The City Section baseball playoffs kicked off on Wednesday with a flurry of quarterfinal contests in the Open Division and opening‑round games across the lower tiers. In the Open Division, teams such as Wilmington Banning faced Birmingham, while Carson took on Garfield, Granada Hills met Bell, and El Camino Real squared off against South Gate.
Playoff Highlights and Upcoming Matchups
Division I action produced several tight contests, including a 7‑0 shutout by Sylmar over LA Marshall and a 5‑4 win for Chatsworth against North Hollywood. Sun Valley Poly also advanced with a 1‑0 victory over LA University, and Verdugo Hills held a showdown with LACES. Venice routed San Fernando 11‑8, Palisades edged Narbonne 1‑0, and Taft posted a 13‑9 triumph over San Pedro, while Cleveland dominated Maywood CES 18‑0.
Division II saw Granada Hills Kennedy surge past Monroe 13‑3, and Port of Los Angeles defeated Bravo 5‑3. LA Roosevelt rolled past Northridge Academy 17‑0, while LA Wilson edged Legacy 10‑9. Torres, South East, Franklin, and Sherman Oaks CES each posted wins, whereas Downtown Magnets and Chavez fell.
Looking ahead, Thursday’s second‑round slate for Division III features matchups such as Fairfax at WISH Academy, LA Hamilton at Fulton, Westchester versus Sotomayor, King/Drew at Sun Valley Magnet, Eagle Rock against Triumph Charter, Arleta at Marquez, Gardena versus Fremont, and Roybal at Van Nuys.
The tournament’s calendar notes that Divisions I‑III quarterfinals will wrap up on May 16, with semifinals for Divisions II and III scheduled for May 19. The Open and Division I semifinals are set for May 20 at 2:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. at a location yet to be determined. The championship finals for the Open and Division I categories are slated for May 23 at Dodger Stadium, with game times to be announced.
Fans can expect a busy stretch of games as teams battle for a spot in the championship series, and the prospect of playing at the iconic Dodger Stadium adds extra excitement to the upcoming finals.