El Camino Real’s Sweet 16th Win Worth a Title : High school softball: Alisha Knopf provides offensive punch as the Conquistadores beat Chatsworth, 5-0, and clinch the Northwest Valley Conference championship.

Alisha Knopf sells lollipops. Lots of them. For 75 cents apiece.

Tutti-frutti, root beer, cherry yogurt, strawberry daiquiri, tequila sunrise--30 wonderful flavors from which to choose.

It’s all part of Knopf’s job as president of Luscious Lollies Inc., a corporation formed as an economics assignment.

Knopf, a three-year starter at second base for the El Camino Real High softball team, found time to peddle her colorful confections between innings of Thursday’s West Valley League showdown with visiting Chatsworth.

“I am a salesman,” Knopf proudly proclaimed. “I love sales.”

She’s not too bad with a bat, either.

While sun-baked spectators watched with sugar-coated tongues, Knopf popped a pair of singles to account for the Conquistadores’ first three runs as El Camino Real licked Chatsworth, 5-0, clinching the Northwest Valley Conference championship.

“They sell themselves,” Knopf (pronounced Ki-NOFF) said of the sweets, adding that profits are donated to charity. “But this is the first time I’ve brought them out (to a game). I’m always the last one out here.”

Knopf was more timely with her hitting and fielding. With one out and runners on second and third, she delivered a bloop single to left field to give El Camino Real (16-1, 8-0 in league play), the defending City Section 4-A Division champion, a 1-0 lead.

In the fourth, Knopf stroked a bases-loaded, two-out single to left-center to increase the Conquistadores’ lead to 3-0.

“I struck out in the first inning,” Knopf noted. “So I said ‘This is it’ the next time up. I realized I was stepping too far back (in the batter’s box). I concentrated and didn’t worry about the bases being loaded.”

Senior right-hander Chrissy Peck (16-1), who pitched a two-hitter with three strikeouts, coasted from there despite the Chancellors’ ability to make contact with her zooming pitches. Peck’s teammates, Knopf in particular, aided the pitcher by playing errorless defense.

“Chrissy was off a bit today,” El Camino Real Coach Neils Ludlow said. “It was not one of her stronger games. But the defense makes up for it. Being able to make the plays is what makes the difference in a close game.”

In the first inning, Knopf made a sliding stop of a ground ball to make a putout. In the sixth, she speared a line drive by Mara Phillips to prevent a possible extra-base hit.

All told, Knopf made three putouts and had two assists. For the season, she is batting .313 with 10 runs batted in and has sold, by her estimate, 540 suckers.

“She’s one of our better players,” Ludlow said of Knopf, an all-league selection last season. “She covers so much ground out there.”

Second-place Chatsworth (9-4, 5-3) struggled defensively. Two throwing errors set up Knopf’s two-run single in the fourth. An infield error in the fifth led to El Camino Real’s fourth run as Erin McGuire lashed a single to score Jenny Fleming.

In the sixth, Peck lined a two-out single, advanced to second on an overthrow and scored on a single by Fleming, narrowly beating the throw to the plate.

Chatsworth threatened in the seventh as Rebecca Perry drew a walk and advanced to second on an infield single by Maria Torres. Peck, however, retired the side on a strikeout and two fly balls.