Sports
Chargers' Trio Sharpening Skills In Summer Ball
For Agoura High pitcher Stephanie Lord, third baseman Jamie DePippo and catcher Sami Stark, work put in now could pay dividends down the road.
While most of their peers are enjoying summer vacation far away from the softball field, Agoura High's Stephanie Lord, Sami Stark and Jamie DePippo have been on the travel ball circuit.
Lord and Stark are playing for the Southern California Combat Panthers in the Premiere Gold National Tournament, which started earlier this week at the Huntington Beach Sports Complex. And at some point, Lord and Stark could end up facing DePippo and her team, the Southern California Jets.
"The three of them are constantly working and that's a good thing, because each one of them is an absolute stud in softball,'' Agoura coach Chance Redmond said. "There's always room for improvement, and Stephanie, Sami and Jamie understand that.''
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Focusing on softball during the summer could pay off in the future, considering many college coaches attend summer tournaments, including the Premiere Gold National event.
Lord has been fine-tuning her skills with the Combat Panthers, as well as the Southern California Firecrackers—a team based in Orange County that's traveled all over the West Coast during the past couple months and competed against some of the nation's best teams.
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The 5-foot-10 left-handed pitcher has been contacted by several schools from the Pac-10 Conference. Missouri and Sacramento State have also expressed interest.
"I'm having fun. Softball is my life, it really is,'' Lord said. "It might sound crazy, but I don't mind giving up a little bit of my summer fun if I can be out on the field playing the game I love and improving. Honestly, I can't imagine doing anything else.''
Recruiting hasn't gone nearly as well for Stark and DePippo, both juniors at Agoura High. But they are doing whatever they can to improve their chances of playing softball in college.
"Players like Stephanie, Sami and Jamie aren't asked to play. They're out on the diamond, because they want to be involved in some way, shape, or form,'' Redmond said. "Honestly, most any coach would love having players like them around.
"I'm glad each one of them is staying busy and enjoys the game enough to play when they should be on vacation like everyone else. Honestly, it's never too early to start looking toward the future like these girls are doing that.''
