Baseball: Laguna begins CIF title hunt at home Friday
The Laguna Beach High baseball team starts its postseason campaign Friday.
The Breakers open the CIF Southern Section Division 4 playoffs at home, hosting the Colton Yellowjackets at 3:15 p.m. at Skipper Carrillo Field.
Seventh-ranked Laguna (19-6) heads into postseason play on a nine-game winning streak.
“I feel really good about the way we are playing heading into CIF,” Laguna Coach Mike Bair said. “I feel that our hitters, 1 through 9, are peaking. Collectively, we are taking better at-bats. Our pitchers are throwing strikes. Defensively, we have been OK.”
Orange Coast League champion Laguna hasn’t played since May 12 when it wrapped up league play with a 9-5 win over Godinez. The series finale between the teams was canceled May 14 due to rain.
Colton (15-11), the No. 3 team from the Sunkist League, routed Century (Orange League No. 3), 17-4, in a wild-card game Wednesday to advance to face Laguna.
“We don’t know much about them,” Bair said of the Yellowjackets. “I’m happy with our draw. More than that, we felt that being in the top 10 should have gotten us a first-round Friday game, and a home game, as well.”
Bair said freshman Blake Burzell (5-3) will start Friday.
Second round games are at 3:15 p.m. next Tuesday. The Colton-Laguna winner advances to face either No. 9 Burroughs/Ridgecrest (Mojave River League No. 2) or Granite Hills (Desert Sky League No. 2).
Whittier California is the division’s top-seed in the tournament.
CIF Weekly Rankings
(final regular season)
Division 4: 1. California; 2. South Torrance; 3. Don Lugo; 4. Serrano; 5. Sonora; 6. Ramona; 7. Laguna Beach; 8. San Gorgonio; 9. Burroughs/Ridgecrest; 10. St. Bonaventure.
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Twitter: @MikeSciacca