Jane-E Yamamoto

Barry Faulkner

The Costa Mesa High softball team turned to Jane-E Yamamoto as plan B

last week and the junior responded with her A game.

The result was a complete-game pitching victory and a 2-for-3

hitting performance in a 6-4 Golden West League win over Ocean View

April 28.

She followed up Friday by working 4 2/3 innings of shutout relief

in an 8-3 league triumph over Orange to help keep the Mustangs in

contention for the Golden West title.

Her pitching prowess, necessitated by an ankle injury to Mesa

pitching ace Jackie Butler, also produced Daily Pilot Athlete of the

Week honors. All this for a player whose only softball experience

before high school was as a bench warmer on her eighth-grade team.

Yamamoto had also never pitched before high school, but quickly

became the junior varsity’s leading hurler, propelling the Mustangs

to a share of the Pacific Coast League title in 2001.

A collection of arm ailments, however, kept her out of the circle

as a sophomore, when she became an All-Newport-Mesa second baseman.

Last season, she hit .301 with four home runs, 15 RBIs, 16 runs and

nine stolen bases.

Coming into this week, Yamamoto was hitting .346 and had 15 steals

in 17 attempts. She was also 5-3 as a pitcher, with a 1.65 ERA.

“She was really a surprise for us last year, especially hitting

four home runs,” Mustangs Coach Rick Buonarigo said. “This year,

she’s more into base hits. She’s a very good athlete who has really

come around at second base. We really needed someone to play second

last year and she really picked it up quickly. I think she’s an

all-league second baseman and has the potential to be an All-CIF

[Southern Section] player.”

Yamamoto said watching from the dugout as an eighth-grader created

a strong desire to contribute on the field.

“I made the team in eighth grade, but I sat the bench,” she

recalled. “I didn’t have much fun, but I could see it was a really

cool sport and I knew the games would be so much fun if I played. I

decided to try out as a freshman and I was committed to working hard

to improve.”

Yamamoto’s natural pitching talent and willingness to step into

the circle made her an obvious choice for junior varsity coach Sharon

Uhl.

In addition to learning from Uhl and Buonarigo, Yamamoto began

going to coaches-for-hire to polish both her pitching and hitting.

Though contributing soley at second base as a sophomore, her arm

was strong enough to try pitching again this season. And, with a

string of injuries to Butler, Yamamoto’s presence in the circle has

been a valued resource for Buonarigo. This was never more evident

than against Orange Friday, when Butler, battling a sprained ankle,

began fading fast in the second inning. Ahead, 3-2, with the bases

loaded, Yamamoto was summoned in relief with one out in the second.

“I didn’t get to warm up much, so there was a bit of pressure on

me,” she said. The stakes rose quickly when she threw three straight

balls, but she battled back for a strikeout, induced the final out to

work out of the jam, then cruised to the win.

“She wanted the ball,” Buonarigo said of her heroics against

Orange. “Our backs were against the wall, with the meat of their

order coming up. But we had confidence in her.”

Yamamoto’s burgeoning confidence has prompted aspirations of

playing in college and she will begin working toward that goal by

playing on a club team this summer.

“I’m not one to give up on something and softball is my passion,”

she said. “I figure I should stick with it year-round.”