Silverado conserving ace’s arm

Nick Christensen

Thursday, March 31, 2005 | 9:44 a.m.

Shortly after beating defending state champion Centennial by the 10-run rule, Silverado softball coach Steve Hodges did his best to send warning to the Northwest Division.

"That little club is going to be a good club. I will not be surprised if they end up knocking off somebody good," Hodges said following the Skyhawks' 13-3 victory Wednesday. "They got five hits off us in five innings, and nobody's done that. Even Valhalla (Calif.) only got one hit off us."

It's been a fairly smooth start for Silverado this season, particularly in the pitching department, where ace Kelly Griego has been offered plenty of relief this year by junior pitcher Jessie Rivas.

Griego thus far has pitched 39 innings and is off to a 3-2 start with a 0.70 ERA. Rivas is 6-1, pitching when Hodges thinks Griego is more valuable at first base and providing offensive support.

"Mentally it gives her a break, which helps her out offensively, too," Hodges said.

Griego is hitting .500 this year with 21 RBIs in 12 games. And don't think that the reason for her only making five starts has to do with her 3-2 record.

"Over the life of a season like this, pitching somebody 30 games is a problem. ... The bottom line is that Kelly could be 9-3, if we pitched her every game," Hodges said. "Having Jessie in the ballgame gets her prepared for next year. I believe, if (Griego) pitches 20 or 22 games in a season, that's plenty."

Hodges cited Shannon Crisp's fatigue at the end of last year as a case of using a pitcher too much.

"She was dead," he said. "She pitched in three games one day. Kelly can do that if we have to."

Griego and Silverado face Palo Verde and their star pitcher Lindsey Callaway today at Silverado.

Once Around Town

Pickett, a freshman who also plays travel ball, hasn't put up the most impressive numbers this year, with a 3.14 ERA and 26 strikeouts. But it's her attitude that has Eldorado coach Tyler McCulloch most impressed.

"What's the most impressive about her is her discipline before the game," McCulloch said. "She just goes through her entire routine, she's very precise with what she does. She acts as a junior or senior would act which is really neat."

Tuesday, the Sundevils beat Centennial 16-6 in seven innings. Wednesday, Eldorado lost 4-0 to Palo Verde, but McCulloch pointed out bright spots as his team fell to 5-5 on the year.

"We know we faced one of the best pitchers in the city," he said. "We're just going to keep pushing ahead. We know we can hit the ball, we've just got to take advantage of situations when we get girls on base."

Eldorado plays Sierra Vista today and hosts Clark on Friday.

But coach Mary Scales is hoping Tuesday's 11 inning, 2-1 loss to Bonanza will bring some important lessons a week of tournament games would not have been able to deliver.

The Gators struck out 18 times against Bonanza.

"You can't do anything ... you can't win a game," Scales said. "You'll never win a game with 18 strikeouts. And we didn't."

Scales in general has been looking for some better offensive numbers from her team, even though it was an error and a passed ball in the 11th inning that finally got Bonanza its second run.

But Scales also knows that these are lessons better learned now than in a week, when league play begins.

"If you have it now, let's learn it from now," she said. "It's a far better learning opportunity to have it now. If it happens later, we're in trouble."

Green Valley plays Clark today and hosts Sierra Vista on Friday.

Spring Valley's zoning gave it quite a bit of varsity experience softballwise, including pitcher Stacey Dilts, utility player Ashley Dehler and infielder Molly Bausher.

"For the most part they've been pretty good," Grizzlies coach Emily Watkins said. "On the field there's still a few things they're trying to get used to as far as working together, but for the most part, personality-wise they get along great and they're working hard."

Watkins said that situational batting could stand some improvement, but Dilts' pitching has helped them a lot this year. She had a no-hitter last week against Cheyenne.

Spring Valley plays at Del Sol today.

"When we hit the ball, that equals wins," Sarro said. "We beat Palo Verde in a tournament already, and we only have one senior. The kids basically have stepped up."

Sarro said that sophomores Brittany Henderson and Jennifer Liddell have been instrumental as the Spartans have been the surprise of the Northwest.

"Brittany started off the year on fire. She went 8-for-8 to start the season off, and I think she's batting now like .370 or .380," Sarro said. "Jennifer Liddell is batting like .500, and she had a game winning double today" as Cimarron beat Rancho.

The Spartans are at Foothill today.