June 6, 2007

North gets victory in softball
By KEVIN METZ
The Orange County Register

FULLERTON Tuesday's North vs. South All-Star softball game presented by Soroptomist International at Cal State Fullerton was clearly more about having fun and showcasing the county's top high school talent then the final score — 6-0, North. That was best represented down the third-base line.

Orange Lutheran third baseman Mandy Urfer had reason to smile after going 3 for 3 with a home run and two runs scored.

"We all had good sticks today and developed chemistry quickly," said the Arizona State-bound senior after being named the game's MVP.

A few feet from Urfer, El Toro coach Jim Daugherty, clearly enjoying his third-base coaching duties and third stint as the South's head coach, was smiling for a different reason.

"For the record, I am not retiring from coaching softball, just grading English papers," said Daugherty with a laugh. "It sure seemed like they wanted me to retire."

Daugherty, the Chargers' coach for 21 seasons, was announced before the game as coaching in his final game. He is actually just retiring from 39 years of teaching at the school and said he will keep coaching as long as he is healthy.

Kennedy's Brooke Turner, El Dorado's Alyssa Freight and Canyon's Jody Valdivia combined to shut down a potent South lineup, allowing just five hits over eight innings.

Turner, who will play at Long Beach State, was back to form after last week's loss to Pacifica in the CIF-SS Division II championship game.

"You just keep going," said Turner, who threw just four pitches in the second inning and struck out the side in the third.

"There are going to be losses that come along, but you just have to go out there and keep playing your game."

Canyon's Megan Bush had two hits for the North, which scored four early runs on three wild pitches and Heather Gerritse's RBI single and has won each of the last three contests.