PITCHING POWER LOCAL TEAM ENJOYS WORLD SERIES EDGE.Byline: GIDEON RUBIN Special to the Daily News PALMDALE -- The loss of a dominant pitcher is usually the death blow for a softball team at almost any level. On Wednesday, the Antelope Valley's District 51 Big League softball team experienced such a setback at the most inopportune in·op·por·tune adj. Inappropriate or ill-timed; not opportune. in·op  por·tune of
times and survived to tell about it.
In Game 1 of the best-of-three West Regional championship series at Marie Kerr Park on Wednesday, pitching standout Jessie Dunn (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 High) developed a blister on a finger of the right (pitching) hand. An abundance of good arms helped District 51 overcome the setback and complete a series sweep by winning the first game 5-3 and the second game 4-1. Defending champion defending champion n (SPORT) → defensor/a m/f del título defending champion n (Sport) → champion(ne) en titre District 51 advances to next week's Big League World Series that will start Monday at Kalamazoo, Mich., where the team will make its eighth appearance in 11 years. With one of the nation's perennially strong programs, District 51 has pitching depth that not only helped overcome the injury on Wednesday, but also will give the team an edge in Kalamazoo. The team learned Wednesday night that pitching standout Laura Calvert (Quartz Hill High, Antelope Valley College Antelope Valley College is a comprehensive community college located in Lancaster, California, USA. It is operated by the Antelope Valley Community College District, with a primary service area of 1,945 square miles covering portions of Los Angeles and Kern counties. ) will miss the World Series because of enrollment obligations at Northwestern Christian College For the university in Oregon formerly called Christian College, see . Christian College, is a school established by the Anglican Church in 1822 in Kotte, Sri Lanka. It is the oldest school in Sri Lanka. One of its masters, Rev. in Orange City, Iowa Orange City is a city in Sioux County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,582 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Sioux CountyGR6. , an NAIA NAIA abbr. National Association of Intercollegiate Athletes school where she has accepted a full softball scholarship. ``You always have backup, so if one of us goes down, another can take their place,'' District 51 pitcher Kaylin Kolesar said. ``We have a lot of talent on this team.'' In the first game, Johanna Ilejay (Palmdale) pitched five shutout innings of two-hit ball. In the second game, Kolesar (Paraclete) and Calvert combined on a three-hitter. Calvert battled through a sore back on Wednesday, pitching three shutout innings of one-hit ball in what was probably her last competitive pitching in the Antelope Valley. She has her teammates' blessings for leaving the team to enroll in college. ``It's a bummer bum·mer n. 1. Slang An adverse reaction to a hallucinogenic drug. 2. Slang One that depresses, frustrates, or disappoints: Getting stranded at the airport was a real bummer. , but school comes first,'' said District 51 catcher Rebecca Zapata (Palmdale). Even without Calvert, District 51 will head to Kalamazoo loaded with excellent pitchers. Dunn, who also had blister problems in high school, is expected to be OK for the World Series. With Dunn, Ilejay, Kolesar and Nicole Torres (Quartz Hill/AVC), the team has four effective pitchers. Dunn, who pitches for Div. III Dixie State (St. George, Utah St. George is a city located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Utah, and the county seat of Washington County, Utah.GR6 It is the principal city of and is included in the St. George, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. ), is a power pitcher In baseball, a power pitcher is a pitcher who relies on the velocity of his pitches, sometimes at the expense of accuracy. Power pitchers usually record a high number of strikeouts and statistics such as strikeouts per 9 innings pitched are common measures of power. who throws in the mid-60s mph range. Kolesar relies mostly on her excellent command and ability to generate movement on her pitches. Ilejay is a breaking-ball specialist, throwing mostly curveballs and screwballs. Torres' strength is her ability to keep the ball down, generating ground balls. District 51 will rely heavy on its pitching depth. It plays doubleheaders on each of the first three days of the World Series. ``We have the toughest schedule of any team there, but we're going to be fine,'' District 51 manager Walt Patison said. ``These girls don't let anything stop them.'' gideon.rubin(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3607 CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Jessie Dunn is one of the District 51 team's strong pitchers. Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer |
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