CIF Southern Section Baseball Playoffs: Norco, Harvard-Westlake Advance to Semifinals

Sierra Canyon baseball coach Tom Meusborn said he liked the new CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoff format because it "helps to ensure the best team moves on," he said.

He was right.

Pool play allowed Norco, the No. 1 seed in the division, to lose a game, but bounce back in an elimination game to continue pursuing a CIF title. The ability to show a 'body of work' opposed to relying on one game where anything can happen has paid off for the Cougars, who advanced to the semifinals after a 3-0 win over Orange Lutheran in the quarterfinals Friday.

No. 2 Harvard-Westlake edged Cypress 2-1 and Notre Dame beat Corona 7-2. St. John Bosco topped La Mirada 5-2.

Norco will face Notre Dame for a second time this postseason after losing 4-0 to the Knights in pool play. Harvard-Westlake will travel to St. John Bosco and Notre Dame will play at Norco in Tuesday's semifinals.

NOTABLE PLAYOFF SCORES, STATS

St. John Bosco 5, La Mirada 2: James Clark his two homers and Julian Garcia struckout 13 batters.

Notre Dame 7, Corona 2: Malakye Matsumoto had two hits with three RBIs in the win. AJ LaSota earned the win from the mound with five strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings.

Harvard-Westlake 2, Cypress 1: Justin Kirchner threw six innings with five strikeouts to earn the victory.

Norco 3, Orange Lutheran 0: Jordan Ayala threw a gem, going the complete game with 10 strikeouts and allowing just two hits.

Loyola 3, Alemany 0: In a battle of Mission League foes, the Cubs came out on top thanks to a three-run HR from Jack Murray in the seventh inning.

Ganesha 4, Elsinore 0: Logan Schmidt struck out 14 batters and had three hits.

St. Francis 3, Warren 0: The Golden Knights, another Mission League team, is still alive in Division 3. Caysen Sullivan had eight strikeouts in six innings of work.

Mira Costa 13, Dos Pueblos 6: The run for freshman Mattias DiMaggio is over. Mira Costa's Ace Tarango stole the show with four hits and three RBIs.

UPDATED PLAYOFF BRACKETS

D1 POOL PLAY FORMAT BREAKDOWN

Here are the 16 teams that make up the Division 1 playoffs.

POOL A: Maranatha at Norco, Ayala at Notre Dame/Sherman Oaks
POOL B: Etiwanda at Corona, Santiago/Corona at Orange Lutheran
POOL C: Oaks Christian at Sierra Canyon, Cypress at St. John Bosco
POOL D: Huntington Beach at Temecula Valley, La Mirada at Harvard-Westlake

Pool play guarantees each team at least two games. After the first round of pool play, the teams that are 1-0 play each other. The teams that are 0-1 play each other.

RANKINGS: Final, regular-season 2026 High School On SI Top 25

Teams that go 0-2 are disqualified. Teams that go 2-0 advance to the quarterfinal, knockout stage. Teams that go 1-1 will play each other in a third game to advance. Two teams from each pool move on.

NOTE: In Division 1 pool play, the team that's played the least amount of home games gets to host (the next game). If it's the same, it's a coin flip, which is similar to subsequent divisions.

BREAKDOWN OF EACH DIVISION, 2025 CHAMPIONS

DIVISION 1 (16-Team Bracket, 16 Entries)

SEEDED TEAMS:

1. Norco (24-3), Big VIII League Champion

2. Harvard-Westlake (23-5), Mission League Champion

3. Sierra Canyon (23-5), Mission League Runner-Up

4. Lutheran/ Orange (22-5), Trinity League Runner-Up

AT-LARGE ENTRY: None

2025 FINAL: St. John Bosco 3, Santa Margarita 2.

DIVISION 2 (32-Team Bracket, 32 Entries)

SEEDED TEAMS:

1. Villa Park (19-8-1), Crestview League Runner-Up

2. Westlake (18-8), Marmonte League Runner-Up

3. Servite (15-13), Trinity League No. 3 Entry

4. Gahr (17-10-1), Gateway League Runner-Up

AT-LARGE ENTRY: Chaminade (Misson), 17-11; Loyola (Mission), 15-12-1;

Santa Margarita (Trinity), 15-13.

2025 FINAL: West Ranch 2, Mater Dei 1.

DIVISION 3 (32-Team Bracket, 32 Entries)

SEEDED TEAMS:

1. Mira Costa (16-12), Bay League No. 3 Entry

2. Arcadia (18-10), Pacific League Runner-Up

3. Agoura (15-13), Marmonte League At-Large Entry

4. St. Francis (14-13-1), Mission League At-Large Entry

AT-LARGE ENTRY: Corona del Mar (Sunset), 14-13.

2025 FINAL: Glendora 2, San Dimas 0.

DIVISION 4 (32-Team Bracket, 31 Entries)

SEEDED TEAMS:

1. San Marino (20-8), Rio Hondo League No. 3 Entry

2. Moorpark (19-9), Coastal Canyon League No. 3 Entry

3. Marina (13-15), Sunset League No. 3 Entry

4. Canyon/ Anaheim (14-14), Freeway League Runner-Up

AT-LARGE ENTRIES: Upland (Baseline), 14-12-2; Claremont (Palomares), 17-9.

2025 FINAL: Ganesha 8, Dos Pueblos 2.

DIVISION 5 (32-Team Bracket, 32 Entries)

SEEDED TEAMS:

1. Citrus Valley (13-14), Citrus Belt League No. 3 Entry

2. St. Bernard (15-12), Del Rey League Runner-Up

3. Wilson/ Long Beach (16-12), Moore League Runner-Up

4. Santa Barbara (14-14), Channel League At-Large Entry

AT-LARGE ENTRY: Moreno Valley (Ivy), 14-12; Kaiser (Sunkist), 15-13.

2025 FINAL: Elsinore 2, St. Anthony 0.

DIVISION 6 (32-Team Bracket, 32 Entries)

SEEDED TEAMS:

1. California (15-13), Del Rio League No. 3 Entry

2. Crossroads (17-6), Gold Coast League Champion

3. Cantwell-Sacred Heart of Mary (18-9), Camino Real League At-Large Entry

4. El Rancho (16-12), Del Rio League At-Large Entry

AT-LARGE ENTRIES: Troy (North Hills), 17-11.

2025 FINAL: Estancia 4, Marshall 3.

DIVISION 7 (32-Team Bracket, 32 Entries)

SEEDED TEAMS:

1. New Roads (18-9), Coastal League Champion

2. Norwalk (14-7), Mid-Cities League No. 3 Entry

3. Hemet (17-11), Inland Valley League No. 3 Entry

4. Victor Valley (12-11), Desert Sky League Runner-Up

AT-LARGE ENTRIES: Campbell Hall (Gold Coast), 15-11;

Golden Valley/ Santa Clarita (Foothill), 13-12; Viewpoint (Gold Coast), 17-10.

2025 FINAL: Mary Star 8, Notre Dame/ Riverside 7.

DIVISION 8 (32-Team Bracket, 32 Entries)

SEEDED TEAMS:

1. Los Amigos (17-5), Orange League Champion

2. Schurr (11-16), Almont League No. 3 Entry

3. Duarte (10-11), Montview League Runner-Up

4. Oxford Academy (9-19), 605 League Runner-Up

AT-LARGE ENTRIES: Rio Hondo Prep (Prep), 9-9-1; Chadwick (Prep), 11-10;

Compton (Moore), 14-11.

2025 FINAL: Fillmore 7, Pioneer 6.

DIVISION 9 (32-Team Bracket, 31 Entries)

SEEDED TEAMS:

1. Dunn (11-7), Frontier League Runner-Up

2. St. Pius X – St. Matthias Academy (14-14), Santa Fe League No. 3 Entry

3. Rolling Hills Prep (7-11), Coastal League Runner-Up

4. Yucca Valley (7-9), Desert Valley League Runner-Up

AT-LARGE ENTRIES: St. Monica Academy (Heritage), 9-6; Pacifica Christian/ Santa Monica

(Liberty), 15-13.

2025 FINAL: Nuview Bridge 3, Mountain View 2.

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