Baseball: Will there be any City Section upsets?

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The City Section Division I baseball playoffs begin Tuesday with first-round games, and there haven’t been very many first-round upsets in recent years. They do happen when the fifth or fourth-place teams from the West Valley League get matched against higher seeds.

Last season, it was Birmingham knocking off Granada Hills Kennedy in the opening round.

Granada Hills, which finished last in the West Valley League, plays on the road against Marine League champion Banning at the Urban Youth Academy. Granada Hills has been one of the hottest teams of late. Banning has outstanding pitching but struggles at the plate.

Birmingham, which tied for third place in the West Valley, travels to San Pedro and will likely send out All-City outfielder Kevin Torres on the mound. He beat Kennedy last season.

San Fernando has to be careful with Western League champion Palisades. The Tigers are probably already looking ahead to a quarterfinal matchup against Kennedy, and that could be trouble.

-- Eric Sondheimer