Simi Valley Well-Armed Again : Pitcher Griffin Returns to Form in Comeback From Shoulder Injury

Only a month ago, pain and frustration dogged Simi Valley High softball pitcher Sara Griffin.

After Griffin had led the Pioneers to a blistering 16-1 start, an ailing arm sent the team’s ace to the bench at midseason. With an injured rotator cuff in her pitching shoulder, her season seemed over.

But a month later, Griffin’s only worry is a small case of butterflies. Having regained her health and her mastery of opposing batters, she is struggling to control her nerves.

Tonight at 7:30, the sophomore right-hander will lead the Pioneers (26-2) into the Southern Section 5-A Division championship game against Cypress at Mayfair Park in Lakewood.

It is Simi Valley’s first appearance in the final after years of frustration. In 1980, the Pioneers lost in the semifinals and since then have not advanced past the quarterfinals, despite numerous strong showings in the competitive Marmonte League.

Five consecutive times--from 1987 to ‘91--the Pioneers finished second in league play before earning a co-championship with Thousand Oaks this season.

Since Suzanne Manlet took over as coach in 1981, Simi Valley has had its share of capable pitchers (Oklahoma State’s Chrissy Oliver and Moorpark’s Heather Santiago), but none have had the offensive support that Griffin has enjoyed this season. With 10 players returning from last year’s team, Manlet knew she had a real winner.

“In the 12 years that I’ve been coaching, I felt coming in that this was the team I could take to the finals,” Manlet said.

Based on Simi Valley’s start, Manlet’s prediction appeared accurate. But that was before Griffin began experiencing shooting pains in her pitching arm. “I couldn’t even open my locker, it hurt so bad,” she said.

Griffin, 16, cannot pinpoint when she damaged the rotator cuff. But after three scoreless innings against Camarillo on April 21, she knew it was time to give in to the pain. “I think I might have warmed up wrong,” she said. “Then I went (snow) skiing. With the pitching and then the skiing, I think it just kept getting worse. I just remember the pain gradually building up.”

Even running was too painful for the three-sport athlete. All of a sudden, Griffin had became a “support player.”

“That was hard because I really wanted to be out there,” she said. “It was so frustrating.”

After a three-week layoff--filled with hours of physical therapy--Griffin returned to action.

She started against Agoura in Simi Valley’s final Marmonte League game May 12. Coincidentally, she returned the same way she left--by pitching three scoreless innings. No more, no less.

No one wanted to rush Griffin in her return or jeopardize her promising future as a pitcher.

“I had to keep telling myself, ‘Go gradually,’ ” she said.

One week later, Griffin was ready to go the distance.

In a wild-card playoff game against St. Joseph of Lakewood, Griffin threw a two-hit shutout and struck out eight. She has been on a roll since. Griffin (16-1) has pitched four shutouts in four playoff games.

After Griffin beat Santa Maria in the first round with a three-hitter, her parents became alarmed when she told them she was experiencing soreness in her arm.

“They were asking me, ‘Is this a good pain or a bad pain?’ ” Griffin recalled. “But it was a good pain. I was just tired.”

Against top-seeded Mater Dei in Tuesday’s semifinal, Griffin scattered five hits and struck out nine to lead the Pioneers to a 2-0 victory.

In 110 innings, she has struck out 122 and given up only three earned runs (0.19 earned-run average) and 23 walks. Eleven of her 16 victories have been shutouts.

“She probably could have been even more impressive if she hadn’t gotten hurt,” Manlet said. “She is a very talented athlete.”

Griffin, 5-1 with an 0.30 ERA as a freshman, is no stranger to athletics. In addition to playing with an Amateur Softball Assn. team (California Raiders), Griffin also started on the volleyball and basketball teams this school year.

She has been in big games before, but she cannot seem to shake the nervousness that has followed her throughout the playoffs.

“Everyone just keeps saying, ‘Sara, don’t worry about it. You’ll do fine,’ ” Griffin said.

“But I don’t think they understand. I’ve been waking up in the middle of the night going, ‘Whoa.’ ”