VALENCIA SOFTBALL GAINING ELITE STATUS.

Byline: GERRY GITTELSON Community Sports

The Valencia High softball team is on a serious roll.

The Vikings (17-1), coming off Jordan Taylor's school-record 24- strikeout performance in a 7-0 victory over Burroughs of Burbank in 11 innings Tuesday, have won 11 in a row and have climbed to No. 7 in USA Today's national rankings and No. 1 in the state by Cal-Hi Sports.

Prior to this week, Valencia had never cracked USA Today's Super 25, and it isn't clear if any Foothill League team has done so in the past.

``It's really cool. To be No. 7 in the nation is awesome,'' Taylor said. ``One of the girls on the team even asked if there's a national tournament.''

No, there isn't a national tournament. In fact, Valencia, consistently one of the Southland's winningest teams during the regular season over the past five years, has never advanced past the Southern Section quarterfinals.

So the last thing coach Donna Lee wants to do is to look ahead.

``It's fantastic to be No. 7 in the nation or No. 1 in the state, but rankings don't mean anything until the end of the year,'' Lee said.

For now, Valencia is focused on a Foothill League showdown at 3:15 p.m. Thursday against visiting Saugus (14-3), which is ranked No. 15 in the state and has won nine of its past 10.

Taylor, a 6-foot-1 sophomore who is 11-1 with a 0.46 ERA and 125 strikeouts in 77 innings, is scheduled to start against Saugus. Also a nationally renowned travel-ball pitcher who has come on strong over the past few weeks of her first varsity season, Taylor is growing accustomed to the pressure - especially after recording two victories in one day (April 15) to carry Valencia to the championship of the competitive 32-team Woodbridge tournament in Irvine.

``Of course everyone is going to be shooting for us now,'' Taylor said. ``That can be intimidating but we're not going to let them do it.''

In the past, Valencia has been criticized for playing an easy nonleague schedule.

Not this year.

All but one of Valencia's nonleague opponents - Rio Mesa of Oxnard (5-6-2) - currently has a winning record. Valencia's only loss was a 1-0 loss to Chaminade of West Hills in nine innings on March 17, when Chaminade scored on a mental error by a Valencia infielder who mistakenly threw to first instead of home after fielding a sharp grounder with the bases loaded - presumably because she thought there were two outs.

``I think that loss to Chaminade was the turning point in our season. We needed one loss to be humble,'' Lee said. ``Now we know we can't just walk out there on the field and expect teams to roll over.''

Lee, who has been at Valencia for 10 years, would love nothing more than to win a section title in what is expected to be her final season. A family source has said Lee, who is also a full-time teacher on campus, has decided to retire after the season to spend more time with her husband and two young children, though Lee said she won't make an announcement until after the playoffs.

--After totaling just one RBI through the first five weeks of the baseball season, Hart High's Tyler Fick finally is breaking out.

The team's RBI leader with 25 a year ago, Fick has raised his average 80 points over the past two games to .289. In an 8-6 victory over Burroughs of Burbank on Thursday, the Cal State Northridge-bound senior was 3 for 4 with a home run, double and five RBI.

Just prior to the Burroughs game, Fick admitted he needed to improve his hitting - or face more games on the bench.

``I definitely haven't had as many at-bats this year, but I understand it's not up to me, it's up to the coach,'' Fick said. ``But I definitely want to bat.''

Fick certainly made a strong bid Thursday. It would be a surprise if he doesn't remain in the No. 3 spot in the batting order, even on days he pitches. As for his pitching, Fick is 4-1 with a 2.08 ERA, two saves and 35 strikeouts in 30 innings.

--Canyon High boys' track standout Paul Ned ran a wind-aided 10.4 100- meter dash against Valencia on Thursday, tying a 27-year-old school record. Ned's emergence has given Canyon a needed edge because the team's returning Foothill League champion sprinter, Daunte Davis, has been injured for most the season.

Davis, who is expected to compete in the long jump in a meet against Burroughs on Thursday, might return to sprinting for the league prelims, according to coach Paul Broneer. This figures to be Davis' last season at Canyon because his family is scheduled to move to Fontana after the semester.

--A group of Hart football players is scheduled to participate in a tug-of-war contest prior to the Arena Football League game between the L.A. Avengers and Arizona Wranglers at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Staples Center.

Tickets are available through Hart coach Mike Herrington, and a portion of the proceeds benefits the program. Information: [phone] or mherrington(at)hartdistrict.org.

--Trivia time: Who's the first player to score a touchdown in CaliFlorida Bowl? Answer: Manuel White. The former Valencia High star scored on a 1-yard run to spark California to a 21-11 victory over Florida in the inaugural game at the Rose Bowl on July 22, 2000. White also scored on a 13-yard reception that night.

--And finally, what ever happened happened to the practice of choking up on the bat with two strikes? You never see that in baseball or softball anymore.