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Utah, and the county seat of Washington County, Utah.GR6 It is the principal city of and is included in the St. George, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. ), going 7-2 with a 1.46 ERA. Dunn, 19, is among the most highly regarded players on a loaded Antelope Valley-based District 51 Big League softball team that opens its World Series title defense today at Vanderberg Field in Kalamazoo, Mich. The nine-team tournament features teams from six United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. regions, Canada, Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (pwār`tō rē`kō), island (2005 est. pop. 3,917,000), 3,508 sq mi (9,086 sq km), West Indies, c.1,000 mi (1,610 km) SE of Miami, Fla. and the Philippines. A five-day round robin concludes Friday. The two top teams play in Saturday's championship. West Region champion District 51 is making its eighth World Series appearance in 11 years. It has won two titles and appeared in three championship games. An effective, but wild and raw power pitcher In baseball, a power pitcher is a pitcher who relies on the velocity of his pitches, sometimes at the expense of accuracy. Power pitchers usually record a high number of strikeouts and statistics such as strikeouts per 9 innings pitched are common measures of power. in high school, Dunn has developed greater polish and a dominant offspeed pitch to go along with a fastball that tops out at 67 mph. Dunn took private lessons briefly at the end of her senior year at Antelope Valley, and played one travel ball season for the now-defunct Antelope Valley-based Rage team, which is where collegiate scouts took notice of her off-the-charts velocity. But she credits her father, and others, including longtime long·time adj. Having existed or persisted for a long time: a longtime friend; a longtime resident of Detroit. longtime Adjective Quartz Hill High co-coach Ben Meyer and current Big League manager Walt Patison, who has coached District 51 softball at various levels since the early 1980s. Bob Dunn said the emphasis of his training was developing arm strength. Jessie Dunn would throw about 100 pitches -- all fastballs -- three to four times a week. ``How many times do you meet a 13-year-old girl who knows 20 pitches and can't throw any of them?'' he said. ``I lot of girls are over-coached. It's ridiculous.'' District 51 catcher Rebecca Zapata (Palmdale High) said Dunn's velocity is as intimidating in·tim·i·date tr.v. in·tim·i·dat·ed, in·tim·i·dat·ing, in·tim·i·dates 1. To make timid; fill with fear. 2. To coerce or inhibit by or as if by threats. as it is surprising, as the ball seems to explode as it emerges from her slight 5-foot-7 frame. ``When you first look at Jessie, she doesn't look like the type of person that throws that hard, but when she whips it by you it's like `Maybe I better rethink this,''' Zapata said. The addition of a drop curve to Dunn's repertoire has given opposing hitters something else to think about. ``It sets up everything else, you just don't expect it,'' Patison said. ``That's really made her a complete pitcher.'' Dunn's success story is an appropriate fit for a Big League program that is more about representing community than the fiercely competitive scholarship-showcase club scene. ``A lot of it goes to my dad and the people in Little League people who were nice enough to take the time to help me,'' Dunn said. gideon.rubin@dailynews.com (818) 713-3607 CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Antelope Valley High alum alum (ăl`əm), any one of a series of isomorphous double salts that are hydrated sulfates of a univalent cation (e.g., potassium, sodium, ammonium, cesium, or thallium) and a trivalent cation (e.g. Jessie Dunn was 7-2 with a 1.46 ERA for Dixie State. Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographter |
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