Cal Lutheran Is Underarmed by Loss of Peppi

Don’t expect to see Kim Peppi on the mound if the Cal Lutheran softball team reaches the NAIA District III championship Saturday. Peppi, who has 12 wins and three saves this season, will be in her cousin’s wedding. After all, it is spring.

Instead, she will pitch at 2 this afternoon when 18th-ranked Cal Lutheran meets the winner of the first-round game between St. Mary’s and Azusa Pacific in the three-team, double-elimination tournament at Cal Lutheran.

“It’s very frustrating for me, but that’s just the way it is,” Coach Carey Snyder said. “I have a feeling we’re going to miss her this weekend, but I hope not.”

Peppi will leave after Friday’s game but will be available to pitch should Cal Lutheran (31-14, 19-2 in District III) advance to next week’s regional championships. Peppi’s departure will not leave Cal Lutheran unarmed. Snyder will have the services of Dee Pilkington (13-6), a freshman with an 0.80 earned-run average, and senior Becky Wolfe, 6-2 with a 1.16 ERA.

Peppi (12-6, 1.24) has only one loss against District competition and is the team’s best pitcher in the clutch, Snyder said.

“Kim has been kind of a cornerstone,” Snyder said. “She’s carried a lot of the responsibility for the pitching. She’s very capable at handling pressure situations.”

She proved that in last season’s District championship final.

Peppi, who had pitched the day before and the morning of the final, relieved Wolfe in the fifth inning with none out and runners on first and second. Peppi retired the next three batters and protected a one-run lead to preserve the victory.

With the addition of Pilkington, though, this season has been relatively free of pressure for Peppi.

“It’s been a little bit easier because of the three-way rotation,” she said. “Last year it was just me and Becky. After pitching the first game, I had to be ready to relieve if there were problems.”

Even though the pitching problems have been resolved, the defense has brought trouble this season. For instance, three freshmen have started in the outfield since senior center fielder Karen Sauver broke her leg seven games ago when she stepped awkwardly on first base.

When she isn’t pitching, Pilkington plays center field. When Pilkington is on the mound, freshman Danielle Piotrowski starts. Despite their inexperience, the foursome of Pilkington, Piotrowski, Kelly Ingram and Ann Swinehart have committed only 10 errors. The rest of the defense has 51 errors this season.

Freshmen have contributed heavily at the plate. Third baseman Jamie Sharp is batting .352 with 2 doubles, 1 triple and 11 runs batted in; Swinehart (.318) leads the team in doubles (6), triples (4), home runs (4) and RBIs (28); Ingram is batting .274 and Pilkington .278.

Wolfe is the team’s top batter with a .389 average and 24 RBIs.

Peppi is batting .302 with 2 doubles, 2 triples, 1 home run and 22 RBIs. In addition to playing softball, she also produced on the basketball court, breaking school career scoring (1,523) and rebounding (754) records last season.

Participating in two sports has demanded much of her time, but she has maintained a 3.2 grade-point average as a computer science major and said she has been offered a job as a programmer at Rockwell International upon graduation.

Until then, Peppi is looking toward the national championships.

“At the beginning, I was a little worried because there were so many freshmen starting,” she said. “But everything seems to be balancing out. It seems very attainable right now.”