Baseball: A new era starts for City Section
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The start of the City Section baseball season in two weeks marks a new era, with three divisional champions, new seeding procedures and a whole new championship format.
There will be Division I, II and III champions. Division I will have 18 teams selected for the playoffs, with two wild-card games. The entire West Valley League will be in Division I and guaranteed three automatic playoff berths, but it opens the way for other schools to win championships.
The Division I and II finals will be held at Dodger Stadium on May 30. The Division III final will be at another site.
Here’s the rundown on the divisions that teams will play in this season:
DIVISION I (25 teams): Arleta, Banning, Bell, Birmingham, Carson, Chatsworth, Cleveland, El Camino Real, Franklin, Garfield, Granada Hills, Grant, Kennedy, Marshall, Narbonne, Palisades, Poly, Roosevelt, San Fernando, San Pedro, South East, South Gate, Sylmar, Taft, Verdugo Hills.
DIVISION II (22): Canoga Park, Crenshaw, Dorsey, Eagle Rock, Fairfax, Fremont, Gardena, Hamilton, Hollywood, Huntington Park, Lincoln, Locke, Los Angeles, Monroe, North Hollywood, Reseda, University, Van Nuys, Venice, Washington, Westchester, Wilson.
DIVISION III (24): Animo J. Robinson, Animo Venice, Belmont, Central City Charter, Community Harvest, Contreras, Discovery Prep, East Valley, Elizabeth, Fulton Prep, Harbor Teacher Prep, Jefferson, Jordan, King-Drew, LACES, Manual Arts, Maywood Academy, Northridge Academy, Oscar De La Hoya, Panorama, Santee, Sherman Oaks CES, Vaughn LC, West Adams Prep.
-- Eric Sondheimer