SOFTBALL: Ready to make her pitch
South Pasadena's Parada helps make Tigers No. 1
Here is the 2008 softball preview courtesy of Keith Lair.
Above: South Pasadena's Nichole Parada. (Staff Photo by Walt Mancini)
STAR-NEWS TOP 10
1. South Pasadena (16-11)
2. Alverno (23-6)
3. Temple City (17-12)
4. Monrovia (21-4-1)
5. Arcadia (21-6)
6. Keppel (11-8)
7. Maranatha (9-13)
8. Pasadena Poly (12-10)
9. Marshall (11-14)
10. Flintridge Sacred Heart (9-11)
Others to watch
La Salle
By Keith Lair, Staff Writer
Nichole Parada and Michelle Escamilla once were teammates on a travel softball team.
One would pitch the first game and the other would pitch the second. They now are seniors, and their best seasons are in front of them.
But they no longer are teammates. South Pasadena High School's Parada will be one of the top players in the ultra-competitive Rio Hondo League and Escamilla hopes to lead Alverno to another Horizon League title.
But it's tough to win a league title, let alone score a repeat.
Parada's difficult trek goes through Monrovia, Temple City, San Marino and La Ca ada. There are tough battles in other leagues, too.
Here's the preseason Top 10:
No. 1 South Pasadena
Tigers coach Mike Williams said he wouldn't trade his top pitcher for anybody.
"Nichole is going to be Nichole," Williams said. "She's going to give it her all. I would take 10 of her if I could."
Parada had a 0.63 ERA last season with 190 strikeouts and 27 walks. The four-year starter was 15-8.
"Our pitching and our defense will keep us in games," Williams said.
Yes, opponents are going to hit the ball. And with nearly everyone returning, the Tigers have an excellent chance to keep base runners to a minimum. The Tigers lost only one senior, third baseman Cassie Gogreve, who was last year's leading hitter on a team that went 16-11.
The infield revolves around sophomore Shelby Gogreve, Michelle Mun and Amanda Castro.
"It starts with pitching, but if you don't have a defense behind her, you're in trouble," Williams said. "And we can't have kids hitting .188 and expecting to start. We have to fill up numbers. We did not have enough key hits last year. I know we've worked very hard on our offense."
Parada's younger sister, freshman Laura, will be on the team, but will not start. She may, however, see playing time.
Williams said it will be important to not look past teams such as La Canada.
"If you look on paper, it's Temple City and us, but everybody has a chance to step up," Williams said. "If we can do what we're capable of doing, we'll be very successful."
No. 2 Alverno
The Sierra Madre school is one of the smallest in the area. But the Jaguars expect to come up big on the field this season.
Escamilla, one of the most dominant pitchers in the east San Gabriel Valley last season, is back. So are four seniors who helped Alverno reach the CIF-Southern Section Division VI semifinals last season, where the Jaguars lost to Riverside Christian, 3-1.
"Pretty much our entire team is coming back," coach Frank Russo said. "We're going to be a young old team. Our expectations are pretty high because the girls know what they can do."
Escamilla and Co. had a 23-6 record last season to win the Horizon League. The senior had a 0.85 ERA with 294 strikeouts and 27 walks in 146 innings. Escamilla also batted .450 with 37 RBIs.
The only loss, Russo said, will be at first base, where junior Barbara Parker is expected to fill the void.
The Jaguars are solid up the middle with sophomore Lauren Sanchez, who batted .434 with 26 RBIs and five homers, at shortstop and junior Amanda Mowery, who hit .381 with 20 RBIs last season, at second base. Sarah Trevino, who hit .361, is back at catcher. Also among the heavy hitters will be senior Emillie Casalegno and senior Michelle Baroldo.
"We're not bad for only having a couple of players who play travel ball," Russo said.
The key, of course, will be Escamilla.
"She does have a lot of strikeouts per innings and she does whatever you ask of her," Russo said. "She works hard."
No. 3 Temple City
The Rams return every starter and definitely will make noise when Rio Hondo League play begins.
"Everyone has been waiting for this year," coach Bob Ellingsworth said. "They know this is the year that they have been waiting for."
Temple City went 17-12 and reached the CIF-SS Division V quarterfinals last season.
"Our strength is depth," Ellingsworth said. "From spots eight, nine, 10, 11, we're very strong. The bottom of our batting order - seven, eight and nine - are very good hitters."
The Rams will be pitching by committee. Melissa Vega and newcomer Kelsey Hardwick, up from junior varsity, will lead the mound corps.
Kaitlin Ellingworth and Veronica Grant also are two of the Rams' top players.
No. 4 Monrovia
The 2007 Rio Hondo League champions are ready to reload.
The Wildcats lost five starters, including twins Krissy and Courtney Mihm, Katie McWhirter and pitcher Brittany Bateson from a 21-4-1 team.
"The girls who played behind them are now able to step up and fill those roles," coach Randy Medina said. "They will have to make it their own role."
The changes definitely will put pressure on the Wildcats when league play begins. Medina expects his team to be up for the challenge.
"We still look at league as very competitive," Medina said. "It should be a good, strong league."
Senior Lexi Long will play catcher after batting .303 last season.
Brooke Cowell is expected to make a big impact at first base. Shannon Brooks will start for the third year in the outfield, along with sophomore Desiree Milosavlijevic.
Medina inherited another set of twins and predicted they'll see plenty of playing time. Freshman Cari Williams will be on the mound and her sister, Kelly, will share catching duties with Long. When Williams is catching, Long will be playing shortstop.
"League will be difficult," Medina said. "Our seniors need to take the lead."
No. 5 Arcadia
The Jenna Rodriguez era is over. So is the Ed Andersen era.
But that's the nature of high school softball. Rodriguez, this newspaper's player of the year, graduated. Coach Andersen went on to new exploits.
"Every year, you change people," new Apaches coach Megan Leahy said.
"That's just the nature of what it is."
There is some continuity. Leahy was with the program last year and played catcher for the Apaches through 2002.
The Apaches will go with pitcher Patricia Stark, who was on the JV team last season. If it wasn't for Rodriguez, Stark probably would have had a big hand in the Apaches' 21-6 season last year.
"We're definitely excited," Leahy said. "We expect competitive softball at Arcadia, and we will, with everyone working together."
The Apaches do have very good players returning. There's infielder Dusty Gibbs, who batted .309 last year. She was an All-Area first team selection. There's also Samantha Miller, who batted .462 with 16 RBIs, Caitlin Grimes, who hit .373, and Monique Vallejo.
"We're going to look to the seniors to step up," Leahy said.
No. 6 Keppel
The area's best hitter and middle of the defense is back on the field, thanks to the Cajon basketball team, which defeated the Aztecs in the girls basketball playoffs. Second baseman Tiffany Rubin and shortstop Courtney Hirose, members of the Aztecs basketball team, will be anchoring a team that coach Bobby Madrid expects to go far this year.
Rubin led the area in hitting last year with a .548 batting average.
She had 10 home runs, 35 RBIs, six triples and four doubles on a team that went 11-8.
"I expect she probably won't get very many good looks this year," Madrid said. "But she'll adjust. She's a good enough player."
The Aztecs only need to find replacements at first and third base. Junior Justine Morin returns for her third season on the mound. Last year, she had a 3.50 ERA with 79 strikeouts and 49 walks in 114 innings.
"I think we can challenge for the league title this year," Madrid said. "I'd be very disappointed if we don't."
Junior Angie Yeh, who batted .333, is back at catcher.
No. 7 Maranatha
The Minutemen, thanks to three returning seniors and five returning juniors, appear ready to make a move.
Seniors Alex Hillier (.446, 18 RBIs), Laura Kiralla and Kimi Van Spronsen and juniors Kimmie Sommers and outfielder Marnie Hillier are expected to produce big results for a team that went 9-13 last year.
Sommers batted .343 and will take over the bulk of the pitching duties. She had a 3.02 ERA with 25 strikeouts and two walks last year.
Her freshman sister, Annie, will start at shortstop and junior Nicolby Atallah also may pitch.
"I think we're ready to challenge," coach Becca Krueger said. "Everything looks pretty promising.
No. 8 Pasadena Poly
The Panthers did not lose any players and have three seniors on their team.
Was it mentioned that Poly is young?
But then, that means everybody returns from a team that went 12-10 last season.
"What I expect from this group this year is a maturity at the varsity level," coach Jeff Taylor said. "I think that year of experience should be just right for this team. We have a great group of kids."
Senior Jordan Richard-Craven batted .437 with 18 RBIs last season.
Kate Hanel and catcher Christina Garza are expected to do well.
The Panthers will be going with three pitchers: freshman Stephanie Tercero, sophomore Michelle Tanner and sophomore Mimi Bea. Tanner pitched 42 innings last year and was 3-4. She also batted .419 with 21 RBIs.
Ally Latta, a junior, will be at second base. She spent most of last year pitching and had a 2.28 ERA and 7-5 record. Sophomore Megan Latta will be at shortstop.
"Our infield will be very good, and we're really strong up the middle," Taylor said. "We're very young, but a very good young team.
"After last year, everyone knows anything can happen and that gives us an advantage. Once we settled in, we played pretty well. I think the timing is for us to take that next step."
No. 9 Marshall
The Eagles have sent at least one player into a four-year college program the last two seasons, and coach Jason Taylor said one of his best prospects is a senior.
Taylor expects big things from left-handed catcher Jazmin Hernandez. Last season, she batted a team-high .357.
"She's our marquee player," he said. "We expect big things out of her. She hits with power, she's got speed and she can drag bunt."
Hernandez is one of seven starters returning to a team that went 11-14 last year. They lost their second baseman when she decided she did not want to play this year and then lost their pitcher, Maurae Baker, who transferred. The Eagles, however, did gain a pitcher with experience in Erika James, a sophomore who transferred in from Immaculate Hear.
"We got lucky on our pitching," Taylor said.
Another newcomer is freshman Jennifer Jimenez, who will step in at second base.
"She has a quick release and decent speed," Taylor said.
Samantha Camerano and Tawny Lamar will be in the outfield. Camerano batted .296 last season.
"It will be a matter of producing on offense," Taylor said. "We hope to do well in league, although we know Paraclete is tough. We're ready to go at it."
No. 10 Flintridge Sacred Heart
The Tologs lost eight seniors and their head coach, but return their top pitcher, Jessica Ferri, and two coaches familiar with the program: Mary Schneiders and Kirk Nishayama.
Ferri, a junior, had a 0.89 ERA with 112 strikeouts and nine walks last year. She was 6-8 on a team that finished 9-11.
Schneiders was an assistant coach last season and is a graduate of FSHA.
She will work with Nishiyama, who coached Schneiders in high school and also is the cross country coach.
Seniors Amy Leos and Erin Scharre return as well. Leos batted .410 last year with six home runs. Taylor Crotty and catcher Meghan Luera figure to step into starting roles.
"We've learned a lot," Schneiders said of the Tologs' weekend scrimmages. "But we don't know who's going to be batting where or any of that stuff."
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Melendez worked as a correspondent for the San Gabriel Valley Tribune for three years and later landed a job as a freelance writer at the Los Angeles Times before accepting an offer at The Orange County Register covering high schools. Melendez covered Major League Soccer at The Register for three years before being promoted to report on the Lakers, Angels and Dodgers for the Web. Melendez also worked for the Daytona Beach News-Journal, Fresno Bee, Oakland Tribune and The Boston Globe. E-mail opinions, suggestions and tips to miguel.melendez@sgvn.com. |
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Forget the scrimmages, what are the scheduled non-league games this weekend?
Monrovia plays LaSalle today and Marshall tomorrow in the Duarte tournament.
SP goes to OC to play Sunny Hills in the Brea Olinda tournament on Saturday.
LaSalle plays Baldwin Park in the Duarte tournament tomorrow.
San Marino plays San Gabriel today.
Alverno plays Sacred Heart today and Gladstone tomorrow. (pay close attention, today may be Alverno's toughest game all year.)
Who does Temple City and Maranantha and Keppel play this weekend? How did Arcadia do against Chino Hills?
Oh, that's the reason why ... ya right
Here is why there are few scrimmage scores offered. It's a training session, so coaches are experimenting. Even the officials are practicing. Here is what CIF says about them: An interscholastic scrimmage is a training session between a minimum of two and a maximum of three schools where no score is kept, free substitution and
time outs are permitted, spectators are not urged to attend, and officials are not paid.
What are good tournaments besides the Duarte tournament?
any pre-season scrimmage scores?
It will certainly be an interesting game on Friday between Flintridge Sacred Heart and Alverno. Michelle Escamilla vs Jessica Ferri.
This a true pitchers dual. Both of these teams rely almost completely on their pitchers to win games.
Last season was a great 3 horse race in Rio Hondo between (Mon, SP, and TC). This year's Monrovia team is nowhere near the same team as last season. Monrovia graduated at least 6 or 7 great players after last season. Definitely a rebuilding year for them this season. The common opinion is that Rio Hondo is a 2 horse race this year between TC and SP. Also, a very big rebuilding year for Arcadia too. Pulling a win off of Monrovia or Arcadia isn't as big a challenge as the previous couple of years.
Typically it starts with a good pitcher but:
ok pitching with a great supporting cast of great fielding, hitting, and
coaching can emerge as a leader
likewise, great pitching with a weak supporting cast of weak fielding,
hitting, and coaching can struggle
It is also my opinion that there are extremely HUGE differences in the
levels of competition from one league to the next in the area leagues. That sentiment is supported by fact, you see the non-league games that are blowouts every year between area teams in different leagues (however, within each league they are reasonably competitive with each other, but there are examples of blowouts there too, just not as significant or frequent). I don't think you will ever get the teams of the less competitive leagues to agree to and ultimately enter a "PSN top 10 tournament". Certainly a very reasonable suggestion, but you can read these intense responses from
opposing posters. I guess I can't blame their reaction, but it shouldn't
lead to pathetic rants (i.e., Anon 12:23) with attacks on imaginary foes. The Duarte Tournament is made for this level of team from these leagues and it is doubtful that you'll ever see them challenge themselves beyond a tournament like Duarte ... but that's okay (but keep it positive and restrain the personal attacks and agendas).
Then there is CV, and my bet is it wasn't their first choice to play in the
Duarte Tournament. I believe this is their 1st time and my guess is they are only playing in the Duarte Tournament because they got bumped from a tournament that matched their level of play. My bet is they will blowout all of the competition, maybe there will be a surprise or 2, in the Duarte
Tournament ... but one thing is for sure: the sun will still rise the next
day.
I hope all the kids have a great time this season.
The results of the South Pas pre-season scrimmage was posted below. How did the other Top 9 do in their pre-season scrimmages this week?
Did any Top 10 play each other?
Also, were there any noteable performances, amongst the Top 10 in particular?
Shame on you 12:23 post:
Wow!!! ... Sounds like someone has an axe to grind with a Sacred Heart kid. I wouldn't make assumption as to who makes a post, nor would I air your own personal issues to a public blog. It just looks silly! I think the 11:38 post is from a Rio Hondo team anyway. That's what they seemed to know the most about. And not only appeared to be very knowledgeable, but also very factual (and in my opinion, very accurate). Not to mention, they kept it positive. The only mention was Sacred Heart is a small school in the Mission League, which in fact is a very good league with bigger schools ... all very accurate. And I saw no mention or debate about Sacred Heart's ranking from the 11:38 post, or any post for that matter. And where did your whole issue about a "summer team" come from? 12:23 post, dare I say your rants, really appear as some wierd jealousy or insecurity. As the 11:38 post said, Temple City, and South Pas are the early votes for the top teams, and the Rio Hondo and Mission leagues are stronger than the other area leagues. But play on the field with the kids will ultimately decide, but a Pasadena Star News Top 10 Tournament is a great idea. And as far as college scholarships, it wasn't mentioned either by the 11:38 post, nor are college scholarship decide from high school play anyway, and are especially not decided or influenced by local newspaper press or rankings, or on a public blog.
Lastly, none of this is truly anonomous, because every post is recorded with an IP address which is very easily trackable ... so, be careful with what you say and I wouldn't post anything that I wouldn't say to someone's face.
I went to watch La Canada beat Burroughs yesterday 6-1. Burroughs played well they just have below average pitching.
LC pitched 4 pitchers two of them freshmen who look really good. A lot of pop on the ball. Rumour has it that Dan "Pad your Stats of the D1 players on your team" Berry was in the stands scouting. He is the head coach of the strongest team in the area and thought it would be a good idea to inter the always week Duarte tournament. Not sure what he's is worried about.
Both teams played well on defence and their was 2 K's all day. Most girls put the ball in play.
If La Canada freshman pitchers continue to play high school ball they could be good for a long time. LC doesn't have one senior starting so next year may be there year. The starting pitcher for last year J.V. team has already quit and the "First Team All League Catcher" from the varsity quit as well. This is LaCanada's fifth head coach in five years.
My daughter is a senior and it's not looking good for playing time.
They are brutal!!!All the mommys and daddys are looking out for their little girls - they want that scholarship!
Geez. You softball bloggers are BRUTAL!
Shame on you! This was a PRESEASON poll! Don't get your short hairs up because your "tiny Sac. Heart" didn't rate very high.
Time will show who the top players (and teams) are. Monrovia had a great team and TWO great pitchers last year and thus medina was a great coach. Now what? Same for SP. It's easy to be a good coach with a great pitcher. Who's a better coach: one that wins with a great pitcher or one that wins with an average pitcher?
Hey Anon 11:38:
It sounds like you got ticked off because your team didn't rank that well in this top 10? My guess is you are NOT a SP fan but a FSH dad? That's really not that important but your suggestion shows your ignorance of HS Softball. Teams are booked up at this point so to suggest an "April" or "March" tournament at this time is well...silly.
By the way,how would you know who the best coaches are and what are the toughest leagues? That Mission league of yours (where "tiny Sac.Heart plays")is no tougher than say the Olympic League or the top Pacific league teams. Don't believe me go ask Monrovia fans. Before you put your foot-in-mouth any deeper take a look at CIF Championships before you bash a league or pat yourself on the back.
Now I happen to think Scott hit the nail right on the head: Parada and Escamilla are the two best pitchers in the area Hands Down! I do think TC was ranked a little too low and Monrovia a little too high but for the most part a very good FIRST top 10 of a very young season.
A "true Travel ball" player should use that time to get better not pad a resume. Let's not live off a summer teams reputation but judge this HS season on THIS HS season!
Keep up the good work PSN
Reports on any other scrimmiges?
I wouldn't assume think the 11:38 post yesterday was necessarily from South Pas. Was very balanced and based on acurrate facts. Actually Temple City seemed to be their pick (you'd never get that from a South Pas fan). Whoever, they really know what they are talking about and are very knowledgeable! 12:09, rather than simply stating they are ignorant, it would be interesting to hear why you disagree.
Anon 12:09
I dont know, he/she (11:38) seemed relatively impartial and called for a tournament for the top teams in our area to play each other. I don't think that idea will work, but I do think that
(11:38) was knowledgable enough to have a valid opinion. As a matter of fact (11:38)'s opinion was much better stated than yours was.
The 11:38am post shows that ignorance is bliss and the poster knows little about softball outside of South Pasadena.
This comes up every year but it never happens because teams that don't go to Duarte may like the tournaments they are already in. Plus, in order to be in good tournaments you have to register a year early. So even if you were going to do it it would have to be for next year and ready for registration pretty soon.
There are no strong high school tournaments in this area. Other than only a couple of teams ... the competition is very weak at the Duarte Tournament and there are always a lot of blowout scores and numerous unfielded ground balls through the infield that are scored as homeruns (that would have been fielded as groundouts by competetive teams. A top 10 tournament is a GREAT idea.
Also, I think the 11:38 am post was dead on and extremely incietful.
SP beat Montebello in a scrimmage
11-1 today.
That is not a strong tournament. There are some good teams there but there are some not so good ones too. If scores are like 20-0 then teams are outmatched. And those types of scores happen all the time.
A Star-News tournament would be nice, but there are already strong tournaments in the area, such as the one at Duarte High School.
Anonymous11:38AM---posting a term paper on a girl's softball blog might be a violation of your restraining order.
Thanks Scott. What about the post that suggested a Pasadena Star News Top 10 Tournament in the next month or 2?
The top 10 before teams even take the field is not a perfect science. And, yes, it does create discussion. But unless a team is hoisting a CIF trophy at the end of the year, the top 10 is not meant to be taken to Vegas.
One way to discuss would be to put your own top 10.
I meant wooohooo!
The teams that dominate are the ones with the best pitching: S. Pas, Alverno, and Sacred Heart. Temple City will give S. Pas a run for their money in the “Rio Hondo” League because of all their very strong returning players (most of which play "real" travel ball year round). Although S. Pas has an excellent pitcher, she doesn’t have the advantage of the catcher she had last season, who’s now a college catcher for a nationally ranked D1 university which will be a little adjustment for her and their team. Also, the very aggressive Temple City softball team has the best High School Coach around, and S. Pas's Coach is very good too. It will be a dog fight in the “Rio Hondo” league between those 2 teams. Point of note, you really have to give those 2 Coaches a lot of credit because they really challenge there teams with very challenging non-league schedules and the far more competitive Orange County high school tournaments.
By far, the most competitive Leagues around are "Rio Hondo" (where Tem. City and S. Pas plays), and "Mission" (where tiny Sac. Heart plays). The only meaningful competition for Arcadia in the "Pacific" is a very strong Crescenta Valley team (Side rhetorical question, why would a giant school like CV with a strong softball team made up of predominantly year round “real” travel ball players play in a tournament with the predominantly tiny schools (with very few “real” travel ball players) that are in the Duarte Tournament, other than to pad stats … for shame CV!)
Although Alverno's pitcher, Escamilla, is very good, they always field a few other good players, and have a dedicated and decent coach … the "Horizon" is a very weak league. It would be fun to see a very good pitcher like her be challenged more often with competition like the "Rio Hondo" and "Mission" leagues.
Alverno’s “Horizon”, Keppel’s “Almont”, Maranatha’s “Olympic”, Poly’s “Prep”, and Marshall’s “Alpha” leagues are no where near the level of pitching and overall relative competiveness as the “Rio Hondo” and “Mission” leagues. It makes “top ten rankings” and statistical comparisons very misleading.
There will certainly be the uninformed pundits who will enter their non-factual opinions on this blog doing their off-field promotions of their teams and leagues, which is great as long as everyone keeps it positive. I have a suggestion on how to determine accurate comparisons between teams … Scott and Keith, how about the “Pasadena Star News” creating a late March or early April tournament which is exclusively made up of these “top 10 area teams” (maybe extend it to the “top 16” for 4 brackets of 4 teams). It would be great to have a true tournament of 3 game pool play, followed by single elimination bracket play of the winner of each pool. That would make the “Pasadena Star News top ten” far more credible and meaningful.
this top 10 is made with absolutely no recognition or accurate understanding of strength of schedule. It is more to create discussion, give broad representation, and promotion to sell papers.
To say "Whoooo!" on this blog when Prada is mentioned as an excellent pitcher is ignorance. I have no idea how "nice a kid" she is ... but I can tell you she is "nasty" (and I mean that in a good way) as a pitcher!!!
That's what makes these rankings ridiculous because there are huge differences in the levels of competition within each of the leagues represented in this so called “top 10”.
Take a look at the local teams' schedules. Those teams that challenge themselves in their non-league games will be the ones that are still around in the end. Losses against higher division and generally stronger teams may cost them in local polls but they will be the ones that are prepared for League and CIF.
S.P.'s Parada is a nice kid and hard worker.
Whoooo!