Opponents Are Taking Notice of Mallett : Freeway League: La Habra senior, who was MVP last season, is considered the finest second baseman in county.

LA HABRA —  It’s no mystery why Sara Mallett, senior second baseman on La Habra’s softball team, attracts attention.

She was the most valuable player in the Freeway League last season.

She was a first-team All-Orange County selection last year, batting .414.

She served as student body vice president this past school year.

Still, despite all of her personal honors and La Habra’s 20-5 record last year, Mallett has something to prove this season.

The Highlanders’ loss to San Gabriel in the first round of the Southern Section 4-A playoffs still galls her.

“We didn’t play together at all,” Mallett said. “Our offense was terrible, and we lost to an upset team. My goals in ’92 are to win league, go far in the playoffs and make the finals of the 4-A.”

Mallett’s return, after playing on the girls’ soccer team, is one of the big reasons the Highlanders are expected to repeat as Freeway League champions this spring. Many coaches regard her as the finest second baseman in the county.

But Mallett admits the Highlanders won’t be able to rest on their laurels against such strong league challengers as Sunny Hills and Fullerton.

“We’re gonna have to start hitting the ball more,” she said. “Last year’s team didn’t have that good of a batting average. Our new coach is more into it. She’s really interested in the team.

“We play like we’re really together this year. That’s really important here at La Habra. The coaches emphasize playing together.”

Although she has an older brother, Mallett says she is the only member of her family interested in sports. But she credits her mother’s example for her competitive desire.

“My mom (Sherry) is a big competitor in her job,” said Mallett, who was homecoming queen last fall. “She’s a sales rep for a company that screens tenants for apartments. She hasn’t really preached it to me. She’s shown me by example. I just picked it up.”

La Habra’s first-year Coach, Sue Briquelet, who taught math on the campus two years before being assigned to head the girls’ softball program, can vouch for Mallett’s zeal on the softball field.

“Sara is a fierce competitor who does not like to lose,” Briquelet said. “She is 100% aggressive all out, all of the time. She’s really on in a game and mentally tough, especially when a game is on the line.”

Although she was born in California, Mallett started playing softball during grade school in Boulder, Colo.

“I was 11 when I started playing,” she said. “We moved to Colorado when I was in second grade and stayed until I was in eighth grade.”

It was also in Colorado, where Mallett developed her love of the outdoors.

“I really enjoyed hiking in the mountains,” she said. “I really miss that part of it a lot. When I go to work, I’d rather not get stuck in an office. I hope I’ll be able to do a lot of traveling.”

At present, Mallett has no specific career plans, but she has already accepted a scholarship to play softball next year at Nevada Las Vegas.

“I was surprised when I took my trip there, that I liked it that much,” she said. “I thought Vegas, no way. But the campus is really beautiful, and it seems to be another world from what you see on The Strip.

Briquelet says Mallett’s talents will serve her well in college.

“She’s an outstanding second baseman, but I might play her some at shortstop this season,” Briquelet said. “She might play center field in college. She has the arm and the quickness for any position.”

Whatever Mallett ends up playing, however, it is certain that she will not go unnoticed.