Baseball: The surprising Channel League

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Who could have predicted that three Channel League teams _ Santa Barbara, Dos Pueblos and Buena _ would all win their first-round games in the Southern Section Division 2 baseball playoffs?

Dos Pueblos pulled off the biggest victory of all, knocking off top-seeded Cypress, 11-4.

That means seven of the remaining 16 teams come from the Channel and Mission leagues. And last year’s champion, Glendora, was eliminated by La Verne Damien.

It’s still anyone’s guess who’s going to win it all. That’s why I picked a longshot _ Alemany, which faces Pacific League champion Arcadia on Tuesday in a second-round game.

The biggest question is whether Mission League champion North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake can get past its second-round game at home against Arroyo Grande using a freshman, Jack Flaherty, on the mound. If it happens, beware of the Wolverines now that Cypress is out of their bracket.

-- Eric Sondheimer