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La Habra (Division 2), Woodbridge (Division 4) and Northwood (Division 5) earned No. 1 seeds in the CIF baseball playoffs, CIF officials announced Monday.
Other high seeds include Sunset League champion Huntington Beach (No. 3 in Division 1), Ocean View (No. 4 in Division 5), Garden Grove (No. 4 in Division 7) and La Quinta (No. 4 in Division 8).
Servite, Foothill and Mater Dei received at-large berths in Division 2. San Juan Hills qualified as an at-large tgeam from Division 3. Laguna Hills received an at-large berth in Division 5.
Corona del Mar coach Kevin McCaffrey was hoping his team would receive an at-large berth based on its strong finish and tough schedule in the Sunset League. However, the Sea Kings (14-14) did not receive a berth.
“Really tough to see we didn’t make it,” McCaffrey told OC Sports Zone Monday. “Looks we were the first team out. We felt like we were playing really good ball and felt like we could compete with anyone in the division.”
CIF officials said that 280 teams qualified for the nine divisional single-elimination tournaments. The competition is on Thursday, May 15 (Divisions 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9) and Friday, May 16 (Divisions 2, 4, 6, and 8) with first-round games.
The championship finals are scheduled for Friday and Saturday, May 30-31 at Goodwin Field at Cal State Fullerton (Friday and Saturday) and Blair Field (Saturday). Blair Field is the home of the Long Beach State Dirtbags.
This is the first year of using current regular season data in determining playoff groupings, CIF officials added.
Some highlights:
DIVISION 1
All games Thursday
—Villa Park hosts Del Rey League champion Bishop Amat (22-6) Thursday. Villa Park (22-6) finished second in the Crestview League. The Spartans are led by outfielder Aidan Young.
—Pacific Coast League champion Laguna Beach (24-3) is on the road to face Sunkist League champion Summit (25-3). The Breakers are led by Loyola Marymount commit, Branson Wade.
—Santa Margarita (16-12) plays at Newport Harbor against the Sailors, the No. 2 team from the Sunset League. Santa Margarita is the No. 3 team from the Trinity League.
—Crestview League champion Cypress (18-10) is at Baseline League champion Los Osos (19-8).
—Huntington Beach has a first round bye.
DIVISION 2
All games Friday
—Freeway League champion La Habra (19-9) hosts Crean Lutheran, the No. 3 team from the league, Friday. Coach Jake Haney’s Saints are 18-10.
—South Coast League co-champion Trabuco Hills (20-7) hosts Bonita (16-11) Friday.
—Mater Dei, which finished sixth in the Trinity League, hosts Hacienda League champion South Hills (21-7) Friday.
—Sea View League champion San Clemente (18-10) hosts Westalke (20-8).
—Foothill, the No. 2 team from the Crestview League, hosts Long Beach Millikan (21-7).
—Fountain Valley, the No. 4 team from the Sunset League, hosts El Segundo.
DIVISION 3
All games Thursday
—Empire League champion Fullerton (18-9-1) hosts Moore League champion Long Beach Wilson (19-9).
—Beckman, the defending CIF Division 3 champion, plays at Temescal Canyon, which tied for first place in the Mountain Pass League. Coach Kevin Lavalle’s Patriots are 15-13 overall.
—Golden West League champion Costa Mesa (22-6) hosts Kaiser (17-9).
—San Juan Hills, which finished fifth in the Sea View League, hosts El Toro (14-14). El Toro finished in a tie for second in the league.
DIVISION 4
All games Friday
—Top-seeded Woodbridge, which finished third in the Pacific Coast League, hosts Valley Christian at Ryan Lemmon Stadium. Vincent DeMarco and Nolan Stottlemyer lead Coach Ryan Brucker’s Warriors.
—Irvine (15-12) hosts Camino Real League champion St. Bernard. Irvine finished second in the Pacific Coast League. Irvine has some outstanding pitching, led by Drake Brito, who pitched two consecutive no-hitters and Adam Valencia.
If Woodbridge and Irvine win their playoff openers, they would meet in the second round on Tuesday.
—Katella, the No. 2 team from the Golden West League, hosts Dos Pueblos (18-10).
DIVISION 5
All games Thursday
—Top seeded Northwood, which finished fourth in the Pacific Coast League, hosts Grove League champion Loara (19-2) Thursday. Northwood’s ace left-hander Paul Grossman is expected to get the start on the mound for Coach Ben Owens’ Timberwolves (12-15-1). Northwood qualified with a strong second half.
—Coast League champion Century (21-7) hosts Golden League champion Highland (17-9-1).
—Kennedy, the No. 3 team from the Golden West League, hosts North Hills League No. 3 team Troy (18-9).
—Ocean View, the No. 2 team from the Empire League, hosts Hillcrest (16-8-1).
DIVISION 6
All games Friday
—Estancia, the No. 2 team from the Coast League, plays at Alhambra, the league champion from the Almont League.
—Tustin, No. 3 team from the Empire League, hosts Littlerock (17-9-1). Coach Wes Shaw’s Tillers are 12-15-1 overall.
DIVISION 7
All games Thursday
—-Orange Coast League champion Garden Grove (19-9) hosts Carter (8-12).
DIVISION 8
All games Friday
—Orange League champion Bolsa Grande (15-6) hosts University Prep (11-9).
—Santa Ana, the No. 2 team from the Orange Coast League, plays at New Roads (14-11).
—La Quinta, the No. 2 team from the Grove League, hosts Rosemead (8-13).
DIVISION 9
All games Thursday
—Saddleback, the No. 2 team from the Orange League, hosts Ambassador Christian (7-4).
—Santiago, the No. 3 team from the Orange League, hosts Public Safety Academy (13-6).
—Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com