The CIF-SS softball playoffs got underway with wild-card games on Tuesday, but things start to get even more interesting with first-round games on Thursday.
Here are five things to watch for in Thursday’s CIF-SS playoffs:
1. Bats vs. pitching: Los Alamitos (19-13), which needed to win a third-place playoff against Huntington Beach to get the Sunset League’s final automatic playoff bid, travels to Riverside to play at Big VIII League-champion M.L. King (23-6) on Thursday at 3:15 p.m. The Wolves have the potential to make a deep playoff run, but they landed one of the most dangerous teams in Division 1, the Griffins. MLK is led by Alabama-committed pitcher Alexis Osorio, who is the kind of Blue Chip pitcher that can carry a team. The Griffins young pitching staff has taken its lumps, but Los Al’s bats can’t be denied. The Griffins have a scary lineup, led by Tennessee-bound Megan Geer (.446, 12 HR, 30 RBI), Rachel Sellers (.389, 35 RBI), Mattie Scheele (.443, 24 RBI) and Erika Crissman (.412, 39 runs), which has proven capable of outslugging its opponents. Los Al has victories over Vista Murrieta, Mater Dei, Poway and Marina, so the Griffins have proven they can knock off top teams. Whether Los Al can be consistent enough to string together victories to make a deep run remains to be seen. But they are fully capable of taking down anybody on any given day.
Updated: All CIF-SS softball playoff brackets
2. Inland Empire battle to keep an eye on: Vista Murrieta (17-10) finished third in the Southwestern League behind Great Oak of Temecula and Murrieta Valley, which turned the Broncos into a land mine for one lucky league champion, which turned out to be Inland Valley League-champion Riverside Poly (21-9). UCLA-committed pitcher Selina Ta’amilo (12-6, 0.58 ERA) and Oklahoma-committed Sydney Romero (.500, 6 HR, 23 RBI) were part of Vista Murrieta’s team that made it to the Division 1 semifinals last season. The Broncos have the potential to do the same thing this season. But Riverside Polt has that same potential, which makes this first-round matchup so interesting. The Bears ar eled by UNLV-bound pitcher Janine Petmecky, New Mexico-bound catcher Chelsea Johnson and UNLV-bound infielder Amanda Herrera.
3. Top county vs. county matchup: Pacifica (24-5) brings a 16-game winning streak into the postseason and is the hottest team in Division 1. The Mariners have all the tools to make a run at a championship. North Carolina-committed pitcher Kaylee Carlson has been getting stronger in the circle as the season has progressed and Ohio State-bound first baseman Rebecca Lee (.506, 33 RBI), Florida-committed third baseman Nicole DeWitt (.446, 26 runs, 13 SB) ave been the catalysts behind the offense. The fourth-seeded Mariners play host to El Modena (17-11) in a Division 1 first-round game on Thursday. The upset-minded Vanguards have some bad losses on their record, but they also have victories over Saugus, Norco, Marina, Foothill and Canyon. El Mo coach Steve Harrington is one of the best prepared coaches in the county and he coached with Pacifica coach Mark Campbell briefly in travel ball.
4. Sunset vs. Big VIII: Third-seeded Marina (24-3) and Roosevelt (17-11) of Eastvale respresent two of the best leagues in So Cal. The Vikings won the Sunset League championship behind the strong pitching of Michigan-committed Tera Blanco, who is also the team’s top hitter. The Mustangs, who finished tied with Corona for fourth place in the Big VIII, own victories over M.L. King and Santiago of Corona, so they are another one of those teams that is much better than its record would suggest.
5. Can Fighting Irish pull off upset? Santiago of Corona coach John Perez has become a polarizing figure on the So Cal softball scene because of his fiery and sometimes controversial style, which means Kennedy (17-9) will have plenty of supporters when it heads to Corona to take on the Sharks (25-5) in the first round on Thursday. Santiago is battle-tested after making back-to-back appearances in the Division 1 title game the past two seasons. San Diego State-bound pitcher Erica Romero gives the Sharks a big-game pitcher. Kennedy needed a walk-off homer by Courtney Thomas to knock off Huntington Beach, 5-4, in a wild card game on Tuesday. Tennessee Martin-bound pitcher Tayler Jerrick has been Kennedy’s leader. Kennedy has played a strong schedule and has been involved in some wild games this season, which gives the Fighting Irish a shot against anybody.
