Saugus’ Gee-Whiz Kids : Gillies, Giordano and Gill Give the Centurions Another Shot at Section Softball Title

The government has its G-men and the Saugus High softball team has its G-girls--Chris Gill, Jamie Gillies and Nicole Giordano.

But are they enough to keep the Centurions from getting gonged early from the Southern Section Division II playoffs?

Saugus (22-4), The Times’ top-ranked softball team from the region, has the talent to make a strong run.

Senior third baseman Gill might be the best college prospect in the region. Senior pitcher Gillies is the region’s best pitcher east of Ventura County. Junior shortstop Giordano leads the region in batting and stolen bases.

But the third-seeded Centurions, who play host to Arroyo Grande (10-15) in a first-round game at 3:15 p.m. on Friday, have a history of being upset in the playoffs.

As the top-seeded team in its division the past two seasons, Saugus never reached the championship game. Fullerton, a team barely over .500, knocked out the Centurions in the 1994 semifinals and La Mirada surprised them in the second round last year.

Saugus has never been lacking talent.

The Centurions’ lineup last year featured at least five players who have played or probably will play NCAA Division I softball.

Truth be told, Saugus beat itself. Infighting was a major problem.

“If you made a dumb mistake, somebody would yell at you,” Gill said. “It didn’t matter that you realized your mistake.”

Said Giordano: “People took it too personally.”

Gillies felt much of the heat. An All-Valley selection by The Times as a sophomore, she saw her earned-run average rise to a relatively high 1.05 last season.

“Last year I was blamed a lot,” Gillies said. “And believe me, I felt it.”

Gillies was tagged with the playoff loss, too. Never mind that Saugus was shut out, 4-0, and a Centurion lineup with four players batting .411 or better accounted for one hit.

Saugus Coach Ron Hilton said one of his players blamed Gillies for the loss, saying that the pitcher “didn’t have any guts.”

Hilton blames himself for an injury to Gillies that might have resulted in her subpar performance. Hilton said he neglected to place a protective screen in front of Gillies when she pitched batting practice the day before the La Mirada game.

Kelli Kranz, a power-hitting shortstop who was The Times’ Valley player of the year, hit a line drive that struck the right-handed Gillies on her pitching shoulder.

“[Gillies] has a bruise from her elbow to the top of her shoulder,” Hilton said. “The next day, she has [no stuff]. She took the abuse. She walked away. I walked away.

“I’ll take the blame for forgetting to put up the safety screen. Jamie’s a competitor, and when the game’s on the line, I want the ball in her hand.”

Gillies, who has accepted a scholarship to Michigan, has overcome back problems to post a 19-3 record. She has allowed 11 earned runs in 130 innings, an 0.59 ERA.

Her three losses were 1-0 to Foothill, ranked No. 1 in Division I; 4-0 to Woodbridge, No. 1 in Division II, and 3-2 to Upland, top-ranked in Division III.

“When she’s on, she’s awesome,” Giordano said.

The same could be said of Saugus’ junior shortstop. Giordano, an All-Valley selection last year, is batting .518 and has 45 stolen bases in 46 attempts.

In Foothill League play, she batted .667 with two home runs, two doubles and 19 stolen bases in as many attempts.

Giordano plays the game fast, loose and flashy. She likes to joke with teammates and opposing players, but when it comes to performance, she’s all business.

“Nicole probably wants to win as badly as anyone we’ve ever had,” Hilton said.

Gill, after batting over .400 and earning All-Valley honors the past two seasons, slumped early this season. She entered league play batting .180, with only six hits in 16 games.

But since then Gill, who has a scholarship to Arizona State, has batted .429.

Giordano said Gill is the best defensive player she has ever seen. Hilton said Gill might be the finest player and person he has ever coached.

“Chris is just all-around awesome--her attitude and her playing,” Gillies said.

With the graduation of Kranz (now at Southwest Texas) and Jeanine Giordano (Washington), Gill has become the team’s quiet leader and a steadying influence.

Saugus’ team last year might have been more talented, but the consensus is that this team should make a longer run in the playoffs simply because of its harmony.

“I think our chances this year are a whole lot better because the chemistry is far better,” Hilton said.

Even so, there is an undercurrent of discord.

In a recent story in a Santa Clarita-area newspaper, second baseman Amanda Melton was quoted as saying Gill was the only senior she respected.

Hilton said Melton was not slighting Gillies or any other senior.

“It’s not the first time a 16-year-old kid has been taken out of context,” Hilton said. “Chris is the senior she respects the most, but it’s not that she doesn’t respect the others.”

With a victory Friday, Saugus can match the 23 victories of its more powerful predecessor.

But gone are the days when a Saugus player dare predict a championship. The Centurions have reached the division title game only once, losing to Woodbridge, 2-1, in eight innings in 1992. That was the high point in a frustrating six-year streak from 1989 to 1994 in which Saugus was eliminated by the eventual division champion.

Can the G-girls turn the tide?

“We’ve got three seniors graduating who really want it,” Giordano said.