SOFTBALL NOTEBOOK: DIAMONDS' COLLEGIANS WON'T HARM HIGH- SCHOOLERS' CHANCES.Byline: Ramona Shelburne Ramona Shelburne is an American sports journalist currently writing for the Los Angeles Daily News. Shelburne was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She attended El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills, California where she was a class valedictorian. Staff Writer It all seemed so different to Jordan McPherson this time around. When she last played travel softball, the Royal High of 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. product was coming off a successful senior year and preparing to head to the University of Nevada University of Nevada could refer to either of the universities in the Nevada System of Higher Education:
By her own admission, her heart wasn't into it. ``I definitely had senioritis last year,'' she said. McPherson is taking nothing for granted this summer. After a rough freshman season at Nevada, the right-hander is using this summer as an opportunity to improve and rediscover Re`dis`cov´er v. t. 1. To discover again. Verb 1. rediscover - discover again; "I rediscovered the books that I enjoyed as a child" her love for the game. Former Valencia High standout Kortney Bell has a different reason for playing this summer. Bell was stuck behind an All-America third baseman third baseman n. Baseball The infielder stationed near third base. Noun 1. third baseman - (baseball) the person who plays third base third sacker in her first year at Tennessee and didn't see much playing time. She's using this summer to get at-bats and work on the skills she needs to develop to gain a spot in the Vols' lineup. What McPherson and Bell have in common is a desire not to take away an opportunity from a younger player seeking a college scholarship. McPherson and Bell were still 18 on Jan. 1, making them eligible to compete at the 18-under level this summer. Most players in the 18-under division are high school players. ``I don't play in the exposure tournaments,'' said McPherson, who has pitched phenomenally for the Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, Diamonds' 18-under Gold team this summer. ``We have about 20 girls on our team, so we only send the underclassmen to the exposure tournaments. I wouldn't want to play in those anymore.'' Not everybody sees things so altruistically. Joe Aranda, who manages the 18-under Valley Breeze Gold, said some teams stack their rosters with college freshman and start them at the expense of younger players. ``Some people just really want to win,'' Aranda said. ``We only use college players if we need to. We've had them in the past, but we don't have any this year. When we had college players, we didn't take them to the exposure tournaments. We only took them to qualifiers and nationals.'' Some question whether college freshman should be allowed to play with high school players. Bell said she doesn't see a problem with it as long as the older players don't take playing time away from younger players. ``We're not really trying to win nationals this year,'' she said. ``We're just going out there to stay sharp and play.'' McPherson and the Diamonds are more competitive. The team, which features area standouts Monica Gonzales (Westlake), Andi Ramirez (Royal), Jessi Waers (Royal), Kelly Cordeiro (Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. ), Lauren Erb (Camarillo) and Whitney Lowe (Valencia), already has qualified for the Aug. 8-14 Gold national championships for 18-under teams in Salinas Salinas, city, United States Salinas (səlē`nəs), city (1990 pop. 108,777), seat of Monterey co., W Calif.; inc. 1874. It is the shipping and processing center of a fertile valley famous for its grain and lettuce. . `We're having so much fun this summer,'' McPherson said. ``It's made me love the game again, and I can't wait for us to go to nationals so I can prove how much I've grown and show what I can do.'' --Northridge sends two teams to nationals: Two teams from the Northridge Girls Softball League have qualified for the ``B'' Western Region National Championships. The 10-under All-Stars qualified by finishing third at the California B-State tournament in Lancaster two weeks ago. The team will compete in the Western Region national championship in San Antonio San Antonio (săn ăntō`nēō, əntōn`), city (1990 pop. 935,933), seat of Bexar co., S central Tex., at the source of the San Antonio River; inc. 1837. in early August. The team: Melanie Allegretti, Kalei Dickman, Hannah Holmes, Deanna Lopez, Olivia Lucchese, Samantha Mackie, Sara Namay, Denise Posada po·sa·da n. A Christmas festival originating in Latin America that dramatizes the search of Joseph and Mary for lodging. [American Spanish, from Spanish, lodging, from posar, , Samantha Sandoval, Brittany Solis, Taylor Stewart and Faith Veloz. It is managed by Dennis Dickman. Ramona Shelburne, (818) 713-3617 ramona.shelburne(at)dailynews.com |
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