Accidental Standout : Hargrave Is Thriving in Unexpected Softball Career

FULLERTON — Had things worked out perfectly for Deborah Hargrave, she wouldn’t be taking part in the regional softball playoffs starting Friday at Fullerton College.

She also wouldn’t have been selected co-most valuable player of the Orange Empire Conference and wouldn’t have earned a scholarship to Oklahoma.

Hargrave just didn’t see any of those things happening when she was a three-sport standout at Fullerton High. Her favorite sport was soccer. She was on the volleyball and softball teams to help satisfy her competitive nature.

During her junior year, she said she was burning out and figured she would call it a career at the end of high school and concentrate on school work and her early childhood development studies.

But the summer before her senior year, Hargrave suffered a freakish, yet serious knee injury when kicking a soccer ball in a game.

She underwent major surgery and was out about nine months, returning her senior year to play only softball. During rehabilitation, she had a lot of time to watch sports and think.

“It was a wake-up call,” she said of the injury. “It really showed me how much I had taken sports for granted.”

The injury also made Hargrave a little reluctant to return to soccer, but Fullerton College Coach Lisa Bassi was able to talk her into giving softball another try.

She was Fullerton’s starting shortstop last season and helped the Hornets get off to a strong start. But midway through the season, she broke her hand sliding into second base and was lost for the rest of the year.

Hargrave sat on the bench and cheered as the Hornets advanced through regional play and eventually finished second in the state.

“It killed me when she got hurt,” Bassi said. “But she worked her butt off to get ready for this year. That’s just the kind of player she is.”

This season, Hargrave has been moved to right field as Bassi searched for the perfect lineup that eventually enabled the Hornets to tie Cypress for the conference title.

Hargrave hit .384 and scored 18 runs to lead the conference in runs scored. She credits her teammates and the coaching staff for her success, including making the move to the outfield and earning a scholarship.

“My love of the game has really grown here,” Hargrave said. “My parents are a big part of everything I do, too. I didn’t expect any of this. But the coaches really brought out this love of the game in me.”

Softball Notes

Fullerton (34-11) is seeded second in Southern California and starts the double-elimination playoffs against Orange Empire Conference foe Riverside (24-15) at noon Friday. Riverside beat the Hornets in the teams’ last meeting, but Fullerton won the first two. Hancock (21-9) and San Diego Mesa (21-16) meet at 2 p.m. at Fullerton. The winners meet at 4 p.m.

The playoffs continue at each site with an elimination game at noon Saturday, then the championship game at 2 p.m.

Cypress, which earned the third seeding, is seeking its ninth consecutive berth in the state tournament. The Chargers (59-4) host Saddleback (16-19) at noon Friday. The teams were scheduled to meet three times in conference play but Saddleback had to forfeit twice for lack of players and lost the other time as well.

Antelope Valley (29-17) and Cuesta (30-16) meet in the 2 p.m. game at Cypress.

Rancho Santiago (28-19) is seeded fifth and plays Pasadena at 2 p.m. Friday at Palomar. The host Comets (38-12) open that regional site with a noon game against Ventura (28-22-1).

The winner at each regional site advances to the state tournament, May 16-18 at Golden West College.