Foothill’s Fossatti Emerges From the Shadows

Foothill junior Courtney Fossatti has been one of the county’s outstanding pitchers, but she has been overshadowed by the strikeout-heavy performances of Fountain Valley’s Natalie King, who has 376, and Mater Dei’s Tia Bollinger, who has 369.

Still, Fossatti’s earned-run average, 0.05, nearly matches Bollinger’s 0.03, and Fossatti defeated King, 1-0, in a Southern Section Division I quarterfinal on Thursday.

“They’re seniors and this is their year,” Fossatti said after pitching a one-hitter against Fountain Valley. “But I want to make it my year, too.”

A LONG DRIVE . . . FOUL

Rosary and West Hills Chaminade faced each other in the Division IV playoffs each of the last three years. Each won a semifinal, 1-0, before Chaminade won a quarterfinal game on Thursday, 1-0.

“The first time was the start of a good rivalry,” Rosary Coach Tom Tice said. “This is just a painful continuation of that rivalry.”

That pain ended the title hopes of the division’s top-seeded team, which was trying to reach the final for the second time in three years.

Rosary stranded six runners, four in scoring position. It almost got the big hit it needed with two outs in the sixth and Natalie Golda at second base.

Danielle Guerra smashed a ball well beyond the left fielder, but it hooked foul, and Guerra lost her chance at a potential game-deciding home run.

She was caught looking at a third strike on the next pitch.

AROUND THE BASES

* Junior Michelle Whiteman of Valencia strained a tendon in the index finger on her pitching hand during a perfect game against Magnolia on May 9. Though she pitched a no-hitter, her fourth, and struck out 14 in the Tigers’ first-round game against South Torrance, it took a toll. Whiteman was hurting by the third inning, and couldn’t go past the fifth inning in last week’s 4-0 second-round loss to Whittier La Serna. Because of the injury, she couldn’t throw her two best pitches, the rise and the curveball.

* Preceding Liberty Christian’s first run in its upset of top-seeded Capistrano Valley Christian in a Division VI second-round game, Tristan Fernandez’s fly ball landed between two outfielders who collided, Fernandez reaching second as the ball came to rest a few feet away. “It looked like a scene from one of those baseball blooper films,” said pitcher Lauren Capriotti.

* According to Capistrano Valley Christian Coach Shannon Justice, Capriotti is the best player to ever put on an Eagle jersey, “by far.” She pitched a three-hitter, struck out 12 and lost, 2-0, to Liberty Christian, but few could have been more gracious than the Tulsa-bound senior: “I’m extremely disappointed, but at the same time, I’m happy for the other team.”

* In her two playoff performances a year apart against Moreno Valley Canyon Springs, Fountain Valley’s King pitched 25 innings, allowed two hits and struck out 47.

ALL-STAR GAME, TAKE 2

The first Orange County Coaches All-Star Classic will give players a second opportunity to play in an all-star game after Saturday’s section finals.

The game will be played at the new Col. Bill Barber Park in Irvine, adjacent to the Irvine Civic Center.

The June 8 game is two days after the annual Soroptimist game at Brea Olinda. Admission is $5 for adults, $2 for children 5-17.

The game will go nine innings, pitting American and National teams with 21 seniors on each roster.

Foothill players will not participate because the game conflicts with the team banquet. Only one league, the South Coast, has representatives on both teams, with San Clemente’s Ricci Lugo on the National, Mission Viejo’s Ashley Fricks on the American.

Here are the rosters:

American--Tiare Auelua, Pacifica; Darcey Brown, Los Alamitos; Chris Cansdale, Garden Grove; Jennifer Coffey, Esperanza; Tinamarie DeLeon, Loara; Jessica Edwards, Orange Lutheran; Nicole Everett, El Toro; Kristin Farber, Los Alamitos; Melissa Fox, Esperanza; Ashley Fricks, Mission Viejo; Dinae Geer, Canyon; Erica Greenberg, Calvary Chapel; Kristina Hyllested, Rancho Alamitos; Julie Jordan, Pacifica; Natalie King, Fountain Valley; Sarah Mesa, Kennedy; Sondra Milchiker, El Toro; Tiffani Miller, Fountain Valley; Nicole Rambis, Fountain Valley; Steffany Stenglein, Marina; Phelan Wright, Los Alamitos. Coaches--Rob Weil, Pacifica; Shelly Luth, Marina; Jim Daugherty, El Toro; Lance Eddy, Canyon.

National--Courtney Betley, Mater Dei; Breana Bohls, Woodbridge; Tia Bollinger, Mater Dei; Colleen Bordages, Santa Margarita; Lauren Capriotti, Capistrano Valley Christian; Breanne Cooley, Woodbridge; Natalie Golda, Rosary; Samantha Jennings, Rosary; Erin Jones, Sunny Hills; Lindsey Knoff, Troy; Lisa Krueger, Aliso Niguel; Andee Lindgren, Sonora; Ricci Lugo, San Clemente; Dawn Ramynke, Sonora; Sophia Reynolds, Troy; Leslie Simien, Laguna Hills; Kari Singley, Irvine; Tiala Tagaloa, Brea Olinda; Jessyca Thompson, Irvine; Tiffany Waldman, University; Brittany Ziegler, Woodbridge. Coaches--Alan Dugard, Woodbridge; Tom Tice, Rosary; Lisa Baker, Irvine; Monica Colunga, University.

Dave Desmond contributed to this report.

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