The Preps / Pat Cannon : Burroughs Freshman Seeks Fourth Straight No-Hitter in Softball

Take that Johnny Vander Meer: Kristi Alves, a Burroughs of Burbank freshman softball pitcher, will take the mound at 3:15 today at San Gabriel High School in pursuit of her fourth consecutive no-hitter.

Alves, who is also hitting .470, started her no-hit streak against L.A. Lutheran, followed it with a perfect game against Alhambra and added No. 3 against Schurr last Thursday.

“The streak is amazing,” Burroughs Coach Jerry Libman said. “But what is more amazing is that she just started pitching this year. She’d never pitched an inning before.”

If Alves can keep it going today, she will be within one game of the Southern Section record of five set by South Hills’ Monica Messmer in 1983. Messmer is now at UCLA.

Former Mater Dei assistant coach Pat Barrett, who is orchestrating the Tom Lewis negotiations, may be the first person to have contracted recruiting burnout by osmosis.

“I want to get this whole thing over,” Barrett said Monday. “I’m tired of all the coaches and the schools and the alumni and the papers calling at all hours.

“It hasn’t been easy. All it’s been is sleepless nights and worries. It’s really been hard on me and Tom. We hope to make a decision by Friday. But we have to weigh all the pluses and minuses.”

Lewis, Mater Dei’s 6-7 All-American, has narrowed the field to Nevada Las Vegas and Syracuse. He was supposed to hear their final pitches last week, but the meetings were rescheduled for Wednesday and Thursday.

Saddleback’s Teddy Baker may have established himself as the second-fastest prep in California Saturday night at the Arcadia Invitational, finishing second to Hawthorne’s phenomenal Henry Thomas in the 100- and 200-meter dashes.

“I may never beat him, but it’s not disappointing,” Baker said. “I mean he’s one of the best in the nation. It’s no disgrace to lose to Henry.”

Locke’s Choo Choo Knighten, who won four events Saturday night at Arcadia, has entered the Pepsi Invitational May 18 at UCLA’s Drake Stadium.

Knighten will run the 400-meters against Jarmila Kratochvilova of Czechoslovakia, who holds the world record of 47.99.

“No she won’t be intimidated,” said Locke Coach Jimmy Lee. “She’ll just do her best. We’ll be anxious because it’s exciting to go against the best in the world. I hope Choo Choo can come in with something under 51.”

A Birmingham, Ala., senior, Marty Burke of Huffman High, set a national record last Friday, hitting three grand slams to lift his team to a 26-8 victory over Woodlawn.

The center fielder’s grand slams eclipsed the record of two held by 11 other players. His 12 RBIs also tied a mark held by four others, including Hesperia Christian’s Wayne Agens, who did it in 1981.

Estancia baseball Coach Ken Millard told The Times’ Mike DiGiovanna: “Every time we beat ourselves in a game, I make the kids shake hands with each other because you should always congratulate the team that beats you.”

No. 1 Miraleste will travel to Santa Barbara Monday to take on the No. 2-ranked Dons in what looks like a preview of the Southern Section 4-A boys tennis final.

Miraleste suffered a setback when its No. 1 player, Augustine Moreno of Mexico, was declared ineligible because he doesn’t belong to a certified foreign exchange program. However, the Marauders, who have won three 4-A championships in the last four years, still have Mike Chinchilo and Tom Blackmore, two nationally ranked juniors.

It should be an interesting game because Santa Barbara has two excellent players in Tim Trigueiro and Alex Nizet, and surprising depth.

“I knew about Trigueiro and Nizet,” said Palos Verdes Coach John Fullerton, whose team lost to Santa Barbara last week. “But I wasn’t ready for how deep they are. They’re good from top to bottom.”

Prep Notes

Luke Jensen, the No. 2-ranked junior tennis player in the world, has signed with USC. Jensen, from East Grand Rapids, Mich., is also the doubles partner of Patrick McEnroe, the younger brother of professional John McEnroe.. . . New faces: Jerry Jaso and Thomas Whiting will share the football coaching duties at Long Beach Poly, replacing Jim Barnett, who took the job at Trabuco Hills. . . . Duke Dulgarian, 23, will take over St. Bernard’s football program next season, replacing Bill Seward, who resigned to pursue a career in broadcasting. . . . Jeff Engilman of Manual Arts, who led the Toilers to back-to-back City 3-A football titles, is moving to Grant High School. . . . Coaches interested in attending the Ojai Tennis Workshop April 26-29 should contact Edison’s Tim Mang. . . . Quartz Hill All-American running back Aaron Emanuel boosted his grade-point average and has been officially accepted at USC. . . . . Mountain View freshman Tracy Williams ran with both legs taped at Arcadia Saturday, because of a painful case of shin splints. Williams finished fifth in the 3,200 and eighth in the 1,600.