Chatsworth gets the top spot in City Section Division I baseball playoffs

Chatsworth was awarded the No. 1 seed on Monday for the City Section Division I baseball playoffs that begin Thursday with wild-card games.

Roosevelt is seeded No. 2, Venice is No. 3 and San Pedro No. 4. Defending champion El Camino Real, the second-place finisher to Chatsworth in the West Valley League, dropped to No. 5. Cleveland is sixth, Birmingham seventh and Kennedy eighth. The seeding committee appears to have relied on head-to-head matchups for separating teams.

Under coach Tom Meusborn, Chatsworth is 26-5 this season and has won eight of the school’s nine City titles. Josh Medina leads the team with a .433 average and Tommy Palomera is next at .421.

The strength of the Chancellors has been their pitching depth; they feature Thomas Gutierrez (9-0), Palomera (6-3) and sophomore sidearmer Gabe Achucarro. The spreading out of the tournament could take away Chatsworth’s pitching depth advantage.

Chatsworth opens May 16 against the winner of the play-in game between Bell and Narbonne. The quarterfinals are May 19, and the semifinals are May 27 at USC’s Dedeaux Field, followed by the 1 p.m. final at Dodger Stadium on June 3.

What will be interesting are the early matchups in which the Nos. 3 and 4 seeds could have to face San Fernando Valley teams. Valley teams have won every City title except one since 1973.

Roybal was seeded No. 1 in Division II with Locke No. 2. Rancho Dominguez is No. 1 in Division III.

Here is a look at the seedings for each division:

Division I

First round, Thursday, 3 p.m.

#17 Bell at #16 Narbonne; #20 Los Angeles University at #13 Granada Hills; #19 Carson at #14 Taft; #18 Verdugo Hills at #15 Wilmington Banning.

Second round, May 16, 3 p.m.

Narbonne/Bell winner at #1 Chatsworth; #9 Los Angeles Marshall at #8 Granada Hills Kennedy; #12 Palisades at #5 El Camino Real; Granada Hills/Los Angeles University winner at #4 San Pedro; Taft/Carson winner at #3 Venice; #11 San Fernando at #6 Cleveland; #10 Sun Valley Poly at #7 Birmingham; Wilmington Banning/Verdugo Hills winner at #2 Los Angeles Roosevelt.

Notes: Quarterfinals, May 19, 3 p.m.; semifinals, May 27, 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. at USC. Championship, Jun. 3, 1 p.m. at Dodger Stadium.

Division II

First round, Thursday, 3 p.m.

#17 Jefferson at #16 Los Angeles; #20 Torres at #13 Eagle Rock; #19 Fairfax at #14 Arleta; #18 Rivera at #15 Fremont

Second round, May 16, 3 p.m.

Los Angeles/Jefferson winner at #1 Roybal; #9 Monroe at #8 Lincoln; #12 Los Angeles Wilson at #5 Gardena; Eagle Rock/Torres winner at #4 Los Angeles CES; Arleta/Fairfax winner at #3 South Gate; #11 South East at #6 Contreras; #10 Van Nuys at #7 Maywood; Fremont/Rivera winner at #2 Locke

Notes: Quarterfinals, May 19, 3 p.m.; semifinals, May 24, 3 and 6 p.m. at USC. Championship, Jun. 3, 10 a.m. at Dodger Stadium.

Division III

First round, Thursday, 3 p.m.

#17 Animo de la Hoya at #16 Triumph; #20 View Park at #13 Northridge; #19 Lakeview at #14 Port of Los Angeles; #18 Valor at #15 Legacy

Second round, May 16, 3 p.m.

Triumph/Animo de la Hoya winner at #1 Rancho Dominguez; #9 Central City at #8 Vaughn; #12 Hawkins at #5 Community Charter; Northridge/View Park winner at #4 Sherman Oaks CES; Port of Los Angeles/Lakeview winner at #3 Valley Arts/Sciences; #11 Environmental Science/Tech at #6 Harbor Teacher; #10 Fulton at #7 Los Angeles Jordan; Legacy/Valor winner at #2 Animo Venice

Notes: Quarterfinals, May 18, 3 p.m.; semifinals, May 22, 3 p.m. Championship, May 26, 5 p.m. at USC.

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