JSerra baseball players and coaches cherish CIF title but opt out of CIF regional tourney

JSerra players celebrate after winning the CIF Division 1 title Friday night. (Photo: Fernando M. Donado, For OC Sports Zone).

Four days after watching his squad celebrate its second consecutive CIF Divison 1 baseball title with a 1-0 victory over Santa Margarita in eight innings, JSerra Coach Brett Kay was still on top of the world.

“I honestly still cannot believe it. The support, the messages, or emails. It all means a lot. I am just proud of my coaching staff,” Kay said Tuesday. “I could not do this without them and what they mean to our school, program, and me. The players for their resilence and grit. They do not shy away from competition or the schedule we played. They embraced it as a challenge. They wanted the best and to compete with the best, and they grew together in sport and in life and what more can you ask for as a coach and a parent. 

“This is what high school baseball is all about: the elation, the pureness of it, the heartbreak, but all love. This is why we do it.”

On Monday, Kay announced that his team would not compete in the CIF Southern California Regional tournament that begins on Tuesday, May 30.

“We have done them the last two years and both were incredible experiences,” he said. “Winning one and losing one. They have been around for now the third year. Our seniors the rest of the varsity guys feel that CIF D1 championship game is the mountain top and the only dog pile that is at the heightened part of the season.

“People may look at it differently but this group was pretty much 15-1 in the CIF playoffs and 5-1 in regional play. They, and we all supported the fact that this is the right way to go out.”

As for the future of the regionals, there has been speculation that a state tournament should be considered. The current format has three-game tournaments for Southern and Northern California, no state finals.

“I wish there was a state championship like basketball and football,” Kay said. “Although, we are in the midst of celebrating our seniors and school being in finals, the schedules have to align soon. This whole week is off and regional play starts next week. Once the North and sections can be together and maybe move up the season a week or so makes more sense. It will add more to the end of the year celebration for whomever takes that title.”

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—-Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com