The Sports Informant

America’s pasttime is no more exciting than at the high school level in mid-May. As teams battle in their final league games to secure a playoff spot, only to once again have to play their most intense games of the year a week later or face elimination, baseball fans get quite the show from local talent.

This weekend will mark the start of the Sac-Joaquin Section baseball playoffs, and there should be some interesting matchups as we witness the hardballers take the field. Seven divisions of area high schools will fight for their respective crowns. The Sports Informant will focus on the top three.

Division I

The beauty of the Division I playoffs is the structure of the playoff bracket. Rather than try to cram the top teams into a quick tournament, or exclude some late bloomers who could make a deep run, the Division I playoffs are broken up into a North bracket and a South bracket. The North champion will eventually duel the South champion for the section title in a best of three series starting on May 29 at Sac City College in Sacramento.

North: Overall defending section champion Jesuit will again come into its bracket as a No. 1 seed, winning the Delta River League title this season to secure a 10 a.m. game on May 16 in the first round against Wood. Jesuit will face the first round winner of Davis Sr. and Fairfield. Monticello Empire champ Napa will face Pleasant Grove and Delta Valley champ Elk Grove will face Sheldon. All games will be played at American River College.

South: The Division I South bracket started on Wednesday and already saw an upset. San Joaquin’s Tracy knocked of No. 1 seed Grace Davis, 2-0 and will play Saturday against Golden Valley, who knocked of Tri-City champ West High (of Tracy), 6-3. Defending south bracket champ Buhach Colony faces St. Mary’s today and the winner will face the winner of Lincoln and Enochs.

Predictions: Buhach Colony may have a bitter taste from last year’s section championship, a 3-game battle that saw Jesuit win the first and third to secure the title. With two of the top seeds in the South bracket already out, odds are Buhach Colony will win its bracket again for a return trip, but it may not be Jesuit it faces in the section finals. Elk Grove has been dangerous all season long. Don’t be surprised to see it knock off the Marauders.

Division II

No. 1 seed Oak Ridge is already gone, as the tournament began on May 13. Del Oro stole the spotlight with a 2-0 win over the Trojans, opening the door for the rest of the field to compete. Del Oro is currently facing Granite Bay in a best-of-3 series with a shot at the finals on the line after Granite Bay knocked of the Metro’s No. 1 Rosemont in the first round,  6-2.

On the other side of the bracket, Sierra Foothill League champ Rocklin faces Burbank tonight, and Ponderosa faces McClatchy. Winner of those two games will face one another for a shot at the finals.

Predictions: Defending champ Ponderosa knows how to win big games, and should end up in the finals again. But Del Oro is on a rampage right now and won’t be stopped, despite it’s sneaking into the playoffs as its league’s No. 3 spot. It was Del Oro that Ponderosa beat for the section title last year. It won’t happen this time around.

Division III

A lot has happened already in the D-III bracket. No. 1 seed Casa Roble was ousted in the first round on Wednesday by Benicia, 7-3. Benecia will now face the winner of tonight’s game between Woodland and Vanden in a best-of-3 series deciding one half of the bracket’s finals. Solano County’s champ Rodriguez cruised past first round opponent Del Campo yesterday, 9-4, and will face Tri-County champ Yuba City after its first round win over El Camino the same night, 5-1.

Predictions: Yuba City is 25-3 this season for a reason. The team won’t be beat by whoever it faces in the championship. That will be Vanden, by the way, who will fight to make it there, but against lesser teams on its side of the bracket.

Check back next week for an update on the playoffs.