Baseball Teams Disqualified From Regional Playoffs After Bench-Clearing Scuffle (video)

Verdugo Hills' baseball team was just a week removed from being crowned the LA City Section Division I champion at Dodger Stadium, and working toward winning the last game of the season in the CIF State SoCal Regional playoffs.

The Dons were well on their way to the regional final, holding a 5-1 lead over fellow City Section program Roosevelt in the bottom of the sixth inning. But then a rundown between third base and home plate turned sour — ruining both teams' chances of advancing.

The bench-clearing dust-up resulted in the game being called, and both teams being disqualified from the Division V regional playoffs due to CIF rule violations that state any player that leaves their bench or dugout is suspended for the next game. With both rosters in violation of this rule, neither team can field enough players to compete in the regional final Saturday.

It automatically awards Coastal Academy, 5-2 winners over Schurr in the semifinals, the regional champions.

HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED

With Verdugo Hills at bat, runners on second and third and one out, a hit up the middle to the Roosevelt pitcher quickly turned into a 'pickle' of sorts after the pitcher ran toward home plate to cut off the Verdugo Hills runner attempting to run home. The runner turned back for third base.

The Roosevelt pitcher threw the ball to the third baseman, who receieved the ball and stood in the way of the Verdugo Hills runner and the third base bag. The Verdugo Hills runner ran straight into the chest of the Roosevelt third baseman, knocking him to the floor.

The Roosevelt third baseman rose to his feet and two-arm shoved the Verdugo Hills runner. That's when bedlam ensued. Both dugouts cleared and a mob of baseball players converged between second and third base while coaches, admin and adults tried to break it up.

VIDEO OF ALTERCATION

CIF BASEBALL CHAMPIONS IN 2026

The 2026 CIF Southern Section high school baseball season came to a close last weekend.

The CIF State regional playoffs will conclude Saturday, but with so many top teams opting out, the section finals often feel like the final weekend of prep competition for the year.

Here is a rundown of each baseball final for all nine divisions, including the final score and any notable stats.

DIVISION 1

St. John Bosco 2, Norco 0: The Braves were paced by a pitching performance that will be remembered for a long time. Senior right-hander Julian Garcia threw a complete-game, one-hitter and struck out 14 batters.

FULL STORY

DIVISION 2

Ganesha 6, Loyola 3: After a drama-filled weekend that revealed the Ganesha players were scheduled to travel to Mississippi to play in a travel ball camp instead of the Division 2 final, the Pomona School District stepped in and made sure the team's top players — including No. 1-ranked player Logan Schmidt — would play in Saturday night's championship game.

CLICK HERE TO SEE DIVISION 3-9

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