NOTEBOOK : Davidson’s Song Wows the Crowd

She stood there behind home plate, a spot so familiar to the softball catcher from Foothill. But instead of crouching behind the plate, Dawn Davidson stood tall, took a deep breath and sang the national anthem before the Angels’ 8-7 victory over Oakland on Wednesday.

“It was fun,” Davidson said. “It seemed pretty big to me--Anaheim Stadium, major league baseball, in front of a big crowd. Maybe it didn’t seem like a big crowd to the players, only 12,000, but that’s a lot of people to me.”

The crowd of 12,864 was the largest she has performed in front of. She has sung in front of the school at pep assemblies, including “As If We Never Said Goodbye” from “Sunset Boulevard” recently--but most importantly, she performed without a flaw.

“My dad (Paul) said it blew them away, and he’s heard me sing many times,” Davidson said. “He’s not the type of guy to say, ‘That was great, that was great.’ He’s really straightforward.

“I really felt like I nailed it. I was really comfortable.”

Davidson got the Star-Spangled opportunity after sending the Angels a tape. She hopes to sing professionally, and is going to make a demo tape this summer: “Some Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston-type songs, some Broadway songs,” she said.

She began singing at church and joined her junior high choir in the seventh grade.

Marshall, UC Santa Barbara, Creighton and Baylor have expressed interest in her as a softball player, but she is undecided where she will go; she will major in theater arts or elementary education.

Foothill Coach Joe Gonzalez remembered the first time he heard Davidson sing.

“I was the guest speaker at her Bobby Sox banquet when she was in eighth grade and I heard this voice, and I just thought it was still the recorded music,” Gonzalez said. “It was her. Unbelievable.

“I’ve had her sing at every one of our banquets. Two years ago, she and her dad did a duet from ‘Beauty and the Beast’; we had to take a five-minute break so everybody could gather their composure.”

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Although it would be hard to find a shorter game than the 1-hour 13-minute contest between the Los Alamitos and Marina softball teams, there were two last week that were models of efficiency from a pitcher’s point of view.

Foothill’s Marie Gieron needed only 69 pitches in seven innings against Villa Park; losing pitcher Tammy Kincaid needed only 76. The most remarkable number was that Kincaid threw only 13 pitches in the fifth inning when Foothill scored three runs in a 5-0 victory.

The year’s most efficient game might have been Mater Dei’s 1-0 victory over San Clemente; Colleen Boddy made 71 pitches in seven innings for the victory, and Brittany Carlson had 59 in six innings in defeat--an average of 10 pitches per half inning.

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Newport Harbor won the national high school regatta last weekend off Coronado and captured its first Mallory Trophy. Newport Harbor led throughout and finished with a 16-point victory over the 20-boat fleet. The Newport sailing team, led by skippers Nathan Dunham and Casey Hogan, is undefeated this season and has won all of its regattas by at least 30 points. Other crew members are Patrick Hogan, Heather Porter and Kassy Thompson.

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Baseball enters its final week with half of the 12 league races undecided.

The hottest race is in the Pacific Coast League, where Laguna Hills and University are tied with 9-4 records. They will play twice this week. University is looking for its first playoff berth since 1986.

Right behind are Costa Mesa (8-5), which has two dates with Aliso Niguel (7-6). If Costa Mesa sweeps Aliso, and Laguna Hills splits with University, there will be a three-way tie for first place. Aliso Niguel, in its first varsity season of baseball, must win both games to get an automatic playoff berth. In other key battles:

* Sunny Hills (9-4) is 1 1/2 games behind Sonora (10-2-1) in the Freeway League. They meet twice.

* Irvine (12-1) and Santa Margarita (11-2), the class of the Sea View League, play twice.

* Magnolia (10-3), chasing its first Orange League title since 1983, leads Brea Olinda (9-4) by one game. They play twice.

* Mater Dei (10-3) is fending off Trabuco Hills (9-4) in the South Coast League, but they do not finish against each other.

* Calvary Chapel (11-1-1) leads Cerritos Valley Christian (10-3) in the Olympic League. Each plays twice, but face each other only once--on Thursday.

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With two games left, Foothill, Pacifica, Kennedy and Laguna Hills have clinched at least a share of their respective league softball titles. Each has a two-game lead; Mater Dei already has won the South Coast League title outright.

Pacifica, Kennedy and Laguna Hills are undefeated and have to lose twice to share their titles. Here’s a look at the other league championship races.

* Connelly (6-2) holds a half-game lead over St. Margaret’s (5-2) in the Academy League and play each other today at Connelly.

* Tenth-ranked Fullerton (7-1) and Sunny Hills (7-1) are tied with a two-game lead over La Habra (5-3). Sunny Hills plays host to La Habra today and Sonora Thursday; Fullerton plays Sonora (4-4) and Troy (0-8).

* Seventh-ranked Rosary (11-2) has a half-game lead over Ocean View (10-2-1) and one-game lead over Westminster (10-3); Rosary wins the first Golden West title outright with two victories over Tustin (4-8); Ocean View plays Westminster twice.

* Cerritos Valley Christian (6-2) has a one-game lead over Ontario Christian (5-3) and Calvary Chapel (5-3) in the Olympic League; Calvary Chapel plays host to Valley Christian Thursday at TeWinkle Park.

* Magnolia (6-2) leads the Orange League by one game over Savanna (5-3) and Western (5-3), who play today at Savanna; Magnolia plays Valencia (4-4) and Brea Olinda (3-5).

* Irvine (7-1) leads the Sea View League by one game over El Toro (6-2) and Woodbridge (6-2), who play today at Alton Park; Irvine plays Corona del Mar (1-7) and Santa Margarita (3-5).

* Third-ranked Marina (7-1) has a one-game lead over eighth-ranked Fountain Valley (6-2), which plays sixth-ranked Los Alamitos (5-3) today. Marina closes with Esperanza (4-4) and Edison (0-8); Fountain Valley ends with Esperanza, and Los Alamitos ends the season at Huntington Beach (2-6).

Times staff writer Mike Terry contributed to this story.