Softball : Granger Tosses Two No--Hitters in Doubleheader Sweep

Debbie Fassel, softball coach at Valencia High School, thought her star pitcher needed to throw after eight days without a game.

Michele Granger didn’t look rusty after the layoff, pitching back-to-back no-hitters as Valencia swept a doubleheader from Sunny Hills, 7-0 and 4-0, Tuesday in nonleague games at Kraemer Junior High in Placentia.

Granger (5-0) had an easy time with the defending 3-A champion Lancers, striking out 14 in the first game and 13 in the second, and recording the 29th and 30th no-hitters of her high-school career. She holds the national high school record for career no-hitters.

Valencia, the top-ranked team in the Orange County Sportswriters’ Assn. poll, has a 6-0 record. Sunny Hills is 2-6.

“If we get Michele a couple of runs, were in good shape,” Fassel said. “She pitched well today and is getting stronger since the start of the season.”

Rosanna Garcia, a freshman third basemen, gave Valencia a lead in the first game with a three-run home run in the first inning. Granger helped herself in the sixth, connecting for an opposite-field, three-run home run to left.

Amy Huett (2-4), who took the loss for Sunny Hills in the first game, couldn’t pitch the second because of a blister on the middle finger of her throwing hand. She was replaced by Terri Van Sickle, who hadn’t pitched in more than three years. Ruby Flores, Sunny Hills’ No. 1 pitcher, is sidelined with a knee injury.

In other nonleague games:

Savanna 2, Ocean View 0--Nadine Ditto (3-1) threw a two-hitter, striking out four, for host Savanna (3-3).

Brea-Olinda 3, Orange 0--Kelly Cook threw a 2-hitter, striking out 11, for host Brea-Olinda (7-2).

Crescenta Valley 3, Canyon 2--Teri Artis had three hits and two RBIs, including the game-winner in the seventh, for host Crescenta Valley (7-0).

Western 8, Sonora 1--Wendy McDermott (1-1) threw a four-hitter, striking out three, for host Western (6-4).

Irvine 5, Trabuco Hills 0--Freshman right-hander Jennifer Brundage (4-3) threw a no-hitter for Irvine (4-4) at Harvard Park in Irvine. Brundage struck out 11 and walked 2.

Fountain Valley 3, Los Alamitos 2--Janet Miyahara (1-0) struck out seven in a complete-game victory for Fountain Valley (6-2) at Los Alamitos.

Woodbridge 2, Capistrano Valley 1--Lisa Wehran (1-0) pitched six innings for the victory, and Tiffany Boyd pitched the seventh to get the save for visiting Woodbridge (5-3), which broke a 1-1 tie with a run in the seventh.

Huntington Beach 2, Laguna Beach 0--Pam Fogg (5-1) threw a one-hitter with seven strikeouts for host Huntington Beach (5-1). Fogg walked in the first and scored on a home run by catcher Heather MacTivish .

Edison 1-9, Long Beach Poly 0-8--Terry Carpenter (5-1) pitched a no-hitter with 17 strikeouts for host Edison (7-2) in the first game. Carpenter lost her bid for a perfect game in the first inning when a third strike got away from the catcher, allowing the runner to reach first.

Edison trailed, 6-1, in the second game but scored three runs in both the fifth and sixth innings and two in the seventh for the victory.

Buena Park 2, Anaheim 1--Sophomore Shannon Akay threw a 1-hitter, striking out 21, for host Buena Park. Van DeLeone’s two-out single drove home the winning run in the eighth.

In the Academy League:

Liberty Christian 3, Whitney 2 (8 innings)--Kim Engstrom allowed just 2 hits and struck out 20 batters for Liberty Christian (6-3 overall, 1-1 in league play) at TeWinkle Park in Costa Mesa.

In the Garden Grove League:

Garden Grove 5, Bolsa Grande 0 (8 innings)--Stephanie Smith tossed a no-hitter, striking out 11, for Garden Grove at Bolsa Grande. Smith (2-3) allowed just three runners to reach base, two on errors and the other on a walk.

In the Sea View League:

Saddleback 11, Newport Harbor 5--Carrie Collett went 2 for 2 with 2 runs scored for Saddleback at Newport Harbor (1-4, 0-2).