Southern Section Softball Playoffs : Taylor’s 2-Hitter Leads Fountain Valley, 2-0

Fountain Valley High School pitcher Patti Taylor came within three batters of throwing her second no-hitter in three days in the quarterfinals of the Southern Section 4-A softball playoffs at El Dorado Thursday.

But El Dorado’s Jill Matyuch led off the seventh inning by ripping a single up the middle. So Taylor settled--quite happily--for a one-hitter and a 2-0 victory, her 16th shutout of the season.

Taylor and the rest of the top-seeded Barons (24-4) were delighted because next Tuesday they will boldly go where no Fountain Valley team has gone before: to the 4-A semifinals. The Barons play Cerritos.

Taylor, a senior right-hander, said she didn’t have her best stuff Thursday because of elbow and thumb injuries, but she still struck out five and walked none.

The Golden Hawks (21-6) did not hit a ball out of the infield until Matyuch’s line drive and Wendy Malone’s game-ending fly out to center.

But it was obvious that Taylor’s performance was not effortless. She pitched a one-hitter Friday against Long Beach Wilson and a no-hitter Tuesday against Mater Dei.

By the sixth inning Thursday, she had to take a moment on the mound to massage her pitching arm until the pain subsided.

“My arm was really sore,” she said. “My balls were breaking really good, but not as hard as usual. I didn’t feel strong.”

Taylor, who was color-coordinated with the school motif, from her blonde hair to her royal-blue ribbons, has thrown four no-hitters and seven one-hitters this season. She is 18-3.

She offered part of the credit for her success to her catcher, Laurie Alvarez. The junior had never played the position before a back injury earlier this season forced Taylor’s previous catcher, Lea Young, to switch to third base.

Alvarez attended Taylor’s pitching lessons with Bill Owens, a softball coach in Westminster, until she got the hang of handling Taylor’s tricky breaking balls.

“It keeps you on your toes,” Alvarez said. “She’s a great pitcher to catch for.”

The Baron offense got its first hit off El Dorado’s Suzi Bradach (21-6) when Lori Peterson opened the fourth with a single to left. She took second on a throwing error during a pickoff attempt.

Young followed with a hit to center field and Taylor drove in Peterson with a sacrifice fly. A liner to left by Alvarez drove in Young.

Despite the loss, Golden Hawk Coach Tracy Brennan was pleased that her team, the Empire League’s No. 3 entry, survived longer than league champion Cypress or Kennedy, which tied for second place with El Dorado.

“That gives me a big boost,” she said. “Because we graduated five seniors last year, we looked upon this season as a rebuilding year, since all of the outfield and half the infield were new. We weren’t quite sure what a capabilities were and that’s why I’m so proud of them.”

In other quarterfinal action:

Downey 5, Edison 2--The Vikings eliminated their second straight Orange County team. Downey defeated Kennedy, 1-0, on Tuesday. The Chargers end their season at 27-6.