TIME FOR REDEMPTION; ECR PITCHER REDLIN GOES FOR TITLE AFTER TUMULTUOUS SEASON IN 1998.

Byline: Vincent Bonsignore Daily News Staff Writer

At one point in the ninth inning, Ashley Redlin sat in the El Camino Real dugout at South Gate Park, scrunched into a human ball and rocking back and forth. It was as if she was praying for the base hit that would push the Conquistadores through the City Championship semifinals and into today's final at UCLA.

In fact, Redlin was just too nervous to watch. Each time ECR got a runner on base against San Pedro ace Natalie Tam last Tuesday, Tam somehow squirmed out of the jam. Then Redlin walked back to the pitcher's circle, fought through three more outs, then retreated back to the dugout and forced herself not to contemplate the consequences of losing.

``I didn't want to think about what not winning would feel like,'' Redlin said.

There was more than a championship berth at stake. The Conquistadores have been on a season-long quest for redemption after failing miserably in a 5-0 loss to San Pedro in last year's championship game. To have their dreams stall in the semifinals would have been unacceptable.

For Redlin, validation was on the line. Justified or not, Redlin felt the burden of last year's loss more than most. She thought she let the Conquistadores down after becoming pregnant and sitting out most of the season.

She returned to the field in May, less than a month after giving birth to daughter Maddisyn, but never did regain the pitching form she showed the previous year while leading ECR to the City Championship. The memory of her ineffectiveness has been a source of inspiration all year.

Maybe that is why Redlin never seriously considered losing last Tuesday. The Conquistadores' resolve this year has been too acute, too emphatic to let that happen. So when Cara Blumfield singled home Kristi Nicklaus in the bottom of the 11th to give ECR a 1-0 win, Redlin was hardly surprised.

``I don't care if it would have taken us 20 or 30 innings, we would have figured out a way to win,'' Redlin said. ``That's the way it's been all year.''

There is one more step, of course. To fully eradicate the pain of last year, the Conquistadores must beat Carson today. There are compelling reasons why this final will be different than last. The team has a singular goal, whereas last year's team was splintered and cliquish. The players are a year older, wiser and better. But mostly, they have a healthy, effective Redlin leading the way, instead of the pitcher who admittedly was performing at about 70-percent efficiency a year ago. Redlin has allowed just one run through three playoff games so far, and her clutch pitching against San Pedro is the reason the Conquistadores are back in the championship game.

On the year, Redlin is 16-3 with an 0.50 ERA and has 157 strikeouts. She's allowed just 10 earned runs in 125 innings.

``It's a big difference between this year and last year,'' ECR coach Neils Ludlow said. ``Of course, with the situation that went on a year ago, and Ashley returning less than a month after giving birth and not being at full strength. But she worked very, very hard during the offseason, and she's done a great job for us. Right now she's pitching as good or better than she has (in her career) and that's been a big plus for us.''

Memories of last year

Seven months is a long time to keep a secret, especially when you're keeping it from yourself.

Redlin convinced herself she wasn't pregnant. The weight gain was typical for a teen-ager, she told herself; the upset stomach and the dizzy spells last summer were the flu, not morning sickness.

Besides, she couldn't be pregnant. Redlin, then a junior, was a star softball player, a talented three-sport athlete with a promising athletic future. How would it look if someone with all that going for her turned up pregnant?

What would her friends think? Her coach, her teammates? And how would her parents react?

No, it was better that she wasn't pregnant, Redlin told herself.

So that's what she believed.

``I was so scared, I just kept thinking it would go away,'' said Redlin, whose daughter recently celebrated her first birthday. ``I know it sounds kind of stupid, but I was so afraid of what would happen, what people would say, that I just denied it and put it out of my mind.''

Redlin fooled everyone, including her parents. Such behavior isn't unusual, though, especially for a teen-ager. For a young girl facing a pregnancy, there are enormous issues to deal with, including the perceived loss of respect from family and friends, their identity as a young girl and the freedom of being a teen-ager.

``And very often, there is a huge amount of shame that still exists that a young woman may feel in terms of being pregnant,'' said Dr. Sandra Kagan, an Encino marriage-and-family therapist. ``There are many people in our culture who become extremely judgmental in this type of situation.''

The dangerous charade would have continued had Redlin's own conscience not interceded.

``I knew it was time to deal with it, even though I was still very scared,'' she said.

Today, Redlin and her family are fine. She is going to Cal State Northridge in the fall, where she hopes to play for the Matadors. Whether or not she plays, she is determined to earn a degree, maybe become a nurse.

She knows how lucky she is. ``There are a lot of girls who aren't as fortunate,'' she said.

And a lot of softball teams, too.

``She got us out of a couple of jams and we needed that,'' Ludlow said. ``Obviously Ashley is a big reason why we are back in the final. She's done a tremendous job.''

Who: El Camino Real vs. Carson

What: City Championship

Where: UCLA

Time: 4:30 p.m.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

PHOTO (1--Color) Ashley Redlin, with a 16-3 record, has pitched ECR into today's City Championship final at UCLA.

Eric Grigorian/Special to the Daily News

(2) El Camino Real star pitcher Ashley Redlin holds her 1-year-old daughter Maddisyn, with parents Dwayne and Lori in the background.

John Lazar/Daily News