SOUTHERN SECTION BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS : Winning Title Gives Livernois a Leg Up on the Future : Division III: Senior, who injured his knee in football game, triples to tie score and help La Quinta beat Santa Margarita. He’ll have surgery in July.

C.J. Livernois can rest that fragile right knee now. Three months of wondering if the next step would be his last are over.

All in all, the pain was worth it.

Livernois finished with a fine performance in his finale. He picked up his second consecutive Southern Section Division III championship ring, which he helped to earn.

It was Livernois who brought La Quinta back in an 8-4, eight-inning victory over Santa Margarita Saturday at Anaheim Stadium. His triple drove in one run to tie the score, 4-4, in the seventh. Livernois had two hits and three runs batted in, one in a four-run eighth.

Not bad for a guy who has had to tippy-toe through the season on wounded knee.

“I’ve tried not to think about it,” Livernois said. “Really, I can’t believe I made it.”

Livernois, a senior, injured the knee during a football game when he made a tackle. It buckled on him twice after that.

Said baseball Coach Dave Demarest: “We went to the doctor and after examining it for 10 seconds, he said, ‘He’s done for the year.’ I said, ‘Wait doc, you’re supposed to be giving us good news.’ ”

It was left to Livernois to provide a ray of hope. A day later, he decided to put off surgery until after baseball season.

Livernois hit a home run in his first at-bat this season. He hit .333, but the going was tough. He sat out when he could and hoped the knee would hold. When the playoffs began, his left knee began to hurt from overcompensating. Still he played.

“I was determined to finish the season,” Livernois said.

He did and it ended where it did a year ago.

Last season, Livernois was 0 or 3 in the Aztecs’ 3-1 victory over West Torrance in the title game. This season, he had a little more to do with the victory.

He drove in La Quinta’s first run in the third. But the Aztecs trailed, 4-2, in the seventh.

With a runner on first, Livernois lined a 1-2 pitch over right fielder Chris Maskery’s head.

“I started yelling at myself to get moving,” Livernois said. “I had to make it to third.”

Said Demarest: “On that leg? That was all adrenaline.”

Livernois got to ease home, when Craig Kuzmic singled through a drawn-in infield.

An inning later, Livernois knocked in the Aztecs’ last run with a groundout. Then it was time to rest that knee.

“I have surgery on July 7,” Livernois said. “I still don’t want to think about. I want to think about today.”