DOWNEY - The 2012 Long Beach Press-Telegram Dream Team was announced last Sunday and Downey and Warren High Schools were well represented.Four Bears and two Vikings were selected to the first and second teams. Warren had three players selected to the first team. They were Tina Iosefa (Georgia), Stephanie Olivas, and Kendall Zarate. Iosefa is a senior catcher and returning 2011 Deam Team Player of the Year. She led Warren with a .500 average, five home runs, 32 RBIs and a .922 slugging percentage. Olivas hit .434, scored 34 runs, hit two home runs and had 25 RBIs. She was a solid third baseman for the S.G.V.L. co-champs and was also an All-CIF Division III selection. Zarate was selected as the S.G.V.L. Pitcher of the Year. She finished the season with a 20-2 record, 1.11 ERA, and recorded 121 strikeouts in 145 innings. Downey's lone first team selection was Anissa Urtez, who was selected as the 2012 S.G.V.L. Player of the Year. Urtez hit .577, scored 36 runs, had 44 RBIs, hit 10 home runs, clubbed 18 extra base hits and had a .990 slugging percentage. Warren's Arianna Palomares and Downey's Desirae Romero were both second team selections. Palomares, a four year starter at shortstop, hit .372, scored 30 runs, hit 2 home runs and had 22 RBIs for the Bears. She will continue playing softball next season as a student-athlete at UC Santa Barbara. Romero, a standout right fielder, hit .443, had 20 RBIs, hit three home runs, scored 19 runs and did not commit an error all season. Romero will be attending Midland College next year and bring her skill set to the next level. Downey Calvary Chapel also placed three members on the first and second team. Junior shortstop Bridget Castro was the lone first team selection while junior catcher Sydney Colenzo and junior pitcher Larissa Petakoff were selected to the second team. Castro, a junior shortstop, was selected to the All-CIF Division VI team and had an impressive .649 batting average, 55 RBIs, 11 home runs, a slugging percentage of 1.270 and only made three errors at arguably the most difficult position to play. Colenzo, a junior catcher, was also an All-CIF Division VI selection. Colenzo hit .591, scored 48 runs, hit six home runs, had 27 RBIs and had a .968 slugging percentage. Petakoff, the Alpha League MVP, went 9-0 with a 0.35 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 59 1/3 innings. She also hit .472 with 31 RBIs, five home runs and a .887 slugging percentage. Interestingly, Sarah Smith (Baylor University), standout outfielder for Cerritos High and a first team Dream Team Selection, is a fellow church member of mine at Community Baptist Church in Norwalk. Smith finished her 2012 season with a .493 batting average, scored 28 runs, had 20 RBIs and hit four home runs. Smith was a member of the All-Suburban League team.

********** Published: June 28, 2012 - Volume 11 - Issue 11