An all-star farewell

It would seem an ideal scenario for Elle Navarro to mark the end of her high school softball career and create a few more fond memories in the process.

Tonight's San Gabriel Valley All-Star game will be the final time the recent graduate of Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy will strap on the cleats and play an official high school game of the sport in which she has been a two-year varsity starter for the Tologs.

"This will be my first [All-Star game] and it should be a fun one," Navarro says of the exhibition scheduled for 6 p.m. at Arcadia High, which pits senior players from San Gabriel Valley and Foothill-area private schools against their public school counterparts. "I get to play with my [Sacred Heart] teammates who are seniors, and also against my cousin, [Arcadia senior] Shelby Gibbs, who will be on the public school team.

"It should be a fun game for us and for our family."

It also figures to be a special game for Navarro considering it may well be the last time she plays softball.

For now, Navarro has no plans to continue in the sport at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where she will begin work on a major in construction management and a minor in interior design in the fall.

"I wanted a major that's a little more hands-on than an English or math major," she says. "I'm going to move on a little bit."

She leaves behind a solid record of on-field performance and leadership at Sacred Heart.

"Elle is just one of those rare kids that comes along — she's a tremendous team player and always has a smile on her face," says Tologs Coach Dennis Williams, who has coached Navarro for two seasons and will coach her one last time tonight as the Private Schools coach. "I had four returning starters that I named as co-captains at the beginning of the year, and she was the leader of the bunch."

During Navarro's two-year varsity tenure, the Tologs won 21 games and made the program's first-ever playoff appearance in 2006, following a best-ever third-place finish in the Mission League.

Her 20 runs batted in this year were a team high. She batted .246 with 23 total bases and 11 runs scored, while primarily starting at third base.

A pitcher as well, Navarro didn't see much time in the circle in 2007 due to the luxury of what Williams describes as a loaded pitching staff.