SOUTHERN SECTION SOFTBALL PAIRINGS : Foothill Faces Tough Climb in Its Bracket

Foothill softball Coach Joe Gonzalez stood outside the Southern Section office Monday morning, looked at the playoff brackets and saw that his team was seeded No. 1 in the tournament.

Then he looked at the teams below his and determined it didn’t do any good.

Gonzalez wasn’t thrilled with the pairings. There are five at-large teams in the playoffs, and Foothill (23-2) isn’t playing any of them. The Knights open the first round Friday against Walnut (12-10). Then it could get hairy.

“I like the fact that we’re seeded No. 1, but the upper bracket is significantly tougher,” Gonzalez said. “We don’t get an at-large team. There are more first-place teams in the upper bracket. Pacifica doesn’t see a first-place team until the semifinals.”

Pacifica (25-2) is seeded No. 2, and Coach Rob Weil was happy to be there.

“The No. 1 seed, in this situation, got the tougher draw,” he said. “There are a lot of good teams and a majority of them are in the top bracket.”

That’s certainly where the dominant pitchers are. Garden Grove’s Kathy Moore, who led the county with five no-hitters, could face Foothill in the second round. Villa Park’s Brandee McArthur shut out Foothill this season and could face Foothill in the quarterfinals. Westlake Village Westlake’s Kelly DeArman (0.12 earned-run average, 197 strikeouts in 179 innings) could face Foothill in the quarterfinals.

Mater Dei was seeded third and Marina fourth in Division I, the only division in which Orange County had the top-seeded team.

Golden West League champion Rosary was the only other county team seeded--No. 3 in Division II.

DIVISION I

Defending champion: Marina, a 2-0 winner over Foothill.

Top teams: Foothill (23-2), Pacifica (25-2), Mater Dei (23-4), Marina (19-5).

Dark horse: Los Alamitos (18-6) lacks a dominant pitcher, but the Griffins are the best second-place team in the division (just edging El Dorado) and are in the easier, lower bracket.

Notes: Ventura Buena (22-3-1) and Kennedy (18-8) could make some noise. Buena has sophomore Nicole Greathouse (15-2, 144 strikeouts in 114 innings, 0.06 ERA, 7 no-hitters). Kennedy has won 16 of its last 18 games, and could meet Buena in the second round. . . . Pacifica’s 25 victories are the second most in the county. . . . Foothill’s two losses were to Fresno Bullard, the No. 1 team in the state, and to Villa Park--which it could face in the quarterfinals. . . . Pacifica has won 11 straight, and Marina has won 12 of 13 since its loss to the state’s No. 1 team, Fresno Bullard.

DIVISION II

Defending champion: Fullerton, a 4-1 winner over La Puente Bishop Amat in 10 innings.

Top teams: Saugus (22-4), Long Beach Millikan (22-9), Rosary (20-6), Lakewood (23-5).

Dark horse: Fullerton won last year’s title after entering with a 14-13 record; the Indians are much better this year.

Notes: Woodbridge’s biggest victory of the year might have been a coin flip with Irvine that gave the Warriors (19-9) the No. 1 entry from the Sea View League. Woodbridge (19-9) plays a wild-card winner, either Long Beach Wilson or Westminster; Irvine (16-9) faces Ocean View pitcher Kathy Ponce (13-6, 0.65, 190 strikeouts in 140 innings). Should Ocean View win--it beat Irvine earlier, 3-0--one of the section’s best pitching matchups could take place in the second round: Ponce vs. Lakewood’s Angela Bessolo (18-5, 0.30, 183 strikeouts in 157 innings).. . . Santa Fe Springs St. Paul (26-4) has more victories than any team in the section but is unseeded. . . . Sunny Hills (8-11) has fewer victories than any team in the division. The Lancers play a wild-card game at El Toro (17-13). . . . Westminster is in the playoffs for the first time since 1990. . . . This is Rosary’s winningest season since 1984; Lesley Fulton has a team-high .475 average and 30 RBIs.

DIVISION III

Defending champion: Glendora St. Lucy’s, a 3-0 winner over Redondo.

Top teams: Mission Hills Alemany (24-1), Whittier La Serna (22-2-1), St. Lucy’s (21-3), Redondo Union (22-3).

Dark horse: Mt. Baldy champion Rancho Cucamonga (17-3-2) has a dominant pitcher, Liza Brown (10-2, 0.15, 150 strikeouts in 90 innings), who signed with Cal State Fullerton.

Notes: Geography helped Aliso Niguel in its first playoff; despite having the division’s worst record (7-16), the Wolverines open at Western (14-11). No. 1 Alemany plays the much closer Culver City (13-11). . . . Aliso Niguel won six of its last nine games; Western won four in a row and six of seven. . . . Laguna Hills (18-8), which won the 1993 title, is matched against the only wild-card winner, either Covina (10-10) or Montebello Schurr (8-10).. . . Canyon Springs’ Meghann Pricer has 288 strikeouts in 177 innings and a 0.03 ERA--and a 16-7 record. Three losses have been to Arlington, and four losses have come in 10 innings or more. . . . Costa Mesa (17-7) set a school record for victories and its second-place Pacific Coast League finish was its best in school history. Julie Collett set a school record with five home runs.

DIVISION V

Defending champion: Cerritos Valley Christian, a 5-1 winner over Lancaster Paraclete.

Top teams: Santa Monica Crossroads (15-9), Thousand Oaks La Reina (20-5), Paraclete (20-6), Cerritos Valley Christian (12-4).

Dark horse: Ontario Christian (14-4) is ranked sixth in the division and finished second in a league that, a week ago, had five teams ranked among the division’s top 10.

Notes: Only one county team, Calvary Chapel (12-14), is represented in the division and will play a wild-card game Wednesday at Whitney; Calvary Chapel is led by Christy Ring (.411, 23 runs).

DIVISION VI

Defending champion: Linfield, a 7-5 winner over Hesperia Christian in 13 innings.

Top Teams: Linfield (19-1), Boron (19-1), Camarillo Cornerstone Christian (17-0-1), Avalon (14-3).

Dark horse: Hesperia Christian (13-7) reached the finals last year, returns two All-Southern Section players (catcher Christy Cruz and shortstop Lisa James) and has won nine of its last 10--the only loss to Linfield.

Notes: Southern California Christian plays a wild-card game against L.A. Le Lycee, the fourth-place team from the Westside League.