Six area baseball teams in action Tuesday for berth in section finals
As we head into the final week of the Central Section baseball playoffs, six teams are still alive heading into Tuesday’s semifinal matchups.
In Division I, No. 2 Liberty is looking to reach its second final in the past four years.
The Patriots (27-4), which lost to Clovis-Buchanan in the D-I title game in 2021, rallied to beat Tulare Western 3-2 on a walk-off walk in their postseason opener last week and then advanced with an 8-1 victory over rival Stockdale on Thursday.
Liberty will now host No. 11 Clovis North (20-11), a team that stumbled into the playoffs having lost 9 of 12 games, but then upset No. 6 Visalia-Redwood 15-7 before beating No. 14 Madera 7-1 last week. Madera upset No. 3 Clovis in its playoff opener.
The Liberty-Clovis North winner will earn the right to play the winner of No. 1 Clovis West and No. 4 Fresno-Bullard for the championship. The final is slated for 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Visalia’s Valley Strong Ballpark. All the baseball finals will be played at that venue.
A Kern County team has won two consecutive D-I titles and advanced a team to the finals in each of the past five years. Centennial won last year’s championship as a No. 9 seed, following up Stockdale’s victory in the 2022 final.
Bakersfield Christian (24-5) is looking to repeat its Division-I championship, following up a magical season that saw the Eagles reaching the Southern California Regional finals.
BCHS has won a section title in two of the last three years, having captured the Division-IV crown in 2021.
The Eagles held on for a 5-4 victory over No. 15 San Luis Obispo in its opener and then cruised to an 8-0 victory over Hanford-Sierra Pacific on Thursday to reach the semifinals.
Senior left-hander Mason Brassfield allowed just three hits, with three walks and 11 strikeouts in six innings to improve to 10-2 and lower his ERA to 0.73. Sophomore Deakin Brinkley had a big day at the plate, going 3 for 4 with two doubles and four RBIs.
Bakersfield Christian will now host No. 6 Lemoore (22-8), which defeated No. 11 Templeton and No. 14 Fresno to reach the semifinals.
The winner would play either No. 9 Atascadero or No. 6 Santa Maria-St. Joseph on Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Visalia.
In Division IV, upset-minded No. 7 Independence (15-15) is looking to follow up Thursday’s 2-1 victory at No. 2 Taft with another road victory against No. 3 Tulare-Mission Oak.
The Falcons defeated No. 10 Arvin in their opener, 4-1, behind a complete-game, 6-hitter by sophomore Isaac Lopez. Sophomore David Baralt homered to lead Independence’s offense.
Both teams have allowed a combined three runs in their four postseason games.
Mission Oak (15-14) has allowed just eight hits and one run during its two playoff victories, and figures to throw senior Zylan Ramirez, who is 6-0 with a 1.31 ERA on Tuesday against the Falcons. He tossed a 3-hitter in the Hawks’ 1-0 victory over No. 13 Nipomo in their playoff opener.
The winner would secure a spot in the championship game at noon on Saturday in Visalia against either top-seed Madera-Liberty or No. 12 Porterville-Monache.
Two teams from the South Sequoia League will be an action on Tuesday.
No. 3 Shafter, fresh off a 3-1 victory over rival Wasco, will host No. 10 Firebaugh (15-16) in Division V, and No. 2 Chavez (17-12) plays at home against No. 6 South High (16-13).
The Generals (19-6) are looking to reach their first section final in recent memory, and would play the winner of No. 1 Madera-Matilda Torres and No. 5 Tollhouse-Sierra for the title on Friday at 4 p.m.
The Titans have won nine straight entering Tuesday’s matchup with the Spartans. The winner would play either No. 1 Woodlake or No. 5 Lindsay at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
