Cougars, Barons Hope to Play Streak-Stopper

The Southern Section baseball playoffs resume today with Capistrano Valley facing host Fountain Valley, a second-round Division I matchup that will mean the end of a winning streak.

The Cougars (19-8), winners of the South Coast League, have won eight in a row, while the Barons (19-9) have won three straight after a late-season slide that dropped them into third place in the Sunset League.

University and La Quinta, both top-seeded, are out, leaving second-seeded Villa Park (25-2) as the lone seeded county team still playing. Only three of six county teams advanced to the second round in Division I, and only two remain in Divisions II, IV and V.

In Division IV, Western (15-12) travels to play Corona del Mar (14-11), the defending division champion. The Pioneers pulled off the biggest upset of the first round with a 6-3 victory over top-seeded La Quinta.

Two other defending champions--El Dorado and Calvary Chapel--remain alive. The Golden Hawks (17-10) play at Hacienda Heights Los Altos (21-6) in Division III, and the Eagles (19-7) host Riverside Notre Dame (18-9) in Division V.

Quarterfinal games will be Friday.

Softball

Orange County teams continue to flex their muscle, going 14-6 against non-county opponents in the first round.

There’s plenty of local intrigue this week, however, as Fountain Valley pitcher Natalie King could face third-seeded Foothill (29-2) again. She has beaten the Knights twice this season.

But first, teams must take care of second-round business today.

In Division I, Fountain Valley (23-8) plays at Moreno Valley Canyon Springs (17-9), and Foothill is at Palos Verdes Peninsula (17-10-1).

The powerful hitters of Aliso Niguel (21-7-1), led by Chezare Sievers, face Troy (20-7) and pitcher Lindsey Knoff in Division II.

El Modena (20-8-1), which doesn’t have any seniors, plays at Pacifica (21-8-1), the three-time defending champion in Division III.

Two schools that dominate the county statistically, top-seeded Capistrano Valley Christian (21-2) and Liberty Christian (16-2), play at Costa Mesa’s TeWinkle Park in Division VI.

Northwood (17-2), a somewhat untested Pacifica Coast League champion in its first year of varsity competition, gets a look at one of the county’s best pitchers, Jessica Edwards from Orange Lutheran (22-6-1), in Division V.

Tennis

Three intra-county matchups highlight today’s quarterfinal play.

In Division I, defending champion Corona del Mar (20-6) hosts Dana Hills (17-3). The Sea Kings are heavy favorites, but they might be without Pacific Coast League singles champion Cameron Ball, who missed Thursday’s win over Irvine and Saturday’s section individual tournament with stiffness related to growing pains.

Fourth-seeded Los Alamitos (17-3) travels to Capistrano Valley (17-1) in another Division I match.

In Division III, fourth-seeded Woodbridge (16-6) plays at Santa Margarita (14-4), which upset Santa Barbara Friday. Woodbridge, which lost to Corona del Mar in the Division I finals last year, has dropped only four sets in its two victories.

In Division II, top-seeded University (17-0) travels to Thousand Oaks. If the Trojans win, they could meet Troy (22-0)--the county’s only other undefeated team--in the semifinals. Troy hosts Burbank today. Sunny Hills (16-6), which won four Division II titles in the 1980s, hosts third-seeded Rio Mesa.

In Division IV, Pacifica (15-1) travels to second-seeded San Luis Obispo. Semifinal matches will be played Thursday.

Volleyball

The boys’ volleyball playoffs enter their final week with semifinal matches Wednesday at 7 p.m. and the championship matches Saturday.

In Division I, defending champion Newport Harbor, led by Stanford signee Billy Clayton, plays fourth-seeded Manhattan Beach Mira Costa at Redondo Union High, and unseeded Santa Margarita plays Stanford-bound Kevin Hansen and third-seeded Corona del Mar at Newport Harbor High.

In Division II, Woodbridge plays third-seeded Mater Dei at Santa Margarita High, and in Division III, fourth-seeded Whittier Christian plays top-seeded defending champion Santa Ynez at Solvang Elementary School.

The finals are Saturday at Cypress College, Division I at 7 p.m., Division II at 4 p.m. and Division III at 1 p.m.

Badminton

The quarterfinals get underway today, with five of the county’s top teams still in the hunt for the title.

The most interesting match will be second-seeded Garden Grove hosting Troy. When they met earlier this season, the Argonauts (14-0) edged the Warriors (10-9).

Troy is coming off an emotional victory over eight-time defending champion Alhambra Keppel. The Warriors, led by boys’ singles players Jon Guerin and Anan Patel, battled back from a 9-5 deficit to win the match, 10-9.

Garden Grove, the defending Southern Section champion, has had an easy run through the bracket, dropping only four points in two matches. The Argonauts are led by Ly Phan and Khoa Linh Luong, finalists in the section individual tournament in girls’ doubles.

Third-seeded Villa Park (13-0) hosts Katella (17-1), which will need everyone playing their best to defeat the Spartans, who won three of the five section individual titles.

If Garden Grove and Villa Park advance, it sets up a semifinal rematch on Thursday of last year’s final, which the Argonauts won, 10-9.

Westminster, the Golden West League champion, will play at top-seeded Alhambra (17-0).