SOFTBALL / PAIGE A. LEECH : Daughter Knows Best in St. Pierre Family

Less than a year ago, Rick St. Pierre of Thousand Oaks decided to drop out of coaching.

After a decade of coaching his youngest daughter Michelle in summer and winter leagues, he decided it was time she venture off to gain perspective from another mentor.

His wife Cathy was ecstatic about the decision. After all, Rick spent four nights a week at batting or pitching practices. Weekends were filled with tournaments and doubleheaders.

But Michelle, 17, a pitcher who was a two-time Southern Section Division 1-A player of the year at La Reina High, was not as pleased with her father’s decision to leave the Shilos, an Amateur Softball Assn. 18-and-under team.

In fact, she flat out did not like it.

“She talked to me long and hard,” he said. “She didn’t want to be coached by anybody else, so I gave in to my daughter’s request.”

It took St. Pierre about four weeks to yield to his daughter’s pleas. In the meantime, five of his players, acting on his suggestion, committed themselves to other ASA teams.

Camarillo’s Laura Richardson, Thousand Oaks’ Nicole Ochoa, Newbury Park’s Lynn Anderson, Agoura’s Michelle Ray and Granada Hills’ Brandy Brennan all took St. Pierre’s decision to heart. They thought he was calling it quits.

To fill the void, the Shilos and the Orange County Outlaws, coached by Don Minard, combined forces to form a new team.

“Actually, it’s turned out to be a better team,” St. Pierre said.

The Shilos are 20-4-1 this summer, with nearly half of those victories attributed to Michelle (9-1, 0.41 earned-run average), who has 67 strikeouts and only 12 walks in 68 innings.

For a short time, Michelle entertained the thought of being coached by someone other than her dad, thinking that it might be a good experience. But those thoughts didn’t last long.

Michelle could never envision her father away from the game that has consumed so much of his time the past 10 years.

“I knew he wouldn’t quit,” Michelle said. “He loves the game too much. He studies the game.

“This house wouldn’t function without softball,” she said.

Add Shilos: The Shilos clinched an 18-and-under national tournament playoff berth last month by beating a Massachusetts-based team, 5-0, in the championship game of the Albany tournament in New York.

The Shilos, who went 9-1 in the 24-team tournament, are led by Chaminade’s Marie Costa, who has signed a letter of intent to play for UC Santa Barbara next season, Canyon’s Kerry LeMasters and Ventura’s Dionne Mackey.

The national tournament is Aug. 5-9 in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Bulldog fever: Kim Maher, Angie Barnes and Jennifer Henry--all former Buena High Bulldogs--will be playing for the Bulldogs of Fresno State. Henry, a redshirt last season, will join Maher and Barnes on the Bulldogs’ roster in the fall.

“I can’t wait till when the roster lists three girls from Buena (High),” Maher said. “People will say, ‘Hey, Buena’s just a crowd house down there.’ ”

For Maher, who earned All-Big West Conference and NCAA All-College World Series honors as a freshman and sophomore, there is nothing she would rather call herself.

“Bulldog born, Bulldog bred, Bulldog till the day I’m dead,” barked Maher with a hearty laugh.

Top ‘dog: Maher, a first baseman, has not wasted any time earning a spot among Fresno State’s best. After two seasons, Maher is closing in on several school career records.

She is tied for third in home runs (seven), tied for fourth in runs batted in (68) and is fifth in doubles (25).

Maher, born in Bien Hoa, Vietnam, in 1971, is improving with age. As a freshman she hit .265 with 11 doubles, one triple, four home runs and 32 RBIs. This spring she batted a team-high .322 and led the team in hits (67), runs (34), doubles (14), triples (six), home runs (three), total bases (102) and RBIs (36).

Home products: Arizona, which finished second to UCLA in the College World Series in May, was led by two former Thousand Oaks High players, both of whom earned All-American and All-Pacific 10 honors.

Junior center fielder Jamie Heggen, who also played at Moorpark College, was a second-team All-American selection. Heggen led the Wildcats with a .500 slugging percentage, a .338 batting average, nine triples and 43 runs scored. Heggen also drove in 30 runs and stole 19 bases.

Freshman first baseman Amy Chellevold, who batted .421 in the College World Series, batted .313 this year and scored 35 runs. She was a third-team All-American.

More ‘cats: Arizona featured four Valley-region products on the team this season, the most notable of whom was senior pitcher Debbie Day, from Burbank High.

Day, who went 32-5 with 22 shutouts and a 0.38 ERA, garnered the highest awards this season: first-team All-American, All-Pac 10 and All-College World Series.

Day, who transferred to Arizona after two years at Texas-Arlington where she went 54-36, had a 62-13 record in her two seasons at Arizona. Her career 0.44 ERA ranks as the school’s best.

Add Wildcats: Arizona signed two Valley-region players to letters of intent in the spring, Glendale’s Jenny Dalton and Alemany’s Krista Gomez.

Cal State Northridge recruits: None of the Matadors’ six recruits are from the Valley region: Scia Maumausolo (San Diego), Dawn Richardson (Rancho Cucamonga), Victoria Rios (Sacramento), Shelby Wilcox (Clovis), Amy Windmiller (Sacramento) and Shannon Jones (Carmichael).