CLASSIC MATCHUP ON TAP: PARACLETE VS. LA REINA.Byline: Vincent Bonsignore Daily News Staff Writer Having seen the excitement surrounding an All-Antelope Valley championship final in the High Desert Classic earlier this year, Highland High 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' coach Glenda Potts is hoping for another 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 final today at the Paraclete tournament. Two big roadblocks are in the way. Highland must beat Santa Paula Santa Paula (săn`tə pôl`ə), city (1990 pop. 25,062), Ventura co., S Calif., on the Santa Clara River in a fertile valley that yields citrus fruits, avocados, vegetables, flowers, nursery products, and walnuts; laid out 1875, inc. in one semifinal game, while Paraclete needs to get by La Reina La Reina (Spanish: "The queen") is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. It consistently ranks in the top five communes with the best quality of life in the Metropolitan Region. in the other. Then, and only then, will the Bulldogs and host Spirits play for the championship. Both semifinals begin at 2 p.m. at Lancaster City Park. The final is at 4 p.m. ``Hopefully that will happen. I think it would be pretty neat,'' said Potts. ``I think it would bring out a lot of people and excitement if two local teams were in the final.'' Potts is not familiar with Santa Paula. ``All I know is they beat Palmdale, and we just slipped by them. So they must be pretty good,'' Potts said. Highland (17-3, 4-1) has one of the top offensive attacks in the area, led by Melissa Rawson (.355, 26 RBI RBI abbr. Baseball runs batted in Noun 1. rbi - a run that is the result of the batter's performance; "he had more than 100 rbi last season" run batted in ), Katy Gonzales (.460), Ashlie D'Errico (.425), Jennifer Durost (.417) and Michelle Wintermute (.412). ``They've got a number of good hitters,'' La Reina coach Don Hyatt said. Paraclete and La Reina have quite a history against one another. It began in 1984, when they met in the Southern Section quarterfinals, and has continued through the years. Hardly a season goes by when they don't face each other in a tournament game or playoff play·off also play-off n. Sports 1. A final game or series of games played to break a tie. 2. A series of games played to determine a championship. Noun 1. matchup. ``There's a lot of mutual respect there,'' Paraclete coach Margaret Neill said. ``It's an intense rivalry, but it's clean and friendly.'' Although La Reina is always a threat to win a Southern Section championship, the Regents have potentially their best team. In the past they've revolved re·volve v. re·volved, re·volv·ing, re·volves v.intr. 1. To orbit a central point. 2. To turn on an axis; rotate. See Synonyms at turn. 3. around one or two good players, which made it easier for opponents to beat them. ``If you stopped (our top player), you beat La Reina,'' Hyatt said. ``Now we've got players throughout the lineup that can hurt you and make contributions.'' Catcher MaKenzie Vandergeest leads the way, hitting .500 with 25 RBI. Monica Thompson is batting .351 and Kristin Ward is hitting .340. Plus, the Regents have two equally talented pitchers that teams have to prepare for. Ward is 8-1 with a 0.56 ERA and Danielle Field is 8-1 with a 0.25 ERA. Hyatt is not looking past Paraclete ahead to the final. ``(Coach Neill) always does an incredible job with her team and this year is no different,'' Hyatt said. ``It seems no matter what she starts with at the beginning of the year, by the time the playoffs come around Margaret has them prepared.'' That seems to be the case this year. The Spirits started slowly with an inexperienced in·ex·pe·ri·ence n. 1. Lack of experience. 2. Lack of the knowledge gained from experience. in team. But in recent weeks they've played more consistently while winning at a higher rate. ``I really like where we are right now,'' Neill said. ``We seem to be playing with a lot more confidence.'' Amanda Wachsmuth leads Paraclete with a .444 batting average batting average n. Baseball A measure of a batter's performance obtained by dividing the total of base hits by the number of times at bat, not including walks. Noun 1. . Alena Valdez is batting .393 and Lisa Ament a·ment n. A person whose intellectual capacity remains undeveloped. is batting .378. Mariene Aguirre has 21 RBI. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO DON HYATT His La Reina team has reached the semifinals of the High Desert Classic. |
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