CIF baseball semifinal capsules

TUESDAY'S CIF-SS BASEBALL SEMIFINALS

DIVISION I

CAPISTRANO VALLEY (24-6) VS. RIVERSIDE POLY (20-10)

Where, when: Blair Field/Long Beach, 4 p.m.

Admission: $8 adults, $5 for students with student identification and for children 13 and younger

Outlook: Capistrano Valley swept a doubleheader against Riverside Poly, by scores of 5-2 and 4-2, at Saddleback College in March. Third-seeded Capistrano Valley, champion of the South Coast League, beat Long Beach Wilson, 8-4, in the first round, Orange Lutheran, 4-0 in the second round, and Marina, 11-0, in the quarterfinals.

Senior left-hander Tyler Matzek will be the Cougars' starting pitcher. He is 10-1 with a 1.07 ERA and 97 strikeouts in 781/3innings, and is batting .398 with 30 RBIs.

Riverside Poly, the No. 2 team from the Big VIII League, beat Chaparral of Temecula, 13-3, in the first round, second-seeded JSerra, 5-3, in the second round and Moore League champion Long Beach Millikan, 5-2, in the quarterfinals.

The Bears' Jake Marisnick, an Oregon signee, is batting .412 with six home runs and 30 RBIs.

"Riverside Poly is a better team now than the one we played in March," Capistrano Valley coach Bob Zamora said. "They're playing better, and they're hitting better. We can't fall into the trap of getting complacent."

Capistrano Valley's most recent trip to the finals was in 2001, when the Cougars went on to win a second consecutive championship.

MATER DEI (24-5) VS. EDISON (23-5)

Where, when: Blair Field/Long Beach, 7 p.m.

Admission: $8 adults, $5 for students with student identification and for children 13 and younger

Outlook: Mater Dei knocked off top-seeded Norco, 7-4, last week. Before that, the Monarchs, the No. 2 team from the Trinity League, beat Saugus, 6-2, in the first round and Tesoro, 7-4, in the second round.

Ian McCarthy (3-1) gets the start for Mater Dei. Outfielder Cory Hahn hit two home runs, including a grand slam, against Norco.

Edison, champion of the Sunset League, beat Lakewood, 11-1, in the first round, West Ranch of Valencia, 13-1, in the second round and Dana Hills, 3-2, in the quarterfinals.

Henry Owens, a sophomore left-hander who is 8-1 with a 1.08 ERA, is the Chargers' starting pitcher.

Edison junior designated hitter Josh Lesinski has a team-high 28 RBIs. Mater Dei coach Burt Call said Edison is an all-round skilled team.

"They're very disciplined and well coached," Call said. "We're going to have to play our best game, pitch well and play good defense, and get that timely hitting we've been getting lately."

Mater Dei's most recent CIF baseball championship was in 2005. Edison's most recent CIF title was in 2001.

DIVISION II

CHINO HILLS (19-10) VS. HUNTINGTON BEACH (19-12)

Where, when: Chino Hills High. 3:15 p.m.

Outlook: Chino Hills got to the playoffs as an at-large team. The Huskies beat Burroughs of Burbank, 5-2, in the wild-card round, La Mirada, 4-3, in the first round, third-seeded Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks, 3-1, in the second round and Foothill, 3-2, in the quarterfinals.

Huntington Beach is in the baseball semifinals for the first time since 1961. The Oilers, the No. 3 team from the Sea View League, also had to get through the wild-card round, in which they beat John Glenn of Norwalk, 14-8 before beating Chino, 5-3, in the first round, Arlington of Riverside, 3-1, in the second round and Yucaipa, 10-2, in the quarterfinals.

Barry Luke (8-3) will be Huntington Beach's starting pitcher. Chino Hills' pitching staff is composed of left-handers.

"We've beaten three lefties in the playoffs," Huntington Beach coach Benji Medure said, "and we played (El Toro left-hander) Aaron Wirsch twice, so all that should help."

DIVISION III

BECKMAN (25-4) VS. LANCASTER (21-7)

Where, when: Beckman High, 3:15 p.m.

Outlook: Beckman went into the playoffs as the division's top-seeded team and has played like it. The Patriots, champions of the Pacific Coast League, beat Hawthorne, 6-1, in the first round, La Serna of Whittier, 2-0, in the second round and Charter Oak of Covina, 5-3, in the quarterfinals.

Edgar Zamora (9-1) is their starting pitcher in the first baseball semifinals in the school's young history. Beckman has a strong lineup led by Kyle Boudreau, Brandon Trinkwon and Zamora.

Patriots coach Kevin Lavalle said Lancaster is similar.

"They're solid in that batting order, one through nine," he said. "They're very good, but at this point everybody still in the playoffs is very good."

Fourth-seeded Lancaster, champion of the Golden League, has won 14 in a row including playoff victories over the Pacific Coast League's Laguna Hills, 13-12, in the first round, Bell Gardens, 12-2, in the second round and Downey, 3-0 in the quarterfinals.

SOUTH HILLS OF WEST COVINA (22-1) VS. CORONA DEL MAR (18-10)

Where, when:Corona del Mar High, 3:15 p.m.

Outlook: South Hills has been one of Southern Section baseball's more-consistent winners, with several CIF championships going back to the first one in 1966.

The Huskies, the No. 2 team from the San Antonio League, beat Quartz Hill, 4-3, in the first round, Hemet, 7-5, in the second round and second-seeded Bonita of La Verne, 4-3, in eight innings in the quarterfinals.

Corona del Mar, the No. 2 team from the Pacific Coast League, beat California of Whittier, 5-2, in the first round, Paramount, 7-3, in the second round, and Los Altos of Hacienda Heights, 6-3, in the quarterfinals.

The Sea Kings won CIF baseball championships in 1981, 1999 and 2004. Corona del Mar lost to South Hills, 17-3, on the final day of the Beach Pit Classic in April.

CdM coach John Emme does not place much stock on that outcome.

"We threw a couple of JV guys on the mound," Emme said, "and they went with their ace."

Steven Manning (5-3) gets the start for Corona del Mar today. The Sea Kings' Danny Moskovits leads the county in RBIs, with 39.

DIVISION VI

SANTA PAULA (20-5) VS. OXFORD ACADEMY (20-5)

Where, when: Santa Paula High, 3:15 p.m.

Outlook: Santa Paula finished in a three-way tie for first place in the Frontier League. The Cardinals' top hitter is Allen Gywnn, who is batting .455 with seven home runs and 37 RBIs.

In the playoffs, they beat Rio Hondo Prep of Arcadia, 6-0, in the first round, Capistrano Valley Christian of the Academy League, 9-1, in the second round and Crossroads of Santa Monica, 8-7, in the second round.

Academy League champion Oxford beat Upland Christian, 10-1, in the first round, Desert Christian of Lancaster, 7-6, in the second round and Vasquez of Acton, 4-3, in the quarterfinals.

This is the Patriots' first semifinals appearance in the baseball program's 10-year history, although they have been to the quarterfinals four times.

Oxford coach Dana Bedard said Santa Paula has an edge in experience.

"They've got a lot of seniors," Bedard said. "We start six freshmen."

One of the two senior regulars for Oxford, Cameron Bedard, the coach's son, gets the start on the mound where he is 10-1.

DIVISION VII

ST. MICHAEL'S PREP (21-2) VS. CATE OF CARPINERIA (18-1)

Where, when: St. Michael's Prep High, 3:15 p.m.

Outlook: St. Michael's Prep went 9-0 in the Express League. In the playoffs, the Pioneers beat Dunn of Los Olivos, 7-3, in the first round, Packinghouse Christian of Redlands, 4-3, in the second round and North County Christian of Atascadero, 5-3, in the quarterfinals.

St. Michael's Prep is averaging 13 runs a game, and has won 14 in a row.

Cate also has won 14 in a row. The Rams, champions of the Condor League, beat Maricopa, 14-0, in the first round, Pacifica Christian of Santa Monica, 9-3, in the second round and Milken Community of Los Angeles, 6-5, in the quarterfinals.

Cate's loss was to Cornerstone Christian of Camarillo, playing today in the other Division VII semifinal.

Contact the writer: sfryer@ocregister.com