Pitchers duel at Kennedy

One’s country, one’s city. One’s left-handed, one’s right-handed. One’s a power pitcher, the other’s more of a junk-baller.

Allee Allen and Ashley Hewitt come into the 2008 high school softball season with the spotlight squarely on them because last year the spotlight was not.

Instead, it shined on La Palma Kennedy pitcher Brooke Turner, who helped the Fighting Irish reach the Southern Section Division II title game.

But Turner is at UCLA this season. Everyone else on the Kennedy team is back. The only difference is that someone else will be in the pitcher’s circle.

Allen or Hewitt. Or both.

“Our message to them was they both have to be ready,” Kennedy Coach Jami Shannon said. “There’s no commitment or guarantee of how much playing time one will get.”

That already has been proved simply based on the past. Kennedy went 29-2 a year ago, and Turner (27-2) pitched all but 12 innings. She was fantastic too, with a 0.21 earned-run average.

Allen has signed with Oklahoma and is the powerful left-hander. Hewitt signed with Illinois Chicago and relies more on guile.

“I think we’re both working hard to win the job and be the starting pitcher,” Allen said. “We’re competing, but we’re friends. We definitely complement each other.

“It’s a relief, you know that if you’re not on, you’ve got someone who’s really good to back you up.”

One could emerge as the primary pitcher and get all the innings, the way Turner did. They could switch off from game to game. Or one could be the starter and the other the closer.

Having two such contrasting pitchers should help a team that seems to have everything it needs to otherwise succeed. Speed. Power. Defense.

Last season, Turner gave up only one run in 15 innings in two victories over Garden Grove Pacifica, then lost the title game to the Mariners, 5-1. It seemed to be a case of overexposure.

“They knew her strengths and weaknesses and they caught up to her,” Hewitt said. “They finally got her number.”

If both of Kennedy’s pitchers step up the way they hope, no one may catch up to the Fighting Irish.

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martin.henderson@latimes.com