Santa Ana Opens in Regional

Santa Ana, Cypress and Golden West open play today in the community college regional baseball playoffs with hopes of advancing to the state finals, May 27-29 in Fresno.

Top-seeded Santa Ana, which won state titles in 1993, ’95 and ‘96, is led by Orange Empire Conference MVP C.J. Wilson. The Dons (32-7-1), who lost two of three games to end the regular season, won the conference championship by three games over Cypress and Riverside.

They will host No. 16 San Jacinto (26-11) at 2 p.m. today and again at 11 a.m. Saturday in a best-of-three series.

Cypress, runner-up for the state title last season, is seeded fourth in the regional. The Chargers (32-10), winners of state championships in 1991, ’94 and ‘97, lost a head-to-head tiebreaker with Riverside for the higher seeding.

Ryan Hubbard and Kevin Snapp lead Cypress, which lost two games on the final day of the state tournament last year. The Chargers host No. 13 Rio Hondo (26-12).

Golden West (21-20) squeaked into the playoffs by winning its final two games of the regular season to finish a game ahead of Saddleback and Fullerton. The Rustlers, seeded No. 11, are in the playoffs for the first time since 1990.

First baseman Ty Harper, who had a 28-game hitting streak this season, leads the Rustlers, who play at No. 7 Palomar (28-9).

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Baseball

* What: Southern California community college regional playoffs.

* What’s at stake: Winner of each best-of-three series advances to state tournament, May 27-29 in Fresno.

* When: Today’s games begin at 2 p.m., Saturday’s at 11 a.m., with a third game, if necessary, beginning 30 minutes after conclusion of first game.

* Pairings: No. 16 Mt. San Jacinto (26-11) at No. 1 Santa Ana (32-7-1); No. 15 Grossmont (22-15) at No. 2 Riverside (31-11-1); No. 14 El Camino (20-21) at No. 3 Cuesta (31-11); No. 13 Rio Hondo (26-12) at No. 4 Cypress (32-10); No. 12 Bakersfield (23-18) at No. 5 East Los Angeles (30-12-1); No. 11 Southwestern (23-15) at No. 6 Cerritos (30-11); No. 10 Golden West (21-20) at No. 7 Palomar (28-9); No. 9 L.A. Pierce (24-12) at No. 8 Cerro Coso (24-14).