Second-Guess

THOUSAND OAKS — Seems everyone suspects there’s more to the story of Colleen Spencer returning home.

Even Spencer’s friends can’t believe the former Thousand Oaks High softball standout would leave nationally ranked Southern Mississippi to play for struggling Cal State Northridge.

Some believe it must have been the smothering humidity in Hattiesburg, Miss., that drove Spencer home. Others wonder whether she left for lack of playing time or because she didn’t get along with the coach.

But the speculation, which Spencer hears repeatedly, couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Spencer started 44 games at second base and batted .237 as a freshman in 1999. She idolized Coach Lu Harris and said the humidity was bearable.

So why did she leave Southern Mississippi in the middle of her sophomore season when everything was going so well?

“I wanted my parents to be able to see me play,” Spencer said. “People just couldn’t believe that.”

Spencer’s parents, Mike and Narda, rarely saw her play for Southern Mississippi. They watched most of her high school and club games, but didn’t see her first college game until the 1999 Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City.

“We really missed it,” Narda Spencer said. “I don’t know if it was harder on us or her.”

The Spencers saw her again in an Arizona tournament early last season. They traveled to Oklahoma in March for another tournament and, unknowingly, saw her final game with Southern Mississippi.

In her first at-bat of the tournament, against Colorado State, Spencer was hit in the elbow with a pitch and left the game.

Spencer’s disappointment was overwhelming.

“They come all this way to see me and then this happens,” said Spencer, who had started 14 of 20 games and was batting .229.

“That’s when I asked for my release.”

After trying to talk her out of it, Harris relented and Spencer contacted other schools.

Coach Janet Sherman of Northridge was very interested.

“Obviously we’re elated to get her,” Sherman said.

Southern Mississippi’s loss is Northridge’s huge gain.

The Matadors have benefited from the addition of several transfers over the years, but none ever came from a top-10 program like Southern Mississippi.

Spencer gives Northridge something it hasn’t had in years: An excellent slap hitter with speed and a sure glove.

“She’s going to help us tremendously with our middle infield,” Sherman said.

“And she’s got a potential to be a leadoff [hitter] for us, which would be nice, because we could move Sarah Farnworth back into a run-producing position.”

Spencer, a Times’ All-Ventura County selection in 1998, was not highly recruited out of Thousand Oaks despite batting .402, scoring 21 runs and showing great range at second base as a senior.

She was considering accepting a partial scholarship to Loyola Marymount when Harris called.

“Once [Harris] got me out there on the [Southern Mississippi] campus, I was set,” Spencer said.

Spencer has similar feelings about Northridge.

“I thought this is where I should be,” Spencer said while walking on campus recently. “I got a good feeling. . . . I’m just excited to be home.”