Eight Is Enough to Give Sherman Positive Outlook

Always the optimist, Coach Janet Sherman of the Cal State Northridge softball team would find the silver lining if the sky was falling.

For Sherman, optimism this season rests with the eight new playerson the team.

“I have such a pleasant problem; I don’t know how I’m going to get all my freshmen in,” said Sherman, who is starting her fifth season.

Although the Matadors have six freshmen and two junior college transfers, they are not as inexperienced as last year, when they had 10 new players.

But that youth didn’t keep Northridge from winning its first Big West Conference title and finishing 37-19, and Sherman hopes it won’t keep the Matadors from being competitive this year.

Northridge gets one of its toughest tests today in its opener against third-ranked UCLA at Easton Stadium at 1 p.m.

“They’re skipping the frying pan and going right into the fire,” said Sherman, a former UCLA player.

The Matadors lost nine players from last season, including seven starters.

“We have a very young program,” Sherman said. “Is it a growing year? Last fall was a growing year. We make silly mistakes sometimes, but we’re getting better every day.”

Northridge is rebuilding, to be sure. The biggest loss is first baseman Chelo Lopez, whose career average of .349, 149 runs batted in and 40 home runs surely will be missed.

Also gone is junior Elizabeth Sanches, who batted .338 with 23 RBIs.

Sanches, who last season played in pain because of shin problems, told Sherman at the end of last season she wanted to be closer to her family in Long Beach and would not return to Northridge. Sanches is now a redshirt at Long Beach State.

Despite the losses, the Matadors will have veteran ace Tara Glaister to keep them in games.

“She’s the key obviously to our pitching staff,” Sherman said. “If she has a good year, we have a good year.”

Glaister, who in three seasons is 63-29 with a 1.77 earned-run average, is one of only three seniors.

Ashlie Hayes, one of only two returning Matadors to bat better than .300 last season, will start at shortstop.

“Her focus is good,” Sherman said. “She doesn’t get distracted by the little things.”

Other returnees who had significant playing time are juniors Jessica Creith and Jamie Moore.

Creith, who transferred from Indiana after her freshman season, batted .319 last season and will start in left field. Moore started 27 games at catcher and will provide experience.

The most notable freshman is right-hander Summer Richardson, an all-state selection who led Boron High to the Southern Section Division VI title game as a junior.

Like so many freshmen pitchers, Richardson is having trouble adapting to the pitching distance, which is three feet farther in college than in high school.

“She beats up our catchers,” Sherman said. “She throws the drop and it bites in the dirt every time. But Summer has come a long way in the last two weeks.”

Richardson is also among the better hitters and will be the designated player when she isn’t pitching.

Sherman also is excited about freshmen Elizabeth Pierce and Ui Bal.

Pierce, an all-state pitcher who led Fresno Buchanan to the Tri-River Athletic Conference title, will start at first base. She was among the most consistent hitters in the fall.

Bal, from Pinole High, is a middle infielder who could give the Matadors the power they lost with Lopez’s departure.

Marisa Ornelas is another newcomer expected to make an immediate impact.

Ornelas only joined the team last month because she had to complete a class at Fullerton College.

The junior college All-American is a speedster who will start in center field and eventually bat leadoff.

“It’s so hard to come in and learn a new system in a month,” Sherman said.

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PLAYERS TO WATCH

(On Top College Teams)

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Player Pos. Yr. High School No. 1 Fresno State Kara Campbell So. OF La Canada Lindsay Parker Sr. RHP La Canada Becky Witt So. OF Louisville No. 2 Arizona Nicole Giordano So. OF Saugus Erika Hanson So. 1B Thousand Oaks No. 3 UCLA Lupe Brambila So. OF Monroe Lesley Feldman Sr. UT Notre Dame No. 4 Washington Jeanine Giordano Jr. C Saugus Christie Rosenblad So. Inf. Fillmore No. 5 Michigan Catherine Davie Sr. OF Westlake Jamie Gillies Jr. RHP Saugus No. 13 Long Beach State Kim Diener Fr. RHP Alemany Kristi Fox Jr. RHP Newbury Park No. 14 Stanford Shane Anderson Sr. 3B La Reina Christina Chao Fr. UT Hart Jessica Mendoza Fr. UT Camarillo Ramona Shelburne So. OF El Camino Real No. 18 Arizona State Christine Gill Jr. 3B-C Saugus Oregon State Kim Herman Sr. C Buena Kelli Kranz Sr. C-3B Saugus Michelle Notaro Fr. OF Westlake Parisa Plant Jr. 3B Chatsworth Brooke Rutschman So. UT Camarillo

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