Baseball: The weird luck of the Mission League

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For the fourth consecutive year, a different team from the Misison League has advanced to a Southern Section championship game in baseball, and each time it has been the team that finished in second place that made it to final.

The streak began in 2006 with St. Francis finishing second and getting to the championship game in Division II. In 2007, Loyola won the Division III title after finishing second in the Mission League. In 2008, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame won the Division III title after finishing second.

And now Encino Crespi will play Huntington Beach on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. at Angel Stadium in the Division II final after finishing second.

‘I’m not going for any more league championships,’ Crespi Coach Scott Muckey said. ‘Second place is golden.’

-- Eric Sondheimer