Westlake’s Whiff of Victory Smells Rank to La Canada

La Canada High is no fan of the quirky tiebreaker rules used in the San Fernando Valley tournament championship game Saturday.

After Westlake was declared Silver Division champion based on total bases in a one-inning tiebreaker, Spartan fans voiced displeasure.

“I had to face the wrath of La Canada parents,” Westlake Coach Garry Fetman said. “They were yelling and calling me names.”

After the teams played to a 2-2 tie through seven innings, each team selected three hitters and a baserunner, who was placed at first base to start the tiebreaker.

Courtney Dickins of La Canada was picked off first by catcher Angela Funk. Westlake pitcher Michelle Rehm retired the three batters in order, leaving La Canada without a base.

All Westlake needed to prevail was to maintain its runner at first. After confirming that with umpires and the tournament director, Fetman instructed batters Katie Kearns, Lindsey Ethridge and Tiffany Meadows to strike out.

“It’s against everything that we teach,” Fetman said. “But the rules are the rules and you play within the rules.

“You have a chance to win the game without doing anything, I think you ought to do it.”

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After living large in the 1990s behind dominant pitchers Laura and Melanie Richardson, Cindy Ball and Kathryn Nevard, Camarillo is taking its lumps and struggling to stay above .500.

“[Camarillo] relied on pitching for so long, now we’ve got to hit in this league,” first-year co-Coach Mark Shadinger said.

The Scorpions (8-7-1), who are in third place in the Pacific View League, haven’t been this close to .500 in the middle of the season since the 1980s.

While Camarillo manages to stay in most games, Shadinger’s greatest concern is an anemic offense.

“We’ve been struggling,” he said. “We can’t get the key hit.

“The key hit is all we need.”

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Hart Coach Cathy Giordano has no intention of allowing her team to enter the Southern Section playoffs without being battle-tested.

That’s why she entered the Indians (14-2) in the Foothill tournament, among the best tournaments in Southern California.

“I knew the best of the best in Division II were going to be there,” Giordano said. “I want to see if we’re actually as good as I think we are.

“If I lose, big deal. My hardest games are [Foothill] league games. . . When I have to play Saugus and Valencia, it’s going to be a cat fight.”

Hart, which lost to Foothill, 1-0, in a tournament semifinal Saturday, plays Saugus at 3:30 p.m. today.

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Thousand Oaks (12-3) lost its two games in the Kissimmee tournament in Florida last weekend, but it wasn’t for lack of effort by third baseman Sheridan Fowler.

Fowler, who bats leadoff and is headed to Michigan State on scholarship, went three for six and scored two runs.

She went five for 10 in three games last week, raising her average to a team-leading .444.

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Sloppy play appeared contagious in Gold Division games of the San Fernando Valley tournament.

Four teams combined for 19 errors in four games. Saugus made six errors in two games.

Crescenta Valley, which made only six errors in its first 12 games, committed four.