Another Day, Another Record for Granger : She Breaks Her Strikeout Mark With 18 Straight in Perfect Game

The Women’s National Fastpitch Tournament record for consecutive strikeouts stood for 20 years until Michele Granger broke it on Wednesday afternoon.

The new mark lasted less than 24 hours--until Granger pitched again.

A day after striking out 16 straight, Granger struck out the first 18 batters Thursday afternoon in a perfect game that gave the Orange County Majestics a 1-0 victory over Jefferson City (Mo.) in the quarterfinals of the losers’ bracket in Pekin, Ill.

The Majestics’ game Thursday night against the Reading (Calif.) Rebels was rained out, and is scheduled to be played at 9 a.m. today. The winner meets the Downers Grove (Ill.) Dolls at 11 a.m.

“I just got into a groove,” said Granger, who had 19 strikeouts against Jefferson City. “It was nothing unusual.”

The only Jefferson City players to hit the ball in play were Pat Stoffel and Laurie Aldy, both of whom popped out in the seventh inning.

Granger, a graduate of Valencia High School who will attend California this fall, has 81 strikeouts in 30 innings and four victories during the tournament. Thursday was her second consecutive no-hitter; she beat Peoria, Ill., 2-0, Wednesday. In that game, Granger struck out 16 in a row to break Bertha Tickey’s record of 11 set in 1968.

The Majestics won Thursday’s first game in the bottom of the seventh. With one out, Liz Mizera singled and Suzie Gaw was hit by a pitch. After Janice Parks reached on an error to load the bases, Lisa Fernandez hit a sacrifice fly.

“It was 104 today and very humid here,” Granger said. “Those aren’t wonderful conditions to play in, but it helps a pitcher.”