PATH OF MOST RESISTENCE
Kennedy forges title shot without field, practicing in thrower’s pit, on blacktop
GRANADA HILLS » It’s sixth period at Kennedy High. The football team is on the field behind the east end zone doing pushups in unison. A mix of boys and girls are running around the school’s dirt track. And, of course, there were a dozen or so teens sitting together in the bleachers not participating, like something out of a movie.
However, there was an unusual addition to this typical high school scene. There was activity in the thrower’s pit. Instead of athletes working on the shot put, the softball team was working through batting drills beyond the west end zone of the football field, in an enclosed corner sectioned off by a tall chainlink fence.
“We have to find somewhere different to practice every day,” Kennedy softball coach Christian Carbajal said. “We’ve been doing it all season.”
The Cougars haven’t played a true home game this year. They haven’t had a real field on which to practice either, due to the school’s modernization process that’s essentially erased the softball field from the face of the campus. It’s part of the Los Angeles Unified School District’s $7 billion bond measure to modernize its schools, one of which is Kennedy.
The softball team has used just about every corner of the campus to practice, including on blacktop. On those days, the players can’t wear cleats; they wear tennis shoes, Carbajal said.
“When we’re on the blacktop, we have to take ground balls while other students are around,” senior Jayleen Piedra said, laughing.
The team plays its home games at Petit Park.
“The backstop has graffiti on it and there are homeless people in the outfield sometimes,” junior pitcher Miya Ramirez said. “Our games get interrupted by little kids sometimes running onto the field at the park.”
Despite all the challenges, Kennedy will play in the City Section Open Division final against top-seeded El Camino Real on Saturday at Cal State Northridge at 3 p.m.
“When there’s a will, there’s a way,” Carbajal said with a smile.
What once was green grass, a lined dirt infield and two dugouts is now a large, flat lot used for portable classroom buildings, known as bungalows. A temporary softball field intended to last four years is being built while the modernization plan is being executed. Once the bungalows can be moved, a permanent softball field will be built on the field’s original location.
The Cougars finished 23-5 this season, including 12-0 in the Valley Mission League. It earned them the seventh seed in the Open Division’s eightteam field.
Unfazed, the team won two playoff games on the road, beating second-seeded Granada Hills 7-6 last week before taking down No. 6 Carson 9-3 on Tuesday.
“At the beginning of the season, it bothered us. We were asking, ‘Why now? Why us? Why can’t they do it in the summer?’ ” Piedra said of the challenge of finding somewhere to practice each day. “But eventually we got used to it and started embracing it. Now, we feel like nothing can stop us.”
The team has been without Cal State Northridge commit Gizella Vargas all season due to an injury and lost top pitcher Savannah Arreguin to a concussion in midseason. She has not returned due to concussion-related symptoms. Ramirez has stepped into the pitcher’s circle.
Perseverance, togetherness, attitude, and of course, talent. The Cougars have displayed each of those characteristics to reach the program’s first City final appearance since 2010, a game they won 1-0 over Chatsworth. That victory was largely due to the pitching performance from the person who is now the Cougars’ coach, Carbajal. She threw a two-hit complete game and struck out eight batters in that final 12 years ago.
“This year has been a great opportunity to teach my players that no matter what you’re dealing with, adversity makes you better,” Carbajal said. “On the field and off the field. I also tell them to stay humble. We’ve dealt with a lot, but it doesn’t mean we get better treatment because we’re winning. Nothing changes.”