Baseball: Southern Section championship preview

A look at Southern Section championship baseball games on Saturday at San Manuel Stadium in San Bernardino.

Division 1: Harvard-Westlake vs. Murrieta Mesa, 7:30 p.m. The Wolverines got hot in the playoffs and could win their second title in three years. First-year Coach Jared Halpert has relied on a strong defense, power hitting from Harvard-bound Jake Suddleson (11 home runs) and pitchers who throw strikes. Murrieta Mesa had never made the playoffs until this season. The Rams use mulitple pitchers, have lots of speed and are playing like a team not afraid to lose.

Division 2: South Hills vs. Redlands East Valley, 4 p.m. South Hills has been considered one of the most talented teams in SoCal but not until late April did it start to put everything together after overcoming injuries and ineligible players. Junior Johnny Dearth is batting .410 with 15 doubles. Sophomore Brandon Dieter is 7-2 with a 1.07 ERA. Outfielder Paul Rojas has 43 hits for Redlands East Valley and a .457 batting average.

Division 3: Redondo vs. Woodbridge, 1 p.m. This could be the best final of the day. Top-seeeded Redondo has a rested Sean Reynolds ready to unleash on the mound and at the plate. Woodbridge has standout pitcher Jake Larson, who’s 9-3 with an 0.88 ERA.

Division 4: Kaiser vs. Laguna Beach, 10 a.m. At 27-3, Kaiser has been the top team in the division all season. Junior Oscar Rocha has 44 hits and a .415 batting average. Pitcher Armando Duenas is 10-0. Laguna Beach has senior catcher Will McInerny, a four-year starter.

At UC Riverside, the games will be Division 7, Excelsior vs. Academy for Academic Excellence, noon; Sage Hill vs. Crean Lutheran in Division 6, 3:30 p.m.; Woodcrest Christian vs. Cantwell-Sacred Heart in Division 5, 7 p.m.

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