Senior Berthiaume Leads Toro Hit Parade

Julie Berthiaume was a basketball, volleyball and softball standout at Quartz Hills High. Through the years, however, she has eliminated activities from her schedule.

As a freshman at Antelope Valley College, she competed in three sports. As a sophomore, she dropped basketball. She concentrated on volleyball her first two years at Dominguez Hills, but decided to try softball after completing her volleyball eligibility at the end of the 1991 fall semester.

She struggled at the plate last year but improved enough to bat cleanup as a fifth-year senior this season.

She also beat out junior Melissa Punch for the first-base job and has become one of the Toros’ best defensive players. Berthiaume leads the team in batting with a .395 average and has 38 hits and 17 runs batted in.

It’s no small feat considering that Dominguez Hills (24-12, 9-5 in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn.) has five players batting over .330.

“Julie lost some weight and gained muscle,” Coach Janis Ruetz said. “She worked out very hard in the fall and during Christmas break. Instead of sitting around and doing Christmas shopping, she worked out. She was determined to make this year her best.”

Last week, Berthiaume was named the most valuable player at the Hayward tournament after tying an NCAA record with nine consecutive hits. The streak included three runs and seven runs batted in.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Berthiaume said. “I felt really good during the tournament, though. I don’t know what it was, but I had so much confidence.”

That wasn’t the case last year, when Berthiaume joined the team after a one-year hiatus from softball. She missed all of fall practice and batted only .223.

“Last year I came in kind of scared,” she said. “Everyone else played year-round and I didn’t. I wasn’t the kind of player I am this year. I didn’t go for the gusto.

“I realized how much skipping a year hurt. I really lost my swing and my confidence.”

On Thursday, Berthiaume went three for seven with a run scored and an RBI during a doubleheader against UC Riverside. The Toros swept the Highlanders, 5-1 and 2-1.

Ruetz, who has been the Toro coach since 1989, recruited Berthiaume because of her athleticism.

“I watched her in high school and her first-base skills were great,” Ruetz said. “She’s 6-foot and plays like she’s a person who is 5-6. She has good quickness. I remember in one of her high school games, she dove for a bunt and she was real aggressive running the bases. I was impressed with her play.”

Berthiaume works out year-round. Her routine includes jumping rope, weightlifting and running.

“I work out at Gold’s Gym every night during the off-season,” she said. “I stay in good shape all year.”

A communications major, Berthiaume will graduate at the end of the spring semester. To prepare for her career, she works in the school’s sports information office.

The Toros have only two pitchers--seniors Anne Ibarra and Julie Borquez--but they provide a potent 1-2 punch.

Ibarra, a 5-1 graduate of Mary Star High, has allowed only eight earned runs in 131 innings. She is 14-8 with nine shutouts and a 0.43 earned-run average.

In 1991, Ibarra became the first pitcher in school history to win 20 games and the first since 1985 to throw a no-hitter. She set four other school records, for most appearances (36), most starts (32), most complete games (32) and most innings pitched (228 1/3).

Borquez has recovered quickly from a shoulder injury that hampered her through most of 1991. She has a 0.99 ERA, an 8-4 record and five shutouts.

“Julie is a lot stronger than last year and she’s doing an excellent job,” Ruetz said. “She’s doing better than I expected.”

Notes

Harbor College’s baseball team is ranked No. 3 in the state by the JC Athletic Bureau. The Seahawks are in first place in the Southern California Athletic Conference at 11-3 record and are 25-8 overall. Freshman pitcher Andy Diver (St. Bernard) has a team-low 1.87 earned-run average and a 10-3 record. . . . The El Camino women’s track team, 3-1 in the South Coast Conference, placed first at last week’s Fresno Relays. The Warriors’ 4x400, 4x200, 4x800 and sprint medley relay teams are ranked No. 1 in the state. The Warriors’ LaShaunda Everage has the state’s best time (57.83) in the 400 meters and Liz Sutton leads the state in the 400-meter hurdles (63.72). Tania Acosta ranks second in the 800 meters (2:19.24) and third in the 1,500 meters (4:47.84). . . . The El Camino men’s golf team remains in second place in the seven-member SCC with an 11-5 record. The Warriors placed second at a four-team league match on April 4. Yash Feld led El Camino with a round of 76.