Fryer's predictions for the baseball playoffs
Winning a CIF-Southern Section championship in baseball might be the most challenging team-sport championship to win.
Think about it. One bad hop, one double-play not completed, or one ball-strike call that does not go your way can be difficult to overcome in a seven-inning game of well-matched opponents.
With baseball being a single-elimination playoff format, that one small negative situation could lead to one huge negative outcome.
But teams have to play, and sportswriters have to predict. So, here we go again, for the 21st season in a row, forecasting the outcome of the CIF-SS baseball playoffs:
Division 1
2010 champion: Mater Dei
Top four seeds: 1. Edison, 2. Mater Dei, 3. Vista Murrieta, 4. JSerra.
O.C. angle: Three of the top-four seeded teams are county teams, so the odds look good for a county team to win it all. A couple of teams to keep an eye on – El Toro and Tesoro. El Toro might have the best 1-2 pitching punch in the division, with Tyler Brashears and Garrett Mundell, and Tesoro comes into the playoffs as hot as anybody.
Final four: Edison, JSerra, El Toro, Mater Dei.
Champion: JSerra.
Division 2
2010 champion: Glendora.
Top four seeds: 1. Cypress, 2. Arcadia, 3. Redlands, 4. Santa Barbara.
O.C. angle: Cypress has the pitching, defense and hitting to take it all. Trabuco Hills looked so good all season, then lost two in a row to Mission Viejo last week. Mission Viejo, included in some preseason national rankings, struggled at times but might be at its best right now, but it could face Cypress in the second round.
Final four: Cypress, West Torrance, Canyon Springs of Moreno Valley, Arcadia.
Champion: Arcadia.
Division 3
2010 champion: Ocean View.
Top four seeds: 1. Bonita of La Verne, 2. Quartz Hill, 3. Alhambra, 4. Beckman.
O.C. angle: Beckman is the best county team here, of course. But watch out for Woodbridge and Northwood, two other Pacific Coast League teams in this division. Woodbridge has the pitching and hitting to make a deep foray into the playoffs.
Final four: Bonita, Beckman, Alhambra, Woodbridge.
Champion: Beckman.
Division 4
2010 champion: Palm Desert.
Top four seeds: 1. Palm Desert, 2. Bishop Amat of La Puente, 3. Torrance, 4. Laguna Beach.
O.C. angle: Laguna Beach might not be as good as, say the Nos. 3 or 4 teams from the county's Division 1 leagues. But that still is a darned good team and the Breakers did beat Villa Park this year. Sonora, though, is the best county team in this division.
Final four: Palm Desert, El Segundo, Torrance, Bishop Amat.
Champion: Bishop Amat.
Division 5
2010 champion: Woodcrest Christian.
Top four seeds: 1. Woodcrest Christian, 2. Cathedral of Los Angeles, 3. Whittier Christian, 4. Campbell Hall of North Hollywood.
O.C. angle: Whittier Christian is the only county team here. The Heralds have been consistently good, with a 22-5 record, and they won the championship of a good small-schools league, the Olympic League. They also beat a couple of county teams, Estancia and Garden Grove, that made the playoffs in higher divisions.
Final four: Woodcrest Christian of Riverside, Citrus Valley of Redlands, Whittier Christian, Cathedral of Los Angeles.
Champion: Cathedral.
Division 6
2010 champion: Oxford Academy.
Top four seeds: 1. Oxford Academy, 2. Pasadena Poly, 3. Desert Christian of Lancaster, 4. Bishop Union.
O.C. angle: The county team that intrigues here is Crean Lutheran. It's a newer school and a newer baseball program, but Crean has risen quickly in the Academy League, one of Southern California's better small-school leagues in a variety of sports. Oxford has 2010 Division 6 player of the year Daniel Lucak back, and one guy like that can make a huge difference in the lower divisions.
Final four: Oxford Academy, Hamilton of Anza, Pasadena Poly, Desert Christian of Lancaster.
Champion: Oxford Academy.
Division 7
2010 champion: Cornerstone of Camarillo.
Top four seeds: 1. New Roads of Santa Moncia, 2. Rolling Hills Prep of San Pedro, 3. Firebaugh of Lynwood, 4. Riverside Christian.
O.C. angle: St. Michael's Prep and Tarbut V'Torah are the only county teams in this division. Look for St. Michael's Prep to get to the quarterfinals, but Tarbut is in the same quadrant of the bracket as Firebaugh.
Final four: New Roads, Riverside Christian, Firebaugh, Rolling Hills Prep.
Champion: Riverside Christian.
