The high school baseball season can be divided into three parts: the tournament season; the league season and the playoffs.
It’s time for Round 3.
The regular season ended Friday, and the CIF-SS playoff brackets will be released Monday for all seven divisions.
The playoffs begin with wild-card rounds Tuesday in Divisions 2, 4 and 6 and on Wednesday in Divisions 1, 3, 5 and 7. First-round games are Thursday in Divisions 2, 4 and 6 and on Friday in Divisions 1, 3, 5 and 7.
The rest of the schedule: second round, May 27; quarterfinals, May 30; semifinals, June 3; championship games June 6 and 7.
The Division 1 semifinals will be played as a doubleheader at Blair Field in Long Beach. Championship games in Divisions 1, 2 and 3 are June 6 at Dodger Stadium. Championship games in Divisions 4, 5, 6 and 7 are June 7 at UC Riverside.
Teams receive guaranteed playoff berths if they are among the top two finishers in four-team leagues, among the top three in five- and six-team leagues, and among the top four in seven- and eight-team leagues.
Teams that do not qualify for guaranteed berths can apply for at-large berth consideration if they have an overall record of .500 or better.
Last year, every .500-or-better team that finished one place below its league’s last guaranteed berth and applied for an at-large berth was granted an at-large berth. Some teams that were .500 or better but were two places below its league’s last guaranteed berth, and some .500-or-better freelance teams, did not receive at-large berths.
This season, Newport Harbor finished fourth in the six-team Sunset League, a league that has two teams in CIF-SS Division 1 top 10 and three in the Orange County top 10. The Sailors are 13-13 and applied for an at-large berth in Division 1.
The other Sunset League team coaches think Newport Harbor is worthy of a playoff berth. Sailors coach Evan Chalmers hopes the CIF-SS baseball at-large selection committee agrees.
“We’ve lost like five games by one run,” Chalmers said. “We lost to (Sunset champion) Fountain Valley by two runs and by one run. We’ve been in nail-biters the whole time.”
Mater Dei is among the county teams vying for at-large berths. Mater Dei, which finished fourth in the six-team Trinity League, is 13-13. The Monarchs have not missed the playoffs since 1991, before any of the players on this year’s team were born.
Once wild-card round teams are chosen, the CIF-SS baseball committee and CIF-SS assistant commissioner Glenn Martinez, in charge of the section’s management of baseball playoffs, seed teams and piece together the brackets.
That’s when final standings come into play. A league’s No. 1 team will get a first-round home game against another league’s No. 3 or 4 team, perhaps a team that won in the wild-card round. A No. 2 likely will play another No. 2, on the road or at home. A No. 3 or No. 4 team will be an away team in the first round and could be in the wild-card round against another No. 3 or 4 or against an at-large team.
CIF-SS rankings also influence seedings.
When it’s two No. 2 teams playing each other, the home team will be the one judged to come from the stronger league. Mission Viejo, No. 2 in the South Coast League of Division 1, is interested in how the 10 leagues in Division 1 will be ranked.
“I think we should be in the top four or five,” Mission Viejo coach Chris Ashbach said. “The Mission League is very strong, the Sunset League is very strong and the Trinity League is awesome. But you look at the South Coast League qualifiers and we’re all very strong with great overall records.”
One county team is a defending CIF-SS champion, Cypress. Marina, in Division 1, and Capistrano Valley Christian, in Division 6, got to CIF-SS finals last year and lost.
We’re about to find out who makes the long journey through the playoffs this year.
Contact the writer: sfryer@ocregister.com
