Reilly, La Cañada softball break through with first-round victory

LA CAÑADA — Megan Reilly wanted to help get the La Cañada High softball team off to a good start in the CIF Southern Section Division IV playoffs.

The senior outfielder did exactly that, as she finished with three hits and drove in two runs to spark host La Cañada to an 8-2 win against Rialto on Thursday in a first-round contest.

La Cañada (19-6) will travel to face Santa Monica, which upset fourth-seeded Buena by a 1-0 margin, in a second-round contest Tuesday.

Reilly, who helped La Cañada win the Rio Hondo League championship, hit a two-run home run in the first to ignite the Spartans.

“I feel like things are going well right now after struggling at times during the regular season,” said Reilly, who added a single and double. “I came into the game pumped up because we didn’t want to lose again [in the first round].”

The Spartans lost, 4-3, to Ocean View in the first round last season.

Reilly later had a run-scoring single in the fourth.

Emily Tinkham finished with four hits and three runs for La Cañada, which finished with 14 hits. Tinkham had three singles and one double and drove in a run. Sammy Jedrey added a two-run double in the fourth to give the Spartans a 7-2 lead.

La Cañada starting pitcher Holly Stoner struck out 10 and scattered five hits in going the distance. She allowed just one earned run.

“Megan’s home run helped me to breathe easier,” La Cañada Coach Chunk Gunter said. “A lot of our bats are hot and you have a lot of people now contributing.”

Rialto, which took second in the San Andreas League, finished 18-9.