Sage standout signs

It was a tough year for the Sage Hill School softball program, but not because of a lack of effort from Rebecca Hembarsky. The first-team All-Academy League pitcher-shortstop was one of just three returning starters this year for the Lightning.

The senior announced she has signed a letter of intent to play for Lafayette College, an NCAA Division I school located in Easton, Penn.

In other signing news, Newport Harbor girls’ tennis player Carly Adams said she has signed with Birmingham Southern College in Alabama.

Hembarsky said she will most likely play first and third base for the Leopards, a change from her high school position. But Hembarsky said she’s not worried about making adjustments, since she plays those positions and more for her travel ball team.

“I was considering a lot of other schools, but Lafayette was the one,” Hembarsky said. “The coach was really nice, and the people were great. I liked the feel of the campus.”

After making the playoffs last year, Sage Hill struggled with its young nucleus this season, finishing 3-7 in the Academy League. However, Hembarsky ? whose younger sister Morgan was also on the team ? said she was proud of the improvement the Lightning showed throughout the season.

“They worked really hard and got a lot better,” she said. “They all stuck it out, and I’m pretty happy with how we ended it.”

Hembarsky, who also played basketball for Sage Hill and was a second team all-Academy League selection in that sport, will join a Lafayette softball program on the upswing. The Leopards won 19 games this season, their most in more than two decades, and finished 10-10 in the Patriot League.

Adams was a four-year contributor to the Sailors in singles and doubles, earning all-league honors as a freshman and junior. Last season, she helped lead Newport Harbor to an undefeated Sea View League campaign and a 15-3 overall record. The Sailors won three consecutive league titles during Adams’ time there.

Individually, she advanced to the singles quarterfinals at Sea View League tournament.

She joins a Birmingham Southern team that went 10-9 last season, finishing fourth in the Big South Conference and reaching the semifinals of the conference tournament. The Panthers, who will graduate three seniors from this year’s team, have a string of 29 consecutive winning seasons under Coach Ann Dielen.

Adams will be the third sibling in her family to play NCAA Division I tennis. Older sister Audra Adams played four years at Mississippi, and Bonnie Adams recently completed her sophomore season at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga.