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    CIF-SS Division 1 softball playoff bracket creates challenging road for O.C. teams
    • April 29, 2023

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    Huntington Beach might have its best team under veteran softball coach Jeff Forsberg.

    Pacifica has found its stride again after a couple of stumbles in league.

    But if either team is going to make a deep run in the CIF-SS playoffs, they will have to navigate the early challenges of a very different Division 1 bracket.

    Get ready for a 16-team bracket in the premier group of the section playoffs.

    The CIF-SS on Saturday released a 16-team, Division 1 playoff bracket, a major break from its traditional 32-team bracket. The schedule features eight wild-card round games Tuesday.

    Huntington Beach (22-5) and Pacifca (19-8), ranked third and 10th in the final coaches’ poll for Division 1, will play host to Westlake (18-8-1) and Bonita (18-9), respectively, in wild-card games.

    If the county teams win, they will play at Torrance (23-4) and La Mirada (18-7), respectively, in the first round Thursday. Neither Torrance or La Mirada plays in the wild card round, so Huntington Beach and Pacifica face the extra hurdle of managing aces Zoe Prystajko and Brynne Nally.

    Forsberg said his team is going after the title regardless of the draw.

    “We got to win the games anyway,” said Forsberg, whose squad was ranked No. 1 in the section last week before falling in eight innings at Los Alamitos in the Sunset League title game. “But I’m surprised we’re playing Tuesday.”

    Three county contenders avoided the wild-card round: league champions Los Alamitos (24-3), Orange Lutheran (21-5) and Esperanza (19-6). Those three teams will be home in the first round Thursday.

    The Griffins and Lancers are seeded second and third, respectively, behind Norco (24-3). Huntington Beach is seeded fourth.

    The reason for the 16-team bracket, section assistant commissioner and spokesperson Thom Simmons confirmed, was that the section received 24 playoff entries, one shy of the threshold needed for a 32-team bracket.

    The 24 entries came from a pool of 27 teams placed in Division 1 for this season. That means only three teams missed the playoffs in Division 1. They were Mater Dei, La Habra and Upland, all of whom didn’t earn automatic playoff berths from their league and lacked the .500 overall record to apply for at-large spots.

    Mission Viejo (14-13-1), the Division 2 champion last year, and Villa Park (17-11), an at-large entry, also will play in the Division 1 wild-card round Tuesday. The Diablos play host to Camarillo (16-5) while Villa Park plays at Chino Hills (15-8).

    The remaining six divisions for the playoffs all feature 32-team brackets.

    Three Orange County Top 10 teams — Marina (20-7), JSerra (17-10) and Canyon (17-10) — were placed in the upper-half of Division 2. If Canyon and JSerra win home games Thursday, they would meet in the second round May 9.

    The county is well-represented in Division 3. Empire League champion Cypress (19-3-1), South Coast League champion Aliso Niguel (22-4) and Trinity League No. 3 Santa Margarita (16-11-1) are seeded first, second and third, respectively.

    In Division 4, Fullerton (19-6) is seeded fourth as it makes its first postseason appearance since 2016-17. The Freeway League’s No. 3 entry opens at San Jacinto (14-7) on Thursday.

    Pacific Coast League rivals Irvine (16-10) and Northwood (10-7) are seeded first and second in Division 5.

    Trabuco Hills (14-11) finished as the No. 1-ranked team in Division 5 but missed the playoffs because the division didn’t have room for any at-large teams and the Mustangs failed to secure an automatic berth in the four-team Sea View League.

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    ​ Orange County Register 

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