Not the game--the Warriors had that well in hand with a 5-0 lead. No, Morris was a pitch away from losing her perfect game.

The junior southpaw battled back, though. She ultimately got the batter to lift a soft pop fly to second base, then finished off the Bruins to complete her perfecto.

"Not only was it 21 up, 21 down," said Westmont coach Jon Hennig, "but she threw only 72 pitches--48 strikes and 24 balls."

Morris had only four strikeouts in the win, but she was "well in control," said Hennig.

"Her fast ball was working really well, and she was hitting her spots," he said. "She had her fast ball, curve ball and drop all day long, and that kept them off balance."

Branham managed to put the ball in play, but the Westmont infielders and outfielders were up the task.

"The defense made all the plays," said the coach. "And there were two real good defensive plays."

Right fielder Sami Horn grabbed what appeared to be a base hit, but threw out the runner at first. It was her seventh outfield assist this season. Later, center fielder Rachel Gellman was playing shallow and came in on the infield dirt to grab a grounder and throw the runner out at first.

"All of our outfielders are former second basemen," said Hennig.

Allyson Carrothers had three hits in the game for the Warriors and Horn had a pair.

It was the second time this season that Morris has beaten Branham. The junior is now 5-1 for the year and 2-1 in league play.

Westmont evened its record at 5-5 in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League with a 2-1 win in nine innings at Leland on Saturday.

Lillian Davis, another junior left hander, allowed just four hits in nine innings to lead the Warriors to the win over the Chargers. She struck out six.

Davis actually took a no-hitter into the sixth before the Chargers put three hits together to score a run and tie the game 1-1. Gellman had given Westmont the lead with a solo home run over the left field fence in the third inning. She also singled in the game.

Davis gave up only one hit the rest of the way, and Westmont won it in the ninth when Horn singled with two outs to knock in Samantha Antolin. Davis retired the Chargers in the bottom of the ninth to clinch the win, pushing her record to 5-2.

The Warriors have four league games remaining--against Leland, Leigh, Pioneer and Mt. Pleasant--and hope to finish strong to qualify for the Central Coast Section playoffs.

The win helped Westmont improve to 13-8 for the year.

"That made things look better for us for CCS," said the coach.

Westmont will host Leland on May 4 before hitting the road to visit first-place Leigh on May 6. Both games begin at 3:30 p.m.

Falcons alone in first

Win or lose against Wilcox, the Saratoga girls softball team was going to remain in first place in the El Camino Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League. But guess what? The Falcons wanted to win.

With a victory, the Falcons would have sole ownership of first place in the division and a two-game lead over the second-place Chargers. A loss would push Saratoga and Wilcox into a tie for first.

Saratoga chose the former.

The Falcons scored a run in the second inning, and that's all pitcher Nikki Franchi needed. The right hander flipped a 1-hit shutout to lead Saratoga to a 1-0 first and a two-game lead in the division race.

The Falcons improved to 7-0 with the win and the Chargers slipped to 6-2 in the division. That gives Saratoga a two-game edge in the all-important loss column.

Franchi ran her season record to 15-5 with the victory. Lisa Brenner had two singles to lead a six-hit offensive effort for the Falcons.

Saratoga will be back on the diamond this week as the Falcons try to add to their lead. They were to host Gunn on May 2 and will be home again on May 4 against Cupertino. The Falcons visit Fremont on May 6 and host Santa Clara on May 9. All games begin at 3:30 p.m.

Saratoga challenged De Anza Division leader Monta Vista in a non-league game last week and dropped a 3-0 decision. Franchi tossed a 4-hitter and struck out 12, but Monta Vista's Jennifer Sparks was better--throwing a no-hitter at the Falcons.

The Mats broke up a scoreless tie with two runs in the fourth, then added an insurance run in the sixth.

Panthers win three

The Prospect girls softball team rolled to three victories last week, beating Overfelt 11-4, James Lick 6-1 and Gunderson 11-0. The Panthers are now 16-0 and remain in first place in the West Valley Division.

Leah Sparrowe flipped a five-inning no-hitter to lead the Panthers to the 11-0 win over the Grizzlies. Sparrowe struck out nine to account for most of Gunderson's 15 outs in the game.

Paige Madson ripped three hits and Kylie Gipson had two in the win.

Liz Miller and Mandy Taylor had two hits apiece in the 6-1 win over Lick. Sparrowe fired a 3-hitter for the win.

Sparrowe whirled a 6-hitter, fanning six, and Jessica Janssen had two hits in the win over the Royals.