Sac-Joaquin Section baseball, softball playoffs to begin next week

There weren’t many surprises for local baseball and softball teams when the Sac-Joaquin Section released the playoff brackets on Thursday afternoon.

El Capitan High baseball thought it deserved the No. 2 seed in Division IV, and that’s what it got.

Merced High softball felt it should be in the top six in Division I, and it received the No. 4 seed.

Los Banos softball expected a high seed in Division IV, and the Tigers received the No. 3 seed.

“I’m pretty excited we got the No. 2 spot,” said El Capitan baseball coach Aaron Ruiz. “I figured Lincoln would get the top spot, and they did. I don’t have a problem with that.”

The Gauchos (19-7) will face the winner of Monday’s matchup between No. 10 El Dorado and No. 7 Placer on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Tony Zupo Field in Lodi.

“I don’t know much about El Dorado, but I do know Placer has a big right-handed pitcher (Radd Thomas),” Ruiz said. “If they can get past El Dorado, we’ll probably see him.”

Los Banos (16-6) earned the No. 6 seed in Division IV and will play No. 3 Bear River (17-9-1) on Thursday at 4 p.m. at Tony Zupo Field.

Ninth-seeded Buhach Colony (13-14) will open the Division I playoffs on Monday at No. 8 Gregori (19-8) at 4 p.m. The winner advances to play top-seeded St. Mary’s at the University of the Pacific’s Klein Family Field on Thursday.

Eight-seeded Gustine (15-7) also will open the Division VI playoffs on Monday at home against No. 9 San Juan (12-11) at 4 p.m. The winner will play top seed Bradshaw Christian on Thursday.

Also in Division VI, No. 4 Mariposa (14-6) will host No. 5 Delta (14-8) on Thursday at 4 p.m.

Hilmar (13-13) earned the No. 9 seed in Division V and will open at No. 8 West Campus (12-7) on Monday at 4 p.m.

Softball

Merced made a deep run in the Division II playoffs last year. The Bears (19-5) are in the Division I field this season as the No. 4 seed and will open against No. 13 Enochs (13-7) at the Sacramento Softball Complex on Thursday at 5 p.m.

“I like where we’re at,” said Bears coach Bart McAfee. “Most of the teams we’re going to be playing are good teams. I know Enochs has played a couple teams that we’ve played. I know Turlock beat them twice.”

McAfee said he expects ace Madilyn Nickles to pitch. Nickles left the Bears’ 5-1 win over Golden Valley after four innings with a sore shoulder but returned to close out the game in the seventh.

“That could change things if she isn’t healthy,” McAfee said. “I’m pretty sure she’ll be ready to go. She’s tough.”

Atwater (16-6) is the No. 10 seed in Division II and will face No. 7 St. Mary’s (14-8) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Sacramento Softball Complex. The Rams knocked the Falcons out of the playoffs with a 3-0 win in the first round last year.

Atwater brings a nine-game winning streak into the postseason.

“We certainly think we match up well with St. Mary’s, and we’re looking forward to it,” said Atwater coach Robert Santistevan. “We immediately thought it’s going to be a good game. We’re a good team, and they’re a good team. We know you’re going to face good teams in the playoffs.”

El Capitan (14-7-2) will make its playoff debut on Tuesday in the Division III playoffs in Sacramento against No. 5 Benicia (18-4). The Panthers won the Division II championship last year.

After winning a co-Western Athletic Conference championship, Los Banos (21-3) earned the No. 3 seed in Division IV and will face the winner of No. 6 Placer and No. 11 Hughson on Thursday at 5 p.m. at the Arnaiz Softball Complex in Stockton.

In Division VI, No. 2 Mariposa (21-2-1) will open against No. 7 Western Sierra (9-10) on Tuesday at 5 p.m. at the Arnaiz Softball Complex. Gustine (8-16) is also in Division VI as the No. 8 seed and will play No. 1 Millennium (24-1) on Tuesday at 5 p.m. at Arnaiz.

Stone Ridge Christian (12-4-1) also will open the Division VII playoffs on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Arnaiz as the No. 2 seed against No. 7 Rio Vista (8-9).

This story was originally published May 13, 2016 at 5:41 PM with the headline "Sac-Joaquin Section baseball, softball playoffs to begin next week."