Softball: St. Germain catches praise as Ayala’s “big star”
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No matter what happens Thursday when Ayala plays at El Modena in the Southern Section-Toyota Division II quarterfinals, Nani St. Germain has had an MVP type of season. She’s the shortstop for Ayala, but right now she’s working on her fourth position of the season for the Bulldogs (21-10-1). It’s not a soft one either.
She’s catching.
Now, it wasn’t any big deal when the junior shortstop pitched this season in spot appearances. She pitched last season for Ayala. It wasn’t a big deal when she played some at first base either.
But catching is a different can of worms, and she has really bailed out the Bulldogs thus far. Their starting catcher this season was Taylor Green, who suffered a shoulder injury after 14 games. A couple of weeks ago, backup catcher Christine Stubblefield tore a ligament in her thumb. The third catcher quit earlier this season because she wasn’t getting enough playing time.
‘Last Monday, we had an open call for catcher,’ said John Ameluxen, the only coach in Ayala’s softball history. ‘It’s kind of been a rallying point and people have stepped up.’
St. Germain has caught both playoff games, including the one Tuesday against fourth-seeded Mission Viejo, a 5-3 victory. She’ll no doubt have to be on her guard against El Modena (23-8-1).
When the two teams played in the final game of the Nike Faster to First tournament, El Modena won, 3-1, in a game in which it was cold, windy and miserable. St. Germain homered, one of her nine this season.
Despite her new duties, St. Germain has gone three for seven with a run in the two playoff games. She had two errors in her catching debut against Fontana but none against Mission Viejo. Even though Nicole Haley led off the game with a home run and Jessica Hall gave up only three hits over the last six innings, ‘the big star was Nani,’ Ameluxen said afterward.
With a .402 average this season, 25 runs and 29 runs batted in, ‘big star’ is an apt description.
-- Martin Henderson