Palos Verdes, Torrance open playoffs at home
Palos Verdes (18-10) and Torrance (21-51), the top two teams in the Daily Breeze baseball rankings, will open the CIF Southern Section Division 2 baseball playoffs at home this week.
Pairings for the seven CIF-SS Divisions were released Monday morning.
The Tartars were cochampions of the Pioneer League. They will host Gahr, the second-place team from the San Gabriel Valley League on Thursday afternoon.
If Torrance wins, it will travel to face top-seeded Arlington in the second round. Arlington (27-1) has a first-round bye.
Palos Verdes, the Bay League champion, will open against Marmonte cochampion Calabasas (19-9) on Thursday afternoon.
“We're hosting another first-place team that we don't know too much about,” PV coach Alex Morales said. “I'm sure they will be really good with some good arms. It's a tough bracket no matter what the draw is, and we're just happy to be in and have a shot.”
Mira Costa (16-12) is the lone South Bay team in the Division 1 bracket. The Mustangs finished third in the Bay League this season, and they will be on the road Friday for a first-round against Mission League champion Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks (20-7-1).
Del Rey League champion Serra (16-6), Pioneer League co-champion South (17-11) and Mary Star (159) will start the Division 4 playoffs Thursday.
The Cavaliers, who were in Division 2 last season, could be the area team to watch in the entire playoff field. Serra will host Burbank or California in the first round.
The Spartans will host Pasadena Poly, the secondplace team from the Prep League, and the Stars will travel to Orange County to face Golden West League co-champion Segerstrom at 4 p.m.
West Torrance (17-7) will be on the road Friday for a Division 3 first-round game against Tri-Valley League champion Grace Brethren.
Leuzinger, Animo Leadership and Vistamar have wild-card round games Wednesday in Division 7.
The Olympians (6-6) will be at Newbury Park Adventist, with the winner advancing to take on topseeded Los Amigos in Friday's first round.
The Aztec Eagles (157) will host Ganesha, with the winner moving on to face Desert Mirage. The Vikings (5-5) will host Coastal
Christian, with the winner moving on to face Ocean League champion Hawthorne (13-5).
Santa Fe League champion St. Bernard (15-5) will host Avalon or La Verne Lutheran in Friday's first round.
Mulholland League champion Wiseburn Da
Vinci (18-5) is the second seed and will host Santa Clara or Faith Baptist in the first round.
Lennox Academy (8-5-1) will host Eisenhower or St. Genevieve in the first round Friday.
The CIF-SS finals will take place May 20-21 at Cal State Fullerton.