COMMUNITY COLLEGE SOFTBALL PLAYOFFS : No. 2 Cypress to Be Host in First Round

Cypress, the Orange Empire Conference champion, is one of four local teams to earn a berth in the Southern California softball playoffs.

The Chargers (44-18) are second-seeded behind Palomar (43-3) in the 16-team field. The top four seeded teams will be hosts to the four-team, double-elimination play Friday and Saturday. Antelope Valley (39-8) is the No. 3 team, Long Beach (30-8) is No. 4.

Here are the first-round pairings:

At Palomar: No. 16 Southwestern (11-9) vs. Palomar, 4 p.m. and No. 9 Mt. San Antonio (17-14) vs. No. 8 Moorpark (17-14), 6 p.m. The winners play at 6 p.m. Friday.

At Cypress: No. 15 Bakersfield (16-15) vs. Cypress (44-18), noon and No. 10 College of the Canyons (17-8) vs. No. 7 San Diego Mesa (18-15), 2 p.m. The winners play at 4 p.m. Friday.

At Antelope Valley: No. 14 Pasadena (15-15) vs. No. 3 Antelope Valley (39-8), noon and No. 6 Orange Coast (23-13) vs. No. 11 College of the Desert (18-13), 2 p.m. The winners play at 4 p.m. Friday.

At Long Beach: No. 13 Rancho Santiago (20-18) vs. No. 4 Long Beach (30-8), noon and No. 5 Fullerton (30-13) vs. No. 12 Chaffey (22-16), 2 p.m. The winners play at 4 p.m. Friday.