SCV playoff baseball roundup: West Ranch, Castaic, Valencia, Trinity all join Saugus in moving on to second round
Saugus High School junior Zack Seeley knew where the ball was going as soon as he hit.
Coming to bat with the bases loaded in the bottom of the first inning on Friday at Saugus High School, Seeley smacked a grand slam, finishing off a six-run frame for the Centurions with a bat-flip flourish.
“Just hit the ball far,” Seeley said of what he was thinking heading into the at-bat.
Seeley ended up with two home runs and nine RBIs on the day as the Centurions beat the Wiseburn Da Vinci Wolves, 22-3, to advance to the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division 4 playoffs. He also hit a double as part of a three-for-three day with two walks, all coming as the eighth hitter in the Saugus lineup.
“He’s a very good hitter,” said Saugus head coach Mike Miller. “We believe in him. It got us going, and he had a big day with two home runs and a double.”
It’s the first playoff win for Miller in his first season as the Centurions’ skipper. He said having two weeks off since their last game forced the coaches to keep the players engaged, but the offensive onslaught on Friday showed that the Centurions didn’t come into their playoff opener with any rust.
They led 17-2 after three innings.
“I feel like we did really well in those two weeks to stay focused,” Miller said. “I think that’s why the results we had today is, we stayed focused and we stayed disciplined and we had good practices that led to a good game.”
Senior Kaden Haag also hit a home run and drove in four runs while scoring three runs himself. His twin brother, Kaleb, allowed two runs over four innings on the mound, giving way to three other pitchers to finish off the rout.
Senior James Frias had three hits in the leadoff spot for Saugus, scoring twice and driving in two runs. Senior Matt Long had two hits, including a double, and drove in two runs. Sophomore Abe Ramirez also had a double.
“I thought the last week of the season, we played really good baseball, and it carried into today,” Miller said. “So, I feel like we’re playing the right way at the right time of the year.”
Saugus now gets ready for the second round on Tuesday, making a long trip to the southwestern tip of Riverside County to take on the Murrieta Mesa Rams (16-12).
“We’re excited to go to the next round,” Miller said. “One of the biggest things we wanted this year is to do good in playoffs, so I feel like this is a good start.”
Four other Santa Clarita Valley baseball teams won in the first round of the playoffs. West Ranch won in Division 2, Castaic won in Division 3, and Valencia and Trinity Classical Academy both won in Division 4.
Hart was the lone team to fall in the first round, suffering a 4-2 loss on the road at Cajon.
West Ranch won in a nailbiter, beating Palm Desert on the road, 4-3. All four runs for West Ranch came in the second inning. The Foothill League champions are slated to host Crean Lutheran on Tuesday at 3:15 p.m.
Castaic also had a tight battle, taking down Paloma Valley on the road, 7-6. Paloma Valley put up all five of its runs in the final three innings after Castaic scored all seven runs by the fourth. Castaic is set to host Crescenta Valley on Tuesday at 3:15 p.m.
Valencia took down Northview on the road, 4-1, and is slated to host Dos Pueblos on Tuesday at 3:15 p.m.
Trinity scored all of its runs in one inning on its way to beating Don Lugo on the road, 3-2. The Heritage League champions have a 2 p.m. road game at Grand Terrace, just south of San Bernardino, on Tuesday.
