Cervenka Is Perfectly Streaky; Crescenta Valley Wins

In a ongoing saga that borders on the ridiculous, the streak lives on for Meredith Cervenka of Crescenta Valley High.

One day after her streak of consecutive innings without allowing an earned run was returned intact by a rival coach, Cervenka pitched a perfect game and throttled host Hoover, 4-0, Thursday in a Pacific League game.

Cervenka (13-1), in pitching her second consecutive perfect game, made sure a scorekeeper’s subjectivity would not be needed.

The junior right-hander struck out eight of the first 10 batters. She finished with 10 strikeouts, induced six flyouts and five groundouts.

Crescenta Valley (13-1, 2-0 in league play), ranked No. 2 in the region by The Times, parlayed three hits and five Hoover errors into four unearned runs.

Melanie McCauley scored in the second inning on Cervenka’s sharp grounder to third baseman Linda Martinez. The drive glanced off Martinez’s glove and rolled deep into foul territory. Incidentally, Hoover ruled it an error. Crescenta Valley, a double.

Cervenka extended her streak to 267 innings without allowing an earned run. She needs one to match state record-holder Lindsay Parker of La Canada, who threw 268 innings without an earned run from 1993-94.

Less than a week ago, Cervenka was devastated when she learned one of the runs she allowed in a 5-3 victory on March 25 was ruled earned by Arcadia, which was the home team and therefore the official scorer for the High Desert tournament game.

But Coach John Nowa of Arcadia has done a 180-degree turn in the last few days.

On Tuesday, Nowa said, “I would like to see her get [the state record] too, but I have to tell you what I saw. [The run] was earned.”

But on Wednesday, Nowa recanted, calling a newspaper reporter to say he changed his mind.

“I’ve checked with my kids and I’ve checked with the parents and it’s kind of 50-50 as to what they saw,” Nowa told The Times. “As far as I’m concerned, if it’s that controversial, let them have it.”

It was a dramatic, generous turn that was not lost on Cervenka or Coach Dan Berry of Crescenta Valley.

“I don’t know many coaches who would have done what he did,” Berry said. “It was an outstanding gesture from a fine gentleman.”

Since Nowa was shielded from the play in question, he made an informal poll this week of players and parents. About half said a sharp ground ball went through first baseman Mandy Yaeger’s legs for an error, and the rest said it was a clean hit that went to the right of Yaeger. The batter later scored.

Berry and Yaeger say the ball went through Yaeger’s legs.

Ironically, if Cervenka does set the state record, she would do it in the Falcons’ next game April 18 . . . against Arcadia.

Stay tuned.