POWER SHIFT IS GOLDEN RULE LITTLEROCK, LANCASTER ON RISE; DEPARTURES HURT Q.H., HIGHLAND.

Byline: Ramona Shelburne Staff Writer

Quartz Hill High and, to a lesser extent, Highland have ruled Golden League softball the past decade, but there could be a new team in charge this season.

The Rebels and Bulldogs are expected to challenge for the title again this year, but Littlerock and Lancaster look like the teams to beat. It's more about who has departed than who has arrived.

Quartz Hill graduated Erica Ricker (Antelope Valley College), its best pitcher and leadoff hitter, and Nicole Means, its top power hitter. Highland, the defending champion, graduated shortstop Shannon Doepking (Tennessee), and senior pitcher Lauren Tantlinger moved out of the area.

Littlerock lost center fielder Tori Beaudette to graduation, but returning is pitcher Nikki Perez, the league MVP.

Lancaster returns most of its lineup after finishing fourth with a young, inexperienced team. Pitcher Candice Miller, coming off a solid freshman year, is expected to be the Eagles' ace. Junior pitcher Meaghan Keeney should eat up a lot of innings.

An intriguing prospect is freshman pitcher Heather Sandberg, who could develop into one of the best pitchers in the league.

``I think we learned a lot from last season,'' senior infielder Lyndsey Lane said. ``Last year we beat Highland and started thinking we were way too good. After that, we lost our next four games.''

At Quartz Hill, senior pitcher Laura Calvert will be the full-time starter after splitting time with Ricker last season. The Rebels are expected to remain strong offensively, behind Kelsie Blankemeyer and Brooke Stikx, which would alleviate pressure on Calvert.

Long time Quartz Hill coach Coy Ray is taking time off to be with his family, so longtime assistants Ben Meyer and Maury Cauchon have taken over.

At Highland, Marrissa De Lima, Lesley Far and Janna Winkel will try to fill Tantlinger's shoes. De Lima is the most experienced of the trio. Fay is a hard thrower with intimidating size, and Winkel has an unusual delivery that makes it difficult for batters to pick up the ball.

Knight High, in Palmdale, is playing its first varsity season. In charge in former Littlerock coach Tammy Zimmardi, who is excited by the Hawks' progress.

``The girls have been working (hard) at practice, because we know we're going to have work twice as hard as everyone else if we want to have a chance to compete in league,'' Zimmardi said. ``I know the girls will bring everything they have in them to the field.''

Ramona Shelburne, [phone]

ramona.shelburne(at)dailynews.com

SOFTBALL PREVIEW

TOP PLAYERS

Kristen Metter, Highland, 2B

Kelsie Blankemeyer, Quartz Hill, 1B/3B

Katie Cornelison, Lancaster, 1B/3B

TOP PITCHERS

Jessi Dunn, Antelope Valley

Nikki Perez, Littlerock

Laura Calvert, Quartz Hill

TOP NEWCOMERS

Ikea Mauldin, SS, Lancaster

Nicole Toncoso, C, Knight

Shelbi Garcia, CF, Knight

Heather Sandberg, P, Lancaster

KEY DATES

--March 9: Quartz Hill at Valencia, 3 p.m.

--March 18-21: High Desert Classic, Lancaster City Park

--March 29: Lancaster at Littlerock, 3 p.m.

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SOFTBALL PREVIEW (see text)