Season Interrupted: Alessandra Samperio, an artist in the pitcher’s circle

Throughout the spring, The Times will interview high school seniors whose athletic careers were cut short by the coronavirus outbreak.

Name: Alessandra Samperio

School: San Pedro Mary Star of the Sea

Sport: Softball, pitcher

Key stats: Was 17-5 with a 1.05 ERA in 2019; 5-2, 0.85 ERA in shortened ’20 season

Fall plans: Will attend Loyola Marymount

High School Sports

Season Interrupted: Snapshots of high school seasons cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic

A look at the high school sport standouts whose seasons were cut short by the coronavirus outbreak.

April 11, 2020

On the sudden end to the season:

“We were definitely upset. These past years we’ve been working hard and our last season we couldn’t play. My parents told me at dinner and I was devastated.�

Her high school highlight:

“Beating Carnegie. They were 27-0. We beat them 5-2 and I had 13 strikeouts.�

On life without sports:

“It’s definitely different. There’s a lot of free time. I try to fill the time going to the pool, hanging out with my siblings, drawing, painting, cooking. My specialty is peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.�

On the pressure of pitching:

“Honestly, when I pitch, I don’t really feel a lot of pressure. I’m very relaxed. At times, the pressure does help a little bit. It pushes me.�

On how the sports stoppage changed her:

“I’ve become closer to my family. As a player, it’s opened my eyes. You never know when it’s going to end. Always practice hard, play hard.�

Where she sees herself in 10 years:

“I’m going into studio arts at LMU.�

Video interviews of each athlete can be found at latimes.com/sports/highschool.