If there’s a game of the year in the Empire League, this is it, today (Thursday) when Cypress hosts Pacifica in a battle for the league baseball championship.
The Centurions and the Mariners are each 9-1 in league play and have similar overall records; Cypress is 23-5 and Pacifica 21-5. When they met on April 17 at Pacifica the home team won 3-2.
Pacifica is a balanced team, hitting .322 so far, and with a pitching staff with a 1.93 ERA. Cypress’ stats are even more impressive as the Cents are batting .468 and have a 1.30 ERA.
Regardless of the outcome of today’s game, both teams are expected to do well in the CIF Division 2 playoffs where Cypress and Pacifica are ranked second and third.
So we could see another “game of the year” between these two before the season is out.
In the Garden Grove League, Rancho Alamitos (11-2 and 16-7) holds a one-game lead as the final contests are played. If fourth place Los Amigos should upset the Vaqs when they clash today at the Lobo field that could allow second place Garden Grove to grab a tie for the GGL crown.
The Golden West League race remains deadlocked going down to the wire. Westminster (9-4, 13-9) is tied with Ocean View (9-4, 12-12) and they’ve finished their showdowns, with each team winning one.
There’s less drama on the softball side. Pacifica, ranked number one in Division 1 with an overall 25-1 record (10-0) in league, has locked up the Empire League crown and is taking aim at another CIF title.
In the Garden Grove League, Garden Grove has a game lead over Rancho Alamitos after the Vaqs upset the Argos 4-1 last week. The GGL schedule concluded Wednesday (results too late for our deadline).
Local teams (Orange and Westminster) are out of the running for CIF playoff spots in the Golden West League, but Magnolia is finishing third in the Orange League.
CIF playoff pairings for baseball and softball will be announced on Monday.
