DURAZO CARRIES KENNEDY : KENNEDY 8, MONROE 3.Byline: Dave Desmond Daily News Staff Writer A bunch of hits and a pitcher nicknamed Chiquita have pushed Kennedy High School to the verge of claiming top-banana status among City 4-A 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' teams. The Cougars collected 16 hits and pitcher Sandra Durazo held Monroe scoreless for the final four innings to claim an 8-3 victory Tuesday in the semifinals at South Gate Park. They will meet El Camino Real El Camino Real (Spanish for The Royal Road or The King's Highway) was the name of a series of pre-automobile highways linking the various New World colonies of Spain:
defending champion n (Sport) → champion(ne) en titre San Pedro, at UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX next Tuesday for the title. It will be Kennedy's first appearance in the final since it won in 1982. ``Nobody thought we could do it, but we're there,'' said Durazo, a junior who earned her nickname two years ago by regularly eating bananas on the team bus. Ever since, she has shared a small piece of her banana with each teammate on the way to games. Each holds her piece up and orally sets a team goal. ``We came too far to lose,'' one said Tuesday. ``We can't give up,'' another added. It was good advice because Kennedy (18-1) found itself down 3-1 in the third after the Vikings put together four hits to overcome a 1-0 deficit. That was the only inning Monroe (10-6) really touched Durazo (18-1). It took the junior right-hander 23 pitches to strike out the first six batters she faced. Durazo, who finished with 11 strikeouts, then survived the three-run third and allowed only three hits the rest of the way as the Cougars notched their second come-from-behind victory over Monroe this season. They trailed the Vikings by a run with two out in the seventh inning on March 7 before winning 4-3. They didn't wait that long this time. Top-seeded Kennedy slammed seven hits in the fifth, the highlight of which was catcher Jennifer Del Real's two-run double to tie it 3-3. Kelli Moorman, Patty Del Real and Brandi Mercado immediately followed with 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 singles. ``We can bring 'em out
Bring 'Em Out from the MGM Motion Picture Yours, Mine, and Ours is a 3-song EP from the Canadian Christian punk band Hawk Nelson. It is only available on the iTunes store for $2.97. when we want to,'' coach Lee Holden Lee Holden (born in 1969) is an internationally- known instructor in the areas of meditation, tai chi, and qi gong. His best-selling instructional DVDs frequently air on hundreds of American Public Television stations. said of his team's bats. Indeed. No. 9 hitter Carin Garcia and Patty Del Real each had three hits; Durazo, Moorman, Mercado and Monica Espitia each had two. Center fielder Cori Jordahl had two of the Vikings' seven hits. The berth in the final is an important step in the rebirth of Kennedy's program, which had gone winless in the Northwest Valley Conference from 1991-93 and couldn't get past the second round in '94 and '95. ``We finally made it to the dance,'' Holden said. Until Tuesday, the Vikings were writing their own Cinderella story. At the season's halfway point, they were mired mire n. 1. An area of wet, soggy, muddy ground; a bog. 2. Deep slimy soil or mud. 3. A disadvantageous or difficult condition or situation: the mire of poverty. v. in the middle of the Mid-Valley League standings, but they rallied to tie Reseda and Sylmar on the final day. They then won a coin toss with the other tri-champions and were awarded a No. 4 seeding and first-round bye in the playoffs. A decisive 15-1 quarterfinal victory over Cleveland followed. ``It's been a great season,'' coach Jodi Ferry said. ``And we proved we could be competitive with a Kennedy.'' CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: (color) Kennedy pitcher Sandra ``Chiquita'' Durazo,center, is congratulated by teammates after beating Monroe. Michael Owen
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