Peninsula Prep Baseball
It's conceivable that Sequoia, with its No. 2 seeding could find itself on the opposite side of the CCS-Division III bracket with Los Altos – that the Eagles could be seeded second instead of the No. 7 – its first-round opponent on Saturday.
"I could have easily seen us being reversed," said Ravens coach Mike Doyle. "That's a good team we're playing."
A familiar one, too. The Eagles beat Sequoia two Saturdays ago, 8-6.
"We know what each other is about," Doyle said. "It's going to come down to who makes the plays."
The Eagles appear to be under-seeded. Consider they finished the regular season with a 19-8 record in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division, one of the most competitive conferences on the Peninsula. And like the Ravens, they beat Saint Francis on the road. They also have a victory over Bellarmine.
But the CCS seeding committee did Los Altos no favors. And, as a result, did nothing to help Sequoia, which might be near the top of the bracket, but got a tough first-round draw.
This is a different Sequoia team than a month ago when it dropped consecutive series finale on seventh-inning errors that could have easily been double-play grounders.
"We've gone on a little run," said Doyle, whose team won six of its last nine games and lost a few heartbreakers in that stretch.
A 10-inning loss to Capuchino was in that group, as does an extra-inning loss to Menlo-Atherton on a Jack Molise grand slam. The other loss was to the Eagles.
"We've been in every game," Doyle said. "We should feel somewhat confident that we can match up with anyone. We respect the hell out of everyone, but we know we can compete."
Seniors Logan Mathias and Drew Ostrander both bring batting averages well above .400 into the postseason, while junior Morgan Winfield has driven in 29 runs, hit six home runs and is Sequoia's top pitcher with a 6-0 record this season.
Waiting in the second round could be The King's Academy, the No. 6 seed, which travels to Willow Glen on Saturday. The Knights and Ravens tied for third with Carlmont in the PAL Bay Division and split their season series.
The Knights (13-11) are led by the trio of junior Nate Plata, and seniors Ethan Johnson and Toby Trotter.
Here is the Division III bracket breakdown:
No. 6 The King's Academy at No. 3 Willow Glen, 4 p.m.
The King's Academy Knights, Sunnyvale
Record: 13-11 (7-7, tied for third in the PAL Bay Division)
Coach: Greg Mugg
Key Offensive Players: Nate Plata (.446 batting average, 14 RBI, 21 runs), Toby Trotter (.429 batting average, 17 RBI), Ethan Johnson (.392 batting average, 30 RBI, 6 HRs, 22 runs).
Mound Ace: Toby Trotter (5-1, 67 Ks in 45.1 innings, 3.55 earned-run average).
Willow Glen Rams, San Jose
Record: 21-6 (10-4, third in the Mount Hamilton League)
Coach: Brian Vieira
Key Offensive Players: Miles Austin (.446 batting average, 16 RBI, 17 runs), Kaiden Pan (.431 batting average, 13 RBI, 15 runs), Haas Perry (.308 batting average, 14 RBI, 14 runs).
Mound Ace: Dante Pini (10-1, 38 Ks in 54 innings, 1.81 earned-run average).
No. 7 Los Altos at No. 2 Sequoia, 1 p.m.
Los Altos Eagles, Los Altos
Record: 19-8 (8-6, fourth in SCVAL De Anza Division)
Coach: Gabriel Stewart
Key Offensive Players: Darrion Wesley (.432 batting average, 26 RBI, 2 HRs), Quinn Chiochios (.391, 14 RBI, 27 runs), Gavin Moore (.317, 30 RBI, 6 HRs).
Mound Ace: Sly Cash (7-1, 68 Ks in 42 innings, 2.33 earned-run average).
Sequoia Ravens, Redwood City
Record: 15-12 (7-7, tied for third in PAL Bay Division)
Coach: Mike Doyle
Key Offensive Players: Logan Mathias (.446 batting average, 17 RBI, 25 runs, 2 HRs), Drew Ostrander (.410 batting average, 19 RBI, 28 runs, 2 HRs), Morgan Winfield (.377 batting average, 29 RBI, 16 runs, 6 HRs).
Mound Ace: Morgan Winfield (6-0, 63 Ks in 59 innings, 1.42 earned-run average).
No. 5 Christopher at No. 4 Palo Alto, noon
Christopher Cougars, Gilroy
Record: 15-10 (8-6, fifth in Mount Hamilton League)
Coach: Ryan Dequin
Key Offensive Players: Liam Aragon (.353 batting average, 11 RBI), Sam Guenther (.333, 11 RBI), Jacob Huerta (.238 batting average, 11 RBI, 20 runs).
Mound Ace: Nick Valentine (7-4, 68 Ks in 60 innings, 2.22 earned-run average)
Palo Alto Vikings, Palo Alto
Record: 14-13 (10-4, second in SCVAL De Anza Division)
Coach: Pete Fukuhara
Key Offensive Players: Coco Vonderhaar (.453 batting average, 21 RBI, 39 runs, 5 HRs), Carter Bader (.413 batting average, 31 RBI, 19 runs), Jonathan Nguyen (.304 batting average, 21 RBI, 11 runs 3 HRs).
Mound Ace: Cormac White (4-5, 24 Ks in 40.2 innings, 5.51 earned-run average).
No. 8 Santa Cruz at No. 1 Carmel, noon.
Santa Cruz Cardinals, Santa Cruz
Record: 15-11 (12-3, second in the Santa Cruz Coast League-Gabilan Division)
Coach: Jesse Trumbull
Key Offensive Players: Fernando DeCosta, Caleb Cmaylo, Matteo Caltabiano, AJ Dacosta. (No statistics available).
Mound Ace: Owen Rogers
Carmel Padres, Carmel
Record: 17-10 (12-6, third in the Santa Cruz Coast League-Gabilan Division)
Coach: Michael Kelly
Key Offensive Players: Matt Maxon (.457 batting average, 33 RBI, 41 runs, 9 HRs), Sean Carr (.406 batting average, 27 RBI, 20 runs, 6 HRs), John Beretti (.338 batting average, 20 RBI, 15 runs, 2 HRs).
Mound Ace: Matt Maxon (8-1, 73 Ks in 56 innings, 1.00 earned-run average).
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