Harbor Battles Cypress in Opener of Regional Final

The top-seeded Harbor College baseball team will play host to eighth-seeded Cypress at 11 a.m. today in the opening game of the double-elimination Southern California Regional baseball final.

Harbor, the defending state champion, swept College of the Canyons in the first round of the playoffs last week. The Seahawks (34-7) won their sixth consecutive Southern California Athletic Conference title and are favored to advance to the state tournament in Sacramento on May 24-26.

Second baseman Ricardo Gutierrez has been Harbor’s leading batter all season. Although his average dropped briefly toward the end of the season, he is batting .404 going into the series. Third baseman Rene Lopez is batting .396 and left fielder Ernie Jaramillo is at .348.

Left-hander German Casillas is expected to be the starting pitcher against Cypress. Casillas, a 6-foot-3 freshman from South Gate High, has a 2-0 record. Harbor ace Carey Lundstrom, a 6-foot right-hander with an 11-0 record, is expected to start Saturday’s game.

Cypress (29-14) is the third-place team from the Orange Empire League. The Chargers swept ninth-seeded Cuesta last week to advance. Shortstop Jason Bates (.401) and first baseman Doug McConathy (.373) are the team’s leading batters.

In today’s other game, fifth-seeded L.A. Pierce and fourth-seeded Citrus meet at 3 p.m.

The winners of today’s games will meet on Saturday at 11 a.m. at Harbor and the losers will play at El Camino College at 10 a.m. The final is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Sunday at Harbor.