Some Big-Time Athletes Play at the County’s Littlest Schools: a

The county-high 264 strikeouts and .630 batting average came against competition that wasn’t the best, but that doesn’t mean Lauren Capriotti’s success as a softball player for Capistrano Valley Christian is without merit.

“She’s pretty good,” said Doug Myers, a private instructor and former Mater Dei High softball coach. “I wouldn’t compare her to Tia [Bollinger] or Natalie [King], but she’s a lefty and causes a lot of problems.”

Mater Dei’s Bollinger and Fountain Valley’s King, the county’s best pitchers, are in a class of their own. But Capriotti, the Academy League’s most valuable player last season, “is in that next tier,” Myers said.

And that’s not too bad.

A crafty senior who finds humor at how badly some players misjudge her changeup, Capriotti relishes the opportunity to attend Capistrano Valley Christian--enrollment 279--”where everyone knows everyone,” and sports anonymity seems a sure thing.

“Going to a big school, you get [named] all-county,” Capriotti said. “Going to a small school, you don’t get recognized no matter how good you are. I understand that trade-off, whether it’s fair or not. . . . I believe there’s a plan for everything. If I’m not supposed to be in the limelight right now, it’s not a huge factor for me.”

Her high school is more important than her high school softball.

“I think without this school, I would not be a Christian and would not be so thankful for everything, so grateful,” Capriotti said. “I think I’m a better person for going to a small, Christian school.”

She might be a better pitcher too.

As the only pitcher on Capistrano Valley Christian’s softball team, Capriotti threw 147 innings last spring. Then she pitched in summer travel ball for the first time for the Southern California Belles in 18-and-under Gold competition. She was 15-4 with a 0.71 earned-run average for her summer team. In the nationals, she was 3-2 as a pitcher and batted .421.

“She wasn’t allowed to pitch on travel teams until this year because she was wild,” Belles Coach Mark Carlson said. “She pitched all those innings [in high school], her control got better and better, and she just blossomed.

“She has command of the drop and change, and she’s getting command of the rise and curve.”

Capriotti no doubt will get some looks from college recruiters at the Oktoberfest tournament in Tustin, Oct. 22-24, and she has a November recruiting trip planned to Southern Mississippi, which was ranked No. 8 in the nation last season.

Only once, before her sophomore year when she considered Capistrano Valley High, did Capriotti think about attending a public school. She backed out.

“Going to a small, private school my whole life [and moving] to a huge, overpopulated school, I just got scared,” she said. “I’m glad I stayed.”