Measuring Its Youth in Fractions

We’re all aware of the family with 2.3 children, but La Habra Coach Sue Briquelet says she has “3 1/2 freshman starters” on her team.

Those freshmen are Lynette Ferra (second base), Christina Carrillo (third base), Elaine Elsesser (right field) and Jennifer Smallwood (left field), who plays whenever sophomore Christina Gibbons pitches.

“The half starter is the one who gets a little bit of playing time,” she explained.

Some people, however, would say Briquelet’s half-player is senior Michelle Archibeque, “a barely 5-foot, 100-pounder” who is the Highlanders’ center fielder. But she’s big on the softball field. Archibeque batted .333 and stole 27 bases last year.

“She grew up as a gymnast and started playing softball in eighth grade,” Briquelet said.

“Archie’s this tiny little stick thing. It’s surprising how good she is.”

She has seven steals in two games this season. And her acrobatic catches are all the rave.

He’s as serious as a tax audit: Things have been tough for Santiago. The Cavaliers have been to the playoffs only once in Corky Driver’s nine-year tenure as coach.

But he likes his chances this season in the Garden Grove League.

His team has several key returners, including all-league first baseman Jackie Godinez.

How much was he anticipating this season?

“I was looking forward to it so much,” Driver quipped, “that I had a heart attack two weeks ago.”

Driver’s seat on the bench is being warmed by assistant Brian Crank, who is handling the team. But Driver said he hopes to be back on the field in three weeks so he can enjoy this season.

“I think we can finish second, but Garden Grove will have something to say about that,” Driver said. “But I like our team. I figure everyone will lose to Pacifica twice in our league since they have the best pitchers in the county. And after that, who knows?”

The player of the year pool: This year’s junior class is loaded with talent.

Foothill outfielder Lauren Bauer, Rosary shortstop Lesley Fulton, Westminster outfielder/shortstop Kelly Hauxhurst and Pacifica pitcher/shortstop Toni Mascarenas made The Times all-county first team last year.

Woodbridge first baseman Ashley Boone, Garden Grove pitcher Kathy Moore, Irvine outfielder Debbie Tomoguchi and Los Alamitos third baseman/shortstop Cyndi Tredway were on the second team.

The only all-county players who were juniors last year were named to the second team, pitchers Colleen Boddy (Mater Dei), Angie Fancuberta (Fullerton), Marie Gieron (Foothill), and outfielder Marisa Holmes (Foothill).

Two players made the team as freshmen, Pacifica pitcher Amanda Freed, who made the first team, and Mater Dei second baseman Kelsey Kollen, who made the second.

Uh, about that title . . .: Mater Dei is loaded, no doubt. And it’s easy to make it the favorite to win the Southern Section Division I championship. Last year, Marina wore the can’t miss label and fulfilled everyone’s expectations by beating Mater Dei in the final, 3-0.

In that game, Marcy Crouch pitched a four-hitter. She had lost to Mater Dei earlier in the year, 3-1, the only game in her final 38 starts in which she gave up more than two runs.

It was a reminder that good pitching beats good hitting.

And a reminder Pacifica beat Mater Dei three times last year with Freed and Mascarenas.

Los Alamitos beat Pacifica, 1-0, in nine innings. In the semifinals, Mater Dei beat Los Alamitos, 3-0, as Los Alamitos shortstop Michelle Schneider--who committed one error all season--committed two in a three-run sixth inning.

As for Foothill, the Knights had lost to Marina a year earlier in the championship game and returned everyone--everyone. They were the top-seeded team in the division and lost in the quarterfinals to Westlake Village Westlake, 3-2, on a three-run homer--only the second to clear the fence at Foothill’s field.

“I can’t say that we’re unbeatable,” Mater Dei captain Lisa Tully said. “When teams play against Mater Dei [in any sport], they come out ready to play. Through the years, I’ve always noticed that. People come out gunning for you.”

And Pacifica and Foothill are packing an arsenal.

No dogs allowed: Fountain Valley already has the premier tournament in Orange County in only its second year, this year’s should be thoroughly entertaining.

Coach Cary Baker was pleased that all but a couple of teams were competitive in the tournament’s debut last year. The teams that weren’t competitive aren’t back. This year’s tournament, which begins Saturday at Mile Square Park, is loaded.

Possible second-round matchups include Pacifica against Ocean View or Huntington Beach (4 p.m.), Foothill against Marina or Capistrano Valley (2 p.m.), Woodbridge against Fountain Valley (6 p.m.), and Mater Dei against either Canyon or Laguna Hills (6 p.m.).

The tournament begins at 10 a.m., and continues March 23. Pacifica, Mater Dei, Woodbridge and Foothill are the top four seeded teams.

First and goal: Aliso Niguel’s football schedule paid off for softball Coach Kari Boothroyd.

Boothroyd was a member of Aliso Niguel’s chain gang, which keeps track of downs and yardage markers. The chain gang operates on the visiting team’s sidelines. One of Aliso Niguel’s opponents last fall was La Quinta, and one of the Aztecs’ coaches, Tony Tubbs, noticed the chain gang and apparently had trouble keeping his mind between the end zones.

He asked his friend, Aliso Niguel baseball Coach Mike Chapman, to let Boothroyd know that he wanted to meet her.

They met.

They’re engaged.

They’re getting married Aug. 10.

But they don’t have much time together. When Boothroyd isn’t coaching the Wolverines or planning her wedding, she’s working on her high school reunion--Irvine, Class of ‘86--looking for classmates.

A costly lesson: Julie Anderson, Huntington Beach’s softball coach and the Saddleback girls’ basketball coach, had an off-season she would like to forget. She was injured in an automobile accident Oct. 21. She spent eight days in the hospital with abdominal injuries and burns on her legs from sliding across the pavement. She wasn’t wearing a safety belt.

“I was two miles from school,” Anderson said. “I stopped at a liquor store to get some ice for practice, jumped back in and didn’t put it on. That won’t happen again.”

She said she was thrown about 40 feet when her car collided with another car. The driver of the car was killed.

“If I wasn’t totally 100% sure the light was green, I would be beating myself to a pulp, but I was so ahead of schedule . . .,” Anderson said. “I was having a great morning, was taking my time and looking forward to the tournament. Then boom! It all changed real quick.”

* Correspondents Michael Itagaki and Eric Maddy contributed to this story.