Winning? No Problem

Any person who inherits a top-notch high school softball team in her first year as a head coach might feel pressure to succeed immediately, but not Westlake’s Beth Calcante.

The only pressure she’s feeling these days is her teeth biting into her tongue, a little trick that keeps her from telling umpires what she thinks of their officiating. Or the steam that seems to build up in her head every time an overzealous parent feels the need to inform the All-American slugger from Cal State Northridge how to swing, or how to throw, or what position their daughter is best suited to play. Now that’s pressure.

Winning? No problem, insists Calcante.

“I don’t see us losing very many games,” she said. “Maybe five. . . .”

Westlake, The Times’ top-ranked team in the region, last year finished 24-7 and advanced to the Division I semifinals. Five starters return, including ace Kelly DeArman, who was 23-6 and finished with the fourth-lowest earned-run average (0.26) in the region.

For Calcante, who ranks among the top three career leaders at Northridge in nearly every offensive category, it’s simply a matter of setting high goals in the beginning and getting after it. Set goals too low and you are bound to be disappointed, she said. Calcante’s last two years at Northridge--the only years the Matadors advanced to the Women’s College World Series--taught her that much.

“We wanted to get to the World Series; we went, we lost,” said Calcante, a Newbury Park High graduate who played for the Matadors from 1991-94. “Then the next year we just wanted to get to the final game. What did we do? We choked [in the championship game].

“If you think that way, it’s gonna happen that way.”

So, she’s got the Warriors thinking league title and section championship.

Calcante finds most of the answers in her lineup. With an excellent returning battery that includes DeArman and sophomore catcher Heather King, anything is possible.

But the Warriors’ strength, Calcante said, is actually their hitting ability, which would be quite a turnaround from last year. Westlake, which had only one player who batted better than .250 last season, eked out more than a dozen 1-0 victories for DeArman.

And with slugger Cathy Davie (.323) graduated and playing for Michigan, the Warriors will have a lot to prove in that department. But Calcante thinks Sarah Koppel, a sophomore shortstop, has the tools to replace Davie.

And only time will tell if Calcante has the tools to make Westlake another 20-game winner.

THE REST OF THE TOP 10:

2. Camarillo (22-6 in 1995): Eight starters return from a team that had an excellent chance of winning a second section title in five years. But Camarillo was forced to forfeit its quarterfinal playoff game when it was discovered that Coach Darwin Tolzin pitched batting practice to a player on a Sunday, a section violation. Camarillo Principal Terry Tackett forced Tolzin to resign and now the program that Tolzin built has been handed over to one of his former players, Nichole Victoria. Victoria, a star at UCLA from 1991-94, inherits an outstanding squad and has set the same goal as Westlake’s Calcante: to win it all. Topping the list of eight returning starters, six of which were all-league selections, is sophomore pitcher Cindy Ball (8-2; 0.52 ERA) and first baseman Jessica Ziese (.369; 19 RBIs), the league’s most valuable player.

3. Crescenta Valley (22-4): The perennial Pacific League champions return seven starters. Senior right-hander Danielle Ferreira (8-1; 0.31 ERA), the team’s second ace behind Danielle Robertshaw (14-2) a year ago, will have plenty of support. Junior catcher Leslie Linnemeyer (.391), sophomore shortstop Becca Baldridge (.351) and junior third baseman Hope Robertshaw (.351) will provide the firepower.

4. Newbury Park (19-9): The Panthers finished in a three-way tie for second with Westlake and Thousand Oaks last season. Look for more of the same in 1996. Newbury Park suffered early last year when five players joined the team two weeks into the season because they were competing in the State basketball playoffs. Seven starters return, including the senior battery of pitcher Kristi Fox (16-6; 0.29) and catcher Emily Webster (.268; five triples), who will bat leadoff.

5. El Camino Real (19-2): Once again, the Conquistadores are loaded. Anything less than an appearance in the City 4-A championship game would be a disappointment. Five starters return, three of whom were all-City selections last year: Tami Jones (.487), Kristin Gutekunst (.507; 24 RBIs) and Ramona Shelburne (.425; 27 RBIs) rank among the best players in the region. Jones, who was 15-2 with a 0.37 ERA last season, should get some relief in the circle from freshmen Ashley Redlin and Kristi Nicklaus.

6. Saugus (23-5): Five starters return from last year’s bunch of underachievers. The Centurions have earned Division II’s No. 1-seeding in the playoffs for the past two seasons, but failed to get into the final. Last year they raced through Foothill League play undefeated only to lose to La Mirada, 4-0, in the second round. Saugus, which lost to El Camino Real, 3-2, over the weekend, is off to a slow start because ace right-hander Jamie Gillies (18-5; 1.05 ERA), the division’s player of the year in 1994, has been out with a back strain. Chris Gill, a .385 hitter who slugged a region-leading 11 doubles last year, Nicole Giordano (.491; 40 runs scored) and Jill Passafiume (.457) are capable of shouldering the offense by themselves.

7. Quartz Hill (10-15): Six starters return from a young but talented team that should challenge Burroughs for the Golden League title. Four of those starters batted .275 or better. Shortstop Allison Gove (.345), third baseman Amber Slaton (.337) and catcher Krista Willibrand (.304)--all sophomores--and junior center fielder Kim Tahsuda (2.75) should help the Rebels extend their streak of five years in the playoffs. Slaton and freshman Jodie Cox will handle the pitching duties for a team seemingly on the rise.

8. Hart (21-9): Kellie Nordhagen (.356) and Jenny Arzola (.310) headline a cast of players who overachieved and advanced to the second round of playoffs last season with 12 underclassmen. Senior pitcher Mary Colleran (20-8; 0.57 ERA), who struck out 221 in 186 innings, will help the Indians give Saugus a serious run at the Foothill League title.

9. Granada Hills (15-6): The Highlanders’ greatest accomplishment last year was a 1-0 victory over El Camino Real, the perennial City power, in the 4-A semifinals. With eight returning starters, Granada Hills has the personnel to knock El Camino Real off again. . On paper, Granada Hills has its finest team in years. Senior pitcher Jessica Creith (15-5, 0.31 ERA) is a double threat who has already committed to Indiana. Creith also batted .459 last season with seven doubles and 23 RBIs. Third baseman Missy Miller (.412), an all-City selection, also returns.

10. Chaminade (14-9): The Eagles have the talent to do the unthinkable: Knock Alemany off its Mission League title roost. Six returning starters and a handful of promising freshmen should translate into success in a hurry. Senior Dana Preston, who pitched in only four games before injuring her arm last season, is healthy but could be cast aside in favor of freshman Maureen LeCocq, who has made a name for herself in summer leagues. Sophomore pitcher/outfielder Kelly Durkin (.300), an all-league selection, also returns.