Catholic schools advance in baseball, softball playoffs - 05/30/14

The CIF-Southern Section baseball playoffs this week reached the quarterfinals, and Catholic schools alive in Divisions 1, 3 and 5.

A slew of one-run decisions marked the second round action on May 27, with J.Serra and Santa Margarita surviving in Division 1, Bishop Amat in Division 3, and Cantwell-Sacred Heart of Mary in Division 5.

The quarterfinals will take place May 30, followed by semifinal play June 3 and finals on June 6 and 7. (Results will be updated as soon as possible online.)

The baseball schedule:

—Division 1 (May 21, Wild Card): Chaminade beat West Ranch 5-0; Mater Dei beat Valley View 7-4; Crespi beat Long Beach Poly 6-2; Alemany beat Saugus 5-4.

First round action on May 23 saw J.Serra beat Brea Olinda 4-3; Loyola beat Corona 4-1; Santa Margarita beat Mission Viejo 9-2; Capistrano Valley beat Mater Dei 4-1; Agoura beat Crespi 2-0; Riverside Poly beat Alemany 7-3; and Foothill beat Chaminade 6-1.

In second round play on May 27, J.Serra beat Valencia 6-5, Trabuco Hills stopped Loyola 1-0, and Santa Margarita edged Fountain Valley 8-7. The May 30 quarterfinals will feature J.Serra against Edison and Santa Margarita against Norco.

—Division 2: Damien defeated St. Joseph/Santa Maria, 3-2 in a May 20 Wild Card game, then lost Crescenta Valley 6-1 in a May 22 first round game.

—Division 3: West Covina beat St. Paul 6-1 in a May 21 Wild Card game. In May 23, first round action, Loara beat Serra 7-5; Bishop Amat beat Elsinore 11-0; and Redondo Union beat La Salle 1-0. Bishop Amat then defeated Orange 4-3 in a May 27 second round matchup, and will play Quartz Hill in the May 30 quarterfinals.

—Division 5: St. Bernard beat Azusa 4-0 in a May 21 Wild Card game, then lost to Arroyo 12-4 in the first round. Other May 23 first round games: Cantwell-Sacred Heart of Mary beat Jurupa Hills 12-4; Paraclete beat Maranatha 2-0; and Whittier Christian beat Mary Star 4-3.

In the second round (May 27), Cantwell-Sacred Heart of Mary got past Paraclete 5-4, and will play Oak Hills in the May 30 quarterfinals.

—Division 6 (May 22, first round): Santa Clara beat Bloomington Christian 10-9, and Providence beat Hesperia Christian 9-3. In the May 27 second round, Desert Christian downed Santa Clara 6-3, and Pasadena Poly beat Providence 5-2.

—Division 7: St. Monica Academy beat Desert Chapel 6-1 in the first round on May 23, then lost to Coast Union 8-1 in the second round May 27.

Softball

In softball, one Catholic school champion is assured and another is a possibility following the May 27 semifinals.

The all-Catholic semifinal round in Division 6 saw Cantwell Sacred Heart of Mary outlast Bellarmine-Jefferson, 5-3 in nine innings, earning the right to play St. Bonaventure for the title after the Seraphs beat Pomona Catholic 6-4. The finals will take place May 30, 2 p.m. at Deanna Manning Stadium in Irvine.

In Division 3, St. Paul will play La Serna for the Division 3 title on May 30, 4:45 p.m. at Deanna Manning Stadium, after beating Palos Verdes 10-0 in the semifinals.

This past week’s results also included the following:

—Division 1 (May 20, first round): Etiwanda defeated Rosary 5-2; Riverside Poly beat Mater Dei 3-2. Murietta Valley beat Santa Margarita 8-2 in wild card play.

—Division 3 (May 20, first round): Warren beat Notre Dame/Sherman Oaks 2-0; Alemany beat Carter 18-6; St. Paul beat Mira Costa 7-1; Chaminade beat Sunny Hills 5-3; Burbank beat La Salle 1-0; Bishop Amat beat Burbank Burroughs 6-3.

Second round action (May 22) saw St. Paul beat Alemany 14-5; North Torrance beat Chaminade 8-1; and La Serna beat Bishop Amat 6-0. St. Paul beat Grand Terrace 10-2 in the May 24 quarterfinals, then blanked Palos Verdes 10-0 in the May 27 semifinals.

—Division 5: In May 20 first round games, Paraclete beat Edgewood 4-3 (after Edgewood beat Immaculate Heart 7-3 in a May 19 Wild Card game), and Riverside Burroughs beat Notre Dame Academy 12-0. Paraclete then beat Anaheim 12-2 in a May 23, second round game, but lost to Ontario Christian 7-5 in the May 24 quarterfinals.

—Division 6 (May 20, first round): Bellarmine-Jefferson beat Liberty Christian 21-2; Alverno beat Cal Lutheran 13-3; St. Monica beat Rio Hondo Prep 7-3; Shadow Hills beat St. Anthony 12-2; Vasquez beat Bishop Conaty-Loretto 12-8; Cantwell Sacred Heart of Mary beat Webb 11-0; St. Bonaventure beat Upland Christian 22-0; Mary Star of the Sea beat San Gabriel Mission 10-0; Grace Brethren beat St. Pius-St. Matthias Academy 15-11; Pomona Catholic beat Desert Christian 21-0.

The May 22 second round action saw Bellarmine-Jefferson beat Alverno 5-2; St. Monica beat Santa Paula 3-2; Cantwell Sacred Heart of Mary beat Vasquez 10-0; St. Bonaventure beat Boron 9-0; Mary Star of the Sea beat Chadwick 4-3; and Pomona Catholic beat Yucca Valley 9-5.

In the May 24 quarterfinals, Bellarmine-Jefferson edged St. Monica 1-0; Cantwell Sacred Heart of Mary downed Shadow Hills 12-1; St. Bonaventure got by Mary Star of the Sea 1-0; and Pomona Catholic outscored Pasadena Poly 17-8.

—Division 7 (May 20, first round): Mesa Grande beat St. Monica Academy 16-2.