4 County Teams in Playoffs

Cypress, which won the Orange Empire Conference baseball title, was seeded second and four other teams from the conference also made the 16-team Southern California playoff field that was announced Monday.

The Chargers (30-12) open the best-of-three first round at 1 p.m. Saturday against visiting Hancock (28-16), which was seeded 15th. The series continues at 11 a.m. Sunday with another game, if needed, following.

Saddleback (30-13) was seeded fifth and hosts No. 12 Grossmont (29-13). Orange Coast (27-17) was seeded eighth. The Pirates, who made the playoffs for the first time since 1993, host No. 9 Mt. San Antonio (25-16).

Riverside (26-15) earned the 10th spot and is at No. 7 Long Beach (29-15). Santa Ana (26-17), despite finishing fifth in conference, was seeded 11th. The Dons, who last failed to make the playoffs in 1987, are at No. 6 Cerro Coso (31-12), which is in Ridgecrest.

In other first-round matchups: No. 16 El Camino (20-20) is at No. 1 Cuesta (35-9); No. 14 Chaffey (28-11) is at No. 3 Cerritos, and No. 13 Glendale (23-21) is at No. 4 Palomar (30-7).

The eight winners advance to the second round May 21-23.