Bulldogs Hope It’s Their Year : Girls’ softball: Garfield meets top-seeded Verdugo Hills in 3-A final Tuesday. Both teams boast strong pitching and offense.

There’s no secret to the Garfield High School softball team’s success on the field: lots of hard work, dedication, patience, luck and a solid junior varsity program.

The second-seeded Bulldogs (17-3) will take those assets against top-seeded Verdugo Hills (14-3) in the City Section 3-A championship game at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday at UCLA’s Easton Stadium.

“We always play as a team,” said senior pitcher Alma Limon, who gave up seven hits in the Bulldogs’ 4-2 win over Venice in the semifinals May 16. “If something goes wrong, we’ll back each other up. That’s what keeps us playing well together.”

“I have a great group of girls,” said Garfield head coach John Benson. “This is the best team I’ve ever had . . . this is our year. [Verdugo Hills] is a really good team, though.”

Two of the top pitchers in the state will compete. The Bulldogs are led by the durable Limon, who is 17-3 with more than 100 strikeouts.

She has pitched in all 20 games. Verdugo Hills pitcher Melanie Wood is 13-2 with an earned-run average of 0.75. Wood, who hasn’t allowed a run in 90 of the 101 innings she has pitched this season, threw a one-hitter in the Dons’ 1-0 semifinal win over South Gate on May 16.

“We’re peaking at the right time,” said Benson. “Alma’s at the top of her game . . . She’s throwing harder than before. We’re also hitting better.”

Both teams appear to have a balanced offensive attack, complemented by an experienced defense. Garfield’s standouts include senior catcher Jennifer Inzunza, who is hitting .500; second baseman Vanessa Cordona; first baseman Yolie Duran; center-fielder Maria Medina and utility player Liz Mendez.

Verdugo Hills, which outscored its first two earlier playoff opponents 38-2, is loaded with plenty of firepower. The Dons’ top hitters include catcher Jodi Kent (.380), second baseman Kelly Balkey (.340), center fielder Tiffany Galante (.310) and Wood (.304). Shannon Schoonover, also a capable hitter, has four saves as a relief pitcher.

“We won’t take anything for granted this time,” said Verdugo Hills head coach Dan Balkey, whose team will make its third consecutive appearance in the title game. “We’re looking forward to playing them again.” Verdugo Hills beat Garfield 5-2 in a non-league game March 2.

In Garfield’s semifinal win over Venice, Cordona went 3-for-4, including a game-tying, two-run double in the fourth inning. She later scored the go-ahead run on a base hit by Inzunza in the top of the eighth inning.

In the bottom of the eighth, Venice threatened to tie or win the game when it loaded the bases with one out. But Limon, who yielded five walks, settled down to get the next two batters out and seal the victory.

“I was kind of nervous early in the game, because Venice is a good team,” said Limon. “Some of my pitches were going where I wanted them to, but [Venice] made good contact at times. It was frustrating when they went ahead 2-0, but we came back. We didn’t give up.”

Garfield center fielder Maria Medina perhaps made the game’s most spectacular defensive play when she threw out Kristina Gallegos at the plate.

Garfield lost 1-0 to Westchester in last year’s 3-A quarterfinals on a similar play. Westchester pinch-runner Jamie Snedecor scored the winning run on a close play at the plate with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning.

“It took a couple of weeks to get over that game,” said Inzunza, who defended the plate on the play. “It was frustrating. We were a pretty good team and we felt we had a chance to go to the championship. But we have another chance to win it all. We hope we do.”