CITY SECTION: COOGAN TOO GOOD, ALLOWS ONLY 0'S EL CAMINO REAL PITCHER PERFECT VS. VENICE ECR 8, VENICE 0.

Byline: Vinny Bonsignore Staff Writer

Fear set in long before the Venice High softball team took the field Tuesday in a first-round City Championship playoff game against top-seeded El Camino Real of Woodland Hills.

As the 16th-seeded Gondoliers watched the Conquistadores perform a crisp pregame infield practice, whispers of admiration started. Finally, one player looked at another and shook her head.

``These guys are pretty good,'' she said.

And that was before ECR pitcher Melissa Coogan started punching out Venice hitters one after another.

Coogan, hidden behind senior Ashley Redlin a year ago, made her first postseason start a memorable one, overpowering the Gondoliers with a perfect game in the host Conquistadores' 8-0 victory.

Coogan retired all 21 batters, collecting 10 strikeouts along the way to her second perfect game of the year. The victory sends ECR (21-4-1) into a Thursday quarterfinal matchup against Banning.

Coogan was a reserve outfielder last season when the Conquistadores beat San Pedro to capture their 10th City Section title. It wasn't the easiest thing, watching Redlin, an All-City pitcher, and her backup Stephanie Frasco. But Coogan was patient, knowing she'd get her chance at some point.

``I was thinking about that all year because the coaches told me that this year I'd be pitching,'' Coogan said. ``So I was ready for it.''

She certainly was Tuesday, dominating Venice from the outset. After striking out two overmatched hitters in the first inning, Coogan and catcher Christina Enea kept things basic the rest of the way. No offense to the Gondoliers, but that was more then enough.

``All we were basically pitching were curveballs and fastballs because they couldn't catch up to it,'' Enea said.

Enea jump-started the rout with a two-run home run in the third inning - her sixth of the season - to put ECR ahead 5-0. Coogan helped herself in the second with an RBI triple, then scored on Kelly Lombard's single.

``We were all pumped for this game, we were ready for it,'' Coogan said. ``We kept telling ourselves before the game this was the playoffs and we needed to be pumped up.''

Coogan had two hits and three RBI. Lily Landers added two hits and and an RBI.

This is familiar territory for the Conquistadores, of course. They've won two out of the last three City titles, concluding the 1990s with six titles in the decade overall.

But most championship teams at ECR have an abundance of veterans, unlike this year's club, which has six new starters. Coogan stepped into the starter's role when Frasco left the team earlier this season, and only Enea and shortstop Jacquie Goodchild have been in the starting lineup more than one year.

Enea expressed concern at the start of the year that the new players lacked varsity experience, wondering if they were up to the demands of winning a City Championship. But as the year progressed, her concerns started fading.

``(At that point) things were a little iffy,'' Enea admits. ``But once we started experimenting and doing certain things we found a set lineup and everything clicked, and our chemistry really improved. Now it's going great.''

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo: (1) El Camino Real's Melissa Coogan delivers a pitch in her perfect game against Venice.

(2) El Camino Real's Catie Goldblatt gives a congratulatory hoist to pitcher Melissa Coogan.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer