Bullard of Fresno celebrated its three seniors at end of regular season and now those three have helped Knights reach CIF Central Section D1 semis. Photo: @BHSKnights_SB / Twitter.com.
Gahr of Cerritos goes up to No. 4 after beating Los Alamitos and Santiago (Corona) in CIF Southern Section D1 playoffs. The Gladiators play No. 3 Great Oak in semifinals with winner likely to face defending champion and No. 1 Norco in this weekend’s title game. This week’s two highest newcomers are No. 18 St. Francis (Mountain View) and No. 20 Bullard (Fresno).
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(Previous ranking listed in parentheses)
(Through reported results of Saturday, May 11)
(Results from some games played on Monday, May 13 or later not included)
*Indicates season complete.
(Thanks to correspondents Chuck Nan for Orange County, Daniel Poulter for Northern California and Bill Hutton for CIF Central Coast Section for providing writeups and information)
1. (1) Norco 29-1
There were a few innings of a 0-0 tie in the first CIF Southern Section Division I playoff game, but other than that it’s been smooth sailing so far for the Cougars in their drive to be State Team of the Year and perhaps a mythical national champion. Remember, head coach Rick Robinson’s girls received a top seed and first-round bye and then in the second-round blanked Vista Murrieta of Murrieta 5-0 on a two-hitter by Sarah Willis. Then in the quarterfinals it was Norco with a dominating 9-0 triumph over previous state No. 3 Orange Lutheran. Willis, the junior headed to Washington, had a three-hitter and eight strikeouts. The offense featured Hannah Doi with three hits and two RBI and Kinzie Hansen with a pair of run-scoring singles. The Cougars will now play No. 10 Huntington Beach in Tuesday’s semifinals.
