Former FHS Alumni in the spotlight!

At her best in the circle

Fullerton High pitcher Katey Laban wants the ball in big games.

By LOU PONSI STAFF WRITER

Fullerton High assistant soccer coach Luis Torres insisted he'd be able to hit a ball pitched by Indian softball pitcher Katey Laban.

A challenge was issued.

If Torres couldn't get a hit off Laban, he promised to shave his head and buy pizza for the softball team. If the coach got a hit, the softball team would buy him a steak dinner.

Guess who got his head shaved and bought for pizza?

Torres whiffed on nearly every pitch he saw from the hard-throwing Laban.

For the record, Laban has done a lot more for Fullerton than strike out soccer coaches.

A three-year varsity starter, Laban was an All-CIF and All-Freeway League honoree in 2006 in leading the Indians to a berth in the CIF-SS Division III Finals. Laban was also

named team MVP the past two seasons.

Laban, right hander with command of four pitches, said she likes being in the circle for big games.

"It's an adrenaline rush," she said. "I like the pressure. I like being in the center of it. If I do well, then the team does well. If I don't then we don't."

But usually, the Indians do well behind Laban.

"She puts fear in the people she pitches to," Indians softball coach Chris Nichols said. "I'm confident that no matter we are playing, we can beat them."

"She has a very competitive nature. She pushes the others to be the best."

Said senior shortstop Charleen Romero, "Katey has brings a lot of hope to our team. We have good defense, but I'm reassured when she is out there for a big game."

Other Indians expressed similar sentiments about Laban, who has already given a verbal commitment to play softball at Cal State Fullerton.

"I really love Fullerton," Laban said. "My parents live five minutes away and it's a good school."

Speaking of parent's, Laban's mother and father seem to breed softball players.

Katey has four sisters, all current or former softball players: Ashley, 19, played first base last year for the Indians in 2006.

Hailey, 13, Emily 10, and McKenna, 7, all play for Fullerton Hills Softball, which is where Katey also began her career.

It was against her father's wishes that Laban tried out for the position of pitcher during tryouts.

"When he wasn't looking, I went and did it," she said. "I got drafted as a number one.

"I look back on that now and I thank God for the situation."

By age 10, Laban was playing travel ball and has been part of two national championship teams.

Laban won 5 games for the OC Batbusters 16U team during their national championship tournament run in 2006.

She likes the completive nature of club softball but enjoys the close friendships associated with high school softball.

But whether it is club ball or high school ball, Laban is at her best in the circle in the center of the diamond.

Without softball, my life wouldn't be the same," she said. "I'd probably be sitting around watching TV."

Goss is the boss

The senior catcher isn't just a .442 hitter - she's also Fullerton's on-field coach. By CARLOS ARIAS - The Orange County Register

Fullerton catcher Whittney Goss could feel her team's season slipping away.

She knew her team had potential, but the Indians were floundering with a 6-6-2 record.

Some of the seniors were on the verge of checking out with a serious case of "Senioritis."

Goss wasn't about to let that happen, so she pulled her teammates together for a "team talk."

"We need to come together as a team and leave our drama and everything that involves stuff with boys outside the softball field," Goss told her teammates.

"When we step onto the field, we think about nothing but softball. We have to be there. You are the elite 17 girls out of our entire school that were chosen to be on varsity. Get our job done and play varsity softball."

Her teammates listened.

"We got all of our problems out on the table, and we talked about everything," Goss said. "After that everything was good. We have done nothing but dominate since then."

Goss and her teammates have won 11 of their past 12 games to advance to the CIF-Southern Section DivisionIII championship game. The Indians (17-7-2) take on Cajon of San Bernardino (24-7) on Saturday at 12:30p.m. at Barber Park in Irvine.

"I still can't believe we are as far as we are," Goss said. "It still hasn't sunk in. We haven't been to (the) CIF (finals) since 1994. It's been a long time."

Fullerton coach Chris Nichols said he considers Goss his team's "third coach." She helps run drills during practice and will talk to any of her teammates when they need help.

"She's such a great leader," Nichols said. "She is the heart and soul of our team."

Goss said she used to be shy, but this season she wanted to step in and fill the leadership role.

"It's because I like to see my team do good, and I know that we can do good," she said. "I know coming from a guy's point of view, girls sometimes don't want to listen to boys, just because we are girls. By me taking the initiative and helping them and telling the girls what they should be doing helps."

Goss said she realized her team's potential in last year's playoffs when the Indians went 22 innings before falling to Long Beach Wilson, 1-0, in the first round.

"It was heartbreaking going 22 innings and losing," Goss said. "But I knew we were good."

Goss didn't start playing softball until she was 12.

"When I was 12, I begged my parents to let me play soccer, and they put me in softball," said Goss, a four-year starter who is hitting .442. "I was the worst softball player in the world at first. I couldn't even catch a fly ball or anything. It grew on me, and then I got stuck at catcher, and I've been playing catcher ever since."

It was during travel ball that Goss met and befriended the Laban sisters, Katey and Ashley. Katey, a sophomore, is 16-5-2 this season. Ashley, a senior, is the team's designated player.

"She (Katey) is an awesome pitcher," Goss said. "I love her. Her sister (Ashley) has been my best friend since seventh grade. I've grown up with them my whole life. We've played softball together forever. I know it sounds weird, but it's an honor catching her because she is so good."

Goss has been getting looks from Cal State Dominguez Hills, Cypress College and Mt.San Antonio College. She wants to study to be a physical therapist. Is coaching in her future?

"I have a little sister, and I coached her softball team a couple times, and it's harder than it looks because girls are really stubborn," Goss said.

"I just love softball. I love to be around it. I play on the weekends on a travel-ball team. I love the intensity of being out there and the adrenaline rush you get being out there."

‘Crazy competitive’

Sunny Hills’ Amanda Gabriel inherited her competitive spirit and love of softball from her father. By LOU PONSI FULLERTON NEWS TRIBUNE

When Sunny Hills High pitcher Amanda Gabriel needs a little extra motivation to get out of a tough spot, she goes to her father for help.

Though her father, Richard Gabriel, died July 15 after an almost yearlong battle with cancer, Gabriel said she still feels his presence – especially on the softball diamond, where he was his daughter’s staunchest supporter.

“I know that when I’m having trouble, like if it is bases loaded, I always ask him for help,” said Gabriel, 17. “Or when I get a hit, I say, ‘Thanks Dad.’”

Richard Gabriel coached his daughter when she played in the Fullerton Hills Softball league as a child.

Though Gabriel is a natural righthander, her father taught his daughter to bat from the left side of the plate.

He attended all her games up until he was hospitalized about two months before he died.

“It drove me a lot,” said Gabriel of her father’s hospitalization. “I wanted to do good because I know that he wanted to watch me play.”

Gabriel also describes her father as being intense and fiercely competitive, both traits she said she’s inherited.

“I’m just crazy competitive about everything,” she said.

Sunny Hills softball coach Art Jarmon said Gabriel channels the intensity in positive ways.

“She hates to be beaten,” Jarmon said. “She gets upset when she gives up a hit or a walk. But it is a good kind of upset. It helps her to bear down and focus.”

Gabriel said even when she gets worked up over giving up a run or two, her steely outward appearance is an important attribute.

“Don’t let the other team know your weaknesses,” she said. “Don’t let them get to your head.”

But Gabriel hasn’t had to worry much about opponents getting into her head, although she might be getting into theirs.

She is 14-3-1 this season, with a .765 ERA. She’s tossed two no-hitters, one perfect game and has 10 shutouts. Gabriel is among the county leaders in strikeouts, victories and fewest runs allowed.

“She’s as good as any pitcher I’ve seen,” Jarmon said. “She focuses on the first batter of the inning, which is important. She’s got a lot of movement on the ball and can throw to spots.”

Gabriel also attracted attention from college scouts and will be attending George Washington University on a scholarship.

Opposing players and coaches have been equally impressed.

“She throws hard, is mentally tough and has good command of her pitches,” Fullerton coach Chris Nichols said.

Former Fullerton High softball player Lauren Petitt, who now plays at Fullerton College, recalled Gabriel as being the toughest pitcher she faced in high school.

“She was the only pitcher I couldn’t hit off of,” Petitt said.

Gabriel was moved up to the varsity squad her freshman year at Sunny Hills. But, she broke her thumb and was used only as a pinch hitter or pinch runner for much of the season.

Her sophomore year, she shared the pitching duties on the varsity squad and did well.

Her junior year, she became the Lancers’ No. 1 starting pitcher and was 14-6, with a .636 ERA.

“From her sophomore to junior year, something clicked,” recalled Jarmon.

Gabriel credits all the innings she pitched in summer travel ball as helping her improve.

But for Gabriel, it really comes back to the intangibles: her love of the sport and her ferocity in the circle.
             
SUNNY HILLS softball pitcher Amanda Gabriel is listed as one of the county’s best softball pitchers. She worked her way up to being the team’s top pitcher.