Teams Ready For CIF Action!

BURBANK: Burroughs, Bell-Jeff have home games and Providence will be on the road.  League champions get rewarded — at least in the CIF Southern Section playoffs they do.

Teams that finish second in their respective leagues might not get a home game for the first round of the postseason. In fact, some runner up squads are even relegated to playing wild-card games.

Of the seven area baseball and softball teams that qualified for the playoffs, only two got first-round home games — and that’s because both captured league championships.

On a positive note; all four area softball teams made the playoffs.

Burroughs High, winner of the Pacific League title, captured a championship for the first time in 28 years. The Indians will take on Paso Robles at 3:15 Thursday in a Division III first-round game at Olive Park.

Bellarmine-Jefferson, which secured a league crown for the first time in 17 years by winning the Santa Cruz League, will take on North County Christian at 2:45 p.m. Thursday in a Division VII game at Gross Park.

With Burbank relegated to a wild-card game Tuesday, Providence will also play in a first-round game. The Pioneers will travel to take in Nordhoff at 3:15 p.m. Thursday in a Division IV contest.

Burroughs (17-9) is fresh from a 4-0 league victory against cross-town rival Burbank. The Indians have won six of their last seven games.

Their opponent, Paso Robles (13-14), tied for second in the PAC-7 League with Righetti.

Playing in a competitive league, the Bearcats average just 3.1 runs a game. In contrast, Burroughs averages 5.8 runs a game. However, the Indians strength has been with its pitching and defense, as the team gives up an average of 1.9 runs a game.

The Guards (14-4) have enjoyed a turnaround under first-year Coach John Castaneda. Last season, Bell-Jeff placed third in league and had a 5-11 record.

Bell-Jeff comes into the postseason on a nine-game winning streak, having last lost to Mark Keppel, 7-0, on April 6.

The Guards will take on a Crusaders (13-4) team that placed second in the Coast Valley League behind champion Valley Christian Academy.

North County Christian has lost just once in its last eight games.

Providence (8-13) made the playoffs as the No. 3 team from the Liberty League.

The Pioneers struggled at times at the end of the regular season, losing three of their last five games.

They will face a tough Nordhoff (16-6) squad that captured the Frontier League championship. In addition, Nordhoff surrenders an average of just 2.7 runs a game. The team also enters the postseason with a 10-game winning streak.

Jeff Tully