HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL / SOUTHERN SECTION 4-A DIVISION SEMIFINAL : Hart Prevails With a Little Help From Neighbors

Having already established herself as the team comedian, Hart High catcher Kim Neighbors sought to prove herself as a singer Tuesday when the Indians met top-seeded La Habra in a Southern Section 4-A Division softball semifinal at College of the Canyons.

Neighbors has kept teammate Lauren Fenstemaker loose during the playoffs by telling jokes to the sophomore pitcher during visits to the mound.

“Kim couldn’t think of any jokes today, so she sang to me instead,” Fenstemaker said.

The antic had La Habra singing the blues. Fenstemaker hurled a one-hit shutout to boost the Indians (22-7) into the final with a 1-0 victory.

Neighbors also showed her worth at the plate, driving in Cindy Abrams with the game’s lone run with a fourth-inning double.

Abrams started the winning rally with a one-out single to center--the Indians’ first hit off Dani Ortega--and went to second when Erin Hull’s sharply smashed grounder between short and third went for an infield hit. Neighbors then drilled a 2-and-1 fastball into the left-center field gap for a double.

That was all Fenstemaker (19-5) needed, but she had to survive a scare in the seventh when La Habra (25-3) made its most serious threat.

Fenstemaker walked Pam Dornik leading off the seventh and Tawnya Moore sacrificed pinch-runner Jackie Kelley to second. Fenstemaker struck out Meagan Mirth on a pitch in the dirt, but Neighbors tried unsuccessfully to throw out Kelley on a steal of third instead of recording the out of Mirth at first.

Deedee Miranda followed with a one-hop smash to Hart third baseman Tracy Clark, who threw out Kelley at home. Mirth took third on the out, but that was as far as she could get. Ange Calabretta bunted, but first baseman Danielle Bragdon fielded the ball and threw to second baseman Jamie Dean, who was covering first.

It was a frustrating loss for Ortega (24-3), who managed to thwart Hart rallies in the fifth and sixth.