WOLVES, PATRIOTS GO FOR SECTION CROWNS
Woodland plays Oakmont in D4, Pioneer faces Central Catholic in D3 in respective title games
If you're a baseball fan in the City of Trees, this upcoming week was meant for you.
The Woodland High School and Pioneer High School varsity baseball teams will each be playing in their respective CIF SacJoaquin Section Baseball Championship games this week, each beginning at 6 p.m.
The No. 1 seed Wolves will play in the Division IV title game on Wednesday night against No. 2 Oakmont (18-13) of Roseville at Union Stadium, located on the campus of Sacramento City College. The No. 4 seed Patriots will play in the Division III title game on Thursday night against No. 3 Central Catholic (20-8-1) of Modesto at Islanders Field in Lathrop.
The two Woodland-area teams play in different postseason divisions due to school size. However, Woodland and Pioneer face off three times a year as members of the Golden Empire League. The Wolves (20-4, 17-1 GEL) narrowly dethroned the Patriots (23-4, 16-2 GEL) this season by taking 2-of-3 games in their series played back in early April.
Woodland earned a first round bye in the D4 bracket as the top seed. The Wolves defeated No. 8 Liberty Ranch 5-0 in the quarterfinals on May 11. Woodland advanced to the section finals by taking 2-of-3 games from GEL rival, No. 5 Casa Roble.
Oakmont also had a first round bye as a top three seed. The Vikings beat Galt and Placer en route to a meeting with the Wolves on Wednesday evening.
Pioneer defeated No. 13 Patterson 3-1 on May 9 in the first round. The Patriots edged out No. 5 Lincoln 4-3 on May 11 in the quarterfinals. After losing the first game of a best-of-three series against No. 1 Ponderosa, Pioneer pulled off the upset by winning back-to-back games against the Bruins.
Central Catholic beat Los Banos and Roseville in single-elim
ination play during the first two rounds. The Raiders took 2-of-3 games from Christian Brothers to play the Patriots for the D3 title on Thursday night.
Both Woodland and Pioneer will likely be represented by senior pitchers on the mound in their respective championship matchups. However, a disclaimer for readers, that is simply speculation and not according to either team's head coach.
Austin Stapleton is expected to get the start for the Wolves. Stapleton not only leads Woodland in many offensive statistics but also pitching. The senior boasts a 1.05 earned run average and a 6-2 overall record in nine appearances.
Carson Timothy is probable to start on the bump for the Patriots. The UC Santa Barbara commit, like Stapleton, leads Pioneer is several offensive statistics. On the mound, Timothy has an impressive 0.48 ERA with a 6-1 record in eight games.
The Wolves have two section championships in program history (1992 & 2006) and hope to add a third on Wednesday evening. The Patriots have two as well (2006 & 2014) and strive to build on that legacy with a third on Thursday night.
If both Woodland-area teams win this week, crank up “Hips Don't Lie” by Shakira featuring Wyclef Jean because the City of Trees is going to party like it's 2006!