Softball Team Pays Tribute to Fallen Pitching Coach

The softball team will hit the field Tuesday sporting armbands with an embroidered “D” for Deanna. That and a sentiment-filled poster hanging in the dugout will be silent tributes to the .

Softball was Deanna Mauer’s life, said San Juan Hills High softball coach Dave Didier. She played for Baker when he coached the girls softball team at . She was a four-year letter winner and was named team MVP her senior year. She also pitched for the San Jose State University Spartans where her 2008 ERA was 3.61. The school newspaper, the Spartan Daily News, called her “free-spirited.”

Mauer died in a tragic,  Wednesday. The team heard about the crash the same day it happened; they were told their pitching and catching coach had been hurt in an accident, was in critical condition “and it didn't look good," said Coach Cary Baker.

Then, on Thursday, just before heading out to Capistrano Valley High School for a game, the team learned of Mauer’s fate.

The news hit the team hard—really hard—said Baker, who put it to a team vote whether the girls should board the bus and play. “I felt the only thing I had the power to do for Deanna was to play the game. They all wanted to play,” Baker said.

San Juan Hills High Principal Tom Ressler and counselors were on hand when the team was notified, said Athletic Director Armando Gonzalez. “We did take steps to make sure we were sensitive to the issues surrounding this. I think everyone handled it relatively well,” he said.

Born June 14, Mauer was only 1 ½ months away from her 24th birthday.

About 100 people attended a candlelight vigil Sunday night for Mauer at the Fountain Valley High softball field. A viewing is scheduled for Wednesday and the funeral is scheduled for Thursday. The team will skip practice to attend.

Services for Mauer will be at 1 p.m. Thursday at St. Vincent De Paul Church in Huntington Beach, 8345 Talbert Ave.