Cervenka pays dividends for CIF champions

O'Leary finished her season with a 0.39 earned-run average, struck out 237 and walked 27. She started all but three games for the Spartans and had a win-loss record of 25-2 with 23 complete games and 16 shutouts. The ace also held batters to a .137 batting average and .187 on-base percentage.

"[O'Leary] has the movement and she relies on that," Cervenka said. "When you have that you don't have to throw hard … if you're keeping the batters off-balance you're doing your job. She's very, very tough and that's come with years and made her the pitcher that she is."

As far as style goes, Cervenka labels O'Leary as a finesse pitcher, similar to the way she pitched at Crescenta Valley and Long Beach.

As a 49er, Cervenka earned the title of the Big West Conference Pitcher of the Year in 2003, 2004 and 2005. Hence, La Cañada Coach KC Mathews knows how much she brings to the table.

"When you have a Meredith Cervenka in your dugout calling pitches and working with your pitchers, it's priceless," Mathews said. "She's been through it. She thinks like a pitcher and knows what's going on. She's invaluable, absolutely invaluable and the girls are completely comfortable with her."

Cervenka is a resource to more than just O'Leary, though. The entire team is comfortable with her and her track record of dominating at the college level carries plenty of weight. Her experiences in NCAA competition have put her in position to give advice to players headed to the next level, like O'Leary (Georgetown University) and Edwards (Northwestern University).

"Those girls are going to be awesome in college, I don't worry about them at all," Cervenka said. "It's fun to talk to those girls who are going to go through what I went through."