SOFTBALL NOTEBOOK: A.V. STAR UTAH-BOUND.

Byline: Ramona Shelburne  Staff Writer

Antelope Valley High pitcher Jessi Dunn has accepted a full scholarship to Dixie State Community College in St. George, Utah.

Dunn, who carries a 4.2 GPA, hopes to transfer to a four-year college after completing her associate degree at Dixie State, one of the top community college programs in the country.

``I think she's going to explode in college,'' Antelope Valley coach Giselle Neumann said. ``I really think she's just going to get better and better. This is just the beginning for her.''

Dunn has been one of the hardest throwers in the Golden League the past three years. But she lost 5-7 mph last year while experimenting with new pitches.

Having mastered those pitches, Dunn is throwing in the mid-60s again.

--Tough job: There's not much in a softball game that would scare Littlerock pitcher Nickie Perez, not after her experiences working with exotic cats at the Exotic Feline Breeding Compound in Rosamond.

Perez's duties include cleaning cages and preparing food for the animals.

``It's mostly horse meat and chicken,'' Perez said. ``I've only done the preparation of the food once, and it was an experience. You have to cut the meat off the bone and separate the meat from the fat. The hardest part was the meat was frozen, so it really hurt my hands. Other than that, it was fine.''

Asked whether her parents worried that she was working with dangerous animals such as tigers and jaguars, Perez said: ``I think at first they were, but when I didn't come home with any scars or all cut up, they were fine.''

--Down to the wire: Quartz Hill (4-0) looks like it will run away with its 11th Golden League title in 14 years, but second and third place are far from settled.

Palmdale (2-1) is second, and Lancaster (2-2), Highland (1-1) and Littlerock (1-2) follow. Only the top three teams advance to the Southern Section playoffs, so at least two good teams will be left home.

``It's all up in the air right now,'' Perez said. ``I think it'll go down to the last game.''

--Counterintuitive: Vasquez High's Shayne Lotito, who has been 3 for 4 or better in every game this season, claims it is harder to hit high school pitching than the top-flight pitchers she faces in travel ball during the summers.

``The slower pitchers are actually a lot harder to hit,'' Lotito said. ``I've been so used to hitting fast pitching because of travel ball. I usually slap against slower pitching.''

Ramona Shelburne, [phone]

ramona.shelburne(at)dailynews.com