AV All Stars win Western District

By MERISA JENSEN
Valley Press Staff Writer

The AV All Stars went 4-0 in the tournament with a total of three shutouts, including a 10-0 victory in the first game, in which pitcher Sofie Chereshkoff threw a no-hitter, and a 13-0 win in the second round.

But the most exciting game was a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over Ojai Valley in the semifinals.

Antelope Valley went into the bottom of the seventh with a 2-0 deficit and didn't let its final chance pass by. AV head coach Darryl Chereshkoff said he and his coaching staff talked to the girls before that final frame.

"We talked about how this team doesn't give up," Chereshkoff said. "We talked about how if everyone does their job, we had a good chance."

The AV All Stars started out with two consecutive singles, followed by a productive out to advance the runners. They scored one run after a one-out single, and then Breauna Conedy came to the plate.

Conedy hit a two-run walk-off double up the middle to send her team to the championship game.

"The third game was the awesome one there," Darryl Chereshkoff said. "They never give up. They've all played against each other so much during the regular season that they all know each other real well and they just know we can get it done."

What was even better for the All Stars was the fact that they had lost to both Fillmore and Ojai Valley in early warm-up tournaments this year. As a result, Antelope Valley came in second in both the Sylmar and Covina tournaments. That made the wins in the district finals all the more satisfying.

"It was nice to get that back when it mattered," Darryl Chereshkoff said.

Darryl Chereshkoff said the four wins were a team effort and it started with pitching. Sophie Chereshkoff and Jessica Yasin each picked up two wins and gave up just two runs and four hits between them.

"The pitchers pitched great," Darryl Chereshkoff said.

Katarina Rodriguez, Conedy, Marissa Harmon, and Sofie Chereshkoff also hit home runs for the AV All Stars, who also received strong defensive plays from Joselyn Rodriguez, Precious Medina, Allison Mercado and Jasmin Alexander, who laid down a perfect tag to deny a stolen third base in the championship game.

Vanessa Newton, Krysta Cook and Mary Harris all had quality at-bats and were effective on the base paths to help the All Stars outscore their opponents 39-2.

"It was cool for a bunch of girls who played against each other during the regular season to come together in such a short amount of time," Darryl Chereshkoff said.

The AV All Stars are now qualified for the state championships, which run from July 17-19 in San Diego. Last season, the All Stars finished fifth in the state, but their goal this season has been to go the distance.

"We usually don't talk about wins, we talk about playing hard. When you work hard, you play better," Darryl Chereshkoff said. "But when we started we said we should all work toward the goal of winning state."

Whether the AV 14-U All Stars win state or not, they know they have already had a successful year and they are all looking forward to another reward from winning the district finals: shaving Darryl Chereshkoff's head before state.

"I put my foot in my mouth and now I have to shave my head," the coach said. "I've heard they're bringing a razor to practice (today)."

mjensen@avpress.com