Victoria’s Family Halts Media Blitz

Victoria Brucker, the first girl to get a hit in a Little League World Series game, seems to be holding up well under the onslaught of media attention she is receiving here, her mother said Wednesday.

But the family does not want her interviewed again.

Speaking from the bleachers before the first-round game in which her 12-year-old daughter went 1 for 2 and had two walks in Eastview Little League’s 12-5 victory over Tampa, Elizabeth Roderick said her daughter does not appear to have suffered from three days of interviews and photo sessions.

But after Victoria was besieged by camera crews and reporters before, during and after Wednesday’s game, Rick Roderick, Victoria’s stepfather, asked San Pedro Coach Nick Lusic not to allow her to talk to anyone.

“I’m going to lock myself behind closed doors,” said Roderick, who was also hounded.

Victoria Brucker, who bats cleanup for Eastview, is the big story here since she became the first girl to hit a home run in the Western Regional Tournament, which San Pedro won last week in San Bernardino. In fact, Brucker hit three home runs in that event. She singled to left field in her fourth at-bat Wednesday to become the first girl to get a hit in the 50-year history of this event.

How hot a property is Victoria?

This hot: Representatives from both the Johnny Carson and Regis Philbin shows are trying to book her for appearances.

And, before Wednesday’s game, her picture appeared on the front page of USA Today; she has been featured in a national news story by the Associated Press and just about everywhere she goes a camera gets stuck in her face or a reporter wants an interview.

Privately, some Eastview supporters here have expressed concern about the attention she is receiving. Her mother wasn’t worried, however: “Victoria has always handled people very well,” she said. “She’ll be OK.”

Elizabeth Roderick suffered some of the same fate Wednesday. Upon arriving at the stadium she was deluged by reporters, and as she took her spot in the stands among the red-shirted San Pedro boosters, reporters and photographers clamored for her attention.

“We no sooner got out of the car and there was a camera in my face,” she said.

It went on like that all afternoon, and later she said she was tired of it.

“I’ll find my quiet moment to get away from it,” she said.

Victoria found a better way to deal with the crush. She retreated behind the security gates of the dormitory rooms, which are off limits to all but players and coaches, choosing to take a swim with her teammates in the pool.