Carpenter Strikes Out 43 but Loses

Edison High School’s Terry Carpenter struck out 43 batters, but Karin Knoop singled home the winning run in the 24th inning to give Burroughs High School of Burbank a 1-0 victory over Edison in a Southern Section 4-A first-round playoff softball game Thursday at Edison.

Burroughs (20-5) was limited to eight hits by Carpenter (13-7-1). Carpenter struck out her 43rd batter, Dana Smock, to open the 24th. Danielle Murphy reached base when Edison’s Stephanie Rogers, the second baseman, dropped a throw while covering first for an error.

Shelly Pape then singled Murphy to second. After Lorri Smith’s sacrifice advanced the runners, Knoop grounded a run-scoring single to center.

Starting pitcher Christy Alves (16-3) of Burroughs allowed 9 hits and struck out 15. Alves survived her own two-out fielding error in the bottom of the 24th when she got Joelle Isaacs to foul out to catcher Knoop, 5 hours and 45 minutes after the game’s 3 p.m. start.

Carpenter’s 43 strikeouts gave her 411 for the season, making her the second Orange County pitcher ever to record 400 or more strikeouts in a season. Valencia’s Michele Granger became the first to do so when she fanned 507 batters in 1987.

The Southern Section single-game strikeout record is 53, set by DeDe Weiman of Gahr in a two-day, 29-inning game in 1986.

“It was real frustrating out there because we didn’t have that one player who could have driven home the run that would have won the game for us,” said Missy Ford, Edison’s coach. “It was one of the best games we’ve played defensively this season, but it was mental errors that cost us today. They’re a scrappy team that did what it had to to win, but we just didn’t have enough energy to push through that run when we needed it.”

Edison, which was limited to 1 hit in the first 13 innings, had its first opportunity to win the game in the ninth when leadoff batter Kim Jones went to third on Alves’ wild throw to first. After Alves retired Krista Eckert on a popup for the first out, Carpenter lined back to Alves on a squeeze-bunt attempt. Alves caught the ball and threw to third to double up Jones for the final out.

The Chargers, who had a runner on third base three times after the ninth.

Knoop led off the Burroughs’ ninth with a single and then stole second and third. Carpenter, however, struck out Jen Matheson, forced Alves to pop out to first and then struck out Kim Barnfather.

“This game was typical of how we played this season,” Ford said. “Terry pitched really well, but we just couldn’t get the big hits when we needed them.”

Edison finishes 15-9-1.