Prep Softball ’94 : Power, Defense Provide a Strong Mix for Laguna Hills

You may have seen them at the Woodbridge tournament early in the season and thought, “No way.”

You might have watched them during league and thought, “Not enough.”

They didn’t look like champions. Not Southern Section champions. OK, they can win the Pacific Coast League. Big deal. But the Southern Section?

Not a chance.

Maybe it was because they didn’t have the big, strong, overpowering pitcher like so many dominant teams--Los Alamitos had Carrie Dolan and La Habra had Danielle Ortega.

But they could hit.

Laguna Hills, 24-5 last year, was short on finesse and long on tape-measure shots. They didn’t so much defeat teams as drill them: 23-2, 19-0, 16-2, 28-0, 19-0.

If they could play defense, they could win.

They played defense.

And when the season ended, unseeded Laguna Hills had beaten powerful Irvine in the Division III championship game, 5-4, a veritable slugfest for a softball title game. One thing the Hawks could do was put the bat on the ball, put pressure on the other team to make the play. When they did, Irvine couldn’t field it. The Vaqueros committed seven errors that night.

Laguna Hills is committed to doing it all over again.

“We were talking--if we could work this hard again, we could be back in the same spot,” said Alycia Stevens, who scored two runs that night. “That was the commitment we made: to work just as hard and to go as just as far as we went last year.”

The Hawks have seven starters back. They have three four-year starters--left fielder Stevens, third baseman Jennifer Arzola and center fielder Christy Journell--and three three-year starters--shortstop Misty Thompson, and pitchers Windy Scofield and Therese Lee.

They lost only their second, fourth and eighth hitters in the lineup, making it easy to project 1994’s fortunes.

“This might be a cliche, but whenever we needed something done last year, someone did it,” Coach Cary Crouch said. “It was different people at different times.”

Which is not to say Laguna Hills won’t feel the loss of Jennifer Milo (.464, 24 runs batted in), a first baseman at San Diego, or Lesley Haynes (.327, 23 runs), a catcher at UC Santa Barbara. Each had nearly flawless seasons, and championships are not won without some luck.

But it’s not like they needed every run last year. Stevens (.474, 38 runs, 17 stolen bases), Thompson (.346, 35 RBIs, four home runs) and Journell (.333, 18 RBIs) have proven themselves clutch players. Arzola (.348) and second baseman Amber Journell (.284) know how to hit. And sophomore designated hitter Sumer McMahon (.131) could easily contribute more.

Last year’s team batted .329. The seven returners averaged .331 combined. Throw out McMahon’s figures, and the top six batted .357.

The Hawks averaged 6.5 runs last year. Throw out the five blowouts and they still averaged 3.5. In their five playoff games, they averaged 4.0 runs. They know how to score.

But the key is their pitching--it seems so average until you try to outscore it.

Scofield (16-3, 0.48) is the staff ace you would swear is related to Randy Jones or Tommy John. She averaged fewer than three strikeouts per game, but at Laguna Hills, that’s not a problem.

“We like to think Windy serves up a ball you can hit and that we can field,” Crouch said. “It allows us to be a better team when (opponents) hit the ball because everyone stays involved.

“There’s no one, player-for-player, who does their individual jobs better than we do. Nine players deep, we can play with anyone. We’re not going to go out there and allow a pitcher to cover a flaw that the team has. If there’s a flaw out there, someone will find it because the ball is going to be hit every game.”

But an advantage Scofield has over many pitchers is that Laguna Hills doesn’t beat itself.

“(Crouch) doesn’t put up with stupid mistakes at all,” said Stevens, the leadoff hitter and one of three seniors. “If we make a mistake at this point--the seniors--it has to be a physical mistake and not a mental mistake. We’ve become a very focused team.”

Focused on commitment to hard work. Focused on the means and letting the end take care of itself.

Softball at a Glance

Top Players: Division I--Amanda Adams, Cypress, Sr.; Julie Adams, Cypress, Jr.; Jamie Al-Moradi, Canyon, Sr.; Lynea Backlund, Fountain Valley, Jr.; Sheri Bergeron, Los Alamitos, Sr.; Kelly Bruce, El Toro, Jr.; Kristina Carlson, Pacifica, Sr.; Michelle Churnock, Foothill, Jr.; Marcy Crouch, Marina, Jr.; Valerie Downen, Pacifica, Jr.; Laurie Fritz, Kennedy, Sr.; Faith Fuata, Marina, Jr.; Laurie Gillis, Fountain Valley, Jr.; Nikki Hart, El Dorado, Jr.; Kara Hartl, El Modena, Sr.; Jennifer Jessen, Troy, Sr.; Tammy Kincaid, Villa Park, So.; Candace Kollen, Mater Dei, Sr.; Misty Lauby, El Toro, Sr.; Nina Lindenberg, Canyon, Sr.; Christina Loya, Edison, Jr.; Julie Luna, Rosary, So.; Brandee McArthur, Villa Park, Jr.; Lisa Pitt, Kennedy, Jr.; Kathy Ponce, Ocean View, Jr.; Chris Puccio, Orange, Sr.; Kelley Santa Cruz, Fountain Valley, Sr.; Amy Tessman, Foothill, Sr.; Lisa Tully, Mater Dei, So.; Nicola Walsh, Rosary, Sr.; Duffy White, Garden Grove, Sr.; Racquel Willson, Ocean View, Sr.; Debbie Wilson, Los Alamitos, Sr.; Division II--Amber Duarte, La Habra, Jr.; Angie Fancuberta, Fullerton, So.; Deborah Hargrave, Fullerton, Jr.; Kiki McAulay, Fullerton, Jr.; Heidi Schmidt, Troy, Sr.; Aimee Weathers, La Habra, Jr.; Division III--Jennifer Arzola, Laguna Hills, Sr.; Vanessa Anaya, Century, Sr.; Keri Byrd, Woodbridge, Sr.; Lise Delligata, Santa Margarita, Sr.; Alison Johnsen, Woodbridge, Sr.; Carrie Kirk, University, Sr.; Jennie Colclasure, Newport Harbor, Sr.; Alycia Stevens, Laguna Hills, Sr.; Misty Thompson, Laguna Hills, Jr.; Natalie Tomoguchi, Irvine, Sr.

League Favorites: Century: Foothill; Empire: Los Alamitos; Freeway: Fullerton; Garden Grove: Garden Grove; Olympic: Cerritos Valley Christian; Orange: Savanna; Pacific Coast: Laguna Hills; Sea View: Woodbridge; South Coast: El Toro; Sunset: Marina.

Key Dates: Marina at Ocean View, March 22; Laguna Hills tournament, March 14-19; Foothill at Villa Park, April 14; Woodbridge tournament, March 26, April 2-4; Mater Dei at El Toro, April 20; Garden Grove at Pacifica, April 21; Garden Grove at Kennedy, April 28.

Notes: Division I--Lance Eddy, who compiled a 171-99-3 record at Canyon, returns after coaching one year at Irvine Valley College. . . . Pacifica may be the county’s most improved team, strengthened by freshman pitcher Toni Mascarenas and the addition of former Garden Grove second baseman Autumn Gwinner (.483). . . . Division II--La Habra lost seven players off last year’s Section semifinal team, which finished ranked 19th overall in California. . . .Division III--Arizona-bound Alison Johnsen of Woodbridge was the only junior given All-American status by Fastpitch magazine. She needs 21 stolen bases to set a Southern Section record.