Late rallies lead area baseball teams to playoff victories

The baseball teams from La Mirada, Cal and Cantwell-Sacred Heart advanced to Friday’s CIF-SS quarterfinal round with victories Tuesday.
La Mirada rallied in the seventh inning for a 4-2 victory over Glendora in Division 2, improving its record to 22-10. The Matadores will host Chino Hills on Friday.
Cal also needed a late rally to defeat Don Lugo 7-6 in eight innings in Division 4. The Condors trailed 5-2 going to the seventh, but came back to improve their record to 22-5. They’ll play Northview, which knocked off top-seeded Kaiser, in the quarterfinals Friday, with the site to be determined by a coin flip Wednesday morning.
In Division 5, Cantwell needed 10 innings to beat Paraclete at home 5-4. The Cardinals (20-11) will play Oak Hills in Friday’s quarterfinals, with a coin flip to determine the host. The Division 5 game between Whittier Christian and Lompoc Cabrillo originally scheduled for Tuesday will instead be played Wednesday at Whittier Christian. The winner will face Big Bear on Friday.

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La Serna, St. Paul to meet one more time

Because three meetings this season weren’t enough …
The softball teams from La Serna and St. Paul will meet this weekend in the championship game of the CIF-SS Division 3 playoffs. La Serna (28-3) advanced with a 4-1 victory over defending champion Righetti, while St. Paul (27-4-1) routed Palos Verdes 10-0.
They’ll meet either Friday or Saturday at Deanna Manning Stadium in Irvine – CIF hasn’t released the weekend schedule yet – and renew a budding rivalry. The Swordsmen took the first game 2-1 at the Brea Olinda Tournament, but the Lancers have claimed the last two, 8-0 in the semifinals of the Charter Oak Tournament and 2-0 in a nonleague game at York Field.
The title game will be La Serna’s first since 2008, and St. Paul’s last final was in 1997.
In Division 6, Cantwell-Sacred Heart also reached the final with its 5-3 triumph Tuesday over Bell-Jeff. The Cardinals, who won back-to-back titles in 2005 and 2006, will face St. Bonaventure in the title game.

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Busy Swordsmen to get even busier today

It’s been a busy week at St. Paul High.
Last Friday was prom, followed Saturday by a CIF-SS Division 3 quarterfinal playoff softball game against Grand Terrace and Grad Night later that evening. On Tuesday, final exams began.
This afternoon, the Swordsmen continue their crazy schedule with a semifinal visit to Palos Verdes at 3:15 p.m.
“It’s been pretty hectic,” admitted St. Paul coach Jim Maier. “There’s so much going on right now.”
Maier’s senior class – led by Lovie Lopez, Koreen Orozco, Dani Munoz, Krystal Gutierrez and Bryanna Campos – has been terrific at keeping the younger players focused and ready to play.
“They’re doing a great job,” Maier said. “They’ve waited four years for this opportunity, they’re ready for it.”
St. Paul is 26-4-1 this season and riding a 13-game winning streak. Palos Verdes is 23-6 and has already knocked off top-seeded Burbank.
“It seems like they have some good pitching numbers,” said Maier, referring to sophomore Steffi Best, who has struck out 141 batters in 171 2/3 innings with a 1.82 ERA. “It’s pretty similar to what we’ve been able to do. It seems like they’re hot and ready to go. It will be a great challenge for us.”

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La Mirada, Cal baseball on the road for second round

THIS WEEK’S CIF SCHEDULE
Tuesday
Baseball
All games 3:15 p.m.
Division 2
Second round

La Mirada at Glendora
Division 4
Second round

Cal at Don Lugo
Division 5
Second round

Lompoc Cabrillo at Whittier Christian
Paraclete at Cantwell-Sacred Heart

Softball
All games 3:15 p.m.
Division 3
Semifinals

St. Paul at Palos Verdes
Righetti at La Serna
Division 6
Cantwell-Sacred Heart at Bell-Jeff

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Cantwell, Whittier Christian to host second-round baseball games

After CIF-SS Division 5 first-round victories Friday, the baseball teams from Cantwell-Sacred Heart and Whittier Christian each won coin flips Saturday and will host second-round games next week.
Cantwell will host Paraclete at 3:15 p.m. Tuesday following Friday’s 12-4 victory over Jurupa Hills, its first postseason triumph since 2007. Paraclete edged Maranatha 2-1 in its first-round game. Whittier Christian will host Lompoc Cabrillo on Tuesday. The Heralds went on the road Friday and edged Mary Star 4-3 on Friday while Cabrillo beat Woodcrest Christian 3-2, also on the road.

Tuesday’s CIF schedule
Baseball
All games 3:15 p.m.
Division 2

La Mirada at Glendora
Division 4
Cal at Don Lugo
Division 5
Lompoc Cabrillo at Whittier Christian
Paraclete at Cantwell-Sacred Heart

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