As Jenny Lopez Goes, So Goes Cypress Softball Team

Much of the recent success of the Cypress softball team can be termed a case of “Jenny come lately.”

Freshman pitcher Jenny Lopez has helped the Chargers overcome a midseason slump and reach the State softball tournament, which starts Friday in Visalia.

Lopez, from Tustin High School, is Cypress’ top pitcher with a 22-9 record and 0.63 earned-run average.

But there was a time when Lopez and the Chargers were struggling to stay on their feet in the Orange Empire Conference race.

Nine games into the 21-game conference season, Cypress had fallen five back. But Lopez went 10-1 in her last 11 regular-season decisions and Cypress (43-15) finished 15-6 and second in conference, a game behind Orange Coast.

Lopez continued her surge last weekend in the Southern California playoffs.

She gave up three runs in 21 innings and won three times, including two shutouts. Cypress has won 15 of its last 16 games and Lopez is 14-1 in the span.

“I just have a lot more confidence,” said Lopez. “It sort of all came together for the team and myself. It hasn’t been just one person. I’ve been more consistent and thrown a lot more strikes.”

Cypress Coach Brad Pickler dipped into his championship past to help solve Lopez’s early-season control woes. A month ago, Pickler asked Laura Corson, who pitched Cypress to the 1991 State title, to help Lopez develop a more consistent changeup.

Corson, who holds the Cypress single-season record with 29 victories, was an off-speed specialist.

Lopez, 18, had been taught a changeup but had never needed it or worked very hard on it in high school because of the movement of her fastball. But she needed another pitch to keep college hitters off balance.

“It’s made a big difference,” Pickler said of the changeup. “She’s a much more effective pitcher with it. She could throw one before. You just had no idea where it was going sometimes.”

Lopez, who can play several positions, was expected to be used more as a utility player at Cypress rather than only a pitcher this season. But in the fall, it looked like she might not play at all.

She was bothered by a sore right (pitching) hand and doctors recommended in November that she either have her hand put in a cast to rest it or have surgery. Lopez opted for the cast, which she wore from Thanksgiving until the start of the season in the second week of February.

Since having the cast off, she hasn’t had much trouble with the hand despite being spiked on the hand on a play at the plate against Orange Coast.

“It seems like every collision we have she’s in,” Pickler said. “I need to just get her mad so she throws harder. I’m always telling her she needs to be mean and nasty out there and not pretty and nice.”

State Tournament Notes

Cypress, which finished second in the State tournament last season to Palomar and finished third in 1992, is making its sixth consecutive appearance. The Chargers open against host College of the Sequoias (38-11) at 3 p.m. Friday. Fresno (24-17) plays Palomar (36-17) also at 3 p.m. The winners meet at 8 p.m. Friday. In the other half of the bracket, Delta (34-5) plays Mt. San Antonio (32-11) and Sacramento City (51-12) plays Long Beach (38-5) both at 1 p.m. Friday. The winners’ bracket final is at 8 p.m. Saturday and the title game is Sunday at 2.