PREP BASEBALL NOTES : La Quinta to Face Corona at Norco in the Semifinals

La Quinta will play Corona at Norco High on Tuesday in the Southern Section Division III baseball semifinals.

The Aztecs (26-3), the second-seeded team, likely will start sophomore pitcher Joe Garcia. La Quinta has won 19 consecutive games. Corona (22-6-1) is expected to start Ed Hurtado.

Calvary Chapel will play Big Bear at Orange Coast College in the Division V semifinals. Big Bear (19-7), the defending champion, is the fourth-seeded team. Calvary Chapel (21-8), the third-place team from the Olympic League, already has upset No. 1-seeded North Hills Los Angeles Baptist.

Fountain Valley (25-3-1) will play La Crescenta Crescenta Valley at Blair Field in Long Beach at 7 p.m in the Division I semifinals. The Barons seek to be the first No. 1-seeded team to win the large school championship since Lakewood did it in 1970. Crescenta Valley (18-5) upset fourth-seeded El Dorado in the quarterfinals.

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Jaret Wright of Katella High, expected to be among the first high school pitchers chosen in the June free-agent draft, has been selected the Gatorade Circle of Champions Pacific regional player of the year.

Wright, whose fastball has been clocked at 94 m.p.h., was 8-2 with a 3.36 earned-run average. The son of former Angel pitcher Clyde Wright, he led Orange County with 112 strikeouts in 83 1/3 innings.

A co-captain, Wright helped lead Katella to a share of the Empire League championship. It was the Knights’ first baseball title since 1981.