Softball: Sarah Mesa takes over at La Palma Kennedy

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Sarah Mesa has been named the new softball coach at La Palma Kennedy, according to girls athletic director Janet Berardi.

Jami Shannon, who coached Kennedy since 2002 and spent 21 years before that at Los Alamitos, resigned because of personal reasons over the summer.

Mesa, a former all-league standout who graduated from Kennedy in 2000, has coached the Kennedy junior varsity team the last three years. She inherits a program that posted a 29-4 record and reached the Division II semifinals last spring. In 2007, the team advanced to the division title game.

In addition, the Fighting Irish opened up the 2008 season as the top-ranked softball team in the nation by Rivals.com.

Oh, and that’s a photo of Mesa turning a double play against El Dorado back in 1997.

-- Austin Knoblauch

-- Image from Los Angeles Times archives