La Canada Getting a 2nd Shot : Softball: Spartans meet Cajon for Division IV title after losing in 1994 final.

For the La Canada High softball team, a year has done little to ease the sting of losing the 1994 Southern Section Division IV title game to Santa Maria St. Joseph.

The second-seeded Spartans (25-3) get their shot at redemption today against top-seeded San Bernardino Cajon (26-4) at 5:30 p.m. in the Division IV final at Mayfair Park in Lakewood.

“I think [the 1994 final] will be a big-time motivation for us,” La Canada standout pitcher Lindsay Parker said. “Right after we lost last year, I told the [players] that if they remembered anything from the whole year, to remember how it felt to go all the way down there and lose.”

The task of preventing another tearful ride home falls mostly to Parker (24-3), the division’s 1994 player of the year and a favorite to receive the award again this season.

The senior right-hander has struck out 361 batters and compiled an 0.07 earned-run average in 191 innings while adding to her career list of 13 one-hitters and 29 no-hitters, including seven perfect games.

As dominant as Parker has been, the second-seeded Spartans enhanced their season by playing solid defense and improving a once-anemic offense.

“Defense has been our strength and hitting our weakness,” Parker said, adding that the team has focused on the latter in practice for much of the season. “We’ve won a lot of 1-0 games and others in extra innings.”

Though La Canada has committed an uncharacteristic four errors in four playoff games, second baseman Lori Hanson says defensive stability is one of the team’s strengths.

“All of our infielders have been on varsity for either three or four years,” said Hanson, one of La Canada’s six seniors. “That experience lets you know what’s coming in certain situations.”

La Canada knows what to expect against Cajon pitcher Lana Moran (22-1), who, along with Parker, attended tryouts for the U.S. junior national team in January.

A junior left-hander, Moran has struck out 314 batters in 147 innings and has an 0.10 ERA. La Canada is wary of her blistering riseball.

“We’re not going to hit her well,” Parker said of Moran, a longtime club softball rival. “She throws the ball hard and up a lot, but if we discipline ourselves and make her bring the ball down into the strike zone, we’ll be fine.”

Cajon, three-time San Andreas League champion, was 25-0 and top-seeded in the division last season before losing in the quarterfinals to Corona Centennial. Cajon has only two seniors but returned six starters from 1994. However, none of the players have been to a title game.

La Canada says its familiarity with the field and atmosphere at Mayflower Park will provide an edge.

“We’ll be used to the crowd,” said La Canada designated hitter Jacki Tenerelli, who played first base before breaking a finger in the Spartans’ first-round playoff game. “Last year I was overwhelmed; I couldn’t believe we were there.”