Bay League baseball co-champ Mira Costa hosts first-round playoff game
Mira Costa players celebrate their sweep of rival Redondo and a share of the Bay League baseball title. The Mustangs open the CIF-SS Division 2 playoffs Friday with a home game against San Dimas. Photo
Joey Acosta keeps his eye on the ball during Mira Costa’s home victory against rival Redondo. Photo
Completing two-game sweeps against their rivals, Mira Costa and Peninsula claimed a share of the Bay League championship earning first-round home games when the CIF-Southern Section playoffs begin this week.
Mira Costa erupted for four runs in the sixth inning against visiting Redondo last Thursday for a 7-2 victory to give them an 8-2 league record.
Peninsula shutout Palos Verdes 3-0 twice during the week to also finish at 8-2. The losses put Redondo and Palos Verdes even with 6-4 records.
Redondo beat Palos Verdes 5-0 in a tiebreaker-game on Friday giving the Sea Hawks third place and knocking Palos Verdes out of the playoffs.
“One of our goals as a group this year was to win a league title so it was very cool to see all of the boys’ hard work pay off and their goal come to fruition,” Mira Costa coach Keith Ramsey said. “The coaching staff is very proud of their dedication and how they came together as a group especially with such a young group.”
In a battle of first-place teams, Mira Costa (22-8) hosts Valle Vista League champion San Dimas (21-5) in the first round of the Division 2 playoffs on Friday.
“In regards to our playoff seeding, I feel like we might’ve been a bit undervalued,” Ramsey stated. “By the same token, we will have to beat quality teams no matter where we are seeded so I’m comfortable with our setup and I believe in this group against anyone.”
After winning back-to-back Division 3 championships, Redondo (14-11) moved up to Division 1 this year and must travel to take on top-seeded Huntington Beach (26-4) in the first round on Thursday.
Huntington Beach is the top-ranked team in the state and No. 4 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 50 National High School Baseball Rankings.
In Division 3, Pioneer League champion Torrance (22-9) hosts Del Rio League champion Santa Fe (18-12) while Peninsula (21-6) hosts the Warren in the first round on Thursday.
Pioneer League runner-up West Torrance (21-10) defeated host Downey 5-2 in a wild-card game Tuesday and will play at Ocean League champion El Segundo (25-6) on Thursday.
In Division 4, Camino Real League runner-up Bishop Montgomery (18-9) hosts Santa Ana Calvary Chapel (9-11) and Serra (15-10) hosts Schurr (11-17) in the first round on Friday.
In Division 5, North Torrance (14-11) plays at La Quinta/Westminster (15-11) on Thursday.
Second-round games are scheduled for Tuesday, quarterfinals on Friday, May 26 and semifinals on Tuesday, May 30
Division 1 and 2 championships will be played Saturday, June 3 at Dodger Stadium. Finals for Divisions 3-7 will be held at the UC Riverside Baseball Stadium.
All games with the exception of the finals are scheduled to start at 3:15 p.m. unless another time is mutually agreed upon.
Brackets and results are available at cifss.org.