Lodi’s Pfenning staying on the diamond
Accomplishments: Danielle Pfenning does not like sitting on the bench.
But the Lodi High varsity softball player, a junior who pitches and plays first base, found little time to watch the game from the dugout last week. In the Flames’ 4-1 Tri-City Athletic League win over Lincoln on April 4, Pfenning went the distance in the circle, tossing a four-hitter and struck out four Trojan batters.
On March 31, in a rain make-up league game at West, Pfenning went 3-for-4 with a triple. She pitched the last five innings of the game, where she struck out nine Wolf Pack batters.
Throughout the season, Pfenning and Ashlee Toy have split time in the circle for Lodi (5-4 in the TCAL, 7-10) — meaning one starts the game, and the other comes in halfway. The system seems to be working for Lodi coach Michelle Souza, who has her Flames battling for one of the league’s four playoff spots.
During a practice last month, Pfenning was taking part in a drill where she sprained her left ankle.
“I turned and my foot was in a hole,” recalled Pfenning. “It sprained my ankle real hard.”
The injury had Pfenning sitting on the bench for two weeks. One could understand that a three-year starter would rather be on the field helping her teammates instead of sitting inside the dugout. But rest was needed for Pfenning, who plays competitive softball year-round.
“It was torture,” said Pfenning of her time on the bench. “Just watching them play, and I was just sitting there not being able to do anything. It wasn’t very fun.”
Now Pfenning is back on the diamond for the Flames. She continues to pitch, as the left ankle is part of her left foot that she plants when she delivers a pitch. Naturally, she’s being cautious with her ankle.
“At first, there was like being careful,” Pfenning said. “I’ve try to not re-injure my ankle. Then I just decided to keep working on it. Then I was OK again. The team helped me out.”
Pfenning and the Lodi softball squad continue their quest toward a second SacJoaquin Section playoff berth in the last three seasons. The Flames earned a trip into postseason in 2016. The 13-player Lodi roster has seven juniors of whom Pfenning is one of them, three seniors, a sophomore in Toy and two freshmen.
“We have some real good players,” said Pfenning of her teammates. “They’ve really contributed to helping us out.”