PALMDALE CATCHER MAKES WPF LINEUP : LEAGUE GIVES PLAYER 2ND CHANCE AT DREAMS.

Byline: Kathy Orton Daily News Staff Writer

Sometimes, there just isn't enough time to accomplish everything.

Debby DiMeglio found that out. The Palmdale High School graduate discovered in 1994 that her college eligibility was gone. All used up. But she still wanted to play softball competitively.

``I didn't get all the recognition I wanted in college,'' DiMeglio said. ``I have things (I didn't) accomplish, not finished.''

Now DiMeglio has a chance to complete all those unreached goals she has.

She was one of the 120 top fast-pitch softball players selected by the Women's Professional Fastpitch league, which will begin play in 1997. DiMeglio was drafted in the 13th round - the 78th pick overall - by the Erie, Pa., club.

``I know I'll never get my college years back,'' DiMeglio said. ``It's a different kind of opportunity.''

DiMeglio has played softball nearly her entire life. That's why she has such a difficult time giving up the sport.

Her grandfather Morris Grant coached softball in Palmdale and was a major influence on DiMeglio's softball career.

``I was his little ballplayer,'' DiMeglio said. ``I will always be thankful for my grandfather. He taught me my fundamentals. I wouldn't have gone anywhere if it wasn't for him.''

And DiMeglio went pretty far.

Three times she was All-Golden League at Palmdale, capturing the team's batting title each of those years. Her traveling team, the Raiders, won the 1991 national tournament and placed seventh at the 1989 nationals.

In college, DiMeglio was a four-time, first-team All-Western Athletic Conference player and catcher. She set Utah's career home-run record her junior year, finishing with 26 for her career.

While she was completing her degree at Utah, DiMeglio heard about the WPF from a teammate who played on the league's 1994 summer barnstorming tour.

She placed a call to the WPF's offices to find out how she could become eligible to be drafted. She learned that she would either be drafted or not based on her collegiate and club team experience. If she was not drafted, the league would hold open tryouts that she could attend.

As it turned out, DiMeglio was drafted in October. She didn't find out until January that it was by the team in Erie. DiMeglio had wanted to be drafted by the Palmdale franchise, which plans to play at Marie Kerr Park.

The league tried to keep some of the players close to their hometowns since local players help bring crowds to the ballpark.

But only two players per team were protected. The Palmdale protected players were Beth Calcante and Priscilla Rouse. DiMeglio remains optimistic that her rights will be traded to Palmdale.

Besides the Palmdale and Erie teams, the WPF consists of four more teams located in Minneapolis; Ontario, Calif.; Sacramento; and Akron, Ohio.

Originally, the WPF was slated to begin its 72-game schedule this summer. However, the league soon realized how unwise it would be to try to compete with the Olympics. So the start date was pushed back to summer 1997.

That was frustrating to DiMeglio.

``I got the letter (that she had been drafted), and I was stoked,'' DiMeglio said. ``But I've been hanging out since then. In February or March, they decided to postpone the league. It was hard. I had waited. I had taken a transitional job. I put my life on hold for this. I have mixed emotions. It's something I really, really want to do, but it's like I'm torn. Do I really want to wait another year? Then, even still, it may flop. You just don't know what can happen.''

For the past year, DiMeglio has worked at a golf course at Lake Elizabeth and as the varsity assistant coach at Paraclete High School. She's trying not to give too much thought to the WPF. If it happens, it happens. If not, so be it.

All DiMeglio wants is to just keep playing softball.

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Photo

Photo: Debby DiMeglio, a 13th-round draft pick, will beginthe 1997 season of the Women's Professional Fastpitch league with the Erie, Pa., club.