STATWATCH : Highland Hall Pitching Staff Wears Shield of Invincibility

While its Westside League rivals struggle to find anyone who can throw the ball over the plate, Highland Hall enjoys a stable of effective pitchers. Last week’s game against Clearview, in which the Hawks received 18 walks in a 38-1 win, typified their dominance.

Highland Hall is undefeated since joining the Small Schools Division league last year. During the streak, which covers 13 games, including Tuesday’s 7-3 win over Grace Community, the staff has notched three no-hitters, three one-hitters and one two-hitter. In 81 innings, the Hawks have 131 strikeouts and have allowed 42 hits. The staff earned-run average is 1.47.

“We’re very fortunate that we can throw strikes and hit spots,” Coach Dave Desmond said. “It’s fun to be able to get past the basics and talk about how to set up batters.”

Pitching: Hart junior Jason Edwards improved his record to 8-0 with a 6-1 win over Alhambra. His ERA over 55 innings is 0.88 and he has walked just 14 batters. . . . Providence pitcher Vic Salazar was overpowering in his first five games despite his 1-3 record. The junior right-hander struck out 39 in 24 innings and had a 2.27 ERA but allowed 9 unearned runs. . . . Shaik Nabi has been the workhorse for Faith Baptist, pitching 60 innings in 12 games, including 6 complete games.

Batting: Hart’s computerized statistics service has added a new dimension--how the team fares against right-handed and left-handed pitchers. Through 19 games, the team is batting .432 against southpaws and .343 when facing right-handers.

Simi Valley’s Scott Sharts no longer leads the Marmonte League in runs batted in. Camarillo’s Gil Valencia has 32 to Sharts’ 31. . . . Sharts is batting .530 and has hit 12 home runs for the Pioneers, who are batting .355 as a team. . . . Mark Scott, Alemany’s leading hitter last year, slumped miserably early this season but has turned it around and is batting .315.

After going hitless in San Fernando’s first three Mid-Valley League games, catcher Rudy Sanchez has driven in 10 runs in the past 5 games on 6 extra-base hits. Sanchez, a senior who bats fourth, has two doubles, three triples and one home run.

Montclair Prep is batting .369 as a team, has eight players hitting above .300 and three players hitting better than .400. . . . Village Christian has only three players batting better than .300, but four have on-base percentages of .422 or better. Scott Danielson is batting .444 with 6 walks for an on-base percentage of .510.

Scoring: After averaging more than eight runs a game in the first 16 games, Chaminade (12-5-1) was shut out twice last week. The Eagles tied St. Genevieve, 0-0, in a game called after seven innings because of rain and lost to La Salle, 1-0. Chaminade had a team batting average of .320 before being limited to six hits last week. . . . Simi Valley has scored an average of 8.3 runs a game. The Pioneers have hit 29 home runs and allowed eight.

Track and field: Jenny Whelchel of Agoura, the defending state champion in the shotput, and Tracy Wilson of Taft, the defending City Section champion, have posted some impressive numbers. Whelchel, who will attend UCLA, has a best of 44 feet, 5 1/2 inches and has thrown more than 40 feet in seven meets. Wilson, whose best is 45-7, also has cracked the 40-foot barrier seven times.