The Rafu Shimpo - L.A. Japanese Daily News

NEW ERA AZTECS
By ALEX HERBACH
RAFU STAFF WRITER
Saturday, May 12, 2007

Despite a slim chance at the postseason, Keppel’s girls have shown they have what it takes to get to the playoffs.

Photos by MIKEY HIRANO CULROSS/Rafu Shimpo
Outfielder and Hiroko Akuzawa and second baseman Tiffany Rubin are part of a team that has gone where no other Keppel squad has managed: within reach of the CIF playoffs.

Shortstop Courtney Hirose smiles after hitting a double in the last inning of Thursday’s crucial game against Schurr High.

Rubin connected for her Almont League-leading 11th home run of the season Thursday.

ALHAMBRA.–The tradition of softball excellence at Mark Keppel High School is unprecedented. But not for its success; it’s because there has never been an accomplished program there.

Over the past several years, Keppel softball has been perennial cellar dwellers; last year they didn’t win a non-league game and finished the season a combined 2-18. But believe it or not this year’s Lady Aztecs are four games over .500 and were still in a position to make the playoffs going into Thursday’s season finale against Schurr High School. With a win, they would make the Almont League playoffs for the first time in decades.

But it would appear there will be no fairytale ending for this team as the Aztecs lost a hard-fought affair at home 10-5, more than likely bringing an end to their historic dream season. Despite the disappointment, simply by subverting a submissive softball culture, the team has plenty to celebrate.

“Our girls have never been in the position, the school itself hasn’t been in the position that they were in today,” said head coach Bobby Madrid.
I don’t even know when Keppel won eleven games. We surprised some people.“

To say the least. Coming off a year with only two league wins, and with an
incoming squad heavy in underclassmen and light on experience, expectations for this team’s resilience we’re described like the game’s eponymous equipment: soft.

But even the most mild fan knows that softballs aren’t really soft, and neither is this year’s Keppel team. The softball program’s ascendance has hinged on their hitting, which has been explosive (an average of 15 runs through the first seven games of the season) and as precisely clutch as clockwork.

Led by their hard-hitting sophomore second baseman Tiffany Rubin, the Aztec power surge would have made Teddy Roosevelt weep with pride. These girls certainly carry a big stick, but don’t expect them to walk lightly.

“I don’t always go up to the plate expecting to hit a home run,” said Rubin. “But if the ball is right there I’ll try to go for it. I’ll try to kill it.”

Rubin, an unassuming, freckle-faced sparkplug has been an absolute monster with a bat this season. Through 18 games this season, she was batting a ludicrous .672 with 10 home runs and 34 RBI. And with a .944 fielding percentage, she carries a slick glove, too.

She proved to be just as effective Thursday, shooting her first pitch of the game screaming deep into the fence-less outfield for an inside-the- park homerun. Rubin was also perfect from the field.

Rubin’s middle-infield mate, junior shortstop Courtney Hirose, showed off her glove by converting eight putouts on the day. She also added a double in her final at-bat of the game.

Even in light of the loss, Hirose would rather reflect on the pleasure of being a part of all that Keppel softball has accomplished this year while remaining optimistic about the future.

“You have to enjoy what you play, otherwise it’s not going to be fun anymore and not worth playing,” she said. “Tiffany’s coming back and she and I have a nice duo between short and second, so it’ll be good.”

Rubin figures to fill more than just the four-hole next year. With a team comprised mostly with underclassmen, such prodigious talent forced her to step up and lead her young team. But with a team that will return five seniors next year, she will not only have to deal with the responsibilities of leadership, she will have to deal with a force totally unique to Keppel softball: the expectation of success—something her teammates are confident she will manage in stride.

“She’s a leader in her own way,” said senior flex fielder Hiroko Akuzawa.
“She doesn’t really tell people what to do, she shows them. She sets an example by working hard and others follow her.”

Though a win Thursday would have almost certainly secured a place in the playoffs, there is still an outside chance that the Aztecs can nab one of the two remaining spots with a sentimental vote. As it stands, Keppel’s 11 wins has more than exceeded expectations and has qualified this squad as one of the best in recent memory.

But according to Madrid, this year’s club has merely flirted with what they are capable of accomplishing.

“I thought next year we had a better chance but our girls came in, our seniors gave us a lot of leadership and they gave us a shot to go to the playoffs this year,” said Coach Madrid. “I’m happy for them. But they’re going to be a good ball club next year.”

Because after all—if you can excuse the cliché—there is always next year.

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