Nix Throws One-Hitter, Beats Granada Hills, 4-0 : Baseball: Monroe senior strikes out 11 in first-round playoff victory.

It was a high school baseball playoff game, but it also looked like a convention of major league scouts--all on hand to see Monroe High pitcher Wayne Nix.

But for Nix and his Monroe High teammates, Tuesday’s 4-0 victory over Granada Hills in the first round of the City Section 4-A Division playoffs was a trial.

“There were a lot of people saying I didn’t prove myself playing against weaker teams during the season,” said Nix, who had thrown two no-hitters and two one-hitters in his last four starts in Valley Pac-8 Conference play.

Nix (11-2) proved himself once again with another one-hitter and 11 strikeouts while the scouts pointed radar guns, took notes and all came to the same conclusion: This guy has talent.

“He’s a good pitcher, and he flat-out throws hard,” said Adrian Torres, who had Granada Hills’ only hit, a fourth-inning double. Nix’s fastball was clocked as high as 89 m.p.h. and was consistently in the mid-to-high 80s.

“His curve was working good today,” Torres said. “If his curve was not working, we could have sat on his fastball.”

Nix also singled in a run as Monroe (19-8) avenged an 8-0 loss to the Highlanders (16-11) earlier this season. Nix said his fastball wasn’t 100%, but he was able to keep batters off balance by mixing his pitches and locations.

Only one of his third strikes was a fastball down the middle. Four came on fastballs high or on the outside corner. Nix caught three batters swinging at off-speed pitches and two on breaking balls. He threw 95 pitches, 63% of them strikes, while lowering his earned-run average to 0.39.

Nix, who has 140 strikeouts in 88 innings, wavered only once--in the fourth inning. With one out, Torres doubled to right center, James Landress sacrificed Torres to third and Jarrett Gold walked on four pitches.

But Nix slammed the door on Granada Hills when he caught Sean Lavery looking at a 3-2 fastball on the outside corner and retired the last seven batters in order.

“He’s getting better every day,” Monroe Coach Kevin Campbell said.

“He used to get into trouble walking people here and there. Now he makes people beat him.”

Monroe beat the Highlanders by stringing together its six hits against starter Jesus Carranza (5-4). David Lusk singled up the middle to open the second. Nix walked to put runners at first and second. Lusk then scored from second when Carranza threw wild to third on a sacrifice bunt by Mike Perez.

Nix and Perez advanced to third and second on the overthrow, and both scored on Sigi Arroyo’s double to left. In the sixth, Nix singled home Ray Rodriguez, who had opened with a double. Lusk and Perez also singled and were replaced by pinch-runners Phillip Allsup and John Ennis.

But Allsup, on a failed squeeze bunt, and Ennis, on a double-steal attempt, were caught in rundowns.

“We thought we would hit Nix, because of the division he plays in,” Carranza said.

“But he’s a good pitcher. You don’t get no runs, you don’t got a chance to win.”