SOFTBALL: GREAT D AIDS T.O. WIN : T.O. 1 A.B. MILLER 0.

Byline: Jim Inghram Daily News Staff Writer

When Nicole Angelo is not in the pitching circle, she's here, there and everywhere. She's the one pulling pranks on the bus, and her's is the voice you hear leading the team cheers. If a teammate does something good, it's Angelo who is usually the first to bound out of the dugout for a hug or high-five.

Put her in the circle, however, and her smile quickly dissolves. At these times, she is all business. She was Thursday, and her efforts helped Thousand Oaks High defeat A.B. Miller of Fontana 1-0 in a Southern Section Division I quarterfinal.

Angelo, a 5-foot-10 sophomore right-hander, limited the Rebels (18-11) to five hits and struck out three.

``It's funny,'' said senior designated hitter Vanessa Hanson. ``In practice, Nicole is wild. She's always having fun and messing around, but when she is pitching she is so focused and does the job.''

Angelo was quick to credit her teammates for making her job easy.

``It was the offense scoring a run and the defense,'' Angelo said. ``That's why we won. I didn't strike too many people out, and they hit some balls hard, but I knew the defense would be there. It takes a lot of pressure off of you when you have that confidence.''

Angelo only had two perfect innings, the fourth and seventh. She allowed seven base runners, but only one got as far as third base.

She benefited from a sparkling defensive play in nearly every inning.

In the first, Kim Martin turned a base-hit into an out when she threw a runner out at first from right field. In the second, Lacey Cope backhanded a line drive headed for the gap.

Cope's sister, Brandi, stopped a Miller rally with a double-play. She fielded a hot shot, stepped on third and threw the batter out at first. A full stretch by first baseman Shawna Lane helped convince the umpire.

In the seventh, it was Lacey Cope again, this time she ranged deep into the hole at short and nipped the Rebels base runner by a step.

``We got some hits and put it in play,'' said Miller coach Sam Poindexter, ``but their defense was awesome. They don't make many mistakes and they played great.''

Thousand Oaks (23-8) scored its only run in the third inning. Michelle Spencer reached on an infield single with one out. She went to second on a wild pitch and to third on Jenny Cochran's single. Andi Keesling knocked her in with an infield chopper.

The Lancers play Mater Dei of Santa Ana at a site to be determined today in the semifinals on Tuesday.