The Pioneer senior fired a no-hitter against Menlo School, striking out 11 in a game that was stopped after five innings because of the time limit in tournament play. But the Mustangs played long enough to pound Menlo for an 8-0 win.

The no-hitter capped a spectacular week of pitching Castillo. In three games she threw 17 innings, giving up only four hits and no earned runs while picking up three wins. She has pitched in six games so far this season and allowed only two earned runs.

The offensive effort for the Mustangs against Menlo was led by outfielders Allie Bunnell and Alysia Ramirez. They each stroked two hits, including a double for Bunnell. Ramirez drove in a couple of runs and scoring two herself.

In the first round of the tourney, Castillo tossed a 7-0 shutout against Del Mar. It was a sloppy game by the Dons and Pioneer put most of its runs on the board as a result of errors. However, Stephanie Morales had a hot bat, driving in three runs including a two-run double.

Earlier in the week, Pioneer had its toughest competition in a non-league game against a strong Saratoga squad. The Mustangs were up to the challenge as they ground out a 3-1 win over the Falcons.

Saratoga jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first but Pioneer managed to get single runs across in each of the second, third and fourth innings to give Castillo the lead that she never relinquished.

The Mustangs had only two hits in the game, but one of those was a run-scoring single by Bunnell. Pioneer manufactured the other two runs by stealing bases and taking advantage of a throwing error and a wild pitch to push across the scores. Saratoga hurler Nikki Franchi had tossed two no-hitters the week before.

Vranich leads Leland

Leland's Jamie Vranich had her good stuff working as the Chargers opened play in the Miguel tourney by taking care of Evergreen 6-1. Vranich set down 13 on strikeouts and improved her record to 4-1.

When she wasn't striking out opponents, Vranich was making sure the Chargers scored some runs. She pounded out two hits and drove in four runs. Ashleigh Adams and Megan Finney also rapped two hits apiece.

In the second game of the tourney, Leland's bats went silent and the Chargers found themselves in a pitching duel with Piedmont Hills. Kelly Harrison did her part to keep the Chargers hopes alive as she struck out nine and kept the Pirates off balance. It was a scoreless tie after seven innings so the game was decided by the international tiebreaker. Leland was unable to score its runner from second and Piedmont Hills got it done to claim the 1-0 victory.

The Chargers split a couple of games earlier in the week. They dropped a 4-2 decision to Willow Glen and Vranich was tagged with the loss, her first one of the season.

Leland's first run came when Liz Perez slapped a single and proceeded to steal second and third, allowing Ashley O'Brien to bring her home with a single. Sara Boring drove in the Chargers' other run.

Perez had three hits and Christina Saenz blasted a double and a triple but the Chargers couldn't produce the hits when they needed them.

"We left seven runners in scoring position and were 2 for 13 with runners in scoring position," Leland coach Joe Cron said. "We needed more timely hitting and just got outplayed."

Harrison had an outstanding pitching performance, hurling a 1-hitter and striking out 14 as the Chargers shut out Branham 5-0. The hits came at more opportune times against the Bruins.

Saenz went 2 for 4 including a run-scoring double. Perez blasted a triple and was brought home on a single by Adams. Veronica Perotta got in on the action when she drove in Adams with a double.

Fullerton's 1-hitter

It has been said many times in baseball and softball that good pitching will beat good hitting. It was a tough week for Branham as the Bruins experienced that firsthand. They ran into three outstanding pitching performances in a row after picking up a win early in the week with an excellent performance of their own.

Nicole Fullerton fired a 1-hit beauty while fanning 12 leading the Bruins to a 3-1 win over Sacred Heart Prep. She also led the Bruins with two hits.

After the loss to Leland, the Bruins got no break as they opened the first round of the Charlie Miguel tourney facing 2003 Central Coast Section Division II champion Burlingame.

"They are a good hitting team with a lot of speed," Branham coach Rob Piper said. That good hitting and speed resulted in a 9-0 loss for the Bruins as sophomore Holly Griggs was tagged with the loss, sending her record to 1-3.

The Bruins had their ace Fullerton (3-2) ready for their match-up with Santa Teresa in the second game of the tourney but once again they ran into a buzz saw. Santa Teresa built a 3-0 lead as the Saints' pitcher took a perfect game into the seventh inning. But with one out Fullerton slapped a clean single to left to break up the perfection. The Bruins avoided the perfect game but not the loss as Santa Teresa won 3-0 and Branham's record dropped to 4-5 on the year.

"She pitched a beauty of a game," said Piper. "At that point, we were just trying to get a runner on base to avoid the perfect game, then to get the hit was all the better."

In reflecting on the week's games and the lack of hits on the part of his Bruins, Piper said, "Our team is young and sometimes overwhelmed by older pitching, especially with the speed."

The Charlie Miguel tourney will conclude March 26 and 27. Branham will line up against Willow Glen in the consolation bracket on March 27, 9 a.m. Pioneer and Leland face each other in the championship bracket on March 26, 6 p.m. Games will be played at Twin Creeks.