Southern Section Baseball Finals : Small Schools and 1-A Play Today, Others on Saturday

Southern Section baseball championships will be decided in six divisions today and Saturday.

The Small Schools and 1-A Division finals will be played today at Blair field in Long Beach, beginning at 4:30 p.m.

The four other divisional finals will be played Saturday at Dodger Stadium, starting at 10 a.m.

In today’s games, Fillmore (16-6) will play Beaumont (17-8) at 7:30 p.m. for the 1-A championship. Fillmore defeated San Bernardino Aquinas, 3-2, and Beaumont defeated Village Christian of Sun Valley, 7-3, to advance. The Small Schools title game will be played between Rosamond (23-2) and Mammoth Lakes Mammoth (12-9) at 4:30 p.m.

Placentia El Dorado will play Long Beach Millikan Saturday in the 5-A Division final at 7:30 p.m. El Dorado (22-8) defeated top-seeded Lakewood, 3-2, on a controversial play in the bottom of the eighth inning to advance to the final.

El Dorado won the semifinal game when it was ruled that catcher Keith Tripp of Lakewood did not have control of the ball when Phil Nevin barreled into him at the plate. Although Nevin was ejected from the game, the El Dorado run was allowed to stand.

Millikan shut out Hacienda Heights Wilson in the lower bracket semifinal game of the 5-A division, 2-0.

In the 4-A Division final, Newhall Hart (23-6) plays Cerritos (26-6) at 4:30 p.m. Hart, the Foothill League runner-up, scored eight runs in the first inning of its semifinal game against West Covina South Hills and eventually defeated the wild-card entry, 14-0.

Hart’s offense is led by first baseman Ray Gardocki, hitting .405, and catcher Casey Burrill, hitting .455. Hart has outscored its opponents in the playoffs, 57-16.

Cerritos defeated Glendora, 2-1, to advance to the final.

In a match of league champions, Garden Grove Kennedy plays Saugus at 1 p.m. Saturday for the 3-A Division title. Kennedy (24-5) defeated Tustin in the semifinals, 7-2; and Saugus (23-4-2) defeated Ontario, 10-3.

The 2-A Division final will be played between San Marino (22-3) and El Segundo (26-5) at 10 a.m. Saturday. San Marino defeated Covina Gladstone, 4-3, to advance and El Segundo defeated Temple City, 4-2.