Softball News: Baseball Star Makes Big Splash In High School

By Rabbi Rabbs
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Updated: September 16, 2020

(Sweetwater Valley Little League of Bonita’s former baseball all-star Abigail Steffen, left, with Ava Chavarria, right, hold home run balls each belted for Chula Vista’s Eastlake High School Titans varsity softball team this year. Photo courtesy of Eastlake Titans Softball.)

Get ready for this week’s exciting edition of Where Are They Now? Last year, CaliSports News featured several girl baseball standouts in Little League’s Female Stars Shine In SoCal. Last week, we followed up on one of those young ladies as she received an athletic scholarship to play college softball. Now, it is time to catch up on a second player showcased in Female Stars Shine who recently likewise entered the softball pool, and has already made a big splash.

Readers should remember Abigail Steffen. Last year, as a baseball pitcher playing for Bonita’s Sweetwater Valley Junior League all-stars, Steffen retired the side, three up and three down, in her one inning on the mound in the championship game of the California District 42 tournament. In doing so, Steffen reportedly became that district’s only ever Junior Division female all-star. She also remains Sweetwater Valley’s only ever girl all-star in the 12-and-under Major Division.

The monster feeds the Titans.

A year later, we can now add Steffen’s name to the long list of products, as discussed in The Monster Feeds The Titans, from District 42’s famous “three-headed monster” of Little League to go on to star for Chula Vista’s Eastlake High School Titans. Only she is accomplishing that feat in softball. But that still counts. Steffen became one of only two freshmen this year selected to the Titans’ 14-player varsity softball team. And, she quickly broke into Eastlake’s starting lineup.

(With her “walk-up” song (music by Biggie) playing, Abigail Steffen belts a homer, triple, and double for Chula Vista’s Eastlake High School. Footage courtesy of Laura Steffen.)

More impressively, Steffen moved into the cleanup spot in the Titans’ batting order. I kid you not. A freshman that picked up a softball bat for her first time less than a year earlier needed only about a week into the season to bat fourth. Steffen is a natural. But do not take my word for it. Here is what the head coach of Abby’s travel ball club, the Firecrackers, wrote about his slugger:

“She’s going to be on a lot of colleges’ radars,” Head Coach Sal Mata posted on Facebook. “The best part is she just switched to softball. She gets after it at practice, though, so it’s paying off.”

Softball beast.

Steffen turned into a softball beast with power. The kid grew four inches since CaliSports News first featured her two years ago in Abby Steffen, Sweetwater Valley’s First Female All-Star, and now stands 5′-11″. Abby, who turned 15 years old this year, is reportedly the tallest player on the Titans. And the towering freshman belted the stuffing out of the big yellow ball. Have a look:

(Firecrackers’ Abigail Steffen. Footage courtesy of Sarah Becerra. Music by Aerosmith.)

In the lock down-shortened high school season, Eastlake only played six games. Steffen batted in each of them. At press time, the stats were available for the first five of those six. Through those five, Abby led Eastlake with a .916 slugging percentage, and led in extra-base hits with four. The Titans recorded a total of five home runs and triples. Steffen checked in as Eastlake’s only player to contribute two of those five, after homering and hitting her team’s only triple.

The Cannon.

Abby ranked second on the Titans in runs batted in with four, and second in on base plus slugging percentage with a soaring 1.250. The freshman phenom reached those marks despite only making 12 plate appearances. In addition, CaliSports News quoted an NCAA softball coach in Female Stars Shine that said Steffen has the arm of a Division 1 college athlete. Although the young Eastlake fielder’s arm has yet to be tested at the high school level, two base runners made the fatal mistake of testing Abby “The Cannon” Steffen during Firecrackers’ games.

(Footage courtesy of Sarah Becerra. Music by Nirvana.)

In one instance, as we see in the above video, a runner at first base tried to take third on a single. But The Cannon was having none of that. Abby fired a rocket from right field to the third baseman to hang the runner up by a country mile. In the other instance, a runner on second experienced the misfortune of trying to reach home plate on a single. The Cannon blasted that runner down as well. Mata trusts The Cannon in his right field. He even posted the following challenge: “I dare someone to try and go first to third on her, or try to score from second.”

My Two Shekels.

I need to add my two shekels. In First Female All-Star, I wrote that Steffen was “all business” in Little League, and showed little emotion. I must say the kid appears so much happier since switching to softball. Abby now smiles for cameras. Check out the following photo. It depicts some rookie hazing. Eastlake’s veteran players required five newcomers pictured below to wear pajamas to school. Steffen had to carry a sign reminding everyone that she did not achieve her goal of playing varsity baseball. To this observer, Abby looks happier advertising that she is not playing baseball than she did while she was starring in it. Just my two shekels. What do I know?

(Left to right: Ava Chavarria, Saige Alfaro, Rylee Alfaro, Isabella Perreira, and Abigail Steffen. Photo courtesy of Laura Steffen.)

Changing the topic, in First Female All-Star, CSN mentioned that Abby’s sister Paige had aspired to play for the Titans’ girls volleyball team. Well, two years later, Paige played for Eastlake High’s junior varsity squad. How about that? Incidentally, one of Paige’s JV teammates was two-sport sophomore Ava Chavarria, who also played catcher on the Titans’ varsity softball team. And, despite attending different years in school, teammates Ava and Abby grew into close friends.

Teamwork makes the dream work.

During the recent lock down, the two softball standouts shown posing in the photo at the top of this article maintained a daily workout regimen together. Incidentally, the Steffen sisters’ mother Laura kept busy. She administers Facebook pages of Sweetwater Valley, Chula Vista’s Eastlake Little League, and Eastlake Titans Softball. Also, last Fall, Laura got re-married. Finally, CaliSports News thanks everyone that shares our articles. Teamwork makes the dream work. On that note, CSN thanks South San Diego’s Luckie Waller Little League and District 42 for sharing last week’s, Luckie Waller’s Female Star Continues To Shine, on their Facebook pages.

And, with that, we conclude the latest edition of Where Are They Now? My next article shall continue with softball. You do not want to miss that. Stay tuned !! Until then, congratulations to Abby, Paige, and Laura Steffen; and Chavarria !! Go Titans and Firecrackers !! Let’s Go SoCal !!

(New bumper sticker on the Rabbsmobile. Photo courtesy of Rabbi Rabbs.)

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