SOFTBALL BEAT : STRONG FINISH.Valencia High players learned the hard way that it's probably not a good idea to get Nicole Giordano and the rest of Saugus mad. After the Vikings upset Hart, some players said they planned to sneak up Verb 1. sneak up - advance stealthily or unnoticed; "Age creeps up on you" creep up advance, march on, move on, progress, pass on, go on - move forward, also in the metaphorical sense; "Time marches on" on the Centurions when they played on Thursday. It wasn't exactly bulletin-board material, but when Saugus coach Ron Hilton relayed the comments to his team, the response was predictable. ``It got us fired up,'' Giordano said. ``We were pumped to play them.'' Saugus won easily 13-0. Giordano is closing her brilliant career in style. She's batting .585 with 13 RBI RBI abbr. Baseball runs batted in Noun 1. rbi - a run that is the result of the batter's performance; "he had more than 100 rbi last season" run batted in and 43 stolen bases. On the mound, she's 21-5 with a 0.47 ERA. Her pitching success has been enhanced by an improved curveball and change-up. She also thinks she's added velocity to her fastball. Aside from her personal achievements, Giordano is excited that Saugus has a chance to defend its Southern Section Division II title despite fielding a team with a number of freshmen. ``Things have gone better than I expected,'' Giordano said. ``Our young players have stepped up and come into their own.'' Next year Giordano will be a freshman at the University of Arizona (body, education) University of Arizona - The University was founded in 1885 as a Land Grant institution with a three-fold mission of teaching, research and public service. . She's already looking ahead to her first year with the Wildcats. ``I'm excited and nervous at the same time,'' she said. Heads up on the bases At Kennedy, they're still talking about the play Sandra Durazo made two weeks ago against Granada Hills. Durazo was headed to third base when she saw the Highlanders catcher, who was covering third, waiting on her knees with the ball in her glove. No problem. Durazo made like a hurdler and leaped over the catcher to avoid the tag. ``She must have jumped three feet in the air,'' Cougars coach Eric Moorman said. ``And she landed on her feet.'' What happened next illustrates the type of player Durazo is. Noticing that nobody was covering for the out-of-position catcher, she broke for home and scored the run. ``I've seen her make a lot of plays, but that was one of the best,'' Moorman said. ``She always knows what to do in every situation.'' Food for focus Besides being one of the best teams in the area, Camarillo might also be the best fed - at least on days before big games. Scorpions coach Miki Mangan hosts a team dinner prior to key matchups. It's a chance for players to come together as a team in a setting away from the field. ``We have fun with it,'' said Mangan, who cooks the meals with some help from her mother. ``The girls like it.'' On Monday the Scorpions gathered for a spaghetti spaghetti: see pasta. dinner before playing Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. on Tuesday. They might want to change the menu before the next big game - the Scorpians lost to the Pioneers 5-4 to fall out of first place. Grooming Combining, consolidating and segregating network traffic using devices such as digital cross-connects, add/drop multiplexers and SONET switches. Grooming is a telephone term that typically refers to managing high-capacity lines between central offices, carriers, ISPs and very large Olympians Chaminade coach Steve Harrington will be an assistant on a tournament team this summer that features a number of U.S. Olympians and top college players. Chaminade baseball coach Scott Drootin helped Harrington get the job. Among the players Harrington will work with: U.S. Olympians Leah O'Brien Leah Marie Amico-O'Brien (born September 9, 1974 in Garden Grove, California) is an American softball player, best known for her gold medal at the 2004 Olympic Games. Awards and Honors
UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX ), Leah Braatz-Cochrane (Arizona) and Amy Stewart (UNLV UNLV University of Nevada, Las Vegas ). Harrington, who hopes to coach on the college level in the future, thinks the experience will benefit both himself and the Eagles next year. ``Just being around players and coaches of such a high level will help me relate to the kids better,'' Harrington said. ``But it will also help in terms of setting goals and making our program more competitive.'' All-Star date set The 11th annual Daily News All-Star 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' Game is set for June 11 at 4:30 p.m. at Cal State Northridge. The game features the area's top 30 high school seniors. Player nomination forms went out to area coaches last week. Rosters will be announced later this month. Past MVPs of the game include Hoover's Nancy Evans, the No. 1 pitcher for top-ranked Arizona, and Canyon's Crystal Bustos, the No. 1 JC player in the nation, who is playing in Palm Beach, Fla. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Nicole Giordano Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News |
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