DATE: Sunday, July 20, 1997                 TAG: 9707180231

SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER      PAGE: 17   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY CHIC RIEBEL, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   60 lines

THIS GIRL PITCHER IS NO JOKE

William Harris left a District 8 Little League tournament meeting shaking his head.

``When some of the other coaches heard we had a girl on the team, they laughed, they thought we had to be a joke,'' said the coach of the Chesapeake Little League Majors (11-12 year-olds) all-stars. ``But they didn't know Lena.''

They do now, along with anyone else who has been following the District 8 tournament. Sunday, 12-year-old Lena Sifen pitched a no-hitter as surprising Chesapeake won its second straight tournament game, a 1-0 decision over Plaza National.

Sifen, a righthander who stands about 5 feet tall, struck out seven batters in recording what is believed to be the first no-hitter by a female pitcher in District 8 Majors play. She also went 1-for-3 in the game and scored the only run on a double by Nick Orren.

By the way, don't call Sifen a girl baseball player.

``I'm a baseball player,'' period, she said.

And a mighty fine one. Probably the best in the Chesapeake Little League.

``Lena's certainly the No. 1 player on this team,'' said Harris. ``She's got a lot of hustle and heart and is very coachable. She's tough to beat, too, whether she's pitching or catching.''

Actually, Sifen considers catcher her best position. However, the Chesapeake team is loaded with catchers, so she's been spending time in center field, displaying a strong arm and excellent speed.

But it's her arm that had folks buzzing against Plaza National, which had won its first two tournament games by scores of 19-1 and 13-2.

``Lena was pitching them hard and tight,'' said Harris. ``Her pitch selection was great and she really moved the ball around.''

``I just aimed for their knees and kept it low, that's a pretty hard place to hit a ball,'' said Sifen, who's been clocked ``in the mid-50s - without a warmup'' on the radar gun at Harbor Park. ``I also used a knuckleball. I got the Plaza coach's son on two of them.''

Sifen played in the Plaza Little League two years ago. Then her family moved to Chesapeake.

``I had played with nine of the 14 Plaza players,'' she said. ``It was my dream to beat them. When the tournament schedule came out and I saw that we were lined up to play Plaza if they won their first two games and we won our first one, that's all I could think about.

``I was really pumped. . . . In the last inning, they had a guy on third with two outs and I had to pitch to Mikey Barnes. I was worried because he had hit a home run in another game, but he hit a ground ball to third and we got him out.''

Although Chesapeake's season could end any time now (it was knocked into the losers bracket by Aragona-Pembroke Tuesday night), don't look for Sifen's baseball career to end any time soon. She doesn't plan to switch over to softball until she has no choice.

``I love baseball, not softball,'' Sifen said. ``And as long as I'm good enough to play, that's what I'll do.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by BILL TIERNAN

Lena Sifen, 12, pitched a no-hitter Sunday. KEYWORDS: SPORTS BASEBALL

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