Softball Gets Fresh Start

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

When she accepted the role of starting pitcher for the Palisades High varsity softball team, freshman Sarah Feldman knew she had big shoes to fill. However, she has shown the poise of a veteran so far, throwing every inning of the Dolphins’ season so far and earning the respect of her teammates with her tenacity and poise in the circle.       

“I started playing when I was 9 and my first season I played outfield,” Feldman said. “When I was 10 I convinced my coach to let me pitch and I’ve done it ever since.”

Feldman, who lives in Santa Monica and attended Lincoln Middle School before Pali High, plays club for SoCal Choppers’ 16U fastpitch squad (based in Santa Clarita) and isn also active in Swim with Heart, a non-profit program that offers year-round swim instruction and team training. Her 11-year-old sister started in softball but now plays soccer.

“I was originally going to go to Samo but we talked about it as a family and decided on Palisades,” added Feldman, who has two dogs (Sadie and Belle). “Pitching at Pali is a step up from travel ball, but I like it.”         

Feldman tossed a complete game in the Dolphins’ 9-1 nonleague loss at Oak Park last Friday, throwing 114 pitches. “That’s nothing… I’m used to high pitch counts,” she said. “If I have a bad inning I give myself some grace. I’m a freshman, so there’s room to grow and I love my teammates. They’re like my older sisters, they make me laugh and they and they even dance with me.”   

A ninth-grader trying to replace three-year starter and All- City selection Briana Vasquez, who finished her Palisades career with 320 strikeouts and is now a freshman at La Verne, Feldman has no fear of failure—a quality Dolphins coach Linda Park appreciates.

“Bri was the backbone of our program,” Park said of Vasquez, who   was named SCIAC Pitcher of the Week on Monday after tossing complete-game one-hitter Saturday versus Bethel. “Sarah’s done a phenomenal job! She keeps us in every game.”

Feldman notched her first victory Feb. 27, strking out nine Centaurs  while allowing only two hits in a 10-0, six-inning shutout. She had five strikeouts in an eight-inning win against St. Monica one week later—a game in which she also got her first hit. She had seven strikeouts in her prep debut against Leuzinger on Feb. 25.

Vasquez pitched the Dolphins to the City Division I semifinals last spring and it will be tall order for Palisades to make it back there given  that the roster includes seven underclassmen.