Howard Goes the Distance for Cypress : Prep softball: Senior pitcher leads the way with three no-hitters and eight shutouts after an injury limits playing time of her backup.

Beth Howard, Cypress High School pitcher, isn’t upset that she and her teammates haven’t received much recognition recently in the Orange County Softball coaches’ poll.

Not that they aren’t deserving. Behind six shutouts by Howard, a senior, and one by junior Alecia Chad, Cypress has held its last seven opponents scoreless, gaining seven victories in an eight-day period before spring break.

“Personally I prefer it that way, because a lot of people (on my team) might start to think, ‘Oh, we’re rated. We must be better than this (other) team,’ ” Howard said. “That could really hurt a team.”

Cypress (16-4, 2-0) started the season ranked 10th in the softball poll. But it dropped out the next week and hasn’t appeared since, despite victories over top-10 teams Garden Grove, 1-0, in the Cypress tournament, and Fountain Valley, 1-0, in the Canyon tournament and Empire League contenders Los Alamitos and El Dorado.

Cypress has gone most of the distance with Howard on the mound. She shared time with Chad last year, but when Chad tripped at home plate and broke her kneecap in the first week of practice this season, Howard’s playing time increased.

She is 14-2 with 70 strikeouts in 108 innings and has an 0.32 earned-run average. She has pitched three no-hitters and eight shutouts and was named the most valuable player of the El Segundo tournament, and the best pitcher in the Cypress tournament, in which Cypress lost in the final to top-ranked Mater Dei.

Howard’s success is surprising because she is not known as a power pitcher.

“Her best pitching is (when) she gets a lot of ground balls,” said first-year Coach Jim Pittenger. “She throws a lot of offspeed pitches and our defense is playing superbly behind her.”

So is the offense. Freshman third baseman Azure Calderalla, who is batting close to .300, has stepped in to complement last year’s returners. And sophomore first baseman Holly Pittenger leads the team in hitting (.449) and the Southern Section in stolen bases (19).

Overconfidence and Chad’s injury are not the only things that could have hampered Cypress this season. Tom Farr, who coached the team to a third-place league finish last season, died of cancer in November. The players have dedicated the season to Farr.

“He was a really great man and a good coach, and we all really appreciated that. So we wanted to dedicate the season to him,” Howard said.

Chad’s absence through the early part of the season gave Howard an edge.

“I think I knew I didn’t have anybody really behind me in case I got in trouble, so it kept me going,” Howard said. “I have always been strong enough to go the distance. I guess not having anybody behind me pushed me even further.”

Howard had an inkling Cypress would be good, but even she seems a little surprised by the success.

“I wanted to be No. 1 (in the Empire League) but I can’t really say I anticipated it,” she said. “I knew we could beat the teams out there. Our defense and our bats just came together and we are doing better than anybody thought we would.”

Which might explain the team’s poor showing in the coaches’ poll, something Pittenger is not accepting as easily as his pitcher.

“It bothers me for the girls’ sake,” he said. “Coming off last year’s record when they had 10 wins and 15 losses, they are having a tremendous turnaround. They have worked extremely hard and I think they should get some recognition on their play.

“I believe the problem is, coming off last year’s record, people just think it is a fluke and that we are not going to really be there at the end. But this is a very talented, hard-working group of girls and they are going to be pushing the right buttons for a long time to come.”