Mason hits stride

Chris Yemma

Muriel Mason has long had a solid throwing arm.

With an arm that has been designed, tweaked and redefined over the

course of her 13-year baseball/softball career, the Estancia High

junior has thrown a pitch or two in her day.

It was her batting, however, that has been something of a nuisance

for the softball standout.

Until recently.

With first-year coach Alan Caouette’s guidance, Mason has been

working out on a rigorous training routine involving batting practice

and resistance strength training everyday.

She dedicates about three hours of work to softball training every

day during the week.

And now, it is paying off.

Mason was 4 for 4 at the plate against Laguna Beach March 15, with

two runs scored and an RBI in the 12-1 victory. She was 2 for 3 with

two runs scored and an RBI in a 6-5 victory against Santa Ana Valley

March 17, and was 2 for 2 with four runs and an RBI in a 17-4 win

over University Monday.

That’s 8 for 9 (.888 average) in three consecutive games, helping

increase her season average to .625, best in the Golden West League

and eighth in the CIF Southern Section.

Still, Mason considers pitching her best asset.

“Pitching is my best skill; it’s pretty much the only thing I can

do,” said Mason, who helped her team go 3-0 during her batting

outburst and 6-3 this season.

“It seems I’m not very consistent at batting. But I’ve been doing

batting practice a lot more.”

As the Eagles No. 1 pitching option, Mason is 3-1 with 18

strikeouts and a 1.556 ERA through 27 innings.

She threw a complete-game with nine strikeouts and no walks

against Laguna Beach, and went the distance against Saddleback

Valley, allowing five hits with one walk and five strikeouts.

Caouette, previously the junior varsity coach at Estancia, has

been pleasantly surprised by Mason’s performance thus far.

“She has definitely been a nice surprise for us,” Caouette said.

“She’s a very good pitcher obviously, and had said batting was her

weakness, but now she’s leading the team in hitting. I think it’s

because of her dedication and desire.”

Mason thinks her batting inconsistencies are different from year

to year. Last season was an off year, so this year must be a good

one, she rationalized.

“My hitting has improved tons,” she said. “Usually, from my past

experiences, one season I do well, and another, not so well. So I

guess this will be a good season.”

So far, it has been. Mason has never gone 4 for 4 in any game, and

her batting average is the highest it has ever been.

One of her best qualities on the field is “being able to have a

sense of humor about everything and not to take everything too

seriously,” she said. “A sense of humor keeps a balance on the team.”

When Caouette starts getting intense during a game, Mason said she

acts as a release valve.

“Her personality keeps the team loose,” Caouette said. “But on the

flip side, when it’s time to be serious, she gets the team pumped up.

She’s a flat-out leader.”