First-year head coach Cassidy Olson led the Mira Costa baseball team to its first Bay League championship in five season, defeating Palos Verdes 7-1 Friday to complete a sweep of the Sea Kings.
Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the sixth inning, the Mustangs erupted for seven runs and providing all the offense needed by pitcher Drew Van Orden who hurled a complete-game five-hitter while striking out eight.
Mira Costa (15-14) hosts San Marcos (15-10) Friday in the first round of the CIF Southern Section-Toyota Division 2 championships. Second-round games are slated for Tuesday. All playoff games with the exception of the finals are scheduled for 3:15 p.m.
Bay League runner-up Palos Verdes (18-10) clobbered Pasadena 11-1 in a wild-card game Tuesday and will travel to Damien (18-6) tomorrow. The Bay’s third-place team, Peninsula (15-16) defeated Norwalk 5-2 Tuesday but will have to play at top-seeded Glendora (22-2-1) in the first round.
In Division 4, Pioneer League champion El Segundo (21-9) earned a No. 6 spot and hosts Carpinteria (14-9) tomorrow. Torrance (19-9) is ranked No. 9 and hosts Victor Valley (16-9) in the first round. South (19-9-1) earned a wild-card berth but loss to Calvary Chapel/Santa Ana 6-5 in 10 innings Tuesday.
In Division 6, Chadwick (7-14) was eliminated by Bell-Jeff 4-3 Tuesday.
Softball
Mira Costa (16-14) finished second in the Bay League and plays at La Mirada (16-13) in the first round of the Division 2 playoffs today while league champion Palos Verdes (17-10) in ranked No. 9 and hosts Don Lugo (17-10).
Redondo (11-16) earned a wild-card berth and overcame a five-run deficit to defeat visiting Chaffey 6-5 in eight innings Tuesday. The Sea Hawks travel to take on No. 6 California today.
In Division 4, Pioneer champion Torrance (19-9) earned a third seed and will host the Culver City-Westminster wild-card winner today. Teams from the Pioneer League have comprised the four finalists the past two seasons.
Runner-up South (20-8) is ranked No. 10 and hosts Hemet (15-11) today while two-time defending CIF champion North (19-9) must make a long road trip to St. Joseph of Santa Maria (22-6). El Segundo (14-12) shut out Lompoc 3-0 in a wild-card game Tuesday and will travel to take on No. 2 Santa Monica (23-5) today.
Updated brackets are available at www.cifss.org. ER
