Village Christian Thinks Big

Sometimes during quiet moments, Jim Stone takes a peek at the Sun Valley Village Christian softball schedule and finds himself staring in disbelief.

“I just shake my head and say, ‘What was I thinking?’ ” the Crusader coach said.

Other times, he studies the Southern Section Division V championship trophy his team won last year and recalls how badly he would like another.

This season, Stone has entered his team in several top-tier tournaments -- Santa Ana Foothill, San Fernando Valley and Thousand Oaks -- loaded with Southern California’s powerhouse teams.

“This was the best way I could think of to get the team prepared for the playoffs,” he said.

Games will be played against schools five times as large as Village Christian, which is only one rung up from the lowest division in the section and has an enrollment of fewer than 600.

The Crusaders have eight returning starters from their championship squad, but playing Division I, II and III teams from Orange and Ventura counties is a huge step for a small Christian school from the eastern San Fernando Valley.

“It was something we felt could make us a better team than we were last year,” Stone said. “We didn’t want any easy games on our schedule.”

The Crusaders can counter those tougher opponents with Lauren Nydam, a top-flight pitcher who competes on an Orange County-based travel team.

Despite missing the first half of last season because of a shoulder injury, Nydam finished 12-1 with an 0.28 earned-run average.

She has signed with Stanford and is one of the main reasons Village Christian was accepted into the Foothill tournament.

“I called them up and their first reaction was, ‘Well, you guys are in Division V, but you do have Lauren’ ” Stone said. “So they knew our pitching would be good. Then they did a little research.”

What they learned was that tiny Village Christian could compete with the big schools. It had victories last season over Westlake Village Westlake, Newhall Hart and West Hills Chaminade.

The Crusaders’ lineup includes second baseman Alex Kinney and catcher Laura Stone, both All-Division V selections last year. Kinney batted .484 and had 34 stolen bases. Stone batted .420 with a .588 slugging percentage.

First baseman Jaclyn Duree is a three-time all-Alpha League selection who has signed with Cal State Northridge, and sophomore outfielder Jackie Ruiz led the team with four home runs as a freshman.

In the playoffs, Village Christian did not commit an error and its Division V title was the first section title by a girls’ team in the 52-year history of the school.

Such rewards have helped the players embrace the challenge of their difficult schedule.

“I’m sure we’ll take some losses,” Nydam said. “It would be bad to say we didn’t hope we’d win those games, but, realistically, we know what we’re going up against.”

For Nydam, however, the final win-loss record isn’t as important as being forced to elevate her game on a daily basis. Division V teams typically have one or two good hitters, but against a Division I team, Nydam must remain focused throughout the lineup.

There are also subtleties. In one game last year, an upper-level opponent was stealing the Village Christian signs. The Crusaders eventually figured it out.

“We had to be more covert about it,” Nydam said. “Teams at our level don’t usually do stuff like that, so playing against those teams teaches you things.”

The Crusaders also teach bigger schools some things. Mainly, just exactly where Village Christian is located.

“Most of them have no idea,” said Laura Stone, Jim Stone’s daughter. “In our league, everyone knows who we are, but the big schools don’t even give us the time of day.”

Last year, when Stone called Thousand Oaks to enter its tournament, Lancer Coach Gary Walin assumed the Crusaders wanted to play in the small-school division.

“I told him, no, we don’t want to do that,” Stone said.

Village Christian went on to win three of its four games, losing only to Santa Ana Mater Dei, at the time ranked No. 1 in the Southland by The Times. Included in that run was a come-from-behind victory over Westlake.

“They’re a legitimate team,” Westlake Coach Garry Fetman said. “They’re a small school so they have to prove themselves in tournaments, and they’ve done that.”

And being tournament-tested helped during the playoff run last year. Village Christian trailed Pasadena Poly, 1-0, in the sixth inning of the championship game. Stone told his team to recall the victory over Westlake, when the Crusaders scored twice with one out in the seventh to win.

Village Christian scored four times in the sixth against Poly and won, 4-2.

Laura Stone said playing higher-level competition was the key factor.

“It forced us to play at a level we needed to play at to win a championship,” she said. “I thought winning was a good goal to have, but I didn’t think we could actually win.

“It seems more attainable this year, but it’s not guaranteed, whatsoever. That’s why we needed to step up our schedule.”

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THE TIMES’ RANKINGS

MARTIN HENDERSON’S PRESEASON SOFTBALL RANKINGS AND COMMENTS:

*--* Rk School (Div.) Comment 1 G.G. PACIFICA (SS-Div. III) Reigning division champion has returning pitcher Brittany Weil (29-2, 0.17 ERA). 2 COR. SANTIAGO (SS-Div. II) Sharks don’t need much offense with Taryne Mowatt (23 shutouts). 3 NORCO (SS-Div. II) Daniela Urincho returns after out-dueling California’s Jennifer Davis for section title. 4 MATER DEI (SS-Div. I) Perennial power is ranked No. 4, but Monarchs could be as high as No. 1. 5 CAMARILLO (SS-Div. I) Shortstop Cambria Miranda proves to be one of the toughest outs around. 6 DIAMOND BAR (SS-Div. II) Brahmas beat Santiago in the playoffs and have every starter returning. 7 RIVERSIDE POLY (SS-Div. I) Pitcher Mindy Cowles and outfielder Liz Caputo lead the way for Bears. 8 WESTLAKE (SS-Div. I) Pitcher Michelle Rehm returns among the Warriors’ nine starters. 9 CORONA (SS-Div. II) Panthers might be third-best team in their league and still win a section title. 10 FOOTHILL (SS-Div. I) Lost three starters and one of area’s best coaching staffs from last year’s finalist. 11 ANAHEIM CANYON (SS-Div. Ii) Comanches have solid 1-2 punch in the circle with Lisa Geer and Heather Slettvet. 12 WOODBRIDGE (SS-Div. I) Warriors won the Division I championship and have some pitching too. 13 RIVERSIDE KING (SS-Div. III) Back from injury, Anna Beardman could return Wolves to their 2002 title form. 14 CARSON (City) Might gain advantage over San Pedro by stepping it up in the Foothill tournament. 15 SAN PEDRO (City) Return of pitcher Ashlee Esparza makes Pirates the favorites for their fifth title. 16 ROSARY (SS-Div. I) Royals have the lineup to win, but it’s still a pitcher’s game. 17 EL TORO (SS-Div. I) Seven starters returning for Chargers, including shortstop Stephanie Churchwell. 18 THOUSAND OAKS (SS-Div. I) Eight starters back, including pitchers Megan Spehar and Suzanne Cominski. 19 VALENCIA (SS-Div. I) Left-hander Christina Ross makes Vikings a formidable foe every time out. 20 VILLAGE CHRISTIAN (SS-Div. V) Won division title last year and are playing against tougher competition this year. 21 LA MIRADA (SS-Div. III) Pitcher Alyssa Gutierrez returns to Matadores, who just missed section title. 22 DIAMOND RANCH (SS-Div. II) K stands for strikeout -- and for Panthers’ ace pitcher, Amanda Klimczak. 23 BISHOP AMAT (SS-Div. I) This is the Lancers’ chance to unseat Mater Dei, Rosary in Serra League. 24 LOS ALAMITOS (SS-Div. I) Had victories last season over Mater Dei, Woodbridge and Simi Valley. 25 HART (SS-Div. I) Indians didn’t hang around long in playoffs, losing in second round.

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