Northridge’s Little Rascal : Uncompromising Beth Calcante Emerges as a Standout in Softball

Beth Calcante became so impatient with her parents during a visit to her grandmother’s house when she was 6 years old that she snatched the car keys. Unable to start the ignition, she released the parking brake.

The car rolled down the driveway and came to rest across the street after it crashed into a tree. The sound of the impact was soon followed by the threatening shouts of Jim Calcante, Beth’s father.

In the 12 years that have passed since the incident, two things have not changed.

Patience is still not a Calcante virtue. And a husky male voice still scolds her about it. Only now it’s Gary Torgeson, coach of the Cal State Northridge softball team, who fills the role of disciplinarian.

Torgeson, whose team is 33-31 in its first season of NCAA Division I competition, can testify that Calcante is worth whatever trouble seems to tag along with her. She leads the Matadors with 66 hits, 89 total bases, four triples, three home runs, 20 runs batted in and a batting average of .333.

Calcante, a freshman, also leads Northridge in positions played. The Newbury Park High graduate has played every position this season except pitcher, first base and right field.

“She’s gifted in the sense that she can do a lot of things,” Torgeson said. “But her bat is her claim to fame.”

Calcante’s versatility has made her a valuable commodity, but her straightforwardness and sharp tongue have given her coach more than a few headaches.

When asked what it would be like to have nine Calcantes on the field at the same time, Torgeson gasped: “Oh, boy. Early retirement. And I’m not kidding. They’d all kill each other for one thing.”

Both Torgeson and Calcante admit to having quarreled more than a few times since they joined forces in the fall. Some might call it a personality conflict. Torgeson calls it getting acquainted.

“I’m just starting to get to know Beth,” Torgeson said. “She’s very strong-willed. She’s stubborn, but her stubbornness comes from a desire to do well.”

“She has the same spunk, same defiance, as Barbara (Jordan) did,” he said.

Jordan, a brash, whirlwind of a player, was a three-time NCAA Division II All-American from 1984-87 and had a career batting average of .315.

“I’ve handled Beth a little differently than I did B.J,” Torgeson said. “I sat on Barbara more. I didn’t think Beth could handle it. She’s more sensitive or fragile than she thinks she is.”

Early in the season Calcante, who bats in power positions in the lineup--Nos. 3, 4 or 5--was known to throw her helmet in disgust and get down on herself when her performance failed to meet her standards. Torgeson had to put a stop to it.

“I told her, ‘People see this, Beth, and your greatness is diminished.’ ”

Although Torgeson does not like to see Calcante in a rage, he likes the end result.

“She’ll bark out a lot and then refocus, and I think that’s her best quality,” Torgeson said.

Indeed, the animated Calcante is her own toughest critic. When teammates try to console her after a fielding error, Calcante ignores their upbeat comments.

“Everyone will say, ‘Nice try, Beth.’ And I’ll say, ‘No, it wasn’t,’ ” Calcante said. “Don’t ever tell me it was a nice try when it wasn’t a nice try.”

It also infuriates Calcante when she isn’t getting hits. Calcante remembers being in “the biggest (batting) slump ever” as an eighth-grader and wanting to quit because of it. Her father wouldn’t let her.

“I’m like the son he never had,” Calcante said. “He encouraged me, he never pushed me. He said, ‘You’re not quitting. You’re going to practice whether you like it or not.’ ”

Jim Calcante has remained an integral part of Beth’s softball career. Even now she looks for him in the bleachers for instruction when she is struggling.

“He’s the only one who can get through to me about softball. With Coach and other people, it just doesn’t sink in,” Calcante said.

Blessed with a tall, sturdy frame and excellent hand-eye coordination, Calcante developed into a four-sport athlete at Newbury Park High. She earned nine varsity letters in softball (three), soccer (three), tennis (two) and basketball (one).

After playing shortstop for three years, she was moved to catcher for her senior year and earned All-Southern Section honors. Calcante returned to shortstop Thursday for CSUN’s doubleheader against Cal.

Calcante has played in 35 games at third base, 25 in the outfield, six at second and five at catcher. However, she feels most comfortable at shortstop.

“That’s where I wanted to play in the beginning,” she said.

Although Torgeson uses Calcante wherever she is needed, he thinks she would be best suited for the outfield.

“She could probably hit her hitting capacity better if she stayed in the outfield where it would take the infield pressure off her,” Torgeson said. “But she can do it all. She can bunt, she can slap and she can hit with power.”

Although a rookie on a young Northridge team, Calcante has remained the most consistent hitter throughout the year.

After managing just one single in her first nine collegiate at-bats, she went on a tear over the course of the next 12 games, vaulting her batting average to a season-high .415.

She received all-tournament honors at the Arizona Classic, San Diego State Spring Classic and the UNLV Spring Fling.

The tougher the competition, the better Calcante plays, Torgeson said. He envisions school record-breaking seasons from her.

“Her greatness is ahead of her,” he said.