CIF baseball championship previews: Thursday's games

THURSDAY'S CIF-SOUTHERN SECTION BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS

DIVISION 2

MISSION VIEJO (22-13) VS. ETIWANDA (18-11)

Site, time: Dodger Stadium, 7:30 p.m.

Tickets: $5 for students with student identification and for children 13 and younger, $10 for adults.

Parking: Free

How they got there: Mission Viejo, the No. 2 team from the Sea View League, def. Vista del Lago of Moreno Valley, 6-4, in the first round; Dos Pueblos of Goleta, 5-1, in the second round; Damien of La Verne, 12-2, in the quarterfinals; and Santa Barbara, 11-7, in the semifinals. Etiwanda, the No. 3 team from the Baseline League, def. Tustin, 11-6, in the wild-card round; Trabuco Hills, 6-4, in 10 innings in the first round; Chino Hills, 4-2, in the second round; Redlands, 3-2, in 10 innings in the quarterfinals, and Arcadia, 3-2, in the semifinals.

Outlook: Mission Viejo was the No. 1 team in the Orange County preseason rankings, but lost its first two games of the season, to Capistrano Valley and Mater Dei. The Diablos improved as the year progressed, and concluded the regular season with back-to-back victories over Sea View League champion Trabuco Hills in the final week of league play. Etiwanda will be the fourth team that Mission Viejo has played in these playoffs that emerged through the wild-card round; only fourth-seeded Santa Barbara did not have to win a wild-card game to get into the first round. The Diablos' Austin Saenz, who signed with Cal State Fullerton, is batting .495 with 25 RBIs. Cal State Northridge signee Ryan Raslowsky is batting .374 with 23 RBIs for Mission, and Boog Powell is batting .484. Etiwanda has played some close playoff games, with one-run victories in the quarterfinals and semifinals, and two-run triumphs in the first and second rounds. The Eagles have won seven in a row. Justin Broussard has a team-high 20 RBIs, and Jake Gallaway is the Etiwanda hits leader with 42.

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUPS

MISSION VIEJO

Austin Saenz, Sr., RF

Boog Powell, Sr., CF

Ryan Raslowsky, Sr., 2B

Ryan Muno, Sr., 1B

Parker Anderson, Sr., LF

Jake Kuluris, Sr., DH/ Willie Kuhl, Sr., P

Danny Poe, Sr., 3B

Derek Meddings, Jr., SS

Sean Miller, Sr., C

ETIWANDA

Jake Galloway, Sr., SS

Justin Broussard, Sr., 2B

Ryan Hunter, Sr., LF

Michael Bradley, Jr., 1B

Chris Oropesa, Sr., DH/Justin Davis, Sr., P

Michael Gonzalez, Jr., RF

Daniel Mejia, Sr., C

Eddy Santana, Jr., CF

Israel Elizarras, Jr., 3B

DIVISION 3

WOODBRIDGE (19-11) VS. BECKMAN (25-5)

Site, time: Dodger Stadium, 4:30 p.m.

Tickets: $5 for students with student identification and for children 13 and younger, $10 for adults.

Parking: Free

How they got there: Woodbridge, the No. 2 team from the Pacific Coast League, def. Whittier, 6-2, in the first round; Quartz Hill, 3-1, in the second round; Rialto, 9-0, in the quarterfinals; and Culver City, 3-2, in the semifinals. Fourth-seeded Beckman, the No. 1 team from the Pacific Coast League, def. Downey, 2-0, in the first round; Montebello, 4-1, in the second round; Paloma Valley of Menifee, 1-0, in the quarterfinals; and Bonita of La Verne, 8-2, in the semifinals.

Outlook: It's an all-Pacific Coast League championship game. Woodbridge is in a CIF-SS baseball final for the first time. Beckman lost to South Hills of Covina in the Division 3 championship game in 2009. Beckman went 13-2 in league to finish in first place, four games ahead of second-place Woodbridge. Beckman beat Woodbridge in their three Pacific Coast League games, 5-0, 1-0 and 5-3. They also met in the OCNissan Select Invitational tournament, in April, as Woodbridge beat Beckman, 9-3. Woodbridge is on an eight-game winning streak. The Warriors' Brandon Horth is batting .436 with 24 RBIs, and on the mound is 7-3 with a 0.93 ERA. Brennan Leitao, who signed with Sacramento State, is hitting .396 with 23 RBIs for Woodbridge, and University of San Diego signee Ben Wylly is batting .404 with 23 RBIs, and since returning to pitching upon recovering from a sore shoulder is 4-0. Beckman has won four in a row, including a three-hit shutout of Rialto. Beckman's James Kaprielian has pitched shutouts in his two playoff starts. He is 10-1 with 72 strikeouts and four saves. Zack Rivera is batting .378 with four home runs and 30 RBIs and Justin Hazard is batting .405 with 15 doubles and 22 RBIs for Beckman.

Projected starting lineups

WOODBRIDGE

Brandon Horth, Sr., CF

Trevor Walker, Sr., 2B

Ben Wylly, Sr., P

Brennan Leitao, Sr., SS

Brandon Smith RF

Matt Budgell, Sr., 3B

Matt Schneble, Sr.,1B

Sam Lemmon, Jr., C

Forrest Djavaherian, Sr., LF

BECKMAN

Garret Brown, Jr., SS

Ricky Navarro, Sr., 2B

Justin Hazard, Sr., C

Zack Rivera, Jr., 3B

Spencer Ludin, Jr., LF

Will Barring, Sr., RF

Tyler Cook, Jr., 1B

Robert Solby, Sr., DH/James Kaprielian, Jr., P

Connor Deneen, Jr., CF