Kristi Denny
Courtesy of El Toro High School
pitcher
Kristi Denny has been hit four times by a softball – causing three concussions – and the last frightening injury may have ended her promising career.
The 5-foot-9 sophomore right-hander was pitching to Norco’s cleanup hitter on Friday, March 26, when a laser line drive connected with her skull and nearly took her life. Estimates are that the ball was traveling close to 100 miles per hour and after her follow-through she may have been just 30 feet from home plate.
Though many states have moved the softball pitching mound back to 43 feet, California still uses the old 40-foot distance.
“I just remember throwing the pitch and I never saw it coming at me,” Denny said. “I felt my skull crush in. I never lost consciousness, but there was some bleeding in the sinus area on the way in the ambulance and I threw up blood at the hospital.”
The next day she underwent six hours of surgery during which doctors formed a new forehead from titanium mesh. One day later she went home.
Because she had been hit several times previously in her life, she was wearing a hard-plastic face mask, called the GameFace.
“They said I probably would have died without it,” she noted.
Miraculously, there was no brain damage, prompting her father, John Denny, to comment, “We thank God.”
Kristi suffered her first concussion at age 11 during a recreation-ball practice. The catcher was throwing to second base “and I forgot to duck,” she said.
Two years later a coach was hitting hard shots during an infield defensive drill and one hit her in the face, knocking her out briefly and forcing her to begin using a protective mask at age 13.
The third mishap came last year during a JV tournament. This time the mask limited damage to a black eye.
El Toro coach Jim Daugherty pointed out that Kristi is his No. 2 pitcher and “has really good potential. She is a bright girl and a very diligent worker. It would be hard to imagine that she’d want to go back and do it (in the future).
“I think the (aluminum) bats have gone beyond – like a laser launching pad. It’s a combination of bats and the pitcher standing 40 feet away. I think I’m going to urge all my pitchers to wear a mask.”
Last week Kristi told her father, “Dad, I’m not sure if I can do that again.” He replied, “I’m not sure if I could watch.”
Kristi, who has a lot of soul searching to do, confided, “It will be six to eight weeks before I can do heavy physical activity. That wipes out (this) high school season. (Softball) has been my first love because I’ve been playing it my whole life (since age four). UCLA has been my dream school since I was little.
“I’d say it’s up in the air.”
* Granite Hills (El Cajon, Calif.) senior pitcher Jenny Lahitte has recorded 112 strikeouts in her first 49 innings this year. She won her first five starts with shutouts, posting strikeout games of 20, 18 and 17 twice. The University of San Diego signee also has a 4.5 GPA.
* Ashley Czechner struck out 18 while allowing no walks and just three hits as Waccamaw (Pawley's Island, S.C.) rolled past Manning, 8-0.
* Steele (Amherst, Ohio) sophomore Jennifer Sutton fired a no-hitter with 16 strikeouts during a 10-0, six-inning victory over Brookside.
Ehlers on strikeout spree
Nebraska City (Nebraska City, Neb.) senior left-hander Logan Ehlers has struck out 18 batters in three consecutive games, believed to be a state baseball record. The University of Nebraska recruit has lost just once – a two-hitter during which he struck out 18.
Last year Ehlers, who throws 90 miles per hour, was 10-0 and named Nebraska’s Gatorade Player of the Year.
* Hodgson Vo-Tech (Newark, Del.) pitcher Jamie Treml struck out 18 – believed to be a state record - during a 3-2 victory over Delaware Military Academy.
* Booker T. Washington (Norfolk, Va.) pitcher Avery Upshur allowed only one hit and fanned 18 en route to a 3-2 victory over Wilson in eight innings.
* Great Oak (Temecula, Calif.) defeated McLean (Va.), 10-6, to win the Premier Division of the 60th San Diego Lions Baseball Tournament. Austin Bailey, who hit a home run and double for the champs, was named MVP. Jupiter (Fla.) won the Classic Division, 4-1, over San Diego Torrey Pines. The field included 112 teams divided into eight divisions.
* Burbank (Burbank, Calif.) senior shortstop Lonnie Kauppila received plenty of respect early this spring because he had belted 12 home runs in 20 games last year. That respect resulted in 15 walks – three intentional in one game – and no home runs in his first 10 games. The Stanford signee finally took charge by hitting three homers and driving in six runs during a 15-1 rout of Glendale Hoover and is hitting over .500.
* M.L. Woodruff, who has won 11 state titles and over 500 games, is retiring as head baseball coach at Parkview Baptist (Baton Rouge, La.) at the end of the current season.
Sveinsson smashes records
Greenhill (Addison, Texas) junior star Chelsey Sveinsson won the 3200-meter run in a sizzling 10:07.15 during the 83rd annual Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in Austin, Texas. She broke her own meet record as well as the state and Mike Myers Stadium records.
She won by 32 seconds while running the nation’s fastest time this spring. She later added the 1600-meter title (for the third year in a row) in 4:51.33 and was named the meet’s Outstanding Female Athlete for the third year in a row. Last fall she placed second in the Foot Locker National Cross Country Championships despite running with a stress fracture in her foot.
* Lovejoy (Lovejoy, Ga.) senior David Smith, cleared a nation-leading 7-4 to win the high jump during the Westlake Relays in Atlanta. The Auburn signee later cleared 7-6, but knocked the bar off with his hand.
Tobias Harris injured
University of Tennessee basketball signee Tobias Harris will be out of action for up to eight weeks after breaking a bone in his right foot during the first half of the annual McDonald’s All-American Game in Columbus, Ohio. The 6-8 standout from Half Hollow Hills West (Dix Hills, N.Y.) has been named New York’s Mr. Basketball.
* Vance (Charlotte, N.C.) junior guard Marquis Rankin has made a commitment to Virginia Tech, according to the Charlotte Observer. He averaged 13.6 points, 7.0 assists and 4.4 rebounds this year.
* The Oklahoman reports that Putnam City West (Oklahoma City, Okla.) senior Tyler Neal has made a commitment to the University of Oklahoma. The 6-6 forward averaged 18.6 points and 8.3 rebounds while leading his team to the Class 6A state semifinals.
* Al Hairston, who won five state titles earlier in his career at Garfield (Seattle, Wash.), has been named head basketball coach at O'Dea (Seattle, Wash.).
St. Michael Academy closing
St. Michael Academy (New York, N.Y.) is closing its doors this spring, leaving a very talented girls basketball team searching for a school where all members can transfer.
* Buford star Andraya Carter, ranked as Georgia’s No. 1 sophomore, has made a commitment to the University of Tennessee, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The 5-8 point guard averaged 19.5 points and 6.5 rebounds this year while leading the Wolves to the Class AA state title.
* Another Georgia standout, 5-9 junior guard Brianna Banks of Newnan Northgate, has made a commitment to the University of Connecticut. UConn also has a commitment from highly-ranked Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis of Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.).
Arboleda, Lee win titles
La Canada (Calif.) senior Anton Arboleda shot an 8-under-par score of 205 to win the boys division of the 12th annual Heather Farr Classic at the Longbow Golf Club in Mesa, Ariz. It was his first AJGA championship.
The girls title went to Alison Lee, a freshman from Valencia (Calif.), who shot 211, to nip four-time Rolex All-American Rachel Morris (Carlsbad, Calif.), by a single stroke. Lee is the nation’s No. 6-rated female golfer in the Polo rankings.
Bianco chooses Northwestern
Moorestown (N.J.) junior lacrosse star Bridget Bianco has made a commitment to Northwestern University, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Ranked as one of the nation’s top goalies, she helped her team win its 10th consecutive Tournament of Champions title last year.
