Park at your own risk whenever Stefini Ma’ake enters a home run derby.
Such was definitely the case in the parking lot behind the left-field bleachers at San Diego State’s softball stadium before Tuesday’s CIF San Diego Section All-Star Game.
A 5-foot-10 slugging first baseman from Our Lady of Peace, Ma’ake wowed and electrified the capacity crowd of 750-plus on a not-so-favorable overcast late afternoon.
Ma’ake led off the contest with 83 points on 24 HRs (3 points) and 11 shots to the warning track (1 point). In the final two-minute round, she posted 64 points.
“That’s crazy,” said Mike Centrullo, who was selected to coach the East team after 25 years at Mater Dei Catholic High School. “I’ve never seen anything like that. Ever!”
Seven other seniors followed Ma’ake’s show. In second place was Nataly Lozano of Otay Ranch with 21 points in each of her rounds.
“I was like, ‘Maybe I should go last,’ “ Ma’ake said. “I win most of the home run derbies I’ve ever been in.”
The first pitch she saw, Ma’ake lined a ball off the top of the fence near the 225-foot marker. A few tosses later, she reeled off six consecutive homers, sending at least one person to panic mode.
“She started hitting so many homers, I was like, ‘I better move my car.’ “ said Jeff Weinstein, a trainer at Rancho Bernardo. “Luckily my car was safe, but the one parked next to me had a nice dent in the back tailgate.”
Afterward, Ma’ake needed Weinstein’s attention for a blister she developed on her left palm.
“Ouch! I’ve never gotten a blister before,” Ma’ake said. “But it was worth it.”
Ma’ake’s father, Junior, is from Tonga; her mother, Mele, hails from New Zealand. Stefini was born in the U.S. and just graduated from the all-girls Catholic private school on Oregon Street in Normal Heights. In a few weeks, she’ll the University of Oregon Ducks.
Game time
Michaella Salvatierra of Mater Dei had three hits and Kendall Luna de la Fuente of Rancho Bernardo added two as the East defeated the West 10-7 in the nine-inning all-star game. Caylene Nguyen of San Marcos had two hits for the West.
Poway’s Kayla Menges was named the game’s MVP after pitching 4 1/3 innings for the East.
The East scored seven runs in the fifth inning to take a 9-2 lead, but the West answered with five in the bottom of the fifth.
Special moment
Six-year-old McKenna Cooney threw out the first pitch as an honorary member of the East team. Simply delightful and beaming with pride, McKenna spoke to a reporter for 10 minutes before her biggest day in the circle.
“I love softball,” she said. “I’m having so much fun.”
McKenna was born deaf, reads lips, knows sign language and attends a special needs class at Lafayette Elementary.
“With cochlear implants, she’s been able to hear some since she was 11 months old,” said McKenna’s father, James Cooney, who works for a building company Centrullo. “She’s an avid reader and excels at all her classes. She’s awesome.”
Higher ed
Among this year’s all-star roster were several girls headed to some of the most elite universities in the country.
La Costa Canyon’s Layla Thiessen will attend MIT. Going to the Ivy League are Rancho Bernardo’s Mia Cascio (Colgate), Torrey Pines’ Georgia Bilski (Dartmouth), San Marcos’ Caylene Nguyen (Columbia) and Del Norte’s Jessica Phelps (Princeton). Closer to home are Mira Mesa’s Callie Christian (UCSD) and OLP’s Alex Riggs (USD).
Granite Hills’ Sofia Mujica, who broke the section career home run record last year as a junior, was selected for the game, but she had a prior commitment. Mujica (60 career HRs) is going to UCLA.
Lindgren is a freelance writer.
