San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
BONITA VISTA HIGH PITCHER GIULIANNA CLAVEL COMES INTO HER OWN
When Bonita Vista High’s Giulianna Clavel headed into her senior season of softball this winter, she had no idea what the future would hold.
For three years she had pitched behind Alexis Guevara, who is now at Brown University.
“I saw this coming last year,” said the team’s lone senior, “but I’d always had Alexis in front of me. I could count on her. I knew there was no one else in my class (who pitched), and while I was excited about it, I was also nervous.”
So was Barons coach Ale Jordan.
“She had showed potential, and it was her fourth year on varsity, but now she had to fulfill it,” Jordan said. “Anybody who knows softball knows that no matter how well you hit and field, it all starts in the (pitcher’s) circle.”
Pitching well for her Excel
Academy Preps travel team before the start of the high school season boosted her confidence.
“I was pitching really well, so I started thinking that it would be like that for my high school,” said Clavel. “The others on the team made me feel really comfortable and I thought being a senior would help. It did, and the team brought me out of my shell. I was kind of shy.”
Starting all but two games and pitching in all but one, Clavel has certainly allowed Jordan to relax a little, posting a 14-5 record for the Barons who at 15-6 are ranked eighth in the section by the Union-tribune and third according to Maxpreps.
In 80.2 innings, she has a 1.909 ERA with 102 strikeouts and a .177 opponents’ batting average. At the plate she is hitting .372 with a .605 slugging average, a pair of homers and 10 RBI.
As the lone 12th-grader, Clavel not only had to make her presence known pitching, but she realized that she would have to be more of a leader. Although she’s no rah-rah, she is comfortable giving advice and encouraging the younger players in her own quiet way.
“I got a lot harder on myself than I used to, and I knew I had to be a better role model for the younger playwasn’t ers,” Clavel said. “Last year we had four seniors who stressed keeping the Bonita Vista tradition alive and this year the juniors have helped a lot.
“I think the other players listen to and respect me — they hype me up. I knew this year I’d have to say things to the other players and it too hard on me.”
Jordan said he could not have expected any more from Clavel.
“She has been a big surprise to me,” he said. “She has fulfilled her potential and become a dominant pitcher. There was a lot riding on her, and it’s been a pleasant surprise. I was kind of holding my breath, but I couldn’t be prouder. Through it all, she has stayed humble.
“Her club coach was raving about how much she’d improved, but I didn’t see her until she came out. She was pitching four to five games a week on the club level without any sign of fading. Pitching two even three games for us in a week is no big deal for her.”
Mind you, this is not Lisa Fernandez or Cat Osterman, who famously blew away the competition with fastballs that were a blur, almost impossible to hit. Quite the contrary.
“My best pitch is my change-up, I move it around a lot and get strikeouts or weak ground ball outs or pop-ups,” said Clavel, all of 5-foot-5. “A couple of months ago my rise started working, and now it’s right behind my change.”
With the late development, Clavel is only now starting to get some interest from colleges and universities, but she’s fine going to community college for a year or so.
“Not everybody can afford to go to a four-year college, and even full-rides have expenses,” she said. “I can transfer to a four-year college after a year or two.”
She’s hoping one of the things that attracts the scouts’ attention is winning a championship — especially the section championship.
“I’ve been on championship teams with my club team,” Clavel said. “I’d love to carry BV to the section championship.”
Shy no more.