Santiago Makes Time to Pitch West to 8-0 Victory : Softball: Simi Valley senior gladly misses ASA game, combines with Sobol for win in Daily News all-star contest.

Heather Santiago had never missed a practice or a game in 10 years of playing for an American Softball Assn. team coached by her father Val.

Until Saturday.

The Simi Valley High senior did not harbor second thoughts about missing an ASA tournament game in Escondido to participate in the Daily News all-star game at Cal State Northridge.

“I felt it was an honor to even be asked and I didn’t even hesitate to accept,” Santiago said.

However, the East team wasn’t quite as ready for Santiago.

Santiago was the game’s most valuable player, which featured top senior players from the region. She struck out six in five innings and allowed three hits and also drove in a run, leading the West to an 8-0 victory in the nine-inning game.

The West scored seven runs on seven hits in the second inning to put the game out of reach. The West sent twelve batters to the plate with nine in a row reaching base.

Santiago and catcher Joanna Delaney of Royal, who plays on the ASA Wildcats with Santiago, did not have long to savor the victory. Both left Saturday night for Escondido to rejoin the team.

“I didn’t tell my father I was going to play in the all-star game until about two days later,” Santiago said. “He was real supportive, but it became a little bit stressful for him when he found out Joanna was going to miss a game too.”

Santiago experienced a similar sensation after surrendering a double to Crescenta Valley’s Kristin Eagle, who had two of the East’s three hits, in the first inning.

“I was pretty scared,” said Santiago, who is being recruited by Hawaii and Cal State Northridge but is leaning toward Moorpark College.

“I didn’t feel ready because I didn’t pick up a ball or practice for a week because of finals and graduation. It took me awhile before I got warmed up.”

Neils Ludlow, who led El Camino Real to its sixth City Section title in seven years and coached the West team along with Darwin Tolzin of Camarillo, said the seven-run inning gave Santiago a boost.

“We were hitting the ball well,” Ludlow said. “Heather throws real hard, but after the second she began to pick up her velocity and was practically unhittable.”

Santiago allowed a single to Eagle, but recorded her six strikeouts after the second inning, striking out the side in the fifth and two in the third.

Newbury Park’s Sophie Sobol was equally effective coming in relief of Santiago in the sixth. Sobol did not allow a hit in four innings, striking out four and facing only one batter over the minimum.

“I was surprised to have such a big lead,” Sobol said. “I thought the score was going to pretty close, like 2-1 or 3-2. It was pretty nervous because they had a pretty big lineup.”

Kelley Bannon, the Marmonte League most valuable player for Camarillo, had two hits, including a triple, scored two runs and drove in another.

Delaney also had two hits and a run batted in for the West.

Amy Horst singled in Bannon from third base in the eighth for the final margin of victory.

The East, which has won three times in the game’s five-year history, won last year, 8-3.