Two CIF Division 4 baseball match-ups highlight quarterfinals if weather holds up

Matt Blackney, who plays shortstop and pitches, has been one of Loara’s leaders this season (Photo courtesy Jim McCormack, For OC Sports Zone)

It’s another busy day of CIF high school baseball playoffs providing the weather holds up.

Showers are forecast for Friday and Saturday which could wreak havoc on the schedule for Friday’s quarterfinal round of the playoffs.

All games are on as of 1 p.m. Friday.

It’s unusual for rain to affect the CIF playoffs, but officials do have contingency plans.

All games are on as of 11:30 a.m. but if there are rainouts:

“Schools will need to try and get games in on Saturday if they can,” said Thom Simmons, assistant commissioner of the CIF “That still gives us Monday if they cannot as semifinals are on Tuesday.”

Among the games scheduled for Friday are two excellent Division 4 match-ups: Loara at Kennedy and Irvine at No. 1 seeded Sonora.

“Quarterfinals game is going to be really exciting against another great team,” said Loara Coach Shaun Hill. “It’s going to be a dog fight and it’s going to be a huge crowd with our schools only being a couple miles away.

“It’s awesome to be apart of this run. Our guys have worked so hard.”

Loara is coming off a 3-2 victory over St. Paul on Tuesday.

Kennedy (23-9) is coming off a 2-1 victory over Carter on Tuesday.

Irvine will be out to reach the semifinals for the first time since 1993. The Vaqueros reached the CIF Division 4 title game in 1992, losing to South Hills 6-5 in nine innings under Coach Bob Flint.

“We are extremely excited and grateful that we are still playing at this point.” said Irvine Coach Gabriel Cota. “Sonora is a great team and we will see one of the best arms we have seen all year. We have worked hard to develop a culture where the boys know they can win any game they are in.

“There is a confidence in knowing how hard they have worked since last summer for this point of the year. When we were flipping tires in August games like this were in mind.”

Irvine (19-8) is coming off a 2-1 victory over Nogales on Tuesday.

Sonora, coached by Richard Lodding, comes in with a 22-8 record. The Raiders defeated Moreno Valley 7-1 in the second round Tuesday.

Some other big games around the county include Division 1 match-ups between Yucaipa and No. 2 seeded Cypress at Cypress, top-seeded Orange Lutheran at Harvard Westlake and Huntington Beach at Aliso Niguel.

In Division 2, Santa Margarita hosts El Segundo and Villa Park hosts Norco.

In Division 3, Yorba Linda hosts Serra and Ocean View is at La Canada.

In Division 5, Estancia hosts top-seeded Poly Pasadena and Century is at Xavier Prep.

In Division 6, Costa Mesa hosts Vista Del Lago.

If teams are able to start their games and rain falls, it is an official game after 4 1/2 innings if the home team is ahead or after five innings if the visiting team is ahead going into the bottom of the fifth inning, according to the CIF rules on rain-outs.

If teams don’t reach the inning requirement, the game is postponed and would have to be replayed from the start on another day.

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