A LOOK at the pennant races for area high school baseball and softball teams (Shutterstock).
The pennant races for area high school baseball and softball leagues are approaching the home stretch. League schedules are a bit scrambled by spring vacation and tournament action, but here’s a look at how those races stand going into the final weeks for local teams.
Empire League baseball
- A strong Pacifica team (14-7 overall and 2-2 in league) is in third place in the Empire League, trailing Cypress (4-0) and Crean Lutheran (3-1). The Mariners can rise sharply in the standings if they are successful against Cypress on Wednesday, April 20 and Friday, April 22.
- This is likely to turn into a runaway for Pacifica (4-0, 19-3). The Mariners have an eight-game winning streak and although they lead Kennedy (3-1) by one game, the rest of the league is weak by comparison. Tustin and Crean Lutheran are a combined 0-19.
Garden Grove League baseball
- This one is a real contest with four teams still having a chance for the title. Los Amigos (17-3, 8-3) leads by a game over Santiago (9-10, 7-4) and Loara (8-7, 7-4). Even Bolsa Grande (10-11, 6-5) is still in the fight.
Garden Grove League softball
- Santiago (8-7, 6-0) and Rancho Alamitos (12-6, 5-1) are making this a two-team contest. The title may be decided on Monday, April 25 as the Cavaliers host Rancho. La Quinta (11-4, 3-3) and Loara (3-7, 3-3) are battling for third.
Golden West League baseball
- This one also shapes up to be a two-team situation, with Ocean View (14-7, 6-0) battling with Segerstrom (12-10, 6-0) locked in a tie for the lead. Assuming both can keep their winning ways, the matter should be settled on Tuesday, April 26 and Thursday, April 28 when they meet in the final games of the regular season.
Golden West League softball
- This one looks like a free-for-all campaign, with three teams at the top, Segerstrom (15-1-1, 4-0) leads the pack, a half-game ahead of Katella (12-5, 4-1). Garden Grove (14-7, 4-2) is within striking distance. However, when the Jaguars played their two pursuers, they won by margins of 9-1 and 4-0.
Surf League baseball
- Huntington Beach (14-6, 7-0), which advanced last week to the semifinals of the National High School Invitational tournament, is the class of this small but elite conference. The Oilers have a big lead over Los Alamitos (13-6-2, 4-3) and should coast to the title. Edison (8-14, 1-6) is fourth.
Surf League softball
- As with their hardball siblings, the Oilers (14-6, 6-0) are leading here, too. But a very good Los Alamitos team (19-6, 4-2) gave HBHS a tough game on Monday, losing 2-1. The Griffins will get one more crack at the leaders on Wednesday, April 20 at the HBHS home diamond.
We will update the status of races in the Orange, Orange Coast and San Joaquin leagues next week.
CIF polls recognize 14 teams
A total of 14 high school athletic teams from the West Orange County area were noted in polls released Monday by the CIF-SS. They are:
Baseball
- Division 1: Huntington Beach is sixth
- Division 7: Los Amigos is first
Softball
- Division 1: Pacifica is third, Huntington Beach is eighth
- Division 8: Garden Grove is fifth
Boys’ volleyball
- Divisions 1 and 2: Huntington Beach is 10th
- Division 3: Edison is fifth
- Division 4: Bolsa Grande is seventh
- Division 6: Magnolia is unranked but received some votes
Boys’ tennis
- Division 3: Edison is fifth
- Division 4: La Quinta is sixth
- Division 5: Westminster is seventh, and Western is unranked but received some votes.
Girls’ lacrosse
- Divisions 1 and 2: Edison is eighth.
Note: There will be no CIF-SS polls next week, as their office will be closed for their own “spring break.”
But in other polls …
The CIF-SS isn’t the only source of baseball polls and rankings.
For instance, Los Angeles Times ranked Pacifica – which was snubbed in the CIF-SS polls – 17th best in the area.
The Orange County Register puts Huntington Beach in second among OC teams. Ocean View is 14th and Pacifica 15th.
As they say, difference of opinions is what makes for horse races.
“Prep Sport Spotlight” is posted on Tuesdays during the high school athletic year.
