Softball All-Stars Selected

Softball continues to rise in popularity, and this season the Westside had some of the best high school players in the Southland.

To honor their success, The Los Angeles Times-Westside section selected its inaugural softball all-star team based on nominations from area coaches.

Heading the list of the area’s 12 standout players were sophomores Fabiola Gonzalez of Santa Monica and Erika Koivula of Crossroads.

Here’s a capsule look at the other all-stars:

BERNADETTE CATLIN

St. Monica

Outfield

The power-hitting outfielder batted .500 with six home runs, four triples and five doubles. Batting leadoff, Catlin twice opened games with home runs. As a pitcher, she had a 9-5 record with 0.85 earned-run average. Catlin will attend Loyola Marymount University on an academic scholarship and will play softball.

ERIN HENNESSEY

Venice

Infield

One of the area’s best fielders, the senior third baseman had a .913 fielding average and was named to the City Section 3-A Division first team. At the plate, Hennessey had a .434 batting average and a .700 on-base percentage with 21 stolen bases. She led Venice to an 17-7 overall record and to the City 3-A semifinals. Hennessey also will attend Loyola Marymount on an academic scholarship and play softball.

LISA IKEDA

Westchester

Pitcher

An outstanding finesse pitcher, Ikeda had a 9-1 record and a 0.53 earned-run average with 74 strikeouts and 10 walks. She threw three basic pitches: a rise, drop and a changeup and got batters to ground out 80% of the time. She suffered her only loss to Venice in a Western League game after shutting out the Gondoliers in an earlier league game.

TERRY MARROQUIN

Crossroads

Infield

Named to the Southern Section Division V first team, the junior shortstop batted .385 with 12 runs batted in and two extra base hits. A transfer from Culver City High, Marroquin also played for Crossroads’ championship finalist basketball team.

MICHELE MILLARD

Santa Monica

Catcher

After being selected the Bay League most valuable player in 1994, Millard had another outstanding season behind the plate. The junior threw out 32 runners and made very few errors. Millard had a .302 batting average with two doubles, a triple and nine runs batted in.

VERNNA ROCHA

Crossroads

Utility

A four-year varsity starter, Rocha played catcher, second base and pitcher. She had a .298 batting average with two home runs, a double and a triple while batting third or fourth in the lineup. She had a 1-0 record with 18 strikeouts. She was named to the Southern Section Division V all-star team.

MINDY SPIRE

Palisades

Infield

The junior shortstop was named to the City Section 3-A Division all-star team. She batted .543 with two home runs, six doubles and 24 RBI. Spire was a better hitter against faster pitching. She was nicknamed the Little Professor by Coach John Lissauer.

AMARIAH SUGARMAN

Santa Monica

Infield

The senior first baseman led the Vikings in batting average (.446), hits (33), doubles (five) and triples (four). She also had one home run and 12 runs batted in. An outstanding fielder, Sugarman has received interest from several Division I softball programs. sg,1.5

LAUREL SWIGERT

Palisades

Infield

The sophomore second baseman also was selected to the City Section 3-A Division all-star team. She led the Westside area with a .652 batting average and had 10 extra base hits, including four home runs. She also had a team-high 34 RBI.

NATALIE TUN

Notre Dame Academy

Pitcher

Tun was named Sunshine League most valuable player for the second time. The senior had a 11-4 record, including two no-hitters, and a 0.49 ERA. She had 158 strikeouts in 114 innings. She will play for UC Davis.

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PLAYER OF THE YEAR

FABIOLA GONZALEZ

Santa Monica

The sophomore pitcher/infielder was the best all-around player in the field and at the plate. The right-handed pitcher had a 7-4 record and 1.72 earned run average with 46 strikeouts. She led the team in home runs (four), runs batted in (17), runs scored (20), and stolen bases (15), and was second in batting average (.403), doubles (four) and triples (three). “Fabiola is the best all-around softball player on the Westside,” Skaggs said.

PITCHER OF THE YEAR

ERIKA KOIVULA

Crossroads

Softball games are dominated by outstanding pitchers and this sophomore left-hander was the best the Westside had to offer. Under the tutelage of former UCLA standout and Crossroads pitching Coach Lisa Longaker, Koivula learned to throw her riseball, drop and curve with a knuckleball grip. She struck out 158 batters in 158 innings and posted a 14-10 record with a 0.35 earned run average. She also had a .323 batting average.

COACH OF THE YEAR

DEBBIE SKAGGS

Santa Monica

In her seventh season at Santa Monica High, Skaggs has established the Vikings as the area’s most successful Southern Section upper division team. She has led the Vikings to four Bay League championships and regular playoff appearances. This season, Santa Monica proved it can play with the best, finishing fourth in the prestigious Hart Tournament. During Bay League play, the Vikings had a perfect 12-0 start, then lost two consecutive games to Peninsula to finish second to the Panthers. In the Southern Section Division II playoffs, the Vikings drew fourth-seeded Lakewood and lost, 3-1, to the championship finalists. They finished the season as the Westside’s top-ranked team with a 19-9 overall mark.

All-Westside Second-Team Roster

Pos. Player School Yr. P Kristina Gallegos Venice Soph. P Heather Marshak Santa Monica Jr. P Brandy Rosenberg Beverly Hills Soph. C Robin Strauss Crossroads Soph. IF Melanie Sapasap St. Monica Jr. IF Traci Carr Culver City Jr. IF Sabrini Romero Palisades Jr. IF Julie Geiss Notre Dame Academy Jr. IF Jessica Otterbein Culver City Jr. IF Meredith Miller Beverly Hills Sr. IF Shelly Alvarez Venice Sr. IF Gina Rogers Notre Dame Academy Jr.