OCVarsity takes a close look at the top teams in the CIF-SS Division 3 playoff bracket.
DIVISION 3
2015 champion: La Serna
Top four seeded teams: 1. Grand Terrace (23-1); 2. Bishop Amat (20-4); 3. Gahr (21-5-2); 4. Burroughs/Burbank (21-4)
O.C. teams: San Clemente (14-10-1); Irvine (14-13); Laguna Hills (18-6); Woodbridge (15-12); Tesoro (9-14)
Analysis: Extremely tough bracket for O.C. teams to have to navigate through. Just looking at the top-seeded team in the division, Grand Terrace is an overwhelming favorite as it enters the postseason on a 21-game winning streak, a higher ranking in MaxPreps’ XCellent 25 national poll (No. 3) than both Orange Lutheran (16) and Los Alamitos (7), in addition to the fact that it has only only surrendered 19 runs in 24 games.
If San Clemente can get past Wets Valley in the first round, the Tritons in all likelihood get a crack at Grand Terrace.
Tesoro’s road isn’t much easier as it opens up at No. 4 Burroughs, while Irvine gets 2014 D3 champ, St. Paul, in Thursday’s first round.
The Laguna Hills-Woodbridge matchup ensures an O.C. squad will make the second round, but with the likes of Carew Classic semifinalist California and second-seeded Bishop Amat looming in that quarter of the bracket, county schools have an uphill battle all the way around.
