Esperanza, El Dorado Are Seeded 1-2 in 4-A Baseball

Two teams from the Empire League, defending champion Esperanza High School of Anaheim and El Dorado of Placentia, were seeded 1-2 Monday for the Southern Section 4-A baseball playoffs beginning this week.

The playoffs start Wednesday with wild-card games. First-round games for the 4-A, 3-A, 2-A and Small Schools divisions are set for Friday. The 1-A Division has wild-card games Friday and first-round games May 26.

Esperanza (21-2), which has held the No. 1 slot in The Times poll for six consecutive weeks, beat out El Dorado for the Empire League title. The Aztecs will begin defense of their 4-A title Friday at home against Riverside Poly.

Pioneer League champion Redondo is top-ranked in the 3-A; Golden League champion Saugus is No. 1 in the 2-A, and Riverside Norte Vista is top-ranked in the 1-A. In the Small Schools Division, Van Nuys Montclair Prep is the No. 1-seeded team in the large division, and Riverside Linfield Christian is the No. 1-seeded squad in the small division.

Softball pairings were also announced, with defending champion Lakewood St. Joseph ranked No. 1 in the 4-A. The 4-A and 1-A divisions have first-round games Thursday, and the 3-A and 2-A will start Friday.