She’s stands only about five-foot, six-inches tall. But,
when she swings a softball bat you swear you can feel the breeze coming off the
aluminum.
And, when Sarah Fukushima makes contact you hear it. It’s
that thud that is different, plus the result is evident. It goes a long way and
in a hurry.
She is softball’s current-day equivalent to baseball Hall of
Famer Kirby Puckett. When the Puck hit the ball it flew off his bat. That’s
what it is like when Sarah strikes a pitch.
Fukushima has hit four homers in Sheldon High School’s last
two games, both quality opponents Davis and Oak Ridge. And, with the pair of
dingers Friday she’s tied the school record of 13 in a single season set in
2011 by another girl who had a lively bat, Danielle Henderson.
Add to the power numbers, included in that a 1.333 slugging
percentage, a .524 batting average and 39 RBIs in Sheldon’s 21 games. What is a
bit surprising to most observers is that even with runners on base, Fukushima
continues to be pitched to.
“I’m not surprise,” Fukushima claimed. “I would actually try
to go for me. I would try anything because anything can happen in a game.”
Her humility not withstanding, the results have been
torturous to the rest of Delta League. Sheldon is now 9-0 in league action and
19-2 overall. The only local club they’ve lost to was Del Campo, a 6-5 defeat
on March 22.
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| The stern look of Sarah Fukushima .... |
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| quickly turns to smiles circling the bases 13 times in Sheldon's 21 games this season. |
The successes of Fukushima is rubbing off on her teammates.
The Huskies are batting .405 as a club and Fukushima thinks the real reason is
what was developed in the off-season away from Mary Jo Truesdale Field.
“I think we’re more as a family,” she reasoned. “We’re more
like a family, focused, we’re on the right track and I think that’s just
bleeding into the games.”
It helps, too, that Fukushima has great hitters in front of
her in the Fines sisters, leadoff batter Maci and second-place batter Jordan,
both hitting over .450. And if the opposing coach wants to try to pitch around
Fukushima there’s sophomore clean-up batter Shea Moreno. She’s having quite a
year batting .455 with a pair of home runs, three triples and four doubles.
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| Shea Moreno |
“Personally, I stepped it up mentally,” Moreno said. “Last
year I struggled offensively but held it down defensively. But, this year I
took a different mentality. I got this ‘I’m good’ mentality so it helps me in
the batters’ box, and I’ve taken the approach, ‘This pitcher’s not going to
beat me today and if she does she’s not going to do it on the same pitch.’”
At this rate, averaging almost nine runs a game along with
quality pitching from freshmen Grace Owen and Taliyah Miles, the Huskies could
easily run the table all the way to a Sac-Joaquin Section Division I
championship, which would be its second consecutive banner.
“I think our goals are the gray hats, which are the Section
(championship) hats,” Fukushima said. “Our main goal is to get there and to win
it all.”
“Yes, it’s pretty realistic as long as we keep up
mentalities and our work ethics we’re going to be okay,” Moreno said.
An interesting game still on the Huskies’ schedule is their
regular season finale on May 13. They’ll host the two-time defending Division
II champion Benicia in a non-league contest.
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