Ocean View’s Lisa Dacquisto Often Feels the Need for Speed : Softball: Junior center fielder, who batted .478 as the leadoff hitter last season, had 22 steals in 23 attempts.

Three times a week, Ocean View junior center fielder Lisa Dacquisto works on her speed with the help of little parachutes.

The “speed chutes” attach around the waist and open to provide additional resistance for a runner to work against while sprinting.

“I used two for awhile to build up strength,” Dacquisto said. “Lately, though, I’ve been using just one for speed.”

Opponents might like to see Dacquisto keep using the parachutes. Say, three or four at a time--when she’s at the plate, on the basepaths or patrolling the outfield.

With or without the parachutes, Dacquisto would already seem to have plenty of speed. Ordinary ground balls turn into base hits for Dacquisto, who had a .478 batting average last season.

As Ocean View’s leadoff hitter, Dacquisto makes defenses nervous from the start.

“Teams are going to have to find a way to keep her off the basepaths, but it’s not going to be easy,” Ocean View Coach Sarah Oakley said. “I’ve seen a lot of defenses hurry themselves into mistakes because of her speed.”

Of course, Dacquisto didn’t earn All-Orange County and All-Southern Section Division 5-A honors last year solely by beating out slow rollers to shortstop. Oakley said Dacquisto, who bats left-handed, has the ability to hit the ball to all fields.

It wasn’t always like that. Dacquisto began batting left-handed in eighth grade to take advantage of her speed, but she struggled at first.

“It was frustrating when I started (batting left-handed) because I struck out a lot and had to bunt just to make contact,” Dacquisto said. “I was closer to first base on the left side, but I found out it’s hard to get on base when you can’t hit the ball.”

Eventually, Dacquisto became comfortable and consistent batting left-handed. “It seems almost natural now,” she said.

When Dacquisto is on base, she doesn’t stay in one spot very long. She stole 22 bases in 23 attempts and scored 17 runs in 20 games for the Seahawks last season.

“Lisa’s an exciting player,” Oakley said. “She makes things happen, offensively and defensively.”

In center field, Dacquisto has learned that her speed can help her track down balls that at first appear to be out of reach.

“When I was a freshman, there was a game where a ball got hit between center and right (field) that I just started running after,” Dacquisto said. “I never thought I’d get there, but finally I got close enough to think ‘hey, maybe I can catch this,’ and I made this dive and caught it.

“Since then, I’ve taken more chances because I have more confidence.”

The spring season is a busy one for Dacquisto, who also competes for Ocean View’s track and field team. She has run a 12.7-second 100 meters and went 15 feet 11 inches in the long jump. She also anchors the Seahawks’ 400 relay team.

During the week, Dacquisto works out for an hour with the track team before softball practice.

“Fortunately, the softball field is right next to the track,” Dacquisto said. “I love track, but softball is my priority. With my travel ball team (Orange County Athletics), I play softball year-round, and that’s how I like it.”

That’s how Oakley likes it, too.

“Lisa is a key to our team not only because of her talent, but because she has leadership abilities, too,” Oakley said. “I knew she was going to be a player when she came in as a freshman, and it’s nice to know she’s coming back next year.

“After that, she’ll be able to go to college and play just about anywhere she wants to.”

The rest of the Sunset League will be happy to see Dacquisto go.