SOFTBALL BEAT : PLAYER SPOTLIGHT.

Miss Utility 1996: Ramona Shelburne will take on the position of team leader as El Camino Real's only senior next season.

``She'll be the heart and soul of our team,'' coach Neils Ludlow said.

And taking on another new position shouldn't be a problem.

This season, she played third base, second base, outfield and catcher, as well as her regular spot at shortstop, helping lead the Conquistadores to the City 4-A title.

``It's a whole different game in the infield,'' said the natural outfielder. ``When I first moved there last year, I couldn't even knock a ball down.''

Much has changed. She has developed into one of the slickest infielders in the area.

``She's a very fine athlete and she adapts real well,'' Ludlow said. ``She's the best outfielder we have, but she's willing to play anywhere we need her.''

They certainly have needed her in the lineup.

She hit two doubles in her team's 6-0 City 4-A title-clinching victory over Kennedy on Tuesday and finished the season batting .486 with three home runs and 29 RBI, all team bests. She also did not strike out in 78 plate appearances.

``She's probably the best pure hitter we had,'' Ludlow said.

OFFBEAT 

?7 Cross-training: Alan Eberhart held off as long as he could, but he couldn't put off the start of spring football practice any longer.

Crescenta Valley's softball/football coach began football workouts Wednesday as his Falcons softball players were preparing to host top-ranked Woodbridge in today's Southern Section Division II quarterfinal.

``To make things easier, I wanted to change our routine and practice at school,'' he said. ``But the players vetoed it. I guess I just have to be flexible with myself.''

TREND WATCH

?7 Supporting role: Saugus, rated No. 1 locally, certainly has its share of stars. But sometimes it takes a supporting character to put a team over the top (see: 1970s New York Yankees, Bucky Dent and Brian Doyle).

The Centurions, who play at Millikan today in a Division II quarterfinal, may have an unsung hero in Valarie Reyes. The sophomore designated hitter, who spent much of the season as a reserve, has hit safely in the past five games.

On the road again: Newbury Park will take to the road today in a Division I quarterfinal at Anaheim Canyon, and Panthers coach Mike Morgan isn't thrilled about the long trip to Orange County. His Marmonte League champs will have played only once at home through three playoff games.

His players have a different outlook.

``It's not a problem for them because they just view it as another chance to get out of school early,'' Morgan said.

Good news, bad news: The Marmonte League will be represented by three teams in the Southern Section Division I quarterfinals. Camarillo will host Pacifica today, Thousand Oaks travels to Mater Dei on Friday and Newbury Park is going to Anaheim Canyon.

The only other local league to have three teams survive the first round was the Mission in Division III. League champion Alemany, No. 2 Louisville and Chaminade all were eliminated Tuesday in the second round.

``We were all blanked,'' said Chaminade coach Steve Harrington, whose third-place team upset fourth-seeded El Segundo last Friday.

Softball pride: What's all this hubbub about local baseball?

As the Southern Section enters quarterfinal rounds for baseball and softball, only four baseball teams remain alive. Softball will be represented by 11 teams. Take that!

Double duty: The only school to survive the first two rounds in both sports is Providence in Division VI.

Title run: In other quarterfinal games: Oak Park hosts Riverside Notre Dame, Moorpark hosts Kern Valley and Calabasas hosts Crossroads in Division V. Providence travels to Cornerstone Christian and Boron hosts Liberty Christian in Division VI.

Well, ya have to see it: West Valley League Most Valuable Player Tami Jones was among several El Camino Real players who showed up for their City 4-A championship game wearing blue lipstick this week, an idea concocted by outfielder Ashley Redlin.

P.A. stands for partially asleep: The magnitude of playing for a City championship apparently was lost on the public address announcer at UCLA for Tuesday's 3-A and 4-A finals.

Following his introduction of the 4-A starting lineups, he announced to the crowd, ``Now, it's time to get ready to rumble, I guess.''

Motivation Dept.: It took Kennedy pitcher Sandra Durazo only a few minutes after her team's City championship-game loss to El Camino Real before she began planning for next season.

``We might want to tap this pain next year and use it as energy to go even further,'' the junior said.

Almost unhittable: Seven. That's what Pacific League batters hit against Hoover's Tina Kinney this season.

Not .700. Just seven, as in .007.

Kinney also posted another impressive and unusual statistic. Of the 1,692 pitches she threw this season, 1,306 (77.2 percent) were for strikes.

KEEPING TABS

?7 National champs: Canyon graduate Crystl Bustos was named the most valuable player of the national community college tournament last week in Kansas. The freshman shortstop batted .619 with three home runs and 11 RBI to lead Palm Beach (Fla.) Community College to the national title.

Pitcher Sophie Contreraz (Alemany) was 4-0 with a 1.63 ERA in the tournament, while catcher Jamie Moore (Alemany) batted .737.

World serious: Former Simi Valley star Sara Griffin and her Michigan Wolverines will open College World Series play today against UCLA at Columbus, Ga.

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Photo

PHOTO Shelburne