Baseball: More than bragging rights are at stake

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The most interesting championship game of the week at Dodger Stadium could be Thursday’s 4:30 p.m. Southern Section Division 3 championship game between Pacific Coast League rivals Woodbridge and Beckman.

Both schools are in Irvine. The players know each other well. The coaches are good friends. Beckman beat Woodbridge three times in league play.

‘There’s definitely a rivalry,’ Woodbridge Coach Tim Murray said.

Woodbridge is considered the underdog, but the Warriors have a pitching ringer ready to bring out. Ben Wylly, a left-hander who signed with San Diego, spent nearly two months not pitching because of shoulder tendinitis. He returned in early May and threw a shutout in the playoffs. He’s nearing peak form and he’ll be on the mound Thursday to oppose Beckman ace James Kaprielian.

Regardless, Murray, a former pitching coach at El Dorado, said he can sleep well at night knowing he was patient with Wylly trying to make sure he was healthy.

Beckman Coach Kevin Lavalle used to be the hitting coach at Anaheim Canyon and it shows because Beckman has the best hitting attack in Division 3.

The city of Irvine is about to take sides at Dodger Stadium, and what an ending it’s going to be.

-- Eric Sondheimer