By Fred J. Robledo
There were no real surprises following the CIF-Southern Section baseball playoff pairings on Monday, with Sierra League champion Glendora High School the top seed in Division 2, and Del Rey League champ Bishop Amat the top seed in Division 4, which is where the Tartans and Lancers finished in the polls. Defending Division 3 champion South Hills, which lost a game to Walnut down the stretch, was awarded a No. 3 seed, with wild-card games on Tuesday afternoon and first-round games on Thursday for Division’s 3 and 5, and Friday for Division’s 2 and 4. (To continue, click thread)
CIF-Southern Section area Baseball Pairings are here, or you can go straight to the CIF-Southern Section website to view the pairings sheets.
CIF-SOUTHERN SECTION PLAYOFFS
Division 2
Friday’s first-round
Top Half
Wild-Cards on Tuesday
Top Half
No. 1 Glendora vs. Peninsula-Norwalk winner
Foothill vs. Arroyo Grande-Harvard-Westlake winner
Upland vs. Arlington-Redlands winner
Arcadia vs. Valencia-Atascadero winner
La Mirada vs. Rancho Cucamonga-Vista Del Lago winner
Alemany vs. Rialto-Burbank winner
Mira Costa vs. San Marcos-Nipomo winner
No. 4 Cypress vs. Woodbridge-Burroughs winner
Bottom Half
No. 3 Redlands East Valley vs. Bellflower, San Luis Obispo winner
Damien vs. Palos Verdes-Pasadena winner
Canyon Springs vs. Pacifica-Alta Loma winner
El Toro vs. Dos Pueblos-Loyola winner
Paso Robles vs. Chaminade-Diamond Bar winner
Santa Barbara vs. Los Osos-AB Miller winner
Mayfair vs. Crescenta Valley-Northwood winner
No. 2 Crespi vs. Yucaipa-Rancho Verde winner
Division 3
Thursday’s first-round
Wild-card on Tueday
Top Half
No. 1 Beckman vs. Highland-Warren winner
Colton at Charter Oak
Bell Gardens at California
La Quinta at Ocean View
Rancho Alamitos vs. Cajon-Corona del Mar winner
Santa Monica at Quartz Hill
Gahr at Walnut
No. 4 Hemet vs. Diamond Ranch-El Rancho winner
Bottom Half
No. 3 South Hills vs. Beverly Hills-Montebello winner
Santa Fe at Lancaster
University at Downey
Bonita vs. Orange-Elsinore winner
San Gorgonio vs. Nogales-Palmdale winner
Garden Grove at Culver City
No. 2 Alhambra vs. La Serna-Los Altos winner
Division 4
Friday’s first-round
Top Half
Wild-Cards on Tuesday
No. 1 Bishop Amat vs. Patriot-Oak Park wild-card winner
Colony at Estancia
South Pasadena at Savanna
Torrance vs. Victor Valley-Cathedral wild-card winner
Fullerton vs. South Torrance-Calvary Chapel winner
Temple City at Oaks Christian
Jurupa Valley at Indio
No. 4 Nortvhiew vs. Bastow-Century wild-card winner
Bottom Half
No. 3 St. Paul vs. Costa Mesa-La Canada wild-card winner
Kaiser vs. Troy-La Quinta wild-card winner
San Dimas at Garey
El Segunodo vs. Carpinteria-Magnolia wild-car winner
Monrovia vs. Covina-La Salle wild-card winner
St. Bonaventure at Sonora
Anaheim at Granite Hills
No. 2 Palm Desert vs. Don Lugo-Laguna Beach wild-card winner
Division 5
Thursday’s first-round
Wild-Cards on Tuesday
Top Half
No. 1 Woodcrest Christian vs. Aquinas-Desert Mirage winner
Sultana at Calvary Chapel
Serra at Lompoc
Sierra Vista vs. San Jacino-Mountain View winner
St. Monica at Heritage
Gabrielino vs. Paracle-St. Josephs winner
Big Bear at Arrowhead Christian
No. 4 Montclair Prep vs. Gladstone-Serrano winner
Bottom Half
No. 3 Maranatha vs. Calvary Murrieta-Twentynine Palms winner
Citrus Hill at Hesperia
South El Monte at Campbell Hall
Western Christian vs. Azusa-Santa Ynez winner
La Puente at Lompoc Cabrillo
Cathedral vs. Whittier Christian-Rim of the World winner
Linfield Christian at Yucca Valley
No. 2 Tahquitz vs. Ontario Christian-Village Christian winner
Glendora, armed with one of the best pitching staffs in the Southland and in arguably the toughest division in the Southern Section, will open the Division 2 playoffs on Friday against the winner of today’s wild-card between Peninsula and Norwalk.
Damien, which finished a close second to Glendora in the Sierra League, will face the wild-card winner between Palos Verdes and Pasadena.
Diamond Bar, which boasts lefty Kenny Mathews, will be at Chaminade in a wild-card today with the winner getting Pac-7 champion Paso Robles in the first-round.
Bishop Amat will await the winner of today’s wild-card between Patriot and Oak Park, and will open the Division 4 playoffs on Friday at home.
Northview, the 2008 Division 4 champion, earned the fourth seed and will face the Barstow-Century wild-card winner in the first-round.
That would be some semifinal if the Lancers and Vikings met a few games down the road.
“You (newspapers) can sell the tickets now, go get Mt. SAC reserved and talk about it all you want,” Bishop Amat coach Andy Nieto said of a possible Vikings-Lancers matchup in the semifinals. “We’re focused on game one.
“Oak Park is from the Tri-Valley league, a tough league from the Santa Barbara area, and Patriot is from the Sunkist (league), an Inland Empire team.
“We’re not going to be surprised by who we face, it’s going to be tough, and we have to expect it to be tough, but we’re 14-2 outside of league, and that’s against some pretty good competition so we think we have prepared ourselves for this time of year.”
On the bottom half of the Division 4 bracket, San Dimas will play a first-round game at Garey and Covina will host La Salle in a wild-card today in order to earn a trip to Friday’s first-round against Rio Hondo League champion Monrovia.
Defending Division 3 and San Antonio League champion South Hills will open the playoffs on Thursday against today’s wild-card winner between Beverly Hills and Montebello.
“We don’t know much about either of them, but the good thing about playing a wild-card team is you get to see them play, they use some pitching and you get ready,” South Hills coach Kevin Smith said. “We have been to the finals the past two years, so hopefully that experience helps. But I see we could face Bonita again down the line, which would be interesting.”
Bonita, which won the Miramonte League title, will open against the Orange-Elsinore wild-card winner.
In other Division 3 wild-cards today, Diamond Ranch will host El Rancho for the right to face No. 4 Hemet.
Nogales will host Palmdale in hopes of facing San Gorgonio in the first-round while Los Altos visits La Serna, with the winner facing No. 2 seed Alhambra.
In other first-round games, Walnut will host Gahr and Charter Oak will host Colton.
Division 5 first-round games are Thursday, with Montview League champion Sierra Vista opening against today’s wild-card winner between host Mountain View and San Jacinto.
Gladstone will host a wild-card today against Serrano, with the winner facing No. 4 Montclair Prep.
South El Monte is at home in the first-round against Campbell Hall while Azusa travels to face Santa Ynez in a wild-card, with the winner getting Western Christian.
La Puente makes the longest trip of all, traveling to face Lompoc Cabrillo in Thursday’s first-round game.
