Breaking down the 2023 San Diego Section high school baseball playoff brackets
Here's an overview of the CIF San Diego Section baseball playoffs (Division 1 through Division 4) that get started on Tuesday around San Diego and Imperial County.
DIVISION 1 PLAYOFFS (Bracket)
SLEEPER PICK
The Madison Warhawks enter the playoffs with a losing record (13-14) but have reason to believe that their best baseball is ahead of them. They have Open Division playoff experience, having beaten eventual champion La Costa Canyon on the road last season. They have reliable starting pitching including three starters who have all thrown over 40 innings and have ERA's under 3.00 this season. The Warhawks also welcomed back San Diego State-signee Manoah Chapman back for the final four games of the regular season after an injury kept him out for the first two months of the year.
3 PLAYERS TO WATCH
Destin Allen-Fox - Santana LHP/1B
Allen-Fox has been an ace for the Sultans this season in 60.1 innings on the mound. He's 8-1 with a 0.58 ERA and struck out 78 batters while limiting opponents to a .163 batting average. He also sports a .403 on-base percentage in 24 games as batter.
Ryan Kroepel - Poway RHP/SS
Kroepel has played in 97 games while at Poway and has tossed 197.1 career innings. As one of San Diego's best two-way players this year, the Arizona State-signee is hitting .411 with five doubles, five triples and a home run. On the mound, he has a 1.75 ERA and has struck out 48 batters in 48 innings.
Talin Gardini - Patrick Henry LHP/1B
Gardini was one of the section's best two-way players once again this season. He led the Patriots in hits, finishing the regular season with a .338 batting average, four doubles and five home runs. On the mound, he had a 1.42 ERA and struck out 52 batters in 29.2 innings.
CHAMPIONSHIP PREDICTION
Patrick Henry over San Marcos
The Patriots entered the season with big expectations but had a rocky start during their first month before settling in. They closed the regular season by winning 10 of their final 12 games to earn a share of the Western League. The Patriots have four pitchers that have thrown between 20 and 30 innings this season and some pop at the top of their lineup with Talin Gardini and Jack Giordano that should propel them on a deep run in the Division 1 bracket.
DIVISION 2 PLAYOFFS (Bracket)
SLEEPER PICK
Del Norte is seeded ninth in the bracket but will get to begin their playoff run at home due to their Palomar League championship. They'll have to hold Santa Fe Christian in an elimination game to begin the tournament but have enough hitting to make a deep run in a bracket that features several teams that the Nighthawks matched up against during the regular season.
3 PLAYERS TO WATCH
Jose Mendoza - Montgomery RHP/INF
Mendoza had a second straight dominant season on the mound for the Aztecs. In nine appearances, he had a 0.84 ERA and struck out 50 batters in 58 innings. He also showed off his hitting skills, batting .348 with a .511 on-base percentage while driving in 15 runs.
Shane Bailey - Christian INF
Bailey led the Patriots in hits during the regular season, hitting over .400 for the third straight season.. He also led the Patriots with 10 doubles, giving his 32 for his career and had two home runs this season.
Jack Haferkamp - Santa Fe Christian OF
Haferkamp showcased his talent throughout the regular season for the Eagles, hitting .507 with a .622 on-base percentage. He enters the playoffs with six home runs, six doubles and 20 stolen bases.
CHAMPIONSHIP PREDICTION
Montgomery over Mission Hills
Montgomery, last season's Division 2 runner-up, lost four times during the regular season with three of those losses coming against league rival Eastlake. The Aztecs have a .417 on-base percentage as a team and a 1.58 ERA, setting themselves up well to succeed on both sides of the ball.
DIVISION 3 PLAYOFFS (Bracket)
SLEEPER PICK
Oceanside enters the playoffs as the six-seed having dropped their final two games of the regular season. The Pirates should have confidence for a possible playoff run however. Junior shortstop Will Hostetter hit .421 during the regular season, closing on an 11-game hitting streak. The Pirates also welcomed back two-way junior Zach Small, who's committed to Hawaii. Small missed more than a month during the middle of the season but has returned with a .517 on-base percentage and has struck out 19 batters in 8.1 innings since being back.
3 PLAYERS TO WATCH
Nico Newhan - Maranatha Christian INF
Newhan, an Arizona-signee, has a .577 on-base percentage for the second straight season. He finished last year with 29 extra-base hits and enters this postseason with 12 doubles and eight home runs. His 27-game hitting streak was snapped during the final game of the regular season.
Tanner Carranza - Brawley C
Carranza hit .492 during the regular season with a whopping .649 on-base percentage. He has seven doubles, four triples, three home runs and has stolen 17 bases for the fourth-seeded Wildcats.
Tanyon Smith - Fallbrook INF/RHP
Smith led the Valley League champions with a .375 batting average during the regular season, hitting three doubles, three triples and two home runs. He's thrown 100 innings during his three varsity seasons and struck out 37 batters this season, entering the playoffs with a 2.08 ERA.
CHAMPIONSHIP PREDICTION
Maranatha Christian over Fallbrook
The Eagles came up short in last season's Division 3 semifinal round, losing to eventual runner-up Olympian. This year the Eagles return as the top-seed in the bracket and look the part of a team ready to capture the title.
DIVISION 4 PLAYOFFS (Bracket)
SLEEPER PICK
El Capitan, the five-seed in the bracket, won't have the luxury of a first-round bye but the Vaqueros enter the playoffs with the most wins of any team in Division 4. They had a 4-1 record against other teams in the bracket during the regular season. El Capitan averaged more than 10 runs per game this season, hitting .332 as a team with 58 doubles.
3 PLAYERS TO WATCH
Brody McAuliffe - El Capitan INF/RHP
McAuliffe closed out the regular season by hitting. 500 with 10 doubles and two triples, striking out just five times in 112 plate appearances. He pitches in 11 games for the Vaqueros on the mound, he went 6-2 with a 2.46 ERA and 41 strikeouts.
Nico Viesca - Central LHP
Viesca closed out the regular season by tossing no-hitters against Palo Verde Valley and Calipatria in two of his final three outings. For the season, he's thrown 54.1 innings, striking out 86 batters while limiting opponents to a batting average of under .100.
Raul Sierra - Holtville RHP/INF
Sierra led the Vikings both at the plate and on the mound this season. He hit .424 with four doubles, three triples, a home run and drove in a team-leading 31 runs. In nine appearances on the mound, he struck out 68 batters in 46.2 innings and finished the regular season with a 1.35 ERA.
CHAMPIONSHIP PREDICTION
Bishop's over Calexico
The Knights opened the season 10-1 before struggling in the competitive Coastal League which matched them up against teams in higher divisions each game. They lost four of their league games by one run and went to extra innings three times and should find themselves back to playing like they did at the beginning of the season against the rest of the teams in this bracket.
