Playoffs

The Marina High baseball team's two wins against Fountain Valley last week proved to be big for momentum in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs. The Vikings took the series against the Sunset League champion Barons, 2-1, and earned a home game when pairings were released Monday. Marina (18-8), the Sunset League's second-place team, will play host to Norco (20-4, Big VIII League second-place team) Thursday at 3:15 p.m. Fountain Valley (23-4) will open the playoffs at home in Thursday's first round.

Kendra Rosales calls it a huge dream come true, seeing the Edison High softball team win a share of its first league title since 1983. Rosales knows what it’s taken to get there for the Chargers, who clinched by edging Los Alamitos, 2-1, on the road May 14. Junior Courtney Gonzales’ RBI double in the seventh scored pinch-runner Jessica Reichner, after freshman Jessica Plaza had doubled to open the inning. Edison (19-5) plays host to Brea Olinda today in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division I playoffs.

After nearly a two-month lull, the Newport Beach Breakers begin their quest tonight in the playoffs to defend their World Team Tennis crown. Last year's King Trophy winners, the Breakers face Western Conference champion Sacramento in the conference semifinal at 7 p.m. at Allstate Stadium at Sunrise Mall in the Sacramento area. "I know that everybody wants to do well," said Breakers Coach Dick Leach, whose team enters the playoffs the conference's No. 2 seed behind the Capitals.

Mike Sciacca, Independent For the first time in a long time, AYSO Region 143 (Huntington Beach/Westminster) will be sending a team to the sectional playoffs. The Surf-City Smackers, girls' Under-10 Division team, will carry the Region 143 banner at University of California, Irvine in March, when they compete at the sectional tournament playoffs. The Smackers earned the right to advance by winning the Area 11-K tournament last weekend at Peterson School in Huntington Beach.

When the 2007-08 prep sports calendar opened the first week of September, athletic contests went onward as usual. But as the hot, dry days of October began to unfold, winds of change changed the way the games were played. Yet as the school year forged on, and by the time classes let out for summer this past week, the prep sports calendar concluded the way it had began ? with plenty to celebrate. Below are some of the key sports happenings that were reported to the Independent during the 2007-08 school year.

Mike Sciacca Ocean View High earned itself a berth in the CIF Southern Section Division VI playoffs by winning its regular season finale Friday, and the Seahawks have been rewarded a first-round date Friday with Seaview League champion Irvine. Also on opening night of the Division I playoffs, Sunset League runner-up Edison (8-2) will host Servite (7-3) at Huntington Beach High in the second meeting between the two teams this season, while Fountain Valley High (5-5)

Former Edison High softball player Stacy Birk helped the Philadelphia Force secure second place in the 2009 National Pro Fastpitch season. The Philadelphia Force is based in Allentown, Pa. Birk, the Sunset League Pitcher of the Year at Edison, helped Philadelphia complete a four-game sweep of the Akron Racers on Sunday, which knocked Akron out of the four-team playoffs and kept the Force in second place in the final standings. During the regular season, Birk, who went from Edison to a playing career at Illinois State University, had an 0-1 record with a 3.65 earned-run average in 23 innings.

You will have to forgive the excitement that has been echoing around the Ocean View High campus this week. Really, there is plenty to celebrate. For the first time since the 1990 season, the Ocean View football program will be involved in a CIF Southern Section postseason playoff game. Friday at 7:30 p.m., the Seahawks will travel to Western High's Handel Stadium in Anaheim to battle the Kennedy Fighting Irish in a Division VI first round showdown.

The HB Stars, a girls' Under-14 Division squad out of AYSO Region 143 (Westminster/Huntington Beach) posted a 2-1-1 record last weekend and finished runner-up at the Fountain Valley High-5 Tournament. In winning their pool, the Stars defeated cross-town rival Region 56 (Huntington Beach) and Pasadena by identical 3-0 scores, before fighting Quartz Hills to a scoreless tie. They advanced to the championship game, where the fell to Cypress, 2-0. Kelli Fresenius, Gena Johnson, Loren Kortizija, Ann Ludolph, Caitlin McGinnis, Casey Mosard, Lauren Peaslee, Hilary Pohlman, Lindsey Rodgers, Gail Schenck, Jessica Shannon, Mia Show, Emily Tims and Mary Ann Watson all contributed to the Stars' tournament success.

The AYSO Region 56 boys' All-Star team earned its 20th victory of the season, and in the process, secured a berth in the upcoming state championship tournament. The locals defeated the Irvine White Knights, 5-1, in the division final of the Sectional tournament last weekend to advance to the prestigious tournament. The Huntington Beach squad, which improved its record to 20-0-1, never trailed in the final. The first goal came when midfielder Devin Lahtinen sent a pass to Dallas Syfert and the streaking forward redirected the pass into the goal.

The second round of the CIF Southern Section softball playoffs proved to be the undoing for three local teams. On Tuesday, Marina and Edison were eliminated from title contention in Division 1, and Ocean View the same in Division 4. Sunset League champion Marina held the lead at Etiwanda late but the host Eagles rallied in the bottom of the seventh inning to pull out a 6-5 victory to move on to Thursday's quarterfinals. Sophomore Emili Olague went two for three with a double and two runs batted in , and senior Bella Secaira had a single and RBI for Marina.

Ocean View High and Huntington Beach got a jump start on Marina and Edison in the CIF Southern Section softball playoffs by playing division wild-card games Tuesday. The Seahawks extended their season, but the Oilers saw theirs come to an end. Fifth-ranked Ocean View advanced in the Division 4 tournament by rolling past visiting Beverly Hills, 15-0. The Seahawks, the third-place team from the Golden West League, received a two-hit, eight-strikeout performance from senior Brittany Hitchcock who garnered her 18th win of the season.

The Marina High baseball team's two wins against Fountain Valley last week proved to be big for momentum in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs. The Vikings took the series against the Sunset League champion Barons, 2-1, and earned a home game when pairings were released Monday. Marina (18-8), the Sunset League's second-place team, will play host to Norco (20-4, Big VIII League second-place team) Thursday at 3:15 p.m. Fountain Valley (23-4) will open the playoffs at home in Thursday's first round.

Marina, Edison, Huntington Beach and Ocean View softball teams learned of their respective opponents in the CIF Southern Section playoffs, as pairings were released Monday. In Division 1, Marina (24-3), the Sunset League champion, plays host to Tuesday's wild-card winner in Thursday's first round. The Vikings await the winner between Corona (17-14, Big VIII League at-large) at Moreno Valley Rancho Verde (14-9, Inland Valley League No. 3) Edison (20-10), the Sunset League second-place team, plays at Moreno Valley Valley View (13-14, Inland Valley League No. 2)

Huntington Beach High and Edison are moving on in the CIF Southern Section boys' volleyball playoffs. Both the Oilers and Chargers started postseason play Tuesday, and both swept their opponents in first-round Division 1 matches. The Oilers won, 25-9, 25-23, 25-11, at home over Alemany (Mission League No. 4). The Chargers went on the road to face Aliso Niguel and knocked off the South Coast League champs, 25-17, 27-25, 25-15. In Huntington' win, Brenden Sander had 13 kills, TJ DeFalco 11 kills and nine digs, and Matt Butler had 22 assists.

TUSTIN — Less than two weeks ago, the Ocean View High boys' basketball team used a torrid shooting night to nearly upset Bellflower St. John Bosco in the semifinals of the CIF Southern Section Division 3A playoffs. In the first round of the CIF State Division 3 Regional playoffs Tuesday against Tustin, the Seahawks turned to their defense to hang with the host Tillers, a team that on Feb. 28 won the CIF Southern Section 3AAA championship. That defensive effort kept the Seahawks within striking distance, but the Tillers began to pull away midway through the third quarter, and went on to post a 65-48 victory.

HUNTINGTON BEACH - Edison High girls' basketball coach Dan Wiley had a smile on his face, even though his Chargers had just been eliminated from the CIF Southern Section Division 1AA playoffs moments earlier. Wiley, you see, was pleased with the effort his team gave Wednesday against Etiwanda, but knew it faced a huge challenge in the No. 5-seeded Eagles. "They are big and physical, especially inside, and we couldn't compete with that," he said. Wiley had a point. Etiwanda didn't shoot lights out in the second-round game but the Eagles crashed the boards, scored on second-chance put-backs, and ended up running away with a 79-50 victory over the No. 12-seeded Chargers.

The 2012-13 girls' soccer season ended Tuesday for Edison and Ocean View. The host Chargers were eliminated, 1-0, in a CIF Southern Section Division 1 second-round game by defending champion Aliso Niguel, while the Seahawks also fell by a 1-0 score to Oxnard Pacifica (Pacific View League No. 2) in a Division 6 second-round game at Ocean View. Edison, the second-place team from the Sunset League, concluded a 16-4-4 season. Aliso Niguel is the second-place team from the South Coast League.

FOUNTAIN VALLEY - Roger Holmes figured his Fountain Valley High boys' basketball team would face, as the veteran coach put it Monday, a "monumental task," when the Barons faced Inglewood Friday. What awaited the Sunset League champions in the opening round of the CIF Southern Section Division 1AA playoffs was a seasoned Inglewood team. The Sentinels won the Division 2AA title a year ago before moving up two divisions for the 2012-13 season. They also returned all five starters from that title-winning team.

The road to the Anaheim Convention Center, site of several CIF Southern Section divisional championship games, begins Saturday for four local girls' prep basketball teams. Edison, Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley and Ocean View all have earned a spot in postseason play. The 2012-13 season came to an end for Marina and Brethren Christian on Feb. 6. First-round games start at 7 p.m. Saturday. The winners in each division advance to second-round action at 7 p.m. Wednesday. * Edison: The Chargers head into the Division 1-AA playoffs as the second-place team from the Sunset League.