June 11 , 2007

Hitting Machine
Redwood's Correia named county Player of the Year

By Damian Marquez

The secret is out.

Fans who follow high school softball in the Central Valley know Redwood senior Stephanie Correia as a pitcher.

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But Correia's natural position is catcher. That's the position she plays on her traveling softball team, and that's the position she was recruited to play at Cal Poly.

Correia was Redwood's main pitcher this season, but she was named the 2007 Times-Delta/Advance-Register softball player of the year because of her hitting ability.

Correia posted the highest batting average in the

county (.527), and it was the sixth highest average in the Central Valley. She was the team's leadoff hitter, driving in nine runs and scoring 11 times. She had two home runs, four triples and seven doubles to help give her an .811 slugging percentage.

She led the Rangers to an 8-4 West Yosemite League record, earning league most valuable player honors.

She was a four-time All-Tulare County first-team selection and a four-time WYL first-team selection.

"In the 13 years that I've been at Redwood, she is at least the best hitter I've had," Redwood coach Bob Rooney said. "Obviously she pitched for us, but that's not her best position. She did what she needed to do for us."

Correia posted a career .394 batting average, .595 slugging percentage and a .476 on-base percentage.

She hit six career home runs, and she recorded 140 career hits, a school record. Deanna Richards held the old record of 139 set in 2002.

When Correia stepped up to the plate teams thought twice about throwing her a strike, because if the ball was over the plate, she hit it.

In her four years at Redwood, she struck out just 12 times, and in 2007 she struck out once while walking 22 times.

"A lot of teams decided to walk her instead of face her," Rooney said.

Her two performances against Division 2 Valley champion El Diamante this season were good examples of how Correia could change games.

In the first game against El Diamante this season, Correia accounted for all five runs in a 5-0 upset over the eventual West Yosemite League champions.

Correia led the game off with a triple, on an outside pitch she had to reach for, and later scored on a two-out error. In the sixth inning, she blasted a grand slam on the very first pitch she saw. With the bases loaded, the Miners were forced to pitch to Correia, and she delivered.

The second time around against the Miners this season, she was walked three times and hit by a pitch once. The walks weren't officially intentional walks, but after the game El Diamante coach Skip Pendergast said the Miners weren't going to let Correia beat them again. El Diamante won that game 3-1.

Correia says her most memorable moment of the season was beating El Diamante.

"We beat the No.1 team in the WYL and it was nice because I played against those girls growing up," she said. "To win that game was big for the whole team."

Correia is expected to step in as the starting catcher as a freshman at Cal Poly, because this year's starter was a senior.

"I would have liked to catch in high school, but nobody else was a pitcher," Correia said. "So I had to step up and pitch."

Several other colleges, including DePaul, North Carolina State, Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Northridge and Pennsylvania, showed interest in Correia, but she decided on Cal Poly for a couple of reasons.

"I had other schools interested, but I chose Cal Poly because of the location and because the academics were good," Correia said. "It is close to home, and I wanted to be able to come back and visit my famiy, friends and teammates."

Correia is not just a standout softball player; she is also a standout volleyball player and played on the basketball team. Her participation in three sports and her 4.40 grade point average helped her earn the 2007 Redwood Female Ranger of the Year award.

"My teammates and coaches made me a better player and person," Correia said. "They taught me a lot about softball and life itself."

Correia has an especially close relationship with Rooney.

"He just taught me how to be a better person," she said. "He opened many aspects of life up to me. He's been a father figure for me."