The Best of Times: : Fountain Valley’s Lea Young Back on the Softball Field After Suffering Through Worst of Times With Injuries

The worst of times may finally have come to an end for Lea Young.

With one diving flop Tuesday, Young, a third baseman on the Fountain Valley High School softball team, seemed to purge the frustration of a long season cut short.

It happened in the seventh inning of the Barons’ 1-0 victory over Cerritos in the Southern Section 4-A semifinals. With no outs and nobody on, Cerritos pitcher Brenna Zetzman hit a hard ground ball into the gap between Young and shortstop Shelly Mardon. It looked to be a hit and the beginning of a possible Cerritos rally.

But Young dived to her left and, with her left arm outstretched, caught the ball in the webbing of her glove. In one swift motion she sprang to her feet and threw out Zetzman at first.

The play seemed to take all the fight out of Cerritos. The victory put Fountain Valley (25-4) in the 4-A final against St. Joseph Saturday at 8 p.m. at Mayfair Park in Lakewood.

The play also sent Young on a trans-infield flight, bestowing high fives on anyone with a spare hand. There were plenty.

It was not an ordinary extraordinary play. It was vindication for Lea Young.

Tuesday was only the 10th game she has played in this season.

After being named Sunset League Most Valuable Player as a sophomore, after another outstanding season as a junior, things took a painful turn and didn’t really get back to normal until Tuesday.

There was a back injury, a leg injury and a 104-degree fever.

Injuries took her off the field and put her on the bench, where a scorebook and a pencil replaced her glove and bat as standard game equipment.

“I really came to hate going to games,” she said. “I knew I’d have to sit on the bench. I felt so helpless. And I really came to hate scorekeeping.”

For her first three seasons at Fountain Valley, it seemed Young could do just about anything on a softball field by simply willing it.

Play the infield? Sure. Outfield? No problem. Catcher? Piece of cake.

She could play any position--save pitcher--and play it well. Her first three seasons brought accolades and attention. She’ll attend Utah State on a softball scholarship next season.

Her problems began when she left the softball field and played basketball.

“It was just for fun,” she said. “I’m nowhere near as serious about basketball as I am about softball.”

Serious or not, it was on the hardwood last season that she injured her back and sustained a stress fracture of her right leg. When softball season rolled around, she wasn’t able to play.

She watched practice and watched preleague games. League play came and she sat, gnashed her teeth, and watched.

Times got so bad that even when things looked to be going right, they turned out wrong. Her back and leg healed sufficiently midway through league competition to allow her to play, but after playing a few games at third base, she was forced to miss three more games when she awoke one morning with a fever of 104 degrees.

“I was starting to think I was jinxed,” she said. “Every time I seemed to be making some progress something else would come by and knock me down.”

Young has been doing the knocking down as of late. Tuesday, Young made seven of the infield’s 12 outs.

“She can play anywhere, and she wants to play anywhere,” said Cary Baker, Fountain Valley coach. “I have confidence in her wherever she is. I’m just glad she’s out there again.”

So is Young.

“With the way the year started out and the way it finished, I can’t believe this is really happening to me,” she said. “I feel like I should pinch myself.”

Considering her recent health record, she may want to spare herself the pinch.

But with her back healed and her leg “90% healed,” Young is not so much thinking about her body as dreaming about what might be.

“Playing for the championship is the best thing that’s happened to me in softball. If we win it would be like a dream come true.”

The best of times.