Baseball Playoffs Get Serious With Quarterfinal Games

Two rounds are complete and the upset-laden Southern Section baseball playoffs continue Friday with quarterfinal round games involving Orange County teams.

Santa Margarita Catholic (19-11), fresh from its upset of Fountain Valley on the strength of Josh Meyer's walk-off home run in the bottom of the eighth inning, will play host to third-seeded Studio City Harvard-Westlake (25-4) in a game scheduled to begin at 3:15 p.m.

Harvard-Westlake is ranked No. 3 nationally by the computer-based Freeman Ratings on Maxpreps, and No. 8 in the website's human-based Xcellent 25. The Wolverines are rated No. 2 in the state, while Santa Margarita is No. 8. There's no reason for the Eagles to be intimidated, though; they hung with Mater Dei when it was No. 1 in the nation, and Fountain Valley is ranked No. 4 in the state.

If Santa Margarita wins, it will guarantee an Orange County team will play for the Southern Section Division 1 championship on May 31 at Dodger Stadium. That's because the other game on the lower side of the bracket pits second-seeded El Toro (23-6) on the road against Los Alamitos (18-10).

The underdog Griffins have already scored two one-run victories, including a 6-5 decision over Foothill League champion Valencia West Ranch in the first round. El Toro, currently No. 6 in the state, escaped the rash of first-round upsets with a 2-1 win over Long Beach Wilson, then jumped on Moorpark 8-0. Despite their underdog status, Los Alamitos is ranked No. 17 in the state.

In Division 2, Aliso Niguel (21-11) plays host to second-seeded Temecula Valley (21-5) in what could be a high-scoring game. The Sea View League champion Wolverines have won their playoff games 7-1 and 11-4, while TV has won 10-0 and 9-2. Aliso comes into the game ranked No. 20 in the state and Temecula Valley No. 23.
 
In Division 6, third-seeded Capistrano Valley Christian (22-8) hopes to make the best of a road trip to Frazier Mountain (20-8); both teams are averaging 8 runs per game.