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2022 Playoffs: Central Section D-II Preview

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By Gabe Camarillo

gcamarillo@1430espnfresno.com

It’s the best time of year in high school baseball – playoffs!

To begin our coverage of the 2022 Central Section baseball postseason on 1430 ESPN, here is a preview of every Division-II playoff matchup, complete with seeds and records for each team. Times subject to change:

#16 St Joseph (10-18, 9-9 Mountain) at #1 Kerman (28-0, 15-0 North Sequoia)

Tuesday, May 17, 4:30

  • An interesting rematch of Kerman’s 2-1 win in eight innings back on February 18. Ace Devon Daniel (13-0) might be Kerman head coach Jared Coleman’s choice to start the first-round matchup that wasn’t easy the first time around. The Knights come in a little hot, winners of five of their last seven, but small potatoes compared to Kerman’s 28-game winning streak, a Central Section single-season record.

 

#9 Central (12-15-1, 4-11 Tri-River) at #8 Reedley (23-5, 14-1 North Yosemite)

Tuesday, May 17, 4:30

  • The Grizzlies will miss senior pitcher Ryan Spalliero, but head coach Mitch Mulligan’s squad will come to Reedley ready. Who they might face on the mound is another question. Pirates ace Will Gagnon is a stud (12 wins, 1.53 ERA, and 128 strikeouts) and if Reedley turns to him in Round 1, Central will face one of the Central Valley’s best arms.

 

#12 Centennial-Bakersfield (15-15, 5-10 Southwest Yosemite) at #5 Ridgeview (25-3, 13-2 South Yosemite)

Tuesday, May 17, 4:30

  • Centennial and Ridgeview played before on February 22, a game Ridgeview won, 7-0. Ridgeview’s only losses were to D-I No. 2 seed Stockdale and D-II No. 4 seed Bakersfield Christian. But Centennial beat Bakersfield Christian twice this year, which proves two things: 1) baseball is confusing; and 2) the Hawks – historically a D-I baseball program – have potential to pull off an upset. To do so, Centennial will have to figure out a way to keep Jacob Gutierrez off base; the Wolfpack senior carries a .581 batting average, fourth best in the Central Section.

 

#13 Redwood (16-11, 10-5 West Yosemite) at #4 Bakersfield Christian (23-5, 14-1 South Yosemite)

Tuesday, May 17, 4:30

  • Redwood being a No. 13 seed was one of the biggest surprises of Selection Saturday. As a result, high school baseball fans will likely be treated to one of the hottest pitching matchups in the Central Section this season: Redwood junior and Stanford commit Joey Volchko vs. either of Bakersfield Christian’s college guys, junior Toby Twist (Oregon) or sophomore Mason Brassfield (TCU). 

 

#14 Clovis North (10-18-1, 3-12 Tri-River) at #3 San Luis Obispo (15-9, 10-8 Mountain)

Tuesday, May 17, 4:30

  • A common trend in the bottom part of the D-II bracket was Mountain League teams receiving higher seeds than the rest of the Tri-River Athletic Conference, due to TRAC teams beating each other up and ending up with less attractive records. Well, here is a matchup between the third-place team in the Mountain and the last-place team in the TRAC, a legitimate upset pick since Clovis North is battle-tested. The Broncos played one of the five toughest schedules in the Central Section, and San Luis Obispo played few others outside the Central Coast.  

 

#11 Templeton (15-12-1, 8-10 Mountain) at #6 Clovis East (15-14, 7-8 Tri River)

Tuesday, May 17, 4:30

  • Another TRAC vs. Mountain League showdown. Clovis East will try for its first playoff win in 10 years against a Templeton team that shot up the MaxPreps rankings by beating D-I No. 5 seed Righetti twice. Templeton also defeated D-II No. 2 seed Arroyo Grande twice. But on the topic of resumes, Clovis East has one of the best around. The Timberwolves swept Central, won their series over Clovis, and beat D-I teams Bullard and Frontier.

 

#10 Fresno (23-4-1, 13-2 North Yosemite) at #7 Clovis (16-13, 7-8 Tri River)

Tuesday, May 17, 4:30

  • Who would have ever thought Fresno and Clovis High would meet in a playoff baseball game? The new playoff system delivered all types of unique matchups, with this one of the most intriguing. Fresno beat Central earlier this season, their only game against TRAC competition. Clovis was slated to be the No. 3 seed in D-II two days ago, but Clovis East’s win on the final day of the regular season, coupled with Clovis’ loss, gave the Timberwolves the tiebreaker and sent the Cougars down. Still, Clovis has a history of going far in the postseason as a lower seed.

 

#15 Nipomo (18-10, 12-3 Ocean) at #2 Arroyo Grande (19-10, 11-7 Mountain)

Tuesday, May 17, 4:30

  • These teams faced each other on Opening Day and Arroyo Grande won, 7-2. Arroyo Grande picked up a resume-building win over Clovis for seeding purposes and nearly snuck into Division-I. Nipomo has won 11 of its last 12 games, including nine straight to end the regular season. Not only are they riding a hot streak, but the Titans don’t have to travel far for their road matchup. In the playoffs, where some teams travel hours to games, Nipomo holds a small but notable advantage in driving 10 minutes to reach Arroyo Grande.

 

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