Crescenta Valley Fails to Get Playoff Preview

When the postseason rolls around, sometimes the most exhaustive plans don’t work.

Just ask Crescenta Valley High baseball Coach Phil Torres, whose Falcons are among 33 teams from the region in the Southern Section playoffs. Wild-card games are today, with first-round games Friday.

Last week, Torres paired up his players and assigned them to scout Friday games involving other Division I teams from the region.

“We were going to send them off two by two and get an early peek at the teams we might play,” Torres said.

Torres’ plan fizzled when Crescenta Valley’s Pacific League game Wednesday was rained out and played Friday.

The league-champion Falcons (20-3) host Notre Dame (14-11), the Mission League’s third-place team, in a game Torres hopes will be played Friday night at Stengel Field in Glendale. All games start at 3:15 p.m. unless both schools agree to a different time and receive Southern Section clearance.

“Notre Dame always has good players and [pitcher Ryan Stonerock] is a stud,” Torres said. “That’s about all I know.”

The Crescenta Valley-Notre Dame matchup is one of seven games this week between teams from the region. In first-round games, Camarillo, the Marmonte League’s No. 3 entry, plays at Golden League champion Palmdale, and Mission League runner-up St. Francis plays at High Desert League champion Paraclete.

Seeded teams from the region are No. 4 Crespi in Division I, No. 2 Hart in Division II, No. 4 L.A. Baptist in Division V and No. 2 Grace Brethren and No. 4 L.A. Lutheran in Division VI.

As usual, not every coach is happy with his team’s postseason placement. Torres is displeased because Crescenta Valley could face Pacific League rival Arcadia in the second round. The Apaches play at Marmonte League champion Royal on Friday.

“It doesn’t matter what the coaches think,” Torres said. “Last year we won our league and had to play at Crespi, which was [the Mission League’s] second-place team. It’s disappointing for our kids not to have a home game because in baseball [batting last] is part of your strategy.”

Other league rivals who could meet in the second round are Moorpark and Calabasas. Moorpark, the Frontier League champion, hosts Torrance, and third-place Calabasas plays at South Torrance in first-round games.

Other possible second-round regional matchups include Crespi against the Palmdale-Camarillo winner, and Royal against the Crescenta Valley-Notre Dame winner in Division I.

Chaminade and Fillmore could meet in a second-round Division IV game, and Providence could face the Campbell Hall-Desert Christian winner in Division V.

Agoura (15-10-1), which finished sixth in the Marmonte League, petitioned for an at-large berth in Division III but was not selected. The Chargers defeated Royal three times and also beat San Gabriel Valley League champion Paramount, both Division I teams. Agoura was 5-2 against Division III competition.