The Colleges : Getherall Turns Little Ball Into Long Ball

Gary Torgeson, coach of the Cal State Northridge softball team, was convinced that the Lady Matadors would be well stocked in the power department this season.

But so far they have only two home runs in 46 games.

The first came from a surprising source: Anna Getherall, CSUN’s diminutive shortstop.

And it was more a result of brains than brawn.

With the outfield playing shallow, Getherall slapped one into a gap to earn an extra-base hit, then ran it into a home run by rounding third base without hesitation when the throw was cut off.

Northridge’s second home run was hit by Pam Smith last week against Santa Clara.

Smith accomplished her home run more conventionally.

“It didn’t go over a fence, but she hit it to a fence that was 420 feet away,” Torgeson said. “She blasted it.”

Power, plus: Getherall, who is 5-foot-2, may not be a bonafide slugger but her bat control and glove work make her invaluable for Northridge.

Getherall has already set a school record with 33 sacrifice bunts--three times the total of any teammate.

“Her role is to move (Lisa) Erickson around,” Torgeson said. “Erickson scored 13 runs at Hayward and basically that was because of Anna. She moved her along every time up.”

On defense Getherall, the daughter of a baseball coach, is as slick as they come. She has committed only nine errors in 149 chances while exhibiting outstanding range.

Miss versatility: Krista Miller is to softball what Jose Oquendo is to baseball. Miller, a junior, usually plays second base for Northridge. But on occasion, she has seen action at shortstop, third base and, yes, even pitcher.

Miller’s pitching debut came last week in a 5-2 loss to Santa Clara, a Division I team. She entered the game in the third inning and gave up only three hits and two unearned runs the rest of the way.

“She had never pitched before, but she did great,” Torgeson said. “She’s a very talented young woman. She plays like a champ wherever we put her.”

Long-lasting batteries: In a nonconference baseball game against Glendale on Wednesday, Los Angeles City used nine pitchers and three catchers. The marathon contest, played in sweltering heat, lasted 3 1/2 hours.

“(The pitching changes) made it tough for the umpires and everybody else,” said Glendale Coach Steve Coots, adding that no one was in the stands and that the few fans that did show were clustered under a tree about 400 feet from home plate. “(L.A. City) was much worse about it than we were.”

Not that much worse. The Vaqueros, who won, 9-7, used five pitchers and two catchers.

Second was first: Steve Hilty, the No. 2 player on the Occidental men’s tennis team, defeated Redlands’ Billy Andrews 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, last Saturday. Even though the Tigers (8-8 overall, 4-3 in conference play) lost the match, 7-2, Hilty’s win was somewhat of a coup. Redlands has traditionally dominated Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference competition.

“You could go back pretty far and never find an Oxy player beating a No. 1 or No. 2 Redlands player,” Occidental Coach Brian Newhall said. “Hilty has been our most valuable player.”

On the move: Rosa Jimenez apparently does not believe in staying in one place too long.

After leading the Cal Lutheran softball team in batting last season as a freshman, Jimenez transferred to Moorpark.

Now she has announced plans to accept a scholarship offer from Louisiana Tech and play for the Lady Techsters next season.

Jimenez, a pitcher-outfielder for Moorpark, never intended to do so much traveling in her softball career. Fortunately, she said, “I get used to different coaches real fast.”

Last season, Jiminez batted .336 with 33 runs batted in, 11 doubles, four triples and a home run.

Making tracks: The sprint medley relay team of Carol Collier, Laura Isles, Mary Coleman and Denise Upshaw set a Northridge school record with a time of 4:00.1 in finishing first at the last week’s Fresno Relays.

Low-mileage Ford: With the addition of Tiffany Boyd, one of the top recruits in the nation last year, to an already strong pitching staff, Samantha Ford’s playing time has dwindled for the UCLA softball team.

Ford, a senior from Hart High, has started only five games for the defending national champion Bruins, who also have pitcher Lisa Longaker, the 1987-88 Broderick Award winner as the nation’s top softball player. Ford, who was 17-4 last season, has made the most of her starts, completing four for victories with three shutouts while posting a 0.19 ERA. Meanwhile, Boyd is 8-1 and hasn’t allowed an earned run. Longaker is 11-1 with a 0.18 ERA for the 23-2 Bruins.

“The kids really seem to rise to the occasion and play well when Sam’s out there,” Coach Sharon Backus said. “Sometimes the team has a tendency to put all the pressure on Lisa. It’s ‘We’ll get you a run one of these days.’ When Sam’s out there it’s ‘We’ll get you a run or two right away.’

A tossup: Pierce, the defending state men’s volleyball champion, is approaching a South Coast Conference showdown with Orange Coast next Friday.

Pierce and Orange Coast, the 1987 state champion, are tied atop the conference standings with 11-1 records. The Brahmas’ next match is April 12 when they play host to Santa Barbara.

“Right now we’re not playing real well, but we’re playing well enough when we have to,” Pierce Coach Ken Stanley said.

Pierce won its last match, against Golden West, despite dropping the first two games. Against La Verne, Pierce won after trailing, 2-1.

“We play easy until we have to play hard,” Stanley said. “That’s not the way I’d like it to be. One of these days we’re going to get behind and not be able to get back.”

Bloodied but unbowed: Rich Hill, the Cal Lutheran baseball coach, thinks he has found the secret to success.

“We have a lot of guys out there who like to get dirty, go around with their shirts out and maybe get a bloody knee or a bloody elbow,” Hill said. “I think that kind of attitude more than anything else is going to take us into the playoffs.”

It seems to be working so far. Cal Lutheran is 20-11 overall and 9-3 and in first place in the Golden State Athletic Conference.

On the run: Cal Lutheran’s men’s track team may have its best relay squad ever, according to Coach Don Green.

His contention bodes well for the future considering that the relay teams consist of three freshmen and a sophomore. Sophomore Darren Bernard and freshmen Scott Atkins of Thousand Oaks High and Kirk Werner and Kevin Hatcher of Simi Valley High run on both the 400-meter and the mile relay teams.

Both teams have qualified for the NAIA championships at Azusa Pacific next month. Cal Lutheran also won the mile relay at the Fresno Relays last weekend in 3:18.34.

Bernard, who placed fifth in the 400 meters at last year’s NAIA championships, is the leader of the quartet.

Said Green: “Bernard is the key factor on the teams. He has always got that little something extra.”

Staff writers Mike Hiserman, Ralph Nichols, Sam Farmer, Gary Klein and Steven Fleischman contributed to this notebook.