Granada Hills Catches Only a Cold in 5-1 Loss

Never mind trying to win the game, pitcher Jessica Creith of Granada Hills High was just trying to summon enough strength to finish.

The night before the Highlanders’ 5-1 loss to El Camino Real, Creith felt the onset of a cold.

Granada Hills chances for victory depended on Creith, who pitched a 1-0 victory over the Conquistadores in the City Section 4-A Division semifinals last season.

Creith wasn’t close to full strength Tuesday, hacking and coughing between pitches, but she pitched well enough to keep the Highlanders in the Northwest Valley Conference game, at least for a while.

“It was getting worse as the game went on,” Creith said. “El Camino is always a big game for us, so I knew I had to pitch.”

El Camino Real (7-3, 2-1) took advantage of a fourth-inning error by Missy Miller, turning an errant throw by the Highlander third baseman into two unearned runs.

Miller tried to gun down Ramona Shelburne at second base on a bunt by Kristen Gutekunst, but the throw skipped past shortstop Kim Rowerdink and center fielder Amber Dattilo.

Shelburne scored and Gutekunst wound up on third base, later scoring on a ground ball by Lisa Brende.

“The only difference was their defense was just a little more solid than ours,” Creith said. “We make an error, we get down, and it gets bigger and bigger to overcome.”

Two innings later, the Conquistadores broke the game open with three hits, a walk, a wild pitch and a suicide squeeze against the tiring Creith to take a 5-0 lead.

“The girls were ready to play today,” El Camino Real Coach Neils Ludlow said. “This was one game they were really up for after what happened last year and last week.”

The Conquistadores lost to Kennedy, 2-1, in 10 innings Thursday.

Tami Jones (5-2) kept the Highlanders (6-4, 2-1) from making a serious challenge, allowing just two hits through the first six innings.

A leadoff triple by Dattilo in the seventh led to Granada Hills’ only run.

Shelburne, who moved back to shortstop after catching for two games, had three hits and scored twice.