CIF San Diego Section Baseball Championships
When: Saturday
Where: Fowler Park, on campus at USD
Tickets: $17 for adults, $10 for students and seniors. Tickets available on Gofan.co.
Division 4: (2) Ramona (23-10) vs. (1) Otay Ranch (23-10), 1 p.m.
Preview: Ramona has won 11 in a row and 18 of the last 20. The Bulldogs, who are hitting .351 as a team, are led by Zack Nightingale, who is hitting .389 with 30 RBIs. Justin Jarrett, Tallon Ogilive and Derek Taylor all have 21 RBIs. Both Jarrett and Jakob Coxen pitched Tuesday, so Alex Wilson and Seth Gaines could see action …. Otay Ranch has won four in a row after losing three in a row. The Mustangs are led by Jake Medina, who is hitting .348 with 26 RBIs. Cory Salazar and Carlos Martinez both have driven in 13. Otay Ranch had to play twice this week, so the pitching is stretched thin. Sebastian Magana pitched Tuesday and Fernando Tovalin on Thursday. Preston Bellinger could get the start with a full bullpen behind him. … Ramona hasn’t won a CIF title since going back-to-back in 1972 and ’73. This is Otay Ranch’s first title-game appearance.
Division 3: (2) University City (19-12-0) vs. (1) Calexico (23-4-1), 4 p.m.
Preview: University City has won five straight after losing four in a row. The Centurions are led by Josh Kaplan, who is hitting. 361 with 27 RBIs. AJ Curry and Ethan Antenore both have driven in 13. Curry is hitting .390. Thiago Quillin pitched UC into the title game, so the start figures to go to Curry, who is 6-4 with a 1.07 ERA with 94 strikeouts in 50 1/3 innings. … Calexico started the season 0-2, but is 23-2-1 since. The Bulldogs are led by Randy Baez, who is hitting .432 with 6 HRs and 31 RBIs. Jose Ortega has driven in 24 and Joshua Apodoca 14. Antonio Gonzalez pitched the Bulldogs into the title game, so either David Lara, who is 8-1, or Ortega, who is 6-0, figures to get the start. … University City won the Division 3 title in 2007. Calexico was the Division 4 champion in 2023.
Division 1: (3) Point Loma (19-12-1) vs. (1) Rancho Bernardo (18-12-0), 7 p.m.
Preview: Point Loma has won four in a row, beating Cathedral Catholic 1-0 in 10 innings on Tuesday and 2-0 on Wednesday to earn a spot in the title game. The Pointers had to use Marviel Underwood, Phoenix Brant and Luis Lara already this week, so someone is going to have to step up. Brant leads the Point Loma offense, hitting .375 with 18 RBIs. Michael Hall and Hunter Reddeg both have driven in 13 and Branden Keeling 12. … Rancho Bernardo has won three in a row and is hitting .310 as a team. Nick Reed has driven in 25, Brady Strachan 23, Owen Glick 19 and Matthew Zacarias 15. The Broncos used pitchers Nathan Ling, Brayden Kotera and Noah Villa in a win Tuesday against Torrey Pines. So Caden Docken, who is 6-3, and Christopher Bayne, who is 5-5, are available. … Point Loma and RB have played once this season with the Pointers winning 10-2. … Point Loma is making its sixth appearance in the finals and were the Division 2 champions last season. … This is the 13th title-game appearance for RB. The Broncos lost in the Open Division finals last season.
— JOHN MAFFEI
