Torrey Pines High School - Freeflight Yearbook (Del Mar, CA)

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SLIDING INTO HOME PLATE, Carls- bad's Michelle Frazee isnit quick enough to escape being tagged outlby catcher Allison Shannon in a league game. .sun-Q., -

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LACK CF PITCHER HINDERS PERFORMANCE , Q E5 fu-F .L f iw K j ,gmt L rx 1.. , vi 44, .px l. me U it ' if 'iii , -.,. V ,L , , r l l 1 5 Ti fkl w ri ' 1 l 3 4 V Q M.. 15, V REACHING FOR THAT HIGH BALL Carrie Bonforte jumps up. n fast pitch softball, 95 percent of the game depends on the quality of the pitch. This is the aspect which weakened the varsity softball team throughout the season due to the lack of a designated pitcher. ln softball, you need a pitcher who can throw the ball past the batter. You have to have a good, hard throwing pitcher, explained Coach Otis Rowland. We just dldn't have that. Rowland felt that many games were lost solely because of the lack of a pitcher. Aside from pitching problems, the girls were in a transitional period, getting use to the third new coach they've had in three years. Three years ago, the team was headed by Chet Francisco. Last year, he was replaced by former San Dieguito baseball and softball coach, Joe Dottore, and this year, the team was handed over to Rowland. Although there were a lot of negative factors working against the team, Rowland felt that the girls remained positive for the most part. The girls decided to stick together, stressing teamwork, he said. No one player makes a softball team. lt takes a whole team to win or lose a game. Rowland stressed the importance of having a softball program for girls before they reach the high school level. There's no GSA qGirls' Softball Associationj feeder program in Del Mar to strengthen the kids. We're up against schools that did have that type of program, so naturally they're tough competition. Vista, Poway, Carlsbad, Oceanside, and Encinitas, all have softball programs for the girls before they reach the high school level. explained Rowland. The team had standouts in left fielder and co-team captain Jodi Coffman, and co-team captain Carrie Bonforte. h g g Q g N Returning varsity players included Coffman, Bonforte, Jennifer Walters, ' Allison Shannon,and Sherri Strate. There were also two first year players in 55' '51 Kristin Pearson and Stephanie Bowers. iii? P 'fl New comers to the varsity team from junior varsity were Janette Strate, 1 C I X :.l Raquel Reynaga, and Crissy Moore. ,W , j , - Lora Stowe . .g f 'e yi, ' fi , . 1-f,iafffg.e - . rr W ife ' is - .w..f.'f - P sf I ' M' ' ' imp. QF 'U A get 76

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SLIPPEB LOOKS to the BIG LEAGUES sk a lot of little boys what they want to be when they grow up and they'll say, l want to be a famous football player or l want to play professional baseball. For Tommy Slipper, that was exactly the way it happened. From the time he was seven years old, he had a goal. He wanted to be just like the legendary Babe Ruth and Joe Demasio. He wanted to be a professional baseball player. i Ever since I was a little kid l wanted to play professional ball, Slipper recalled. My dad was a coach on Little League and my older brothers played a tot of baseball. l just looked up to them and wanted to do what they did. Since Slipper first began to play baseball at the early age of seven, he has played on five all-star teams, including the San Diego All-Star Team which traveled to Sydney, Australia to promote the sport down under. It was really neat being able to travel to another country. We met a lot of really nice people and experienced a whole different cui- ture. Slipper has played a variety of positions in- cluding first base, pitcher, and outfielder, but resenfes outfield as his favorite. ln high school baseball, you get a lot of aggressiveness. There are a lot of real solid hitters, so you get a lot of action in the outfield, explained Slipper. While many athletes participated in baseball as a high school activity, Slipper sees it as a life long thing. l could never give up baseball. It will always be one of my top priorities, he said. l get a lot of satisfaction our of tplaying. lt just really moti- vates me. l like the eeling you get out of not only being happy with yourself, but having your team mates be happy with you too. ln any sport, it pays to have your coaches be happy with you also, as Slipper has learned through various awards received in high school baseball. When on the junior varsity team, he was named captain, and was also named Defen- sive player of the Year, and last year he was named Most improved and given Honorable Mention in the Palomar League. The Union Tribune also awarded Slipper as Tribune Scholar Athlete of the Year for baseball. Slipper still has a goal of someday making it to the big league, and with his continued deter- mination it's very possible that some day we'll be adding his name to the list of legendary baseball players. - Lora Stowe 78 BASEBALL RUNNING AFTER THE OPPONENT Matt Livingston tries to tag him out.