Three Teams From Area Are Seeded No. 1

Foothill, Woodbridge and Calvary Chapel are the top-seeded teams for their divisions in the Southern Section softball playoffs that begin Wednesday. The pairings for the six divisions were released Monday.

Foothill and Mater Dei were seeded first and second in Division I, while Woodbridge was expected to emerge in Division II. Calvary Chapel is the No. 1 team in Division V and is the only county team in the division.

Seventeen county teams are competing in Division I, seven in Division II, five in Division III and VI.

DIVISION I

Defending champion--Marina, a 3-0 winner over Mater Dei.

Top teams--Foothill (26-2), Mater Dei (25-1), Newbury Park (21-5-1), Camarillo (20-2-1).

Dark horse--Pacifica. The Mariners (24-3) could have easily been the fourth-seeded team. They hit the ball well--and not that slap bunt stuff, either--and have two of the section’s best players, alternating pitcher/shortstop Amanda Freed and Toni Mascarenas.

Noteworthy--Mater Dei’s team batting average is .329, and pitchers Brooke Hofstetter and Marissa Young have given up only three earned runs. They have won 14 straight.

DIVISION II

Defending champion--Woodbridge, a 4-3 winner over Lakewood in eight innings.

Top teams--Woodbridge (24-5), La Mirada (21-2-1), Saugus (22-4), La Puente Bishop Amat (23-3-1).

Dark horse--Irvine. It won’t be easy, but the Vaqueros (21-6-1) don’t beat themselves.

Noteworthy--There are 16 20-victory teams in the bracket, eight on each side of the bracket. . . . Don’t count out El Toro, a wild-card team from the Sea View League. The Chargers are optimistic after last week’s ruling that pitcher Suzanne Guy was residentially eligible; if they beat Ocean View in the wild-card game, they play second-seeded La Mirada in the first round. They were beaten by La Mirada in the Woodbridge tournament, 7-2, in eight innings. Guy didn’t pitch.

DIVISION III

Defending champion--Upland, a 4-2 winner over Whittier La Serna.

Top teams--Upland (22-4), Glendora St. Lucy’s (21-4), La Serna (23-1-1), El Segundo (20-5).

Dark horse--Brea Olinda. The Wildcats have plenty of pop in their lineup and are coming through the No. 4 bracket; anything less than a quarterfinal appearance would be an upset.

Noteworthy--Aliso Niguel has won six in a row and nine of its last 10.

DIVISION V

Defending champion--Cerritos Valley Christian, a 1-0 winner over La Reina in 10 innings.

Top teams--Calvary Chapel (18-9), Santa Monica Crossroads (17-9), Lancaster Paraclete (21-4), Van Nuys Montclair Prep (21-4).

Dark horse--Cerritos Valley Christian. The Crusaders (13-5-1), the two-time defending champ, played a reputable schedule and have a pitcher, Susie Schoales, who was the section player of the year last year.

Noteworthy--Calvary Chapel tried to play up in class this season, and did respectably, playing primarily Division II games or higher outside its league. The Eagles beat two Division I playoff teams, Cypress and Cerritos Gahr, as well as San Clemente, which would have been a playoff team if not for forfeiting 15 games; Calvary Chapel also beat Millikan, a Division II playoff team.

DIVISION VI

Defending champion--Temecula Linfield, an 8-0 winner over Camarillo Cornerstone Christian.

Top teams--Linfield (20-5), Covina Western Christian (17-8), Boron (21-1), Cornerstone Christian (16-2).

Dark horse--Southern California Christian. The Flames (14-4) have a better record than their first-round opponent, Liberty Christian (11-5); if they win there, they would get a second-round home game. Then, if they win a coin flip, they could be hosting Boron in the quarterfinals--a real home-field advantage.

Noteworthy--If Linfield and Western Christian reach the finals, it would be the second time in three years for an All-Christian League final.