CIF SOUTHERN SECTION BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
All games at Blair Field, Long Beach
Tickets: $5-12, purchase through gofan.co | Parking: Free
DIVISION 1
Santa Margarita (27-6) vs. JSerra (23-9), Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Outlook: These teams meet for the fifth time this season. They split their first four games. Santa Margarita triumphed in two of the three league games against JSerra in mid-March. Santa Margarita’s wins were 7-1 and 8-7. JSerra’s win was 2-0, the Eagles’ only league loss in their 15 league games. Santa Margarita and JSerra also played in the National High School Invitational in North Carolina, where JSerra defeated Santa Margarita 4-1 on March 31. Santa Margarita is in a CIF-SS baseball championship game for the fifth time. The Eagles won CIF-SS baseball titles in 2014 and ‘19. They won the Trinity League with a 14-1 league record. In the playoffs Santa Margarita defeated Foothill 6-2 in the first round, Long Beach Millikan 4-0 in the second round, La Mirada 9-4 in the quarterfinals and Trinity League rival Orange Lutheran 5-1 in the semifinals. Senior catcher Luke Lavin is batting .337 with four home runs and 24 RBIs. He signed with Stanford. Senior second baseman Blake Wilson (Washington) has a team-high 34 hits. The Eagles’ probable starting pitcher is senior right-hander Collin Clarke (9-1, 1.61 ERA). JSerra is in the CIF-SS Division 1 final for the third straight year. The Lions won the championship last year. They finished third in the Trinity League this year. In the playoffs they beat Yucaipa 7-0 in the first round, Etiwanda 6-1 in the second round, Sierra Canyon 6-3 in the quarterfinals and Corona 6-0 in the semifinals. Senior shortstop/third baseman Trent Caraway (Oregon State) is batting .476 with 49 hits. Senior outfielder Lou Fujiwara (Washington) is hitting .376. JSerra’s projected starting pitcher is Ben Reimers, a senior right-hander who signed with Stanford. He is 6-3 with a 1.63 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 46.2 innings.
JSerra’s starting pitcher Ben Reimers delivers a pitch against Notre Dame in the second round of the Boras Classic baseball tournament in San Juan Capistrano on Wednesday, April 12, 2023. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)
DIVISION 3
Aliso Niguel (19-13) vs. San Marcos (22-6), Saturday, 4 p.m.
Outlook: Aliso Niguel is 0-2 in CIF-SS baseball championship games. The Wolverines lost in CIF-SS finals in 2012 and ‘14. The Wolverines, champions of the Sea View League, take a seven-game winning streak into the final. In the playoffs they beat Dana Hills 6-4 in the first round, Redondo 4-0 in the second round, La Serna 6-2 in the quarterfinals and Yorba Linda 1-0 in the semifinals. Aliso Niguel’s probable starting pitcher is senior right-hander Damon Anderson-Wolf, who is 6-2 with a 2.32 ERA. He was 4-0 in league games. Sophomore catcher Jarett Sabol (USC), brother of Blake Sabol of the San Francisco Giants, has 13 stolen bases. Junior designated hitter Brandon Tatch has a team-high 27 RBIs. San Marcos of Santa Barbara is playing in its first CIF-SS baseball final. In the playoffs the Royals defeated California 12-1 in the first round, Tahquitz 5-2 in the second round, Redlands East Valley 2-0 in the quarterfinals and Westlake 2-0 in the semifinals. Senior Cole Schoenwetter is 6-1 with a 0.99 ERA with 103 strikeouts in 56.2 innings. He has a team-high 26 hits with 14 RBIs. The Royals have a 1.48 team ERA. Senior Caden Hodina is 9-0 with a 0.72 ERA.
Aliso Niguel second baseman Hayden Orrill forces out La Serna’s Jake Long during the sixth inning of a CIF Division 3 quarterfinals prep baseball game in Whittier, on Friday, May 12, 2023. (Photo by Alex Gallardo, Contributing Photographer)
DIVISION 4
Crean Lutheran (23-8) vs. Canyon (20-12), Saturday, 10 a.m.
Outlook: Crean Lutheran finished third in the Empire League behind co-champions Cypress and Pacifica. The Saints are the division’s No. 1 seed. Crean Lutheran is in its second CIF-SS baseball championship game. The Saints lost to Sage Hill in a final in 2016. In these playoffs they defeated Pasadena Poly 24-3 in the first round, Los Altos 6-2 in the second round, Burbank 3-2 in the quarterfinals and Sultana 9-6 in the semifinals. Senior outfielder James Derflinger is batting .359 with 22 RBIs, seven triples and nine stolen bases. Senior designated hitter Jack O’Malley, who signed with Bucknell, is batting .412 with eigh home runs and 25 RBIs. Senior third baseman Mark Fedro has 16 steals. The Saints’ probable starting pitcher is senior Alex Iida (St. Mary’s), who is 7-2 with a 1.36 ERA. Canyon finished third in the four-team league and qualified for the playoffs as an at-large team. The Comanches beat Crean Lutheran 11-3 on April 11. In the playoffs they beat Oak Hills 11-2 in the first round, Northwood 3-0 in the second round, Barstow 13-3 in the quarterfinals and Linfield Christian 7-3 in the semifinals. Junior Cohen Gomez (Stanford) is batting .357 with five home runs and 26 RBIs and on the mound has a 1.29 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 54 innings. Junior Austin Duarte is batting .386 avg with 24 RBIs and junior Christian Tapia is batting .410. Senior pitcher Jackson Chastain has a 2.02 ERA.
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