Runner-Up Finish Is of Secondary Concern to Haning

The Orange County Batbusters finished second in the ASA Junior Olympic Gold Nationals in St. Louis, and the Santa Ana-based softball team’s coach, Gary Haning, couldn’t have been more proud of his team.

“The team played brilliantly, possibly a little over its head,” Haning said. “According to all the ASA pundits, this was supposed to be a down year for us except for the pitching.

“If we had won the final game by a 10-0 mercy rule, I couldn’t be prouder of what they did.”

Haning has coached the Batbusters to five 18-and-under national titles, but this year’s team fell a little short, losing two of three games to the Katy (Texas) Cruisers. Katy defeated the Batbusters in a semifinal, but the Batbusters came back through the losers’ bracket and eventually defeated Katy, 1-0. The Aug. 6 title game was also 1-0, decided in 10 innings using the international tiebreaker.

Cypress’ Kristen Baker, who played left field and right field for the Batbusters, was named to the all-tournament team, thereby receiving ASA All-American designation.

Baker wasn’t the only county player on the team, which is composed of top players from Southern California. Dominique Lastrapes of Laguna Hills, who batted more than .300 as the team won nine of its 11 games, drove in the winning run in two games, including a first-round tiebreaker game against the Southern California Belles.

“If you lose the first game in a double-elimination tournament with 68 teams, you’re in deep [trouble],” Haning said. “Dom had a great tournament for someone who’s 14.”

Christina Clark, a junior at Mater Dei, played first base and also batted more than .300, and drove in the only run in the Batbusters’ victory over Katy.

Foothill’s Elizabeth Bendig and recent Sunny Hills graduate Erin Jones also played well for the Batbusters, especially on defense. Other county players on the team were catcher Kristi Durant, a junior at El Dorado, and Allison Chislock, a senior first baseman at Cypress.

MORE SOFTBALL

Foothill pitcher Courtney Fossatti has been selected to play against the U.S. Olympic softball team Friday and Saturday at Chino Hills Community Park. It is the final stop on the mainland before the Summer Olympics in Sydney. Her teammates include her sister, Lindsay Fossatti, who is at Fresno State, and former Foothill shortstop Jaime Clark, the 1999 Times’ Orange County player of the year who is at Washington.

Other local players who will compete against the Olympic team are Lovianne Jung (formerly of Fresno State/Fountain Valley High), Natasha Watley (UCLA/Woodbridge), Jenny Topping (Washington/La Habra) and Nichole Thompson (Arizona State/Woodbridge).

Doubleheaders begin both days at 6:30 p.m.

TOURNAMENT NOTES

The Orange County Maccabi 16-under boys’ basketball team will represent Jewish community centers at the Junior Jewish Olympics this week in Cincinnati.

The basketball portion of the Olympics opened Monday and will conclude today.

County players include: Mater Dei sophomore center Harrison Schaen, Newport Harbor junior forward Tony Melum, Northwood junior guard Matt Susson, Canyon junior guard Jonnie Munz, Canyon sophomore guard Michael Landman and Corona del Mar junior forward Kyle Schwartz.

The team, which won a silver medal last year, is coached by Lee Garson, who has coached teams to three gold medals at the event, including Orange County in 1998.

Staff writer Ben Bolch contributed to this report.

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