SOFTBALL NOTEBOOK: VALENCIA BACKUP COMES UP BIG.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 For most of the past month and a half, Nicole Matson has been a reserve on Valencia High's 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' team. With six starters missing Saturday while attending the prom, Matson knew she'd receive an opportunity to return to the lineup. She homered in the second inning of a 1-0 victory over Dos Pueblos of Goleta in the 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. tournament. ``I've hit home runs before, but not game-winning ones, where it was the only run of the game,'' she said. ``It was really exciting.'' Matson was among several younger players who had a chance to start Saturday. ``Everybody who was called upon to do something really stepped up,'' Valencia coach Donna Lee Donna Lee is a bebop jazz standard itself based on the chord changes of the traditional jazz standard "(Back Home Again in) Indiana".[1] It is named after the now-obscure bassist Donna Lee. said. ``I was really happy with the way we played, and it gave me a chance to see how people would perform under pressure, which we're going to need down the road in the playoffs.'' Playing without its starting infield, the Vikings defeated Dos Pueblos, the second-ranked team in Southern Section Div. IV, and Thousand Oaks, the Daily News' No. 7 team. Matson acknowledged she probably wouldn't have been in the lineup Saturday if Valencia had its full team. ``I might've pinch-hit or something,'' said Matson, who began the year as Valencia's designated hitter designated hitter n. Baseball Abbr. DH A player designated at the start of a game to bat instead of the pitcher in the lineup. Noun 1. but has moved in and out of the lineup the past month. ``But I was prepared to play.'' --Who's on first Valencia had new players at all four infield positions and at catcher. Missing were first baseman Breanne Javier, second baseman second baseman n. Baseball The infielder who is positioned near and to the first-base side of second base. Noun 1. second baseman - (baseball) the person who plays second base second sacker Whitney Lowe, shortstop Alyssa Ishibahi and catcher Mallory DiFatta. ``I think we were kind of unsure how we would do going into it,'' Matson said of playing with so many starters gone. ``We knew we'd work out hardest and that we could back up our pitcher. But I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. if we knew we'd win both. We were really happy with that.'' Ramona Shelburne, (818) 713-3617 ramona.shelburne(at)dailynews.com |
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