High school baseball playoffs: Five things to watch
The decisions have been made, the brackets are set and the high school baseball playoffs are about to begin across the Bay Area.
In the North Coast Section, De La Salle is an overwhelming favorite to capture its fourth consecutive Division I championship after winning its final 24 regular-season games.
In the Central Coast Section, Valley Christian is the favorite to claim its third straight Open Division crown, though it figures to be tested every step of the way, beginning Saturday against eighth-seeded Palo Alto.
Here are five observations in the aftermath of the seeding meetings:
Is De La Salle unstoppable?
The Spartans have faced seven teams in the NCS’s Division I bracket, four multiple times. They have won all 12 of those games — but not all easily. De La Salle rallied to beat Monte Vista and its Cal-bound ace, Josh White, 3-2 on April 26. The Spartans also defeated White and Monte Vista 4-2 on March 19. Dublin tested De La Salle on March 29, losing 1-0. Foothill did the same April 10, falling 7-6. De La Salle opens the playoffs Tuesday at home against James Logan, then Berkeley or Monte Vista would be next in the quarterfinals Friday. Monte Vista could roll the dice and save White for De La Salle, but that would leave the Mustangs vulnerable against the Yellow Jackets. De La Salle routed Monte Vista 12-1 in the East Bay Athletic League semifinals last week when White did not pitch.
Valley Christian’s challenge
Valley Christian’s quest for another CCS Open Division championship won’t be a cake walk. The Warriors could very well be the last team standing, but they also could bow out in the opening round. The bracket that was chosen subjectively Sunday by the section’s baseball coaches’ committee is that evenly matched. Palo Alto has nine losses, but its last three have been by a one run. Valley Christian won the West Catholic Athletic League’s regular-season and postseason tournament championships. Palo Alto celebrated a Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division playoff championship Friday with an 8-2 win over Wilcox after the Vikings beat the league’s regular-season champion, Los Gatos, 1-0 in the semifinals. If Valley Christian ousts Palo Alto, Santa Cruz or Serra would be next in the semifinals. Serra split two games against Valley Christian this season, winning 1-0 on April 4 and losing 10-0 on March 15. Santa Cruz stretched Valley to 12 innings on April 25 before losing 1-0.
No Open for Wilcox, Los Altos
Los Altos seemed like a shoo-in to make the CCS Open when its record reached 21-1. But a four-game losing streak to close the regular season, including two losses to Palo Alto, dropped the Eagles (21-5) back to Division I. Wilcox, which beat Los Altos 7-2 in the league playoffs last week, most likely would have received an Open bid had it defeated Palo Alto in the De Anza final. But the Chargers instead landed in D-I as the coaches’ committee opted to place four WCAL teams in the Open rather than a third team from the De Anza. All is not lost, though. Los Altos, which was seeded second Sunday, won the Division I title last season and reached the Division I final two seasons ago. Wilcox, the third seed in this year’s bracket, won the Division I crown in 2014.
Washington’s 88-year drought
Washington, the alma mater of Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley, might be the most under-the-radar team in the Bay Area. The Fremont school won the Mission Valley Athletic League’s regular-season championship by three games, losing only once in 14 contests. It also has wins over several East Bay Athletic League teams, including Monte Vista 6-1 on April 23 and Granada 10-1 on March 8. The Huskies swept MVAL rival James Logan and narrowly lost to San Ramon Valley 7-6 in eight innings March 16 and Wilcox 4-3 on April 27. They finished the regular season 20-4, the most wins by the school in the MaxPreps era (2004 to present). Washington had a strong case for the NCS’s No. 1 seed in Division II but instead received the second seed, behind Redwood (17-9), which, by the way, lost to Monte Vista 4-2 on April 13 and was 0-2 against EBAL opponents. Washington opens the playoffs at home Wednesday against Newark Memorial, which lost twice to the Huskies last week, 2-0 and 5-4 in eight innings. If Washington wins the NCS title, it would be the program’s first since 1931, the last year the section held a baseball playoff until resuming it in 1975.
How good is Leigh?
As expected, the Blossom Valley Athletic League’s Mount Hamilton Division did not receive a CCS Open Division bid, but its champion, Leigh, was seeded No. 1 in the 16-team Division I bracket. The seed was somewhat surprising, given that the Longhorns have losses to Los Altos and Wilcox on their resume. But the CCS uses a point system for baseball seeding, applied only to a team’s final 22 games, not including league playoffs. Leigh opened its season against Los Altos, then lost to Wilcox on its way to a 1-4 start. The Longhorns are 16-6 since then, including a 12-2 league record. Maybe Leigh will go on to win the crown. The Longhorns do have wins over Palo Alto and Santa Cruz. But in their last four non-league games, they are 0-4, losing to Bellarmine 5-0, San Benito 20-3, Homestead 9-8 and Los Gatos 12-1. Leigh plays host to Evergreen Valley in the first round Wednesday. If it wins, it would face Branham or Salinas in the quarterfinals Saturday.
CCS brackets
NCS brackets
HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS? WE’VE GOT YOU COVERED
For just 12 cents a day for a year, you can have access to all the digital content at mercurynews.com and eastbaytimes.com. You just need to sign up at one of these two links: Mercury News or East Bay Times.