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Jimenez Takes a Licking, Keeps on Pitching : 5-A softball: Junior right-hander was injured in practice but has led Cypress to the title game and will start tonight.

TIMES STAFF WRITER

A nasty bruise below Monica Jimenez’s left knee is a black-and-blue reminder of how close the Cypress High softball team came to losing its ace pitcher.

And its playoff hopes in the process.

Jimenez, a 5-foot-9 right-hander who will lead the Centurions (24-5) into tonight’s Southern Section 5-A title game against Simi Valley (26-2) at Mayfair Park in Lakewood, was nearly sidelined last week after taking a line drive in the leg while throwing batting practice.

The injury came the day before Cypress defeated Fountain Valley, 1-0, in nine innings in the quarterfinals, with Jimenez pitching a complete game.

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“I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to pitch,” Jimenez said. “I could barely walk on it. It hurt pretty bad during the game. It’s still sore.”

Since then, Jimenez (22-4) has been laying low during practices, but definitely not in the two games after the mishap.

Against Fountain Valley, the junior retired the first 15 batters she faced before allowing a single in the sixth inning. She then put away the next 12 batters and finished with seven strikeouts.

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On Tuesday, Jimenez pitched a four-hitter and had seven strikeouts to help the Centurions defeat Kennedy, 1-0, in the semifinals. It was her fourth consecutive shutout and increased to 30 her string of scoreless innings in the playoffs. It also lowered her earned-run average to 0.18 (five earned runs in 195 innings) and increased her strikeout total to 225.

All of which continues to impress Cypress second-year Coach Janelle Frese, who last year saw a preview of what to expect this season after Jimenez pitched four no-hitters. Jimenez has two no-hitters this season.

“Monica has really come into her own this year,” Frese said. “She has a lot of poise. She’s dependable but she’s also unpredictable, if that makes any sense. We can always count on her for a good game but she’s unpredictable to a batter because she throws so many different pitches without a set pattern.”

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Jimenez, whose repertoire includes a rise, curve, drop, screwball and changeup, says she and catcher Liz Moore combine efforts to work the opposing batters--sometimes without giving it much thought.

“We look at the batters and see where they set up (in the batter’s box),” Jimenez said. “We throw whatever comes to mind.”

One thing the confident Jimenez doesn’t allow herself to think about during games is her team’s offense, or lack of it in some cases. The Centurions have scored only one run in three of their playoff victories and two against Camarillo in the qualifying game. But Jimenez says her main concern is pitching; she leaves the hitting to her teammates.

“All I do is concentrate on my pitching. But we do seem to always wait until the last minute to start scoring runs,” she said, laughing.

Jimenez used to score a few runs herself as a budding third baseman in a Westminster girls’ softball league a few years ago, but then she decided to devote most of her energy to pitching. It has proved to be a wise decision.

“I started playing when I was about 7, but I started pitching about five years ago because my best friend (Trabuco Hills pitcher Brianna Burkman) became a pitcher, so I wanted to be one, too,” Jimenez said.

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She has become a pitcher, all right. And tonight she has another opportunity to showcase her talent in perhaps her most important game. Yet, Jimenez says it will be business as usual for her.

“I just look at it as another game,” she said. “I like to win, but I just go out and do my job and not worry about what happens.”

Southern Section Softball: Today’s 5-A Final

At Mayfair Park, Lakewood, 7:30 p.m.

THE LINEUPS:

SIMI VALLEY (26-2) CYPRESS (24-5) Name Pos. Avg. Name Pos. Avg. Taina Tande SS .246 Nikki Espriu RF .192 Jessica Cunningham CF .274 Nina Welsch CF .089 Jennifer Roache RF .311 Julie Adams 1B .276 Tracy Hansen DH .309 Kim Hutcherson LF .241 Kathy Beasley C .360 Liz Moore C .268 Kris Lufkin LF .319 Monica Jimenez P .292 Amy Powell 2B .286 Christa Saindon 2B .200 Michelle Castonguay 3B .218 Azure Calderella SS .143 Sara Griffin P .230 Candy Giampapa 3B .167 Name Pos. W-L Name Pos. W-L Sara Griffin P 16-1 Monica Jimenez P 22-4

IF SIMI VALLEY IS GOING TO WIN: The Pioneers must stay within themselves. Or at least that’s how Coach Suzanne Manlet sees it. “We are more concerned about playing our game than worrying about Cypress,” Manlet said. An essential part of the Pioneer game is their hitting, which Manlet hopes won’t take a vacation tonight. “The kids have been hitting all year. . . . We’ve had heroes all year. It’s been someone different every game,” Manlet said. In a 2-0 victory Tuesday against top-seeded Mater Dei, Beasley provided the clutch hit with a two-run home run in the fourth inning to hand Monarch right-hander Terri Kobata (11-1) her first loss of the year. Griffin gave up five hits and struck out nine batters to pick up the victory in that game. If she is on, Griffin could pose serious problems for the weak-hitting Centurions.

IF CYPRESS IS GOING TO WIN: Jimenez has to keep the Pioneer bats in check. And the defense behind her has to be at its best. “This is going to come down to executing--no physical errors and no mental blackouts,” Coach Janelle Frese said. The Centurions haven’t exactly steamrollered over their four playoff opponents, winning three games 1-0 and one, 2-0. In their semifinal victory Tuesday over Kennedy right-hander Nicole Paloney, Cypress had to scramble for the only run of the game despite five errors by the Fighting Irish that provided several scoring opportunities. “We’ll just have to keep our heads in the game,” Frese said. Cypress won the 4-A title in 1987 under then-Coach Tom Farr. The Centurions haven’t been in the finals since.

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