Softball:
The La Verne 10-and-under softball program will be making its first appearance ever to the Class B Western National Championship.
One year ago, La Verne earned the title of ‘C’ level State Champions.
After eight seasons competing in ‘C’ divisions, the girls from the 91750 were moved up to ‘B’ by USA Softball.
The Western National features 40-plus teams from throughout the Western United States, and they will compete at a pair of Roseville fields (Maidu Regional Park & Mahany Park) from July 22-27.
The tournament is a five-game minimum, including three pool-play games.
Starting on Friday the 25th, it becomes a double elimination scenario, and a champion will be crowned on Sunday.
On their path to history, La Verne went 4-0-1 in Chino Hills.
They defeated Tustin in the finals.
La Verne finished fourth out of 10 teams in the ‘B’ Districts at Glendora by going 3-2.
And they earned a spot up north by placing eighth out of 42 programs in Irvine.
They actually had to persevere through five games on a hot Saturday a few weeks back to earn this opportunity.
On that day, their ace, Helen Pulver, tossed an astounding 475 pitches.
Aubrey Carrillo has also been a reliable arm along the way.
Every girl on the roster has done their part and then some.
The La Verne offense has been led by Audrey Garcia, Brynn Juarez, Reese Hawkins, Riley Heslop, Nora Yau and Julia Nava.
Piper Reppuhn has been a rock behind the plate.
And Ellie Nava has played solid defensively at first base.
What makes this run so special is that La Verne’s pool of talent (based on population) is 66-percent smaller than those from other area and state programs.
The list of La Verne coaches includes the following: Nik Reppuhn, Eric Logan, James Pulver, Josh Carrillo, Ashley LoPresto and Jeremy Juarez.
The official website is: www.usasoftballsacramento.org.
It goes without saying that finances will be stretched thin, so a GoFundMe page has been activated.
The goal to raise $15,000 is a little more than halfway there.
If you can afford to help the girls from La Verne, any amount will go a long way.
GoFundMe link is just below:
Quotable:
La Verne coach, Nik Reppuhn: “I’m so proud of our girls for working as hard as they have to get to this point. They’ve done a lot of reps, and they’ve gotten stronger throughout this process both physically and mentally. It takes a lot of dedication to spend your summer in the heat and working diligently on their hitting and fielding. We as coaches have given a lot of speeches that we hope inspires the girls. We’re all about positive thoughts. We tell them that if they make a mistake, forget it and move on. We only focus on controlling what we can control. We’ve gotten great pitching and defense and some timely hitting. Their willingness to come out excited every day and to work as hard as they do is the reason we’re the area’s only team that’s still standing.”
To view some photos of the La Verne softball team, click on the Facebook link here: Facebook
La Verne Roster & Position(s):
No. 1: Brynn Juarez (SS)
No. 2: Faye Mendoza (P, C)
No. 4: Audrey Garcia (3B, SS, LF)
No. 7: Riley Heslop (2B)
No. 8: Aubrey Carrillo (RF, P)
No. 9: Ellie Nava (1B)
No. 10: Nora Yau (CF)
No. 11: Penny St. Pierre (Hitter)
No. 12: Helen Pulver (P)
No. 15: Reese Hawkins (DH)
No. 19: Julia Nava (LF)
No. 21: Piper Reppuhn (C)
No. 27: Taylor Logan (Util, OF)
No. 99: Allison Loaiza (3B)
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