Notebook : Buena Streak at 20 Behind Maher’s Pitching, Hitting

Kim Maher has developed a reputation as an outstanding hitter, but her pitching has carried the Buena High softball team to an undefeated record.

The Bulldogs have won 20 in a row, including 11 consecutive Channel League games, to set a school record.

Maher, a converted shortstop, has been the winning pitcher in each game, holds a batting average above .500 and has hit seven of the team’s 14 home runs.

“She’s not a true pitcher, but she the best we have,” Coach Sharon Coggins said. “Her forte is hitting and her ability to hit also has made her a good pitcher. She understands how to pitch to a batter by their stance and how they swing.”

Buena hopes to redeem last year’s loss to St. Paul in the 4-A Division final.

Right choice: Ryan Webster could have spent this spring as a short-order cook instead as the long-term answer to Buena’s catching position.

Webster quit the team in February because he didn’t think he would make the starting lineup.

“It was a typical teen-ager thing,” Coach Stan Hedegard said. “He wanted to work and earn money for car.”

Hedegard is glad the junior returned. Webster is batting at a .391 clip and has started every game at catcher.

Right on schedule: If it’s Tuesday, pitcher Brad Edmonds must be starting for Fillmore.

Edmonds (7-2) has pitched the last five Tuesdays. Overall, he has an earned-run average of 1.11 and has walked 12 batters in 56 innings.

His only losses have been against first-place St. Bonaventure (13-3, 10-2).

Sweeps week: Oxnard swept a pair of Channel League games in the same week for the first time under third-year coach Tony Diaz.

Oxnard edged Hueneme, 2-1, on April 25. Then the Yellowjackets came back from a 4-0 first-inning deficit Friday to beat San Marcos, 5-4, and complete the sweep.

Against San Marcos, Terry Armas and Tony Moreno hit home runs on consecutive pitches in the fifth inning to cut Oxnard’s deficit to 4-3. After tying the score in the sixth, the Yellowjackets won in the seventh on a run-scoring single to right-center by David Benavides.

Oxnard (8-13, 3-8) had an outside chance to earn a playoff berth if it had won its last four games. Rio Mesa eliminated the Yellowjackets from contention with a 19-5 victory Tuesday.

Ironman: Chris Gaston of St. Bonaventure would rather spend a baseball game crouching than sitting.

Gaston, the starting catcher, has caught 89 of the 104 innings the Seraphs have played. He has thrown out 10 of 16 runners attempting to steal and has picked off four runners taking too big of a lead at second base.

At the plate, Gaston has 16 hits, 10 for extra bases. His slugging percentage (.721) is nearly double his batting average (.372).

Perez honored: Sophomore Ramon Perez of Moorpark won the 5,000 meters and the 1,500 and was selected the most valuable athlete at the Western State Conference track and field championships Saturday at Bakersfield College.

Perez was the only dual winner, taking the 5,000 in 15 minutes, 16:46 seconds and the 1,500 in 3:59.31.

Travis Cooksey won the 800 in 1:54.67 and Korey Fleck finished third in the javelin in a school-record throw of 187-3. Ken Haefliger set the previous record of 180-0 last year.

In the women’s meet, Colleen Gavin won the 400 in 57.0 and the team of Lisa Noller, Vicky Wagenbach, Gavin and Anna Howald won the 1,600 relay in 4:05.28.

The team of Noller, Wagenbach, Gavin and Mary Bittner also set a school record in the 400 relay of 50.00 to finish fourth. The previous record was 50.2 set in 1985.

Bakersfield won both the men and women’s team titles while the Moorpark men finished fourth and the Lady Raiders placed second.

The top five men qualifiers and the top six women finishers advance to the Southern California prelims at Cerritos College on Saturday.

More track highlights: Mike Bryant of Ventura won the discus throw and was named the top field athlete at the WSC championships.

Reggie Betton of Ventura cleared 6-10 to win the high jump and John Jump set a school record of 53.79 in placing second in the 400 intermediate hurdles.

Brian Nelson also gave the Pirates a conference title in the 10,000 meters in 32:34.

Bryant won the discus with a throw of 142-6 and finished second in the javelin at 192-4. He was also fourth in the high jump (6-4) and sixth in the shot put (45-3) and the pole vault (13-0).

Ventura’s men’s team finished second and the women’s team placed fifth. In the women’s meet, the Pirates’ Rachel Rossbach won the 3,000 in 10:22.3 and Denise Graham won the 400 intermediate hurdles in 66.55.