Baseball: League races to be decided this week
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The final week of the regular season in high school baseball has several league titles still to be decided and is the final push to improve seeding positions for next week’s playoffs.
In the South Coast League, El Toro and Tesoro meet Tuesday at Tesoro and Thursday at El Toro to decide the league title. Both are 7-3.
El Toro has unbeaten pitcher Chasen Ford (9-0) ready to go on Thursday. Only a junior, Ford has been one of the big surprise standouts to emerge in the regular season.
In the Pacific View League, Camarillo and Oxnard are both 10-3 and play on Tuesday at Oxnard. Camarillo has ace Hunter Virant ready to go.
In the Mission League, Harvard-Westlake needs a win over Loyola either Tuesday at home or Thursday on the road to wrap up a league title. Tuesday’s game will be taped by Time Warner Cable for broadcast later in the week.
In the Pacific League, Crescenta Valley (10-1) and Arcadia (10-2) are headed for a 7 p.m. Friday night showdown at Stengel Field. The Falcons are holding fan appreciation night with all kinds of prizes to be given away, along with lots of food items, so there’s going to be a nice party atmosphere for fans from one side or the other.
In the Trinity League, Orange Lutheran has a one-game lead over Mater Dei going into the final week but both teams face severe tests. Orange Lutheran plays JSerra in a two-game series. Mater Dei gets Servite. Both schools are trying to win out not only to help themselves in the league race but maintain their high profile for when seedings are decided in Division 1.
In the Desert Valley League, Palm Desert (10-0) and La Quinta (9-1) play in a two-game series to decide the league title. La Quinta has Trevor Abshire, who has a no-hitter this season. Also, Palm Desert’s Jonathan Serven has signed to play for Long Beach State.
-- Eric Sondheimer