Pure Preps | High School Sports in the South Bay

DAILY BREEZE TOP 10

1. San Pedro (22-8) Even a 12-day layoff could not derail the mighty Pirates, who won their 18th in a row in usual fashion, beating Garfield 5-4 in 8 innings on a walk-off hit in the first round of the L.A. City Section Division I playoffs.  No. 4 San Pedro hosts No. 5 Kennedy in the quarterfinals on Friday afternoon. Come check out the magic.

2.  North Torrance (20-12) The Saxons couldn't grab the Pioneer League crown, but have advanced to the CIF-SS Division IV quarterfinals for the first time since 2003 behind the hot arm of Dalton Erb (11-1). North will need Hayden Weir to show some of his first-half form in the quarterfinals on Friday at home against St.  Bonaventure.

3.  Palos Verdes (22-9) The Sea Kings concluded the regular season in style, sweeping both West Torrance and Mira Costa to capture the Bay League title, then won a first-round CIF-SS Division II playoff game before fizzling out on the road in the second round.

4. Redondo (17-12) The Sea Hawks lost out on a Bay League title share with a surprising regular-season-ending loss at Peninsula, then bounced back with a CIF Division II wild-card win before losing at No. 2 Pacifica in the first round.

5. Serra (20-5) Dominic Smith finished the season hitting .551 with 9 HRs and 49 RBIs, but teams learned to pitch around him down the stretch and Serra lost in the first round of the CIF Division V playoffs.

6. El Segundo (17-15) The Eagles won six of their last seven Pioneer League games to take the Pioneer League title and won a first-round home game in the CIF Division IV playoffs before losing at No. 1 Palm Desert in the heat.

7. Torrance (19-13) Star Tyrone Taylor got hot and the Tartars started playing better at the end of the regular season. Torrance won a  wild-card game but blew a big lead and lost in the first round.  Now Taylor looks toward the MLB draft.

8. Mira Costa (18-13) The Mustangs were going steady and strong until getting swept by Palos Verdes and losing their wild-card game, effectively putting an end to a solid season.

9. Narbonne (14-16) The Gauchos' potential goes mostly unrealized as talented team missed out on Marine League title and lost in the first round of the in the L.A. City Section Division I playoffs.

10. Rolling Hills Prep (17-6) The Coastal League co-champs seem to be peaking at the right time behind the hot bats of Jahman Ingram (.485-7-40) and Christian Macdonald (.493-2-24). The small-school Huskies host No. 1 Hillcrest Christian/Granada Hills on Friday in the CIF Division VII quarterfinals.

 

Don't count the Cougars out yet.
Sure the Hawthorne baseball team lost its CIF Southern Section Division III wild-card game 4-2 to Mark Keppel on Tuesday, but it moves to the first round of the playoffs anyway.
CIF-SS announced on Friday that Keppel used ineligible players in the game, awarding Hawthorne (16-10) a forfeit win.
Now Hawthorne advances to play at Elsinore (20-5) in the first round Saturday at 3 p.m.

 

DAILY BREEZE TOP 10

1. San Pedro (21-8) The mighty Pirates will test their 17-game winning streak in the L.A. City Section playoffs now as the No. 4 seed

2. Palos Verdes (21-8) The Sea Kings concluded the regular season in style, sweeping both West Torrance and Mira Costa to capture the Bay League title and will now host a first-round CIF Division II playoff game.

3. Redondo (17-12) The Sea Hawks lost out on a Bay League title share with a surprising regular-season-ending loss at Peninsula, but bounced back with a CIF Division II wild-card win and now get to play at No. 2 Pacifica in the first round.

4. Serra (20-4) Dominic Smith (at the plate) and Denz'l Chapman (on the base paths) still are putting up silly numbers, making Cavaliers very dangerous in the CIF Division V playoffs.

5. El Segundo (16-14) The Eagles won six of their last seven Pioneer League games to take the league title and earn a first-round home game in the CIF Division IV playoffs, so it might be time to take them seriously.

6. North Torrance (18-12) The Saxons stumbled down the stretch to give away the league crown, but finished with a big 3-0 win against Torrance to finish tied for second place in the Pioneer League and go into the CIF Division IV playoffs on a positive note.

7. Torrance (19-12) The Tartars started playing better at the end of the regular season to earn a playoff spot and win a wild-card game. Star Tyrone Taylor is swinging a hot bat, and now Torrance looks dangerous in the CIF Division IV playoffs.

8. Mira Costa (18-13) The Mustangs were going steady and strong until getting swept by Palos Verdes and losing their wild-card game, effectively putting an end to a solid season.

9. Narbonne (14-15) The Gauchos' record won't scare anybody, but this is a dangerous team that the higher seeded  teams shouldn't want to play in the L.A. City Section Division I playoffs.

10. South Torrance (12-14) The Spartans came so close but never really realized their potential, and their regular-season-ending 14-13 loss to Pioneer League champion El Segundo illustrates their hard-luck season.

 

 

1. Palos Verdes     21-8, 8-2
2. Redondo            17-12, 7-3
3. Mira Costa         18-13, 7-3
4. Peninsula           11-18, 5-5
5. West Torrance   9-20, 3-7
6. Leuzinger           2-23, 0-10

1. El Segundo        16-14, 8-2
2. North Torrance 18-12, 7-3
3. Torrance           19-12, 7-3
4. South Torrance 12-14, 6-4
5. Lawndale           9-13, 1-9
6. Centennial         10-14, 1-9

 

1. San Pedro      21-8, 10-0
2. Narbonne      14-15, 7-3
3. Banning        13-18, 7-3
4. Carson         12-20, 4-6
5. Gardena      14-14, 2-8
6. Washington  2-15, 0-10

1. Cathedral      21-5, 14-1
2. Serra            20-4, 13-2
3. Mary Star     18-7, 9-6
4. St. Bernard   6-15, 4-11
5. Bosco Tech  4-26, 3-12
6. Cantwell       2-19, 2-13

 

Here is the official schedule for Saturday's five CIF Southern Section boys volleyball title matches, which will be played in two gyms at Cypress College. The much-anticipated Mira Costa-Loyola showdown caps the night.

Gym 1

Division V - Chadwick vs. Viewpoint, 1:30 p.m.

Division IV - Cathedral vs. Santa Monica, 4 p.m.

Gym 2

Division III - South Torrance vs. Warren, 2 p.m.

Division II - Oak Park vs. Corona del Mar, 4:30 p.m.

Division I - Mira Costa vs. Loyola, 7:30 p.m.

Torrance and El Segundo stand atop the league standings with one game remaining. Each team needs to win and needs the other team to lose to win the league title outright. Or they both can win and share the league title. Or better yet, both could lose and be part of a four-way tie for first place with North Torrance and South Torrance, meaning one co-champion might miss the playoffs. Crazyness. Torrance takes on North and South faces El Segundo on Thursday.

1. Torrance          7-2 (18-11)

2. El Segundo     7-2 (15-14)

3. North Torrance 6-3 (17-12)

4. South Torrance 6-3 (12-13)

5. Centennial        1-8 (10-13)

6. Lawndale          0-9 (8-13)

There's a three-way tie for first place with one game remaining in the Bay League. PV is at Mira Costa and Redondo is at Peninsula in the meaningful games on Thursday afternoon. A co-championship scenario is likely.

1. Mira Costa        7-2  (18-11)

1. Redondo           7-2  (16-11)

1. Palos Verdes    7-2   (20-8)

4. Peninsula        4-5   (10-18)

5. West Torrance  2-7   (8-20)

6. Leuzinger         0-9    (2-22)