Leading off with baseball

OCC, Vanguard and UCI begin their baseball seasons this week, with all three featured in fan-friendly slate Friday.Yes, it’s still the dead of winter -- or whatever passes for it in the Newport-Mesa area -- but spring isn’t too far off and nothing proves that more than the arrival of baseball.

The college baseball season kicks off this week, starting with Orange Coast College’s doubleheader at College of the Desert on Tuesday. Those who can’t make it out to Palm Desert can make up for it with a Friday tripleheader featuring all three of the area’s college teams in action.

Even better, you can catch all three of them, if you plan it out.

First off is a 10 a.m. game at Orange Coast, featuring the Pirates and De Anza. OCC is coming off a trip to the state championship tournament, where it finished fourth. De Anza went 16-20 last season, but was second in the Coast Conference North Division.

After that, it’s off to Vanguard University to catch the second game of a doubleheader featuring the Lions and Bethany College. Vanguard is building after going 13-32 last season.

Topping Bethany, which beat the Lions two out of three games last season, would be a good start. The doubleheader begins at 11 a.m., giving fans plenty of time to head over after the OCC game.

UC Irvine provides the nightcap, with a 6 p.m. season opener against Cal. The Anteaters face a tough opponent in the Golden Bears, who just missed out on an NCAA Regional berth last season.

There could be a matchup of Roger Clemens Award candidates in Cal starting pitcher Brandon Morrow and UCI closer Blair Erickson.

* High school girls’ basketball, JSerra at Sage Hill, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday: Having taken care of most of their Academy League foes, the Lightning take on a tough divisional foe in this game. JSerra and Sage are ranked No. 3 and No. 6, respectively, in CIF Southern Section Division IV-A.

* High school girls’ soccer, Tesoro at Corona del Mar, 3:15 p.m. Wednesday: It’s a logjam at the top of the Pacific Coast League standings with the Sea Kings, Tesoro and Northwood vying for top billing.

CdM, which started the season 1-7-1, can get a valuable step up by avenging its 1-0 loss to the Titans in their first meeting, Jan. 11.

* High school boys’ basketball, Tesoro at Corona del Mar, 7 p.m. Wednesday: A Pacific Coast League championship is still in play for the Sea Kings, ranked No. 9 in Division III-AA. CdM went on the road to defeat Tesoro in their first meeting Jan. 12. A home win against the Titans would bring that league title a little closer to fruition.

* High school girls’ water polo, Southern California Championships, 3 p.m. Thursday: With time running short before the CIF Southern Section playoffs, this tournament is one last chance to jockey for seeding position. Corona del Mar plays host to one of the four pools, while Newport Harbor is at El Toro High.

Both schools want to be at Heritage Park on Saturday at 3 p.m. for the championship game.

* High school girls’ soccer, Sage Hill at St. Margaret’s, 5 p.m. Friday: As with many other sports, the Academy League championship essentially comes down to this matchup.

St. Margaret’s is the defending league champion. The two teams tied, 1-1, in their first meeting Jan. 13, so a win all but clinches the title.

* High school wrestling, Pacific Coast League and Sea View League finals, 9 a.m. Saturday: The name of the game is survive and advance for competitors from Newport Harbor and Corona del Mar as they vie for spots in the CIF Southern Section individual tournaments -- three in each weight class.

The Pacific Coast League meet is at Beckman High in Irvine.

The Sea View League finals are at Irvine High.