Ventura County

Got pitching?

Crescenta Valley High certainly did. For four prosperous years.

Meredith Cervenka was as dominating as they come in high school softball.

The four-year varsity starter won about 90% of her decisions and finished with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 14-1.

She led a vastly inexperienced team to its fourth consecutive undefeated Pacific League title and a 26-2 record, earning The Times’ Valley pitcher of the year award for the second consecutive year.

“My goal was Just to do better each year, and I did that,” said Cervenka, the league’s most valuable player four times.

Cervenka’s 91 career victories rank third in the Southern Section, three behind Jocelyn Forest of Santa Maria Righetti and one behind Lana Moran of Cajon. She is tied for second place with Michelle Granger of Placentia Valencia and Heather Compton of Righetti for career earned-run average at 0.10.

Cervenka, who is headed for Long Beach State, can also swing the bat. She batted .333 with six doubles and four triples, and is a career .319 hitter.

Although outstanding this season, Cervenka’s best season was 2000, when she struck out 370 and allowed 49 hits and one earned run in 208 innings. She set a state record last year by throwing 292 1/3 innings without allowing an earned run and finished with a 0.03 ERA.

Cervenka said she did not expect to duplicate those statistics as a senior.

She came close.

Cervenka finished with 315 strikeouts and allowed 64 hits and 24 walks in 193 2/3 innings. Twenty of her 25 victories were shutouts and she did not allow an earned run until the final game, finishing with a 0.11 ERA.

Against Mater Dei in a Division II second-round playoff game, Cervenka allowed three earned runs in a 3-0 loss.

“If this had been any other year, I’d have been really, really upset,” Cervenka said. “[But] when I found out that all of them were earned, I really didn’t care.

“Last year I was serious, this year I just went out and had fun.”

*

Casey Pickard: Hart, Sr., Infielder. Committed to Pittsburgh, Pickard batted .400, led Hart with seven doubles and 21 RBIs, and was 12-3 with a 0.42 ERA.

Kellie Cox: Quartz Hill, Sr., Outfielder. The region’s top large-school hitter and three-time All-Valley selection batted .556 and was 13-3 with a 0.47 ERA, earning the Golden League MVP award.

Sarah Sherman: Cresc. Valley, Soph., Outfielder. The speedy slap-hitter batted leadoff for the Pacific League champions. The center fielder led the Falcons with a .356 betting average, 17 runs and 13 stolen bases.

Sara Dean: Hart, Sr. Utility. The Auburn-bound catcher battled injuries to bat .299 with 12 extra-base hits and 13 RBIs for a team ranked among the nation’s best most of the season.

Jaclyn Holden: Saugus, Jr., Utility. The versatile player moved to catcher early in the season. She batted .528 with 20 extra base hits, including a section-record 10 triples. She had a team-high 12 RBIs batting leadoff.

Donna Lee: Valencia, Coach of the year. Lee, who started Valencia’s program in 1995, guided the Vikings to a 25-5 record and their first Foothill League title. The Vikings lost to Esperanza in the Division I quarterfinals.