C.I.F. Releases Playoff Brackets for Desert Baseball / Softball Teams
The road to a high school baseball championship just got an official road map. On Monday,the C.I.F. Southern Section released the playoff brackets for all seven divisions. The Coachella Valley is very well represented in Divisions 4 through 6.
We’ll start with one of the state’s top teams. Defending C.I.F. champion Palm Desert. The Aztecs earned a first round bye and will host a wild-card winner this Thursday. Palm Desert, of course, won the school’s first C.I.F. title last spring. The only thing better than one title? You bet…multiple championships.
The Aztecs finished the season ranked No. 1 in the final Division 4 poll.
The second place team from the Desert Valley League is La Quinta. The Blackhawks finished the season on a tear. They won 6 straight league games after dropping a pair to the rival Aztecs.
The ‘Hawks recent win streak included a pair of impressive wins against a good Indio team. La Quinta will also host a wild-card winner on Thursday.
As for the rest of the playoff round-up, several desert teams will have a chance to make a deep run into the playoffs. The aforementioned Indio takes the 3 seed from the DVL and will play in a wild card game on Tuesday. Palm Springs, the 4th place finisher, also has a wild-card matchup.
From Division 5 and the De Anza League, Desert Hot Springs earns a bye while 29 Palms and Shadow Hills get in as wild-cards.
In girls softball, 5 time defending DVL champion La Quinta will look for a C.I.F. championship run after a favorable seeding in the bracket. The Blackhawks will host a wild-card winner on Thursday. DVL second place finisher Indio will match up against the No. 2 seed from the Sunkist League, Bloomington. That game will be played at Indio.
