HER EYE'S ON THE PRIZE OAKS CHRISTIAN PITCHER LOOKS TO CAP CAREER WITH ELUSIVE TITLE.Byline: Ramona Shelburne Ramona Shelburne is an American sports journalist currently writing for the Los Angeles Daily News. Shelburne was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She attended El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills, California where she was a class valedictorian. Staff Writer It was difficult enough losing in the Southern Section Div. VI 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' final two years in a row, but now Oaks Christian High's Ashlee Freeman has seen players from three championship teams flaunting their rings through the halls of the Westlake Village campus. The school's girls' soccer team, and boys' and girls' basketball teams all won Southern Section titles this winter, the first in the school's three-year history. ``I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. , with the soccer team and basketball teams winning, maybe our luck is changing,'' said Freeman, who went 12-2 last season with a 0.25 ERA. ``Maybe it's our turn to win this year.'' But Oaks Christian (6-1) will have to go through a much tougher bracket this season because they moved up to Div. IV. Oaks Christian now plays against teams from the talented Channel League, featuring strong programs such as Dos Pueblos of Goleta and Buena of Ventura. To prepare, No. 5 Oaks Christian has improved its schedule and will be among the favorites at Saturday's Daily News Victory Spring Classic at Hjelte Sports Complex in Encino. That's because the Boston University-bound Freeman is arguably ar·gu·a·ble adj. 1. Open to argument: an arguable question, still unresolved. 2. That can be argued plausibly; defensible in argument: three arguable points of law. the top pitcher in the tournament. ``She's got all the pitches, but her strength is her competitiveness,'' Oaks Christian coach Pete Ackermann said. ``Everyone just picks up the pace when she's on the mound because of her presence.'' The Lions open with No. 10 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:
Despite the tougher competition, Freeman thinks the experience of the past two years will carry Oaks Christian to the title. Oaks Christian opened in 2001 and competed with only freshmen and sophomores. Freeman entered the school as a sophomore after transferring from Chaminade of West Hills. That year, Freeman had 428 strikeouts, good for seventh on the all-time Southern Section strikeout strike·out n. Baseball Abbr. K or SO An out made by a batter charged with three strikes and credited to the pitcher who threw the strikes. Noun 1. list, and she pitched all but two of the team's innings INNINGS, estates. Lands gained from the sea by draining. Cunn. L. Dict. h. t.; Law of Sewers, 31. . She hit .505, went 25-5 on the mound and led Oaks Christian to an improbable 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. run to the championship game against Linfield of Temecula. Oaks Christian led 3-1 going into the seventh inning in·ning n. 1. a. Baseball One of nine divisions or periods of a regulation game, in which each team has a turn at bat as limited by three outs. b. innings (used with a sing. , but Linfield tied the game and won in extra innings Noun 1. extra innings - overtime play until one team is ahead at the end of an inning; e.g. baseball extra time, overtime - playing time beyond regulation, to break a tie . Freeman shared pitching time with Sara Radabaugh last season but still had 159 strikeouts. Oaks Christian returned to the championship game, this time losing to Faith Baptist of Canoga Park. ``That first year, when we made it all the way to the finals with only freshmen and sophomores, was hard to get over,'' said Shannon Van Borst, who has caught Freeman for three seasons. Van Borst, Radabaugh and Freeman are the team's only seniors and have developed a strong sense of urgency about this year. ``When you're younger, there's always next year, but not anymore,'' Freeman said. ``We didn't realize how big it was (to go to the final) that first year and last year, maybe it was easier to get over because we had some experience with it, but we all really just want rings this year.'' AT A GLANCE Who: Ashlee Freeman School: Oaks Christian softball Year: Senior Position: Pitcher Last Year: 12-2, 0.25 ERA, 159 strikeouts. Career Highlights: 37-7, 597 strikeouts in high school career; 428 strikeouts as a sophomore, ranking seventh all-time in Southern Section for single season strikeouts. See For Yourself: This Saturday starting at 9 a.m. at the Daily News Victory Spring Classic at Hjelte Park in Encino. CAPTION(S): 2 photos, box Photo: (1) Ashlee Freeman struck out nearly 600 batters and won 37 games during her first two seasons at Oaks Christian. (2) FREEMAN Joel P. Lugavere/Special to the Daily News Box: AT A GLANCE (see text) |
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