Division II at a Glance

Defending Champion: Charter Oak.

Top Teams: Saugus (24-2-1), Hacienda Heights Wilson (26-2), La Puente Bishop Amat (18-3), Lakewood (21-7).

Dark Horse: La Mirada (20-5-1). Sound defense, adequate pitching, enough power to end a game with one swing.

Top Players: Gina Arnold (Hawthorne), Angela Bessolo (Lakewood), Shannon Carlson (Magnolia), Linda Carrillo (La Mirada), Erica Christensen (Newhall Hart), Tracy Clark (Hart), Carrie Davis (Bellflower), Angie Fancuberta (Fullerton), Jennie Foyle (El Modena), Sophia Garcia (Magnolia), Nicole Giacalone (Saugus), Cristine Gil (Bishop Amat), Chris Gill (Saugus), Jamie Gillies (Saugus), Kim Gutridge (La Mirada), Stacy Humphries (Western), Monique Jiminez (Lakewood St. Joseph), Lisa Kelley (Hart), Natalie Kirkbride (Bishop Amat), Kelli Kranz (Saugus), Julie Lewis (Lakewood), Gina Luna (Bishop Amat), Jill Matyuch (Covina Charter Oak), Shelby Maxwell (Bellflower), Kiki McAulay (Fullerton), Tiffany Mercado (Magnolia), Carrie O’Brion (Lakewood), Kim O’Leary (Saugus), Kristy Osborne (La Mirada), Joanna Patterson (Long Beach Millikan), Adrienne Ratajczak (Western). Heidi Schmidt (Troy), Carrie Shoumaker (Lakewood), Amy Tanner (La Mirada), Chrissy Vega (Savanna), Cristy Waring (La Mirada), Sherell Watson (Bellflower).

Best Draw: Bishop Amat. La Mirada provides stiffest challenge on the road to the semifinals.

Worst Draw: Fullerton (14-13). Freeway League champion gets Lakewood in the second round and probably Bellflower (19-5-2) in the quarterfinals.

Notes: Sunny Hills lost to La Mirada, its first-round opponent, 8-0, this season. . .Saugus’ only losses were back-to-back to Marina and Fountain Valley, 4-1 and 7-1, in midseason. The Centurions already have beaten third-seeded Bishop Amat, 1-0. . . Lakewood has beaten Division I power Los Alamitos, 8-3. . . Dogged by injuries most of the season, Los Altos--the third entry from the Miramonte League--was healthy for its final game against Wilson and beat the Wildcats, 2-1. At the time, Wilson was ranked fifth in the state.