Not at Home in Indiana, Creith Joins Matadors

Jessica Creith has come home. And Cal State Northridge is pretty darn happy about it.

Creith, a right-hander who went to Indiana on a softball scholarship out of Granada Hills High last year, left the Hoosiers after one season and transferred to Northridge, the school she wanted to play for from the beginning.

“[Northridge] was a school that I always wanted to go to, but at the last minute I decided to go away,” Creith said.

Although she was not recruited by Northridge out of high school, Creith felt she could make the Matador squad as a walk-on. Instead, she opted to leave home and go to “a big rah-rah school.”

Turns out, she should have stuck with her original plan.

“[Indiana] was the wrong decision for me,” Creith said. “It was just too far for me. I didn’t like the girls on the team and I just didn’t like the state in general.”

Creith, the ace of Indiana’s staff last season with a 14-10 record and a 1.75 earned-run average, said she was planning to come home after the school year to attend and play for Northridge whether she was offered a scholarship or not.

But Creith, who contacted Northridge Coach Janet Sherman after getting her release at the end of the season, couldn’t have asked for a better scenario.

“We saved a little bit [of scholarship money because] we were kind of hoping somebody would give us a call,” Sherman said.

When Creith told Sherman she was coming home and asked if Northridge could use her, Sherman was all ears.

“I said, ‘Yeah we’re looking for pitchers,’ ” Sherman said. “It was excellent timing.”

Creith, who led Granada Hills to the City 4-A championship game in 1995, is an all-around player who can fill a position when she’s not pitching.

At Granada Hills, Creith enjoyed her best season as a junior, finishing 15-5 with a 0.31 ERA and 117 strikeouts in 134 innings. She batted .459 with 23 runs batted in.

Sherman said Creith is a junk-ball pitcher similar to former Northridge right-hander Jen Richardson in style and competitiveness.

The additions of Creith and Veronica Lopez of Canyon High in Anaheim Hills brings to four the number of Northridge pitchers.

Last season, the Matadors had two and the pitching was suspect, to say the least.

“We have so much depth now,” Sherman said.

Creith is the second area player to return home to play for Northridge in as many years. Ashlie Hayes of Chaminade played for Massachusetts for a year and was named the Atlantic 10 rookie of the year before her return.

For Creith, like Hayes, Northridge is home sweet home.

“I’m just so happy it all worked out,” Creith said.

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In hindsight, Frank Enterante realizes he was being a bit nearsighted.

Enterante and his Stealth players decided in September to move up to Women’s A Division from the 18-and-under Gold Division. Because of their inexperience at the higher level, playing in the national tournament would not be among their team goals.

Although each of the 13 team members play or have signed to play at four-year colleges, five of them are still eligible to play in the 18-and-under division and the Stealth thought it might be overmatched in its first year in the women’s division.

Turns out, he and his players--11 from area high schools--underestimated themselves.

“We’ve held our own against everybody we’ve played,” Enterante said.

The Stealth (which is no longer affiliated with Stealth founder Don Harris’ program) is 17-6 and hasn’t been overwhelmed by any teams it has faced.

“The kids on this team just do the things it takes to be competitive,” Enterante said.

Unfortunately for the Stealth, Enterante has other commitments during the national tournament and cannot go to the tournament even though he considers his team among the top three in Women’s A division.

Some Stealth players, like Creith, will be picked up by other teams for national tournaments, Enterante said.

Becky Witt (Louisville), who is headed to Fresno State, Northwestern’s Tami Jones (El Camino Real) and Central Michigan’s Tina Kinney (Hoover) were asked to play for other teams at the national tournament, but turned down the offers.

“Most of the girls who turned down [other teams] start school in the third week of August and by the time nationals ended, they would have just enough time to get home, pack and head off again to school,” Enterante said. “It would be too hectic for them. They just want a couple of weeks off to do nothing.”