Softball: Division III playoff preview

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Champion: Beckman

Top teams: 1. Crescenta Valley (26-0), 2. Burbank (21-2), 3. Los Altos (20-5), 4. Beckman (21-6).

Dark horse: Oak Park’s Julia Rice is probably the best pitcher in the division and should keep the Eagles (20-6) in every game. Only problem, she’s been out the last two weeks with a sore shoulder. Supposedly, she’s now healthy.

How it shakes out: This should be a wide open division simply because the two favorites, both from the Pacific League, are so completely untested. Crescenta Valley, for example, hasn’t played a single opponent in the Division I or II playoff field. Oak Park, Beckman and No. 5 La Serna (22-4) would be CV’s toughest tests of the season. In the lower bracket, it’s hard not to like No. 6 Laguna Hills (20-6-1) or No. 7 Fullerton (21-7), though Cajon (20-6) has an offense that could prove difficult to stop.

-- Martin Henderson