THE PREPS : SOUTHERN SECTION 3-A SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP : Kennedy: Relaxed, Ready, Waiting : La Mirada, Even After Going 25 Innings, Charges Into Final

On Tuesday afternoon, Kennedy High School made quick work of Charter Oak in a Southern Section 3-A semifinal softball game. The Fighting Irish had a 3-0 victory after just 1 hour and 25 minutes.

Then came the question: Who would they face in the 3-A championship tonight at 8 at Mayfair Park in Lakewood?

Kennedy Coach Sue Hall had to wait almost 24 hours to get her answer.

At 3:40 p.m. Wednesday, she finally got it when La Mirada scored a run against Valencia in the bottom of the 25th inning for a 1-0 victory. The teams had played 23 innings Tuesday before the game was suspended and completed the next day.

Now there is another question: Will La Mirada be emotionally prepared for a title game just two days after playing marathon-ball against Valencia pitcher Michele Granger?

After the 25-inning game, Valencia Coach Debbie Fassel said: “I don’t think the final could be as exciting as this was. You couldn’t ask for a better game.”

But first-year Coach Patty Gasso, who has taken La Mirada to its first-ever final, doesn’t think her team will be flat.

“Actually, I’m more worried about them being too emotional,” Gasso said. “They’re really up for this.”

Hall is feeling relaxed. After all, she has been here before. In her two years as the coach at Woodbridge, she guided the Warriors to the 3-A final, which she lost, and the 2-A final last season, which she tied.

But this year is a little different.

“I’m going in really relaxed,” Hall said. “At Woodbridge, there was such super-high pressure. It was either win it or forget it. But I’m just excited that we’re here, and I’m confident we have a great team.”

There are similarities between the La Mirada and Kennedy teams. Both have solid defenses led by tough, young pitchers.

La Mirada junior Dena Mullins (20-2) started to tire after 23 innings against Valencia before the game was called because of darkness. But she worked the soreness out of her arm and was back the next day. She finished the game with 26 strikeouts and averages 12 a game. Her earned-run average has dropped below 0.20.

Freshman Cheryl Longeway has been Kennedy’s ace all season. She is 22-3, has struck out 228 batters and has an 0.39 ERA. She has pitched 4 shutouts in the playoffs, giving up just 9 hits and striking out 39 in the 4 games. Longeway has also hit a home run and a triple in the playoffs.

Both teams have solid hitters. La Mirada is batting .308 as a team, led by first baseman Nicole Stettar (.325) and catcher Rose Garces (.320), who knocked in the winning run against Valencia.

Kennedy’s leading hitter is senior first baseman Deanna Mayes (.333), followed by second baseman Laurie Graper (.324). But Mayes has missed the last two playoff games after colliding with a Sunny Hills player in the second-round game and suffering a severely bruised right thigh. She may be used as a designated hitter in the championship game, but right fielder Gina Alcoser has moved to first base and Jackie Duncan, up from the junior varsity team, is in the outfield.

Hall is glad to be playing La Mirada rather than Valencia, though her team has never played La Mirada but has faced Valencia twice. Though they lost both games, 1-0 and 2-1, the Irish played the Tigers tough.

“This will be a great game,” Hall said. “I didn’t want it to be a show, where people come out just to see Michele Granger. I like good softball, and these are two good teams.”