PARACLETE CLAIMS NO OVERCONFIDENCE : SPIRITS OUT TO TAKE 19TH TITLE IN ROW.Byline: Nevin Barich Nevin Barich (born August 6, 1979) is a former American sports journalist now working as the Senior Editor of The National Notary, a trade magazine based in Los Angeles with a circulation of more than 300,000 nationwide. Special to the Daily News Whenever a team comes off a championship year, common sense tells it that a repeat can't be assumed. So it is for Antelope Valley's Paraclete High School Paraclete High School is a Catholic High School in Lancaster, CA operated independently of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles. 186 seniors graduated in the 2006-2007 school year. 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' team and the High Desert League title. Never mind that they've won that title 18 years in a row. While the Spirits have been on the High Desert throne since the late 1970s, coach Margaret Neill insists her team does not view the league title as a secondary concern. ``Obviously, we have to earn it,'' said Neill, who has guided the Spirits to all 18 of those championships. ``Nobody is going to hand it to us, that's for sure. But when league (play) comes around, after we've played (through the) preseason, we let the kids know that the other teams play their best game against us and we have to be up for every game.'' Indeed, the road Paraclete must travel to earn a 19th straight crown is shaping up to be a difficult one. Teams like Bishop, which traditionally fields a strong squad; Kern Kern, river, 155 mi (249 km) long, rising in the S Sierra Nevada Mts., E Calif., and flowing south, then southwest to a reservoir in the extreme southern part of the San Joaquin valley. The river has Isabella Dam as its chief facility. Valley, which has several returning players, and Mojave stand in their way. ``I think our league is getting stronger all the way around,'' Neill said. Even if its competition is stronger, so is Paraclete. It has several key players returning from last year, most notably pitcher Vicki McKay. In 1996, McKay, then a junior, had an 0.50 ERA. This year, in her team's only two games of the season, McKay has allowed only one earned run earned run n. Baseball A run scored without the aid of an error, used in computing earned run averages. Noun 1. earned run - a run that was not scored as the result of an error by the other team in 14 innings INNINGS, estates. Lands gained from the sea by draining. Cunn. L. Dict. h. t.; Law of Sewers, 31. in wins over Alemany and Quartz Hill. ``Vicki has a couple of different pitches that she throws (a rising fastball and change-up) and she throws pretty hard,'' Neill said. ``She doesn't walk a whole lot of people, she challenges batters, and we have a good defense behind her.'' McKay is expected to do most of the pitching, with freshmen Lauren McDonald and Amber Hilblom and sophomore Alicia Mac splitting time behind her. Paraclete returns seven starters - four of whom are seniors - from a team that went 22-4 in 1996 and lost in the second round of the Division V playoffs to Pasadena Poly. Vital to Paraclete's season this year will be three-year starters Cassie Burke, the catcher, and Lisa Ament a·ment n. A person whose intellectual capacity remains undeveloped. , the shortstop. Both are players who with McKay give the Spirits possibly the strongest infield in the High Desert. Burke bats cleanup for the Spirits and provides much of the offensive punch with McKay, center fielder Ruth Anderson Ruth Anderson (born March 21 1928 in Montana) is a lesbian composer, orchestrator, and flautist, whose music is influenced by her study of Zen. She lives in New York during the winter and in Montana during the summer. , who bats fifth, and Ament, who bats third. The right side of the infield is new, as sophomore Latisha Hernandez shares time with senior Meghan Smith at first base and sophomore Barbara Alaniz moves from left field/third base to second base. Alaniz has good speed and is learning to bat left-handed so she can slap the ball and use her quickness from the leadoff spot. Junior Elena Valdez plays third base, sophomores Erin Flores Flores, town, Guatemala Flores (flōrəs), town (1990 est. pop. 2,200), capital of Petén department, N Guatemala. Flores was built on an island in the southern part of Lake Petén Itzá and on the site of the and Margo Horner platoon in left field and Kathy Munoz, one of the team's fastest athletes, plays right field and bats ninth. ``I think we'll have a very good defense and we'll get more solid as the year goes on,'' Neill said. ``We have real good team speed and we want to make sure we use that.'' Paraclete, which beat Alemany 6-2 and Quartz Hill 9-2 in its only two games, will find out more about itself beginning this weekend in the Lancaster tournament with seven games in six days. Neill has never won the section championship, falling in the title game in 1981, 1986, 1990, 1991 and 1994. But what will happen if the losing streak ends this year? ``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. what I would do. I probably would faint,'' Neill said. Don't worry, Margaret. Chances are all those league trophies will help break your fall. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Vicki McKay is Paraclete's star pitcher, expected to help the Spirits win league. Hans Gutknecht / Daily News |
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