2011 SOFTBALL PREVIEW John Glenn,Norwalk, Valley Christian

By Loren Kopff

JOHN GLENN LADY EAGLES
(8-14 overall last season, 2-10 in the Suburban League)
Head coach: Armando Sarinana (second season, 8-14)
Team’s record previous five seasons: 22-85
Last time made the playoffs: 1990
Key losses: Jennifer Alvarez, Vanessa Castro
Projected starting lineup:
P-Denise Ponce (JR)/Desiree Hindman (JR)
C-Karla Lomeli (SR)/Brianna Ruiz (FR)
1B-Vanessa Mojica (JR)/Lomeli
2B-Jessica Amaya (SR)/Ruiz
3B-Ruiz
SS-Hindman/Ponce
OF-Gabby Cruz (SO)
OF-Denise Miranda (SO)
OF-Valeria Ortega (FR)
The Lady Eagles started last season strong, winning six of their first seven games including the Pioneer Tournament. But head coach Armando Sarinana saw his team open the league season with Mayfair and La Mirada in back to back weeks and it went downhill from there.
“I think these girls were very excited coming out of the gates,” Sarinana said. “They did very well, taking the Pioneer Tournament and letting people know that they’re going to be competitive. But when it came down to league, they got the jitters seeing the big names like Mayfair and La Mirada.”
He added that his team got a lot of respect from the rest of the league and feels his team can challenge for a playoff spot. He said his goals are to let people know last year wasn’t a fluke and to limit the errors.
There weren’t too many hitting stars on this team but Cruz batted .385 and anchors the outfield. She moves from center to left but Sarinana said the entire outfield can be juggled. Ponce is improving but can still give the better hitters of the league some problems with her speed.
“She’s getting stronger; we’ve been doing a lot of conditioning with her, getting her legs stronger,” Sarinana said. “So, she has been throwing a little bit harder. We’ve been working on different pitches, to be able to get the movement, not just to stick to a fastball or stick to a certain changeup.”
Seniors Jessica Diaz and Victoria Acosta are two other newcomers.

NORWALK LANCERS
(11-16 overall last season, 5-7 in the Suburban League, tied for fourth place)
Head coach: Isaac Galvez (first season)
Team’s record previous five seasons: 81-54
Last time made the playoffs: 2009
Key losses: Jordan Ancona, Courtney Fischer, Elizabeth Jimenez
Projected starting lineup:
P-Vanessa Venagas (JR)/Kassandra Caro (SR)
C-Crystal Cano (SO)/Samantha Lujan (FR)
1B-Martha Camacho (SO)/Cano
2B-Viviana Gomez (FR)/Alexis Velazquez (SR)
3B-Claudia Torres (SR)/Cano
SS-Anai Zarate (SR)/Gomez
OF-Jasmine Valenzuela (SR)
OF-Lorraine Fitzgerald (SR)
OF-Jenny Vasquez (FR)
Head coach Isaac Galvez replaces Paulette Gasporra and inherits a team that lost only three players to graduation but also a team that missed the playoffs due to a tiebreaking rule with Cerritos. Now, the Lancers are determined to get back to the playoffs with a mixture of experienced players and rookies.
“I’m really excited about being here,” Galvez said. “It’s something that when the opportunity came up, I had to do it. I’ve been coaching in the community for 10 years. A lot of these girls I’ve known since they were three years old. For me it was an opportunity to come in here and bring the program to what it can be.”
Caro (4-2, two saves last season) and Venegas (7-11) will split the pitching duties and for the most part, Cano will catch Caro while up and coming Lujan will plate Venegas. Caro leads all returning players with a .345 average last season. The left side of the infield might be one of the best in the league with power and speed. Last season, the Lancers stole 56 bases Galvez said Gomez can play virtually any position except pitch and he expects his team to finish first or second in the league.
“I know individual players and I still have Marty Fitzgerald and George Duran as my coaches,” Galvez said. “I depend on them a lot on information as far as who we’re going to face and what we need to prepare for. I do know some of the key players from La Mirada and I hear about Cerritos. They had a good offense last year.”

VALLEY CHRISTIAN LADY CRUSADERS (18-9 overall last season, 6-2 in the Olympic League, co-champions, lost to South Hills 10-3 in Division V quarterfinals)
Head coach: Bill Snyder (first season)
Team’s record previous five seasons: 66-65-2
Last time missed the playoffs: 2008
Key losses: Lina Avila, Louisa Bakker, Emily Craig, Lexie Snyder
Projected starting lineup:
P-McKenzie Goff (JR)/Kelsey Hughes (JR)/Madison Garcia (SO)
C-Kelyn Struiksma (JR)
1B-Vanessa Sanchez (JR)
2B-Taylor Winters (SO)/Hannah Prewitt (JR)
3B-Bri Dupuy (JR)
SS-Leanne Garrels (SO)
OF-Ashley Snyder (JR)
OF-Ashley Oxley (SR)
OF-Garcia
Lately, the pattern at V.C. has been a head coach for every two seasons as Snyder is the school’s sixth head coach since 2001. He replaces Rich Avila but his biggest battle will be getting the team to put behind the graduation of last season’s battery, plus its center fielder.
“We had a great season last year and the year prior, we kind of had a rebuilding season,” Snyder said. “We’ve had some excellent seniors graduating who have helped us a lot but we’re trying not to look at that. We look at this team as a younger team with a lot of juniors and sophomores with playoff experience. We like our chances and we think we’ll be competitive this year.”
Goff will now get the majority of time inside the circle while Struiksma has a tall task to replace the shoes of Craig. Goff posted a 2.21 ERA last season and picked up six victories, most of them early on in the 2010 campaign. Despite being the league co-champions, none of the returning players batted over .300. Dupuy and Garrels are solid on the left side while the right side is new as Winters spent some time at third last season.
One of the biggest thrills for a team which won six of its last seven regular season games is the return of Oxley, who has missed the past two and a half seasons due to an injury. As a freshman, she batted .281 and stole 10 bases but played in just 10 games as a sophomore.
“She has an excellent bat and has great speed,” Snyder said. “She’s a base running threat. She does a lot of things and she’s going to be real simple for our offensive attack this year.”