Three County Teams Are Awarded Top Seeding

Five county teams are expected to play in Southern Section championship games the weekend of June 5-6, as they were seeded first or second in pairings were released Monday.

Three local teams were seeded No. 1 in the section’s three biggest divisions.

Division I

Defending champion: Upland, a 3-1 winner over Foothill.

Top teams: Mater Dei (25-3), Foothill (21-4), Irvine (21-4), Camarillo (18-5).

Dark horse: Simi Valley (23-6) was ranked second in the division last week, but lost last week to Camarillo (for the third time) and then lost a coin flip, which made it the third-place entry from the Marmonte League.

Noteworthy: Foothill and Mater Dei are playing Division I despite having smaller enrollment figures..

Division II

Defending champion: Woodbridge, a 2-0 winner over Santa Maria Righetti.

Top teams: Woodbridge (25-5-1), Righetti (21-4), Mira Loma Jurupa Valley (22-4), Cerritos (21-5).

Dark horse: Marina (22-5), which could meet Woodbridge in the quarterfinals, is the Sunset League champion and has a victory over Foothill.

Noteworthy: Woodbridge has been to the last three section finals, winning in 1995 and 1997.

Division III

Defending champion: Pacifica, a 3-0 winner over Glendora St. Lucy’s.

Top teams: Pacifica (24-3), South Hills (25-5), St. Lucy’s (21-6-1), La Habra (20-7-1).

Dark horse: Either El Modena (20-5-1) or Brea Olinda (18-5), who should meet in the second round.

Noteworthy: Pacifica pitcher Amanda Freed did not pitch over a five-game stretch because of a bad back. Since her return, she has had two no-hitters and two one-hitters.

Division IV

Defending champion: West Covina South Hills, a 2-1 winner over Santa Fe Springs St. Paul.

Top teams: Thousand Oaks La Reina (24-2), West Hills Chaminade (18-7-1), St. Paul (20-4), Corona Santiago (24-3).

Dark horse: Rosary (22-6) was victimized by two walks, an error, a homer and what Coach Tom Tice called “a small strike zone” when the Royals gave up four runs in an inning and lost at St. Paul, 4-1.

Noteworthy: Ocean View, which plays St. Paul in the first round, is without junior shortstop Leah Gulla (broken ankle). Gulla was batting .417.

Division V

Defending champion: Calvary Chapel, a 2-0 winner over Lancaster Paraclete.

Top teams: Pomona Catholic (14-8-1), Calvary Chapel (18-4), Santa Maria St. Joseph (13-11-1), Orange Lutheran (16-10).

Dark horse: Linfield (18-3), which could face Orange Lutheran (16-10) in the quarterfinals,has been to the finals the last five years, although in a lower division.

Noteworthy: St. Margaret’s (17-1) has the best record in the division and could meet Olympic League champion Calvary Chapel in the quarterfinals.

Division VI

Defending champion: Temecula Linfield, a 3-0 winner over Boron.

Top teams: Camarillo Cornerstone Christian (17-3), Lone Pine (16-6-1), Victor Valley Christian (20-3), Southern California Christian (15-4).

Dark horse: Riverside Christian (14-1) has the best record in the division.

* COMPLETE PAIRINGS: C12