OCC’s Robinson Roams the Field and the Bases

No matter how well Wendy Robinson has done at a position, someone has always come along with the idea of moving her to another spot.

Robinson is the starting shortstop for Orange Coast College (29-10 overall, 12-3), which is in second place in the Orange Empire Conference.

To the casual observer, Robinson looks as if she has been playing shortstop for years.

But even before the question can be asked, she is quick to say: “I’ve never played short before this year.”

Robinson’s softball career started with her catching at age 7. It is the position she is most comfortable with and likes best.

At Mater Dei High School, Robinson moved to the outfield after her coach told her she was too small to catch. Still, she continued to play catcher on summer-league teams.

Then two years ago--again during the summer--the wear and tear on her knees forced her to move to the outfield.

Once at OCC, Robinson, a resident of Costa Mesa, was moved again, this time to center field. Robinson said she was worried at first, but quickly came to like her new position.

She hit .306 last season with four doubles, three triples, a home run, 12 RBIs and scored 13 runs as the fourth-place hitter for OCC.

Robinson made only one error in center.

Robinson was voted to the all-conference team as well as the all-Southern California team.

But still, she was going to be on the move again. Brenda Velasquez, an all-conference shortstop, graduated and OCC again needed a replacement.

“I hated to have to move her,” OCC Coach Nick Trani said. “She is a good athlete and has done a good job.”

Robinson is hitting .315 this season with three home runs and 15 RBIs. She has made only eight errors in 182 chances and one error in conference play. But changing positions wasn’t easy.

“I almost freaked out at first,” she said. “I kept asking him (Trani) to leave me in center. But it came to a point where I just had to play and now I love it. You are involved more than in center field and I like that.”

Welcome back: Fullerton’s baseball team took an impressive step back to its early-season form last week with victories over first-place Rancho Santiago and second-place Golden West in Orange Empire Conference games.

Fullerton, the preseason favorite, started conference with a 7-1 record. But then things went south for the Hornets. Fullerton lost five in a row and eight of nine to fall to 8-9, and into fourth place.

“There were games where I don’t even remember putting on a sign,” Fullerton Coach Nick Fuscardo said. “We never seemed to have anybody on.”

Fullerton started last week with an 18-3 loss to Orange Coast. Fullerton got things going with a three-run rally in the ninth to defeat Rancho Santiago, 8-7. The Hornets (20-12, 10-9) defeated Golden West, 13-3, Saturday and are in contention for the playoffs with five games left.

The Orange Empire Conference will have its men’s and women’s swimming and track and field championships this week. The South Coast Conference also will have its men’s and women’s swimming championships this week.

The Orange Coast men and women are the favorites in the swimming competition, which starts Thursday and continues to Saturday at Saddleback. OCC was 6-0 in dual meets in both men’s and women’s swimming under Coach Don Watson.

In track and field, Riverside will be the favorite in the finals, which start at 1:30 p.m. Friday at Fullerton. The Tiger men and women were each 5-0 in dual meets.

The preliminaries start today at 1:30 p.m.

Golden West’s swimming program plays host to--and should dominate--the South Coast swimming championships, which start Thursday and end Saturday.

The Rustler men and women were 6-0 each in dual meets.