Friendly Neighbor to Battle West’s Sister Act : Lead at Stake in Softball Clash of Unbeaten Bay League Foes

Torrance High’s Tami Ybarra will face two obstacles when she steps up to bat against West Torrance in today’s 3 p.m. showdown at Wilson Park in Torrance for first place in the Bay League softball race.

The first is West’s ace hurler Juanita Olloque, who has earned all four of West’s 1988 league wins with an assortment of tough pitches, including a seemingly bottomless drop.

The second? Olloque’s sister Rosa, West’s center fielder who also pitches. The sisters live across the street from Ybarra on Del Amo Boulevard. The three have been friends for years, and Ybarra finds it difficult to set aside her friendships when she plays against West.

“It’s terrible when I hit against Juanita,” Ybarra said. “You try not to think it’s your good friend pitching, but it’s so hard.”

If battling rival West for first place isn’t enough, the Tartars will have added incentive to beat West after the Warriors, with Juanita on the mound, tied Rolling Hills and Torrance for the top spot in 1987 league play with two wins over Torrance in the last week of the season.

The rivalry also stirs the Warriors, especially Juanita.

“When Juanita is on, we always win,” said West’s Michelle McCullough, who plays first base and has been friends with the Olloque sisters for three years. “That’s why our games with Torrance are so big. Juanita wants to beat (the Tartars) really bad.”

Most students who live on Del Amo Boulevard attend Torrance. The Olloque sisters go to West because their father works there and one brother and two sisters also attended West.

“I hate losing, especially to Torrance,” said Rosa, “because they always rub it in our faces.”

Both teams are 4-0 in league play. West trounced Palos Verdes, 12-2, and Torrance dumped North, 7-2, on Wednesday. Juanita and Torrance ace Jamie Sibley, who will pitch today, threw impressively in the victories.

Juanita has pitched for the varsity since her freshman year when she finished at 6-4. After a 10-9 sophomore season, she went 11-3 last year, throwing--and losing--a 12-inning, 1-0 squeaker to Santa Maria in the first round of the CIF playoffs. She is 5-2 this year and is two wins away from tying West’s career win record of 34 set by Rhonda Nelson, who graduated in 1984.

“I like pitching because it’s tougher than any other position,” Juanita said. “When you pitch, you get the ball and people count on you.”

Olloque uses a windmill wind-up but relies on breaking stuff because she realizes her velocity is not overpowering.

“I try as hard as I can to throw fast and yet (I’m) not as quick as some other people,” she said. “I like throwing a lot of junk. My favorite pitch is the drop because they don’treally see it and it gets most people out.”

Olloque is also a threat at the plate. She’s been third in the lineup since her .295 sophomore season. Last year she improved to .333 and this season she’s at .448 with 13 hits and 9 RBI in 29 at-bats.

West Coach Jim Carrico, who called Olloque his best hitter, counts on the 5-foot-8 senior for run production and likes her composure on the mound.

“Nothing rattles her,” Carrico said. “You get the same expression on her face regardless of the situation. When I play Torrance, I pitch Juanita, for sure.”

Olloque threw a no-hitter against North two weeks ago, fanning 12 Saxons in West’s 4-0 win. It was reported that Olloque had suffered a touch of the flu prior to the game, but North Coach Richard Rosato wasn’t convinced.

“I’d like to have her pitch 20 games for me if she is gonna throw like that when she’s sick,” Rosato said.

Rosa, who’s been pitching since she joined Juanita in a North Torrance league at age 8, is 2-0 this season. Their brother Manuel formerly pitched for Harbor College and sister Maria caught Juanita at West in Juanita’s freshman year.

Rosa, a 5-foot-4 sophomore who was named second-team all-Bay League in basketball, enjoys softball but hopes to earn a college basketball scholarship.

“My goal is to play in the Olympics,” she said.

With a pitching mound and a basketball court at home, Juanita and Rosa can get more than their share of practice. But Rosa said having those facilities isn’t always enough.

“At first, I didn’t do well in basketball because I was slacking at home,” she said. “When I play, I have to practice because if I don’t, I don’t play well.”

Although several coaches suggested that Juanita pitch in college, she wants to end her softball career at West.

“You won’t go anywhere by playing in college,” she said. “I won’t make any money playing sports, so why sacrifice making money, going out and having a good time?”

“We both feel that way,” adds Ybarra, Juanita’s friend of eight years. “Girls can’t be professionals, only guys can, so it’s better to get an education. I can’t see myself wasting the time to play in college.”

McCullough suggested that Juanita, who also plays basketball, is probably tired of sports after playing most of her life.

Higher on Juanita’s list of priorities is a buying a car, preferably a convertible. “But she has to get her license first,” McCullough said, laughing.

In the meantime, she goes cruising with Ybarra in her car. But Juanita won’t return the favor on the field.

“She can’t favor a friend (on an opposing team) when she is pitching,” Ybarra said. “When I hit against her, I try not to look because I’ll start laughing like crazy.”