Hart Finally Gets Around to Playing Thousand Oaks

Finally . . . the third-place game of the Thousand Oaks tournament.

Only now, the stakes are higher.

Thousand Oaks High hosts Hart in a Southern Section Division II quarterfinal playoff game today at 3:15 p.m. at Thousand Oaks Community Park.

Since the teams haven’t met on the field this season, there’s much more drama added.

Thousand Oaks (24-5-1), ranked No. 3 in the region by The Times, and No. 4 Hart (23-5) should have met May 6 in a third-place game of the Thousand Oaks tournament.

But since most of the Lancers would be missing because of prom commitments, and Hart would be without Coach Cathy Giordano, who was watching her daughters play in Arizona, the coaches agreed to cancel the game. They shared third place.

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Courtney Whale of Chaminade is making the most of her final high school postseason.

The senior shortstop has driven in all four of the Eagles’ runs in playoff victories over Notre Dame Academy and San Dimas.

Whale is expected to walk on at Cal State Northridge.

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Chaminade and top-seeded Rosary will be at it again today in a quarterfinal matchup, a round earlier than the last two seasons.

Defending Division IV Chaminade defeated Rosary, 1-0, in the semifinals last season.

Two years ago Rosary defeated Chaminade, 1-0, in the semifinals.

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Kudos to St. Bonaventure.

The Seraphs are one of two Southern Section teams in the quarterfinals to earn a playoff berth as their league’s No. 3 entry.

St. Bonaventure had the region’s most dramatic playoff comeback Tuesday by scoring four runs in the bottom of the seventh to upset second-seeded Santa Maria St. Joseph, 4-3, in a Division V game.

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Junior catcher Ashlie D’Errico of Highland was named the Golden League’s player of the year.

D’Errico, who was batting .403 with 14 runs batted in before the playoffs, led the Bulldogs to their first league title.