Thousand Oaks Getting a Jump on Steal Record

Thefts are on the rise in the Conejo Valley, but it’s nothing to be alarmed about.

Thousand Oaks High is more than halfway to setting a school season record for stolen bases, though the softball season is still young.

The speedy Lancers (7-3-1) have stolen 40 bases. The record is 77, set last season.

“On this pace at 30 games, we’re looking at 100 [stolen bases],” Coach Gary Walin said.

Michelle Spencer, the team leader with 12 stolen bases, needs 11 to break her school season record of 22 set last year.

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Chatsworth’s Liz Sun, an All-City basketball player making her softball debut this season, discovered the difference between a floor burn and a raspberry Saturday.

And it wasn’t pretty.

The sophomore opened her knee on rocky gravel sliding into home against Littlerock and left the field an inning later to seek medical assistance.

“Her sliding [knee] pad kind of slid down, she slid and kind of took a big chunk out of her knee,” Coach Andrea Rochetti said.

Sun, who averaged 16 points and 8.3 rebounds for the City Championship semifinalist, is expected to return to the lineup next week.

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Losing without being in the game is one thing.

Losing without even being at the game is another.

Chatsworth became the latest victim of a scheduling conflict.

The Chancellors advanced to a consolation-round game Monday against Victor Valley Christian in the High Desert Classic, but were forced to forfeit because they already had a West Valley League opener scheduled that day against Birmingham.

By the time Rochetti realized the overlap, it was too late to reschedule either game.

“The league game is more important to us than the tournament game,” Rochetti said.

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A team that commits five errors should not expect to win.

Unless, of course, your opponent made six.

Reseda and Grant combined for 11 errors in the Regents’ 18-9 nonleague victory last week.

“And I could have missed a couple. My scorekeeper was brand new,” Reseda Coach Glory Jue said. “You’re going to have those games.”