Finnerty leads Moorpark into Division 4 semis

LA CAÑADA-FLINTRIDGE » Moorpark pitcher Madison Finnerty held La Cañada down for eight innings on Thursday afternoon. In the 10th inning of a scoreless game, her duties changed dramatically.

With Taylor Cook on base, Finnerty stepped up and hit a run-scoring single for the first run of the game. Cook’s dive to the plate was met by the neardelirious screams by her teammates and stirred much-needed momentum.

When the dust settled, literally, the Musketeers went on to defeat La Cañada, 3-0, in 10 innings in the CIF Southern Section Division 4 quarterfinals.

“I just knew I had to get the ball down on the ground because we needed a run,” Finnerty said.

Top-seeded Moorpark (22-4) moves on to play Heritage Christian in the semifinals on Saturday.

Later in the final inning, Driana Martinez hit a tworun double for insurance, driving in Finnerty and AvaJo McGowan.

Cook pitched for the final two innings as Moorpark retired the side in order in the bottom of the 10th to secure the win and a trip to the semifinals.

“The girls do an excellent job of feeding off of each other’s energy, and they have done that all season long,” coach Meaghan Stotts said.

“It’s a crazy group. They’ve all been playing together since they were 6 years old.”

Sophomore Elle Leckrone pitched all 10 innings for the Spartans (21-7) and made two fine catches for outs in the fourth inning.

“She’s a workhorse,” La Cañada coach Travis Lovejoy said. “We’ve never asked her to go that many (innings), but she was rolling.”

A game that seemed destined to go long from the start stretched even longer in the fourth inning, when both teams exited the playing field for roughly 15 minutes as catcher Daniela Isarraras was evaluated after getting hit in the mask with the ball.

The intermission had little effect on the Musketeers, who gave up two hits in the inning but closed it out with two strikeouts by Finnerty.

“(My assistant coaches) were doing a fabulous job talking to the girls, keeping them prepared,” Stott said. “Kudos to them, because I watched them keep the girls locked in that entire time.”

Shae Anderson doubled off the wall in the sixth inning, and Finnerty and Makenna Cerny both singled in the eight inning, but Moorpark was unable to score until the 10th.

Moorpark has just two seniors but its large group of sophomores continues to gain valuable experience throughout the playoffs.

“It’s pretty exciting for the seniors to experience this, having not been to the playoffs yet,” Stott said.

“And then what an experience for the sophomores to come this far and get this type of repetition.”