Overpowering Batbusters Are Showing No Respect for Their Elders

ANAHEIM — The frustration that had been brewing inside the opposing coach finally erupted in the late innings.

“What are you doing?” he yelled at a pinch-hitter who stood motionless and watched a fat pitch sail by. “Swing the bat. Why do you think I put you in there?”

On the next pitch, the batter swung, all right. She popped up to the second baseman. No runs. No hits. No errors. And one softball coach ready to go ballistic at any time.

Anyone in his position probably would have felt equally helpless. When your team is made up largely of 18-year-old girls and it loses decisively to a team with girls four years younger, the tolerance level takes a vacation.

But what he should have realized is that he wasn’t facing just another 14-and-under team. The Batbusters, you see, are the newly crowned American Fastpitch Assn. national champions in their age group.

The team won the title last weekend in Midland, Tex., with an overpowering performance. Now, the Batbusters are playing in their last competition of the season, the AFA’s 18-and-under International Friendship Tournament that concludes at 1:15 p.m. today at Maxwell Park in Anaheim.

Twenty-four teams, including four from Japan, began group play in the tournament Tuesday. Three other Orange County teams--the Garden Grove Bandits, Anaheim Wolverines and Mission Viejo Chicks Chicks--also are participating.

The Batbusters won Flight 3, beating Japan’s Mishima-Kito, 3-2; the Kansas City Jazz, 5-3, and the Santa Fe Springs Rebels, 3-1. On Thursday, the tournament switched to a single-elimination format for its final two days, with the Batbusters getting an automatic pass to the second round.

In that round Thursday, they defeated the Waves of San Jose, 14-0, and advanced to a quarterfinal game at 9:45 a.m. today against the Mission Viejo Chicks Chicks. The semifinals and championship game follow.

That the Batbusters have done so well in the tournament doesn’t surprise head Coach Dale Moore, whose daughter Jamie is a catcher and infielder on the team.

“I told a reporter in Midland before the nationals that this is the Dream Team of fastpitch softball,” said Moore, who has coached travel teams for six years and is in his first season with the Batbusters. “It’s one of the best teams I’ve seen for this age group. It’s the kind of team you very seldom get as a coach. They’re all excellent players and play well together.”

Several players on the Garden Grove-based team were recruited by Moore, a tile contractor who lives in Sylmar and makes the trip from the San Fernando Valley to Orange County for practices and games. Some already play high school ball, including right-handed pitcher Lisa Pitt, who played at Kennedy last season, and second baseman Autumn Gwinner, who played at Garden Grove.

For Pitt and Gwinner, the Batbusters represent a chance to play together after their teams battled each other in the Garden Grove League last season.

“It’s fun because we always call each other and tease each other about our high school games,” Pitt said.

Other county players on the squad who are not on high school teams yet are third baseman Toni Mascarenas of Garden Grove, pitcher-infielder Robin Tessman of Tustin, outfielder Christy Ring of Anaheim, catcher Alicia Burdick of Fountain Valley, outfielder Dinha Mead of Los Alamitos and outfielder Lindsey Collins of Fountain Valley.

But it’s Pitt, Gwinner and Crystal Bustos, a smooth-fielding and good-hitting shortstop from Canyon Country, who generally spark the team.

In Midland, the Batbusters went 7-0 in the double-elimination tournament that included 73 teams from 25 states. They had a .408 team batting average and outscored their opponents, 52-5. Pitt won five of those games and Gwinner was second in batting among the regulars with a .556 average. Bustos hit a phenomenal .680 to lead the team and had seven RBIs.

“It was a great tournament,” Pitt said. “We got a great draw. We had fewer games than some teams, but we played against better competition than other teams did.”

But probably not as good as they expected to face in the Friendship Tournament this week, where the team has improved its record to 150-14.

The Batbusters, who have several sponsors that cover practically all their expenses--including air fares, meals, hotels, uniforms and equipment--started the current season last September. Besides the national championships, they won 13 other tournaments, including seven for 16-and-under teams. And they wanted to wrap up the year with a big challenge.

So far, Gwinner says she hasn’t detected much difference in the competition.

“It feels pretty much the same to me,” she said. “It doesn’t seem like they’re older.”

Because of their success in the Friendship Tournament, people could hardly blame Gwinner and the Batbusters from feeling confident. To gain maturity as players, Moore said, was part of the reason the team entered the tournament.

“We got into it to get the experience and to get recognition,” Moore said. “The basic thing is for the girls to get recognized by college scouts as soon as possible.”

And, he might add, to make life miserable for opposing coaches.