LeCocq Makes Final Pitch for Title

Maureen LeCocq has been chosen the No. 1 high school softball player in the country, pitched a summer team to a national championship, set just about every Chaminade High pitching record and taken her place among the best all-time athletes from the region.

Today, she can put the perfect cap on a near-perfect career.

Chaminade will face Bloomington at 5 p.m. at Mayfair Park in Lakewood for the Southern Section Division IV championship, one of the few major prizes to thus far elude her.

“I want it probably more than anything right now,” said LeCocq, a senior who has 13 consecutive shutouts over 85 scoreless innings. “We’re so close. The adrenaline is pumping. Getting a [championship] ring is all we want. Nothing less.”

It would be difficult to bet against the Stanford-bound right-hander, who in four seasons has helped transform Chaminade from an also-ran into a regional power.

“She is a very special person,” Coach Steve Harrington said. “If you were to ask for a description of the perfect player to represent girls’ softball, I would tell you to take a look at Maureen LeCocq.”

With LeCocq in the circle, the Eagles (24-6-1) have won consecutive Mission League titles and enter their first section final with a 20-game winning streak.

This year, she recovered from an early-season arm injury to go 22-2 with a 0.18 earned-run average.

She needs 10 strikeouts today to reach 750 in a remarkable career that includes a 66-20 record, a 0.48 ERA and a .342 batting average.

A member of The Times’ All-Valley team since she was a freshman, LeCocq will receive the Gatorade Circle of Champions softball player of the year award on Tuesday during a ceremony at Chaminade.

Few teams from the region would argue the selection.

LeCocq has defeated Westlake and Notre Dame twice each, Thousand Oaks, Crescenta Valley, Newbury Park, Simi Valley and Paraclete, all teams that have appeared in The Times’ regional top-10 poll.

She also threw a 1-0 shutout against Santa Ana Mater Dei, which will play for its second consecutive Division I title on Saturday.

LeCocq’s only losses have come against Fresno Bullard, the top-ranked team in the nation, and to Cerritos, which plays Moreno Valley tonight for the Division II championship.

“Mo is definitely at the top of her game right now,” catcher Lauren Rousselet said. “It’s exciting to see.”

LeCocq, The Times’ 1998 Valley pitcher of the year, has had plenty of help in getting the Eagles to the brink of a title.

Chaminade has not committed an error in four playoff games.

Third baseman Erin Taylor, who has committed to Miami of Ohio, is one of the best infielders in the region. Rousselet, who has accepted a scholarship to UC Santa Barbara, has called pitches for LeCocq in the last 20 games, all victories.

Fleet leadoff hitter Lindsey Weinstein is seven for 13 in the playoffs, and Courtney Whale, Shannon Barceloux and Christina Lupacchini have each delivered key hits in recent games.

Bloomington (17-9) is experiencing a landmark run of its own.

The unseeded Bruins entered the season with a 54-131 record in the 1990s, but finished third in the Sunkist League to claim their first playoff berth since 1989.

Upsets over three league champions, including second-seeded St. Paul in the quarterfinals, have led Bloomington into its first final.

Softball Playoffs

* Who: Chaminade (24-6-1) vs. Bloomington (17-9).

* What: Southern Section Division IV championship game.

* Where: Mayfair Park in Lakewood.

* When: Today at 5 p.m.

* Tickets: $7 for adults; $3 for children under 12.