Chapman’s Lloyd Sets Out on Own

Janet Lloyd will set foot on the diamond at Hart Park Saturday, alone for the first time as softball coach when Chapman hosts UC San Diego in a doubleheader.

Lloyd takes over from her father, Lisle, 75, who retired at the end of last season after suffering a mild stroke.

Janet Lloyd had a standout playing career at Chapman in the early 1980s, led the nation in home runs and was named an All-American in 1984.

A year later she became an assistant coach to her father.

Five years ago Janet Lloyd was elevated to co-head coach and began to take over more of the field coaching duties.

Chapman went 156-32 during that span, winning an NCAA Division III national title in 1995 and finishing second in 1996 and 1998.

“I’ve been waiting for this day for a quite a while,” Janet Lloyd said. “When your dad is 75 and he doesn’t have the reactions like he used to, you know that this day may come, sooner or later.

“In his case, it came later. It wasn’t like we were pushing him out the door. He liked what he was doing.”

Janet Lloyd said her father’s stroke, which he suffered driving to his office, has left Lisle somewhat forgetful. It went undetected for several days and Lisle doesn’t remember a lot about last season.

Saturday’s opener with San Diego could be a barometer of just how good the Panthers will be this season. The Panthers return seven starters. UC San Diego is expected to contend for one of the two West Coast NCAA playoff spots.

“These are two of the best teams in the region,” Lloyd said. “I have mixed emotions about playing them really early. It’s good competition, but I’d just as soon play them now so our team can get ready for the rest of the season.”

LOOKING FOR OPTIMISM

Concordia’s softball team, which hosts Bethany College of Scott’s Valley at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, is off to a rough start. The Eagles (0-4) dropped doubleheaders to Simon Fraser and to the University of San Diego, a Division I school, last weekend.

Freshman pitcher Christie Shankles took the losses against Simon Fraser. Junior pitcher Allison Maya took both losses against San Diego. She was 5-12 last season with a 7.60 earned-run average.

Still, there’s hope under first-year Coach Frank Rizzo that the Eagles, who return seven players, can put the 1998 season behind them. Last year Concordia had to forfeit or cancel 18 games because of injuries or illnesses and finished 3-41-1.

“We’re looking at a promising season,” Rizzo said. “We have lots of young and experienced talent that could help us surprise a lot of people in the conference.”

Seniors Michele Lara (.330 batting average, 14 runs batted in) and Cynthia Molleman (.336) return. Top newcomers include Shankles of San Diego University City, utility player Dawn Davidson (Foothill), who transferred from Utah State, infielder Vanessa La Torre (Capistrano Valley) and pitcher/catcher Melissa Naylon (San Clemente).

SHOWDOWN AT THE PIT

The front-running women’s basketball team at Southern California College (20-7, 8-2) hosts second-place Concordia (14-9, 7-3) today in a Golden State Athletic Conference game at 5:30 p.m.

It figures to be a dandy.

Concordia is tied with Azusa Pacific (17-7, 7-3).

SCC has won 30 consecutive games in its tiny gym, known as “The Pit.”

“We really haven’t been playing that great,” SCC Coach Russ Davis said. “I don’t know how we have been doing it, except that we play with a lot of emotion and togetherness.”

A big factor has been defense. Davis points out the Vanguards are shooting only 40% on the season, but in games in which SCC has held opponents to 65 points or fewer, the team is 20-0.

Tonight’s matchup with Concordia pits the top rebounders in the GSAC. Concordia junior Priscilla Bendik leads the conference, averaging 7.7 rebounds. SCC freshman Kelly Boeke is second at 7.6.

Senior guard Amee Pina of SCC leads the GSAC in three-point shooting (43.7%) and assists (7.3). SCC seniors Kristi Wright (88.2%) and Alana Kempton (84.4%) are the conference’s top free-throw shooters.

CLOSING POINTS

Concordia women’s basketball small forward Jaime Gast was named GSAC player of the week for her effort in victories last week over Point Loma Nazarene and Fresno Pacific. The junior scored 55 points, had 17 rebounds, six assists and five steals. She was also six for six in three-point shooting. . . . Men’s basketball guard Josh Giles of Concordia leads the GSAC in free-throw percentage (84.7%). Concordia (16-12, 5-5) plays at SCC (10-18, 4-6) at 7:30 tonight. . . . Lisa Nielsen doesn’t want to talk about it anymore, but a month ago it looked as if her women’s basketball season at Chapman had been ended by a car accident. Preliminary reports indicated she had a fractured patella and her knees were swollen. However, X-rays proved negative and a sore Nielsen hobbled back onto the floor five days after the accident to play in the Panthers’ 57-52 loss to Christian Heritage. The 5-8 forward is averaging 10.2 points and 10.2 rebounds.

Paul McLeod can be reached at (714) 966-5904 or at paul.mcleod@latimes.com