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1:42 P.M.MAY 7, 2013
Henry Flecker
Baseball | Ramona
The senior was 4-for-6 with five RBIs, a double and two runs scored as the Bulldogs defeated Del Norte twice to tie the Nighthawks for first place in the Valley League. Flecker’s big day included two runs scored and four RBIs in a 17-1 triumph.
Alexyss McClellan
Lacrosse | Eastlake
With the junior leading the way, the Titans earned their first-ever postseason berth after posting an 11-4 overall record and finishing second in league play. McClellan scored 19 goals over the last five games. Eastlake hosts Monte Vista in the playoffs Thursday.
Scott McPherson
Volleyball | Bishop’s
The junior outside hitter helped the Knights finish unbeaten in the Coastal League and push their season mark to 22-3. McPherson had 13 kills and five aces against Mission Hills, 19 kills and seven aces against Santa Fe Christian and 12 kills against Escondido Adventist.
Rachel Nasland
Softball | Torrey Pines
The Notre Dame-bound senior right-hander threw a five-hitter with 13 strikeouts in a 3-0 win over Westview and a four-hitter with 13 strikeouts in a 1-0 win over Mt. Carmel. Nasland is 14-5 with a 0.84 ERA and 227 strikeouts in 133 innings.
Tommy Edman
Baseball | La Jolla Country Day
With four steals against The Rock, the Torreys senior pushed his career total to 78, No. 8 all-time according to the San Diego Section record book. Edman is batting .427 with a .516 on-base percentage for the Torreys, who lead the Coastal League.
Caitlin Brown
Lacrosse | Bishop’s
With the clock winding down, the junior showed her versatility by preventing Santa Fe Christian from scoring a tying goal to help deliver a league co-championship for the Knights. For the week, Brown scored seven goals and was credited with four assists.
Ricky DeSantis
Golf | Carlsbad
DeSantis, an SDSU-bound senior, was the medalist in all three matches, shooting even-par 36 at Aviara CC in a match with Torrey Pines, even-par 36 at Shadowridge CC in a match with Rancho Buena Vista and 2-under 34 at Aviara against La Costa Canyon.
High school Athletes of the Week are recognized through a partnership between U-T San Diego and the San Diego Hall of Champions.
Prep Athletes of the Week
7:59 P.M.APRIL 2, 2013
Torrey Pines junior Emma Wong drops a bunt against La Costa Canyon. — Andy Wilhelm
Emma Wong
Softball | Torrey Pines
The junior left fielder was quite the run producer at the bottom of the lineup, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs in a 14-4 win over Oceanside and 1-for-3 with two RBIs in a 12-4 win over Morse. When Wong moved to leadoff, she went 3-for-4 in a 4-0 win over La Costa Canyon.
Vince Mori
Baseball | Westview
The senior pitched a three-hitter over 6 2/3 innings with 11 strikeouts in a 7-2 win over Patrick Henry. The victory pushed the Wolverines into the Lions Tournament 6A Division finals, where Mori went 3-for-5 with a homer and three RBIs in a 14-4 win over Santa Fe Christian.
Dominic Anguiano
Baseball | San Dieguito
A 6-1 left-handed pitcher, Anguiano limited Valhalla to just three singles in the Lions Tournament Premier Division title game as the Mustangs improved their record to 13-1 with the 2-1 victory. He struck out three and walked three in earning MVP honors for the division.
Steve Sherwood
Baseball | Hilltop
The 6-1, 175-pound pitcher-shortstop helped lead the Lancers to the 5A Division title in the annual Lions Tournament. Hilltop swept all five games, running its winning streak to seven games and outscoring opponents 45-14 with Sherwood, a junior, earning MVP honors.
Bradley Horkan
Baseball | Horizon
In 10 innings, the junior lefty did not allow a run, collecting two wins that included an 18-2 victory over Christian in the Lions Tournament 3A Division championship. Horkan also had a single up the middle to drive in the only run in a 1-0 semifinal win. He was selected the 3A MVP.
High school Athletes of the Week are recognized through a partnership between U-T San Diego and the San Diego Hall of Champions.
Without ‘best stuff,’ Torrey ace lights out
Falcons senior doesn't allow a batter to reach third in blanking La Costa Canyon.
Torrey Pines senior Rachel Nasland, who has signed with Notre Dame, improved to 6-1 with a 0.21 ERA after shutting out top-ranked La Costa Canyon.
CARLSBAD — Considering both teams were highly ranked, it was a bit shocking that both were coming off recent three-game losing streaks.
For Torrey Pines High, the defending San Diego Section Division I champion, it marked the first three-game losing skid in more than six years.
“We hit rock bottom with that third straight loss (2-1 to Escondido on a tiebreaker in the eighth inning),” Torrey Pines coach Jon Moore said. “And I told the girls in a meeting that this was going to continue unless they wanted it to get better.”
They did, and it appears the Falcons have turned the corner.
On Friday, No. 4-ranked Torrey Pines used the one-hit pitching of senior Rachel Nasland and a seven-hit attack to post a 4-0 victory over rival La Costa Canyon in the Falcon Fiesta.
The win, the Falcons’ fourth consecutive victory since hitting bottom, leaves Torrey Pines (8-4-1) with a 3-0 record in the tournament.
With Nasland, who signed with Notre Dame, the Falcons have a steady remedy for a team with a .241 batting average.
She allowed a one-out, first-inning single to freshman Megan Ruiz and from there top-ranked La Costa Canyon (7-5) reached on the lone Falcons error in the second inning and a seventh-inning walk.
In between, Nasland retired 13 straight batters.
“I did well with what I had,” said Nasland, who raised her record to 6-1 and lowered ERA to 0.21. “Sometimes, a pitcher has to get by without their best stuff.”
Nasland may have been a bit off, but the offense was able to manufacture more than enough runs for her.
Emily Wolking squeezed in the first run in the third inning and catcher Shelbianne Evans singled in a second run in that same inning.
That’s usually more than enough for Nasland.
“We still haven’t found our groove yet,” Nasland said. “Let me tell you, rock bottom looks really ugly. It’s not pretty.
“After our meeting, we couldn’t wait to start winning games again.”
The Falcons, who were led by Emma Wong’s 3-for-4 outing at the plate, added two unearned runs in the fifth inning courtesy of two Mavericks errors.
“I had a little more leeway with four runs to work with,” said Nasland. “Four runs is a big gift for me.”
Said Moore: “All we have to do is score enough runs for who I think is the best pitcher around. She doesn’t have her best stuff and still gets a shutout.”
Nasland was still effective enough to allow just three Mavericks to reach second base, and none of them reached third base.
She threw a first-pitch strike to 15 of the 24 batters she faced during her so-so performance.
“It’s normally so hard to play the rival,” LCC coach Mary Jo Griswold said. “You have to have kids who can stay focused.
“It’s a shame to face a pitcher like Nasland on a day when she’s a little off and we couldn’t take advantage.
“Hopefully, we’ll be a good team by the time (Avocado West League) rolls around.”
By then, the Mavs won’t have to face Nasland again.
Now if only Falcons ace could juggle
Q&A with Torrey Pines softball pitcher Rachel Nasland.
Pitcher Rachel Nasland led Torrey Pines to its first San Diego Section softball championship last season.
When Julia Yacker doubled in the bottom of the 10th inning for the winning run in the Division I championship game last spring, it was the first time Torrey Pines High had won a San Diego Section softball title.
And 5-foot-8 Rachel Nasland, who pitched all 10 innings in the 1-0 win over Carlsbad at UC San Diego, was one of the first Falcons to reach Yacker to start the celebration.
It was the culmination of a dream that started when Nasland, now 17, was just 5 and her mom saw a flier and signed her up to play softball.
She found her passion two years later when she began pitching.
Q: How did the championship celebration start for you?
A: I was on the field before the outfielder even picked up Julia’s hit. My mind just went blank. I couldn’t believe it. We had just won CIF for the first time ever.
Q: How long did the partying last that night?
A: No one wanted to go home and do homework. The next morning everyone knew what we had done. It was a great day in school.
Q: There isn’t much room left in the Torrey Pines gym for your banner, is there?
A: If I have to climb up there myself, our banner is going up in the rafters. My kids won’t believe that’s my banner when I show it to them. They certainly won’t take my word for it without the banner as proof.
Q: Why did you opt to become a pitcher?
A: I liked being the center of attention in a game. I’ve always liked to entertain people. I’m a little louder personality in the real world anyway, so being the center of attention in softball really isn’t anything new.
Q: Your first three years have been marked by some great moments like being named Pitcher of the Year in the Palomar League as a freshman and winning a section title as a junior as well as some not-so-great moments, right?
A: Sophomore year was really hard to just sit down and not play until the very end. I had overused my elbow and rest, a lot of rest, got rid of all the swelling. I tried to be involved like being in charge of playing music between innings or keeping the scorebook.
Q: But for someone who loves the attention, didn’t that hurt?
A: At the time, yes. Fortunately, I knew I still had two years left. Had that been my senior year, I don’t know what I would have done.
Q: Can you describe what last year was like when your team went 31-2 and won a title?
A: Great season. It was awesome from start to finish. The playoffs were wild. I was so pumped up for the finals and then to have them postponed because of a power failure and then come back two days later was strange. We were bummed, but we rejuvenated. Did you see how many fans were there when we finally did play? It was amazing.
Q: Where do you go from here, especially this year?
A: I understand the game so well now. I love watching it. When I go to a college game, for instance, I watch the pitcher to see how she approaches hitters, how she sets them up. I also watch how hitters work at the plate.
Q: What was the hardest thing to learn about pitching?
A: How to let it go. When you make a bad pitch, forget about it. Or you lose a game. I can’t let it go right away. I use it as motivation for next time. I can’t sulk out there. My teammates’ energy comes from me. If I show that I’m mad or down, they’ll go down, too.
Q: Was it difficult to learn all this?
A: There’s no manual, so you learn by watching. There’s a ton to learn about pitching beyond what pitch to throw. You have to read batters, read the base runners, worry about location and finding a batter’s weakness and then you pitch your best pitch to their weakness. Sounds easy, but it’s not.
Q: Are you still excited about going to Notre Dame since you committed to the Irish two years ago?
A: I’m excited about seeing different seasons, snow and non-Californians for four years. I’ve seen little snow because my family always vacations in sunny places, but I can’t wait to get to South Bend. It always seemed so far away. Now it’s right around the corner.
RACHEL NASLAND
School: Torrey Pines
Sport: Softball
Born: 1995 in San Diego
Year: Senior
Nickname: Nazzy
Accomplishments: Avocado League Pitcher of the Year in 2010, Palomar League Pitcher of the Year and first-team All-San Diego Section in 2012
QUICK HITS
Favorite pizza: Hawaiian
Sport you would never watch: Cricket
If you could have a last meal: Starbucks
Dream vacation: Spain
If you had three wishes, what would you wish for: Travel around the world, play professional softball and get more wishes
What three things would you want on a deserted island: cellphone, some books, tanning oil
Talent you’d love to have: Juggle
If you could time travel, would you go to the past or the future: Past
Favorite restaurant: Brigantine
Best moment in athletic career: Winning 16-and-under national title in travel ball in 2011 and winning San Diego Section Division I title last year
What do you want to be when you grow up: Psychologist
Favorite class: English
Your ideal car or truck: ’65 Mustang
Favorite athlete: Jenny Finch
Favorite reality TV show: “America’s Next Top Model”
Favorite sports movie: “League of Their Own”
Favorite cartoon as a youngster: “Ariel”
Biggest pet peeve: Slow drivers
Biggest fear: Not reaching my goals
2013 Softball Rankings/UT San Diego
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| Others: West Hills (25-9), Bonita Vista (25-3-1), Ramona (19-10-1), Steele Canyon (19-12), El Camino (9-15-1), San Marcos (22-7), Granite Hills (14-11), Mt. Carmel (11-12). |
