Postseason Run Has Been a Lark for L.A. Baptist

Coach Rick Richmond of L.A. Baptist High sent his softball team for a short conditioning run last week--right through the baseball team’s practice.

Baseball Coach Mark Hubbard responded by sending his players for a jog through the middle of the softball team’s workout.

Now, each team is two victories away from taking the ultimate in victory laps.

The Southern Section playoffs continue on Tuesday with semifinal games in both sports, and the Division V school from North Hills is the only one from the region to still have two teams in the running.

L.A. Baptist (14-11) will travel to two-time defending softball champion Santa Ana Calvary Chapel (14-6), while the baseball team (17-6) will play Lancaster Desert Christian (24-1) at Lancaster Municipal Stadium.

Both of the school’s teams are unlikely semifinalists.

The baseball team finished behind Paraclete and Kilpatrick in the Alpha League and went two months without pitching ace Scott Swenson before the playoffs, a period during which the Knights lost six of 11 games.

Swenson (5-0) will pitch Tuesday for L.A. Baptist, which rallied from deficits in the seventh and eighth innings to defeat Arrowhead Christian, 7-6, in the quarterfinals.

The softball team tied Paraclete for its league title, but finished the regular season 11-11 and needed a 4-3 upset of top-seeded Santa Maria St. Joseph in the second round.

“They’re just tickled to death to be here,” Hubbard said. “And so are we.”

L.A. Baptist is one of five softball teams from the region to reach the semifinals.

Each must win games in Orange County to qualify for section finals either Friday or Saturday at Mayfair Park in Lakewood.

In Division I, Thousand Oaks (23-8) will travel to defending champion Santa Ana Mater Dei (27-4).

Newbury Park (24-7), which tied Thousand Oaks for the Marmonte League title, plays at top-seeded Garden Grove Pacifica (22-8) in a Division III semifinal.

In Division IV, top-seeded Chaminade (23-6-1) seeks its 20th consecutive victory and 14th shutout in a row at No. 4-seeded Fullerton Rosary (23-8). The Royals upset Chaminade, 1-0, last season in the semifinals.

Defending Division VI champion Cornerstone Christian (18-6), seeded No. 3 this season, travels to Capistrano Valley Christian (18-6), a 2-0 winner over No. 2 Linfield.

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Hart (25-4) is one victory from earning a trip to Edison Field and the Division II baseball final Saturday at 4:30 p.m. Standing in the way is a Tuesday semifinal game at Hart against Baseline League champion Don Lugo of Chino.

A major reason the Indians are flourishing in the playoffs is the play of middle infielders Ryan Haag and Tim Hutting. Haag, a junior second baseman, is batting .490 and made a critical defensive play Friday to help defeat Royal in the quarterfinals. Hutting leads the Indians with a .522 average, including 35 runs batted in.

Jamie Shields, who is 9-0 with three saves, is likely to draw the starting assignment on the mound. Shields, a junior, was clocked throwing five consecutive 91 mph fastballs in the seventh inning Friday.

In Division V, surprising St. Bonaventure (14-11) will play Santa Ana Calvary Chapel in a Tuesday semifinal at Southern California College. Pitcher Gil Infante has been a playoff stopper.

In Division VI, defending champion Simi Valley Grace Brethren (19-3) will travel to take on Rialto Bloomington Christian.

The City Championship semifinals are set for Tuesday, with top-seeded Chatsworth (25-3) playing No. 12 South Gate (20-11) at Birmingham and No. 3 Poly (24-7) playing No. 10 Kennedy (18-15) at Valley College. In the Division semifinal, top-seeded Carson (18-14-1) will play No. 4 Cleveland (13-15) at El Camino College.

The Poly-Kennedy matchup is a rematch of the 1996 City final won by Kennedy. Coach Chuck Schwal of Poly served for four years as junior varsity coach at Kennedy under Manny Alvarado.

Cleveland and Palisades are still alive in the Division semifinals. If both schools win, they will play at Dodger Stadium for the first time since 1982, when Bret Saberhagen of Cleveland defeated the Dolphins by pitching the only no-hitter in City Championship game history.

Staff writers Dave Desmond and Eric Sondheimer contributed to this report.