Softball Humiliations Demand Ruling

Winning a softball playoff game, 48-0, may be one for the record books, but it accomplishes little else.

Templeton Coach Valerie Reynolds said she was embarrassed by her team’s lopsided victory over Ly Lycee of Los Angeles last Friday.

“That kind of a score isn’t good for the winning or losing team,” Reynolds said. “Our kids weren’t getting a kick out of it, and I’m sure theirs weren’t either.”

The first-round Southern Section Division VI game started badly and got worse. Host Templeton, 20 miles north of San Luis Obispo, had a 16-0 lead when it scored 12 runs in the fifth inning. Reynolds said she played her entire team and could have avoided the rout only if she had instructed everyone to strike out on purpose.

Many of the section’s leagues use the “mercy rule” during the regular season, which calls for a game to end after five innings if one team is ahead by 10 or more runs. The rule is not used during the playoffs.

Templeton’s one-sided victory was not the only one in the first round of the softball playoffs. Cerritos Valley Christian defeated La Verne Lutheran, 35-0; Lakewood beat Hawthorne, 20-0, and Lancaster Paraclete defeated Los Angeles Baptist, 19-0.

Such scores indicate a need for discussion of the mercy rule being used during the playoffs.

“We’ve never brought the issue up before because we’ve never seen scores like this,” said Karen Hellyer, Southern Section administrator in charge of softball. “I know many of the teams who suffered big losses last week are scheduled to change divisions next season, but we’ll certainly discuss the mercy rule at our wrap-up meeting next month.”

*

Andre DeSaussure of Woodland Hills Taft made a big splash last track season by winning the 100, 200 and 400 meters at the City Section finals. He went on to finish second in the 400 at the State meet.

But the Washington-bound senior has cut back on track this season and said he might skip next month’s state meet.

“Track is just not what I’m thinking about right now,” said DeSaussure, who hopes to play wide receiver in college. “Football is the No. 1 sport with me. Track is second.”

DeSaussure will not defend his 100 and 200 titles at the City finals Thursday at Van Nuys Birmingham High. He will run the 400 after posting the best time in last week’s preliminaries in 48.52 seconds.

*

Startled by a record number of incidents in recent months, Southern Section officials took the initial step toward improving sportsmanship Monday.

The section held the first of many meetings with a newly formed task force made up of administrators, coaches, athletes and media representatives. Its objective is a guide for improving sportsmanship.

“Behavior is getting out of hand at high school sporting events these days,” said Donn Clickard, athletic director at Atascadero. “It’s time we stopped talking about the problem and put our money where our mouth is.”

The committee will meet again in the fall and hopes to have tough new policies in place in the next year.

*

The City Section football playoffs will undergo a major format change next season.

Instead of designating the section’s six conferences as either Division 4-A or 3-A, divisional placement will not be done until after the regular season.

Conference champions will get automatic berths into the more prestigious 4-A playoffs, and a committee of coaches will pick the remaining 10 best teams to fill out the bracket. The committee will then select the 16 teams for the 3-A field.

“The only difficulty I can see is who’s No. 16 in the 4-A and who’s No. 1 in the 3-A,” said City Commissioner Barbara Fiege. “You’re either thrown to the wolves or you’re the big cheese.”

Prep Notes

A scheduling conflict has prompted the City Section to change the date of its baseball championship doubleheader at Dodger Stadium. The Division 4-A and 3-A title games have been moved from June 9 to June 6, a Monday. “A Monday is not the best night to showcase our games,” said City Commissioner Barbara Fiege. “But the coaches did not want to leave Dodger Stadium, so that was our only alternative.” . . . City Section coaches will once again be allowed to have contact with their athletes in the off-season. In a rule reversal, coaches and players can compete together during a three-week period. The time frame will vary by sport. This will allow football teams to participate in spring passing drills.

Times’ Top 20 Baseball Poll

The Times’ top 20 high school baseball poll, with teams from the City and Southern Sections.

School Sect. Div. Rec. LW 1. Bishop Amat SS III 26-0 1 2. Fountain Valley SS I 23-3 3 3. Sylmar City 4-A 24-4 2 4. Lakewood SS I 21-6 4 5. Chatsworth City 4-A 24-4 5 6. La Quinta SS III 23-3 6 7. Tustin SS III 22-5 7 8. Brea-Olinda SS II 22-4 8 9. Nogales SS I 19-6 9 10. Redondo SS II 23-4 12 11. El Dorado SS I 20-7 11 12. Poly City 4-A 21-4 15 13. San Marino SS IV 19-1 13 14. Hart SS II 20-5 14 15. West Torrance SS III 22-6 16 16. Cres. Valley SS I 17-5 19 17. Rowland SS I 20-6 NR 18. Newbury Park SS I 19-7 18 19. Simi Valley SS I 19-6 20 20. SO Notre Dame SS I 19-5 NR