THE TIMES’ ALL COUNTY SOFTBALL TEAM : PLAYER OF THE YEAR : Granger Has Grip on Fame

Michele Granger is a 17-year-old high school junior, but already she has taken to answering the telephone with a pleasant but strictly business inquiry: “What can I do for you?”

Question is, what can’t she do?

Granger, Valencia High School’s phenomenal pitcher, threw three perfect games and 11 no-hitters this season and struck out 509 batters--about two of every three she faced.

She pitched four consecutive no-hitters, the second most thrown in Southern Section history. The 11 no-hitters places her in a tie for first. For her accomplishments, she has been selected as The Times’ Orange County Softball Player of the Year for the second straight year.

Her three-year career totals not only set Southern Section and national records, they obliterated them. The Southern Section record for career no-hitters, which also was the national record, was 21. Granger has 27 and a year yet to play. The record for strikeouts was 1,124; Granger has 1,186. And a year yet to play.

All of which serves to explain why Granger has picked up the telephone in the past year to find representatives of such organizations as the Cable News Network, ESPN, USA Today, and People magazine on the other end.

But none of that explains the only thing that approaches her 70 mile-per-hour fastball for sheer incredibility--the fact that Granger is relatively unaffected by all this hullabaloo, and is so unconcerned about her records that it is only under a bit of duress from her coach and her mother that she will copy them onto a crumpled paper and bring them home.

As Granger sees it, it’s a simple matter.

“If you do your best, you’re going to break something,” Granger said.

Truth for her, incredulity for the rest of us.

Despite being perhaps the best high school pitcher ever, Granger will not likely set any records for victories. Her Valencia team finished 22-8 this season; Granger’s record was 22-7. In her high school career, she has suffered the excruciating fate of losing a game in which she pitched a no-hitter. Her response?

“Everybody loses. It’s not that hard to do.”

Proof of how easily a game can be lost came in Valencia’s Southern Section 3-A semifinal game against Diamond Bar, when a Valencia outfielder dropped an easy fly ball, allowing the only run of a 15-inning game--and ending the Tigers’ hopes of a championship.

Proof of Granger’s temperament came a few minutes later, when she looked back to the outfield and saw a teammate still sitting on the grass, despairing. Granger sprinted out to comfort her.

“That kind of tells you what kind of person she is,” said Debbie Fassel, Valencia coach.

Granger’s success has brought her a measure of fame that seems certain to grow.

Already she has been recognized a few times in stores and restaurants. When her mother, Mary Granger, substitutes in a nearby junior high school, she is greeted by excited queries from the students--”Are you Michele Granger’s mother?”

The scrapbook that Mary Granger began last year in the midst of what she calls “an explosion” of publicity already is thick, and sure to thicken. It is of the variety that will accommodate additional pages.

And Granger sits by, pleased enough with it all, but not too certain just which records she has broken, which she has tied, or how fast that fastball really is.

Sunday: Swimming

THE TIMES’ ALL-COUNTY SOFTBALL TEAM PITCHERS TIFFANY BOYD Woodbridge junior Pitched nine no-hitters, including four consecutive. Led teamto Southern Section 2-A title tie with .450 batting average. RUBY FLORES Sunny Hills junior Allowed only four hits in five playoff games for Southern Section 3-A champions. Was 18-2. Struck out 1 of every 2 batters she faced. MICHELE GRANGER Valencia junior Set Southern Section records and national high school records for career no-hitters (27) and strikeouts (1,186). Had 11 no-hitters (3 perfect games). NICKY LUCE Cypress senior Did not allow an earned run in five playoff games for Southern Section 4-A champions. Victory in title game was her 69th in three seasons. CATCHER DIANE POHL Cypress junior Picked nine runners off first base and threw out 9 of 11 trying to steal. Batted .297 with one home run for Southern Section 4-A champions. INFIELDERS KELLY DAVIDSON Los Amigos senior Batted .364 with two home runs, five triples, six doubles and 17 RBIs. Shortstop also stole 15 bases. KELLI MOORE Los Alamitos senior Her .557 batting average was highest in Orange County. Shortstop wasteam MVP for four seasons. CATHERINE STEDMAN Sunny Hills senior Batted .413 with five home runs and 28 RBIs. Shortstop had fielding percentage of .964. Will play for 1987 NCAA softball champion Texas A&M.; ERICA ZIENCINA Laguna Hills senior Did not commit an error all season. Batted .367 for the Southern Section2-A co-champions. Has signed with UCLA, the 1987 NCAA runner-up. OUTFIELDERS ERIN McKENNEY Sunny Hills sophomore Batted .447 in the playoffs as the Lancers won the Southern Section 3-A title. Hit .311 overall with a home run and three doubles. JANNA OUELLET Villa Park senior Center fielder hit .369 with five home runs and 23 RBIs. Committed only one error in 44 chances. SHERRY PANCHISIN Canyon sophomore Set school records for average (.340) and hits (32). Drove in 10 runs and scored 17 batting leadoff. Had no errors in 32 chances in center field. UTILITY DEANA KUROSE Villa Park senior Had 13-6 record as a pitcher and also played second base, shortstop and right field. Batted .326 and stole 12 bases. DESIGNATED HITTER SUZIE BARNETT Villa Park junior Orange County home run champion with 10. Drove in 28 runs and scored 33 tofinish the season with a .409 average. THE TIMES’ ALL-COUNTY

Softball Second Team

Pitchers T. Carpenter Edison Christy Larsen Marina Dawn Roberts Laguna Hills C. Schneller Ocean View Catcher Valerie Finley Valencia Infielders Brandy Gluhak Rosary G. LoPiccolo Sunny Hills Marian Mendoza Garden Grove Debbie Wagner Mater Dei Outfielders Leah Miller Laguna Hills L’amour Ponce University Toni Sauce Cypress Utility Lori Graper Kennedy DH Missy Gyde Kennedy