Six Long Beach high school softball teams have qualified for the CIF Southern Section playoffs that begin this week, but only two of them are playing first round games at home.
Lakewood (25-3, 12-0) won its 10th Moore League championship in the last 12 years, and will start the Division 2 playoffs as the No. 2 seed. The Lancers are hosting Kennedy (16-7) in the first round Thursday. They only have one playoff win in the last two years after reaching the Division 1 quarterfinals in 2016.
Millikan (17-10, 10-2) finished second in league after a pair of one run losses to Lakewood, and will visit West Ranch on Thursday for the first round of Division 3. West Ranch (14-7) is led by senior Adrienne Chang, who hit .514 this season with 26 RBIs. Senior Maya De Sota leads the Millikan offense with 31 hits and 29 runs scored, and pitching ace Rachel Rubio has a 2.18 ERA in 70.2 innings.
Wilson (15-11, 8-4) won four of its last five games of the regular season to finish third in league. The Bruins start the Division 3 playoffs at Valle Vista champion San Dimas on Thursday. The Saints (19-6) have won 12 of their last 13 games. Junior Sinclair Lawhorn leads the Wilson offense with 42 hits and 30 runs scored.
Long Beach Poly (8-10, 5-6) is playing the only Division 5 wild card game at Ontario Christian this afternoon. The Jackrabbits are trying to get some good experience for their younger players against the Knights (13-10, 9-5) who have a deep pitching staff.
St. Anthony (15-7, 5-3) finished third in the Del Rey League and hosts El Toro at Pan Am Park today at 3 p.m. for a Division 4 wild card showdown. Junior Zaida Puni leads the Saints with 31 hits and 27 RBIs.
Avalon (8-8) finished second in the Academy League and will host Whitney (14-8) on Thursday.
