Quartet makes playoffs

Four local prep baseball teams have qualified for the CIF baseball playoffs which get underway Friday.

Sunset League champion Marina and Golden West League champion Ocean View both drew first-round home games. Huntington Beach, the second-place team in the Sunset League, plays its opener on the road while Edison, the third-place team in the Sunset, played a wild-card game Wednesday.

First-round games start at 3:15 p.m. Friday. Winners from opening round games advance to play in the second round at 3:15 p.m. next Tuesday.

Marina will host Corona, the second-place team from the Big VIII League, in a Division 1 opener.

The Vikings, who ended the regular season ranked ninth in the division, enter the playoffs 20-10 overall.

Corona is 22-9. Marina Coach Bob Marshall said the Panthers are “tough, scrappy,” adding that his Vikings “will be ready to get after them” Friday.

“Heading into the playoffs, every team is very capable of winning,” Marshall said. “There are no weak links. One bad bounce, run into a team that is playing extremely well, off day for your pitcher, et cetera. It’s a single-elimination, five-game tournament.”

Marshall said that senior right-hander Riley Ohl (6-4, 1.10 ERA) will start Friday for the Vikings.

Marina won the Sunset League championship for the first time since 2005. The Vikings finished their league campaign (10-5) at home May 12 and lost, 4-0, to Los Alamitos.

“We did not play well the final two games of the year,” Marshall said. “We can’t let down. We must, as a team, play solid defense and execute in order for us to come out on top. I believe this team is resilient and will bounce back on Friday and play a great solid game of baseball.

“This team only has five returners from last year and the rest of the team is first-year varsity. I am proud of what these young men have accomplished.”

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•Huntington Beach, the reigning CIF-SS Division 1 champion, is the second-place team from the Sunset League and begins its title defense at 3:15 p.m. Friday when the Oilers travel to Santiago Corona.

It’s the second meeting this season between the teams. The Oilers edged the Sharks in April, 6-5, in the consolation championship game of the Boras Classic.

A talented and athletic Santiago squad, with several NCAA Division 1 commits including Team USA Baseball shortstop Brice Turang (LSU) and Ryan Rutherford (Cal St. San Bernardino), is 17-11 and champion of the Big VIII League.

“Santiago is well-coached and is very athletic,’ Huntington Coach Benji Medure said. “We were very lucky to come out with a win earlier this year. I expect a dog fight to the very end playing them.”

Huntington closed out its Sunset season May 12 and beat Fountain Valley, 7-3, to improve to 19-10 overall. The Oilers finished 9-6 in league play.

Heading into postseason play, Hagen Danner and Nick Pratto led the Oilers in home runs with six apiece. Medure said that the left-handed Pratto (2-2, 1.79 ERA) will start Friday.

“The playoffs are so awesome, but can be so nerve-wracking, as well,” Medure said. “Hopefully, we can draw upon our experience from last year and perform to the best of our ability. Most of all, I am hoping that the kids can enjoy the moment and have fun. If we can have fun as we play, I like our chances.”

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•Edison hosted Long Beach Poly in a Division 1 wild-card game Wednesday. The score between the Chargers and Jackrabbits, who finished fourth in the Moore League, wasn’t available at press time.

Edison entered the game 13-16-1 overall, and completed a 8-7 league season after a 17-8 loss May 12 at Newport Harbor.

The Chargers defeated Poly, 5-1, in a wild-card game last May.

“With the history and respect that I have for the coaching staff of Poly, you could not have picked a team that I would rather not play than Poly, and two years in a row,” Edison Coach Cameron Chinn said.

The Poly-Edison winner advances to play a first-round game Friday at Empire League champion and fourth-seeded Cypress.

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•Ocean View’s takes its step in Division 3 tourney play at home against Palmdale Knight Thursday at 3:15 p.m.

The Golden West League champion Seahawks take a 14-12 record into their meeting with the Hawks who are 19-8 and the No. 2 team from the Golden League.

“They come from a competitive league it is going to be a good game,” Ocean View Coach Tanner VanMaanen said.

The Seahawks ended league and regular season play May 12 against Loara, and downed the Saxons, 7-2. Right-handed pitcher Brandon Nicholson allowed a walk and earned run and struck out four in five innings as the Seahawks completed a 12-3 league season.

“I feel that our team has tons of experience heading into the playoffs,” VanMaanen said. “I have several guys who are in their third year with playoff experience. Experience helps out is situations like this.”

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•Season ends for Barons, Warriors

Fountain Valley played its final game May 12 when it hosted Huntington Beach in Sunset League play, and lost, 7-3, to the Oilers. Wyatt McGinnis went two for two with a double for the Barons who ended the year 4-10 in Sunset League play, and 15-14 overall.

“It was not how we planned to play this year,” Barons Coach Deric Yanagisawa said. “I thought Nathan Wilson pitched extremely well for a sophomore in a tough league. We were able to play a lot of young guys this year which will be beneficial for next year.”

Brethren Christian’s also played its final game May 12 and the Warriors dropped a 7-3 Academy League finale to visiting St. Margaret’s. The Warriors finished 1-9 in league and 6-21 overall.

“I am proud of the way our players competed all year,” BC Coach Mike Thompson said. “Playing 27 games with a 10-man roster against much bigger schools, they were able to compete and upset some bigger schools.”

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CIF Rankings (final regular season)

Marina (No. 9, Division 1).

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michael.sciacca@latimes.com

Twitter: @MikeSciacca