Dodger Stadium is the dream destination for CIF Los Angeles City Section baseball teams. The Open Division and Division I championship games will be held there Saturday.
North Hollywood and Banning will play in the Division I game at 10 a.m. and Birmingham will take on Bell in the Open Division at 1 p.m.
Gates will open to the public at 9 a.m. and a clear bag policy will be enforced. Parking is free.
Here is what to expect in the championship games:
DIVISION I
North Hollywood (18-12) vs. Banning (16-10), 10 a.m.
North Hollywood ended the regular season with two losses to finish third in the East Valley League but rebounded in the Division I playoffs. The Huskies beat Chatsworth 6-2 in the semifinals.
Senior Cristian Calderon went 1 for 2 in the game and had his sixth home run of the season and junior Enoch Yi was 2 for 4 with an RBI while going the distance on the mound. Seven players for North Hollywood recorded hits in the game and five players drove in a run.
The Huskies are heading to Dodger Stadium!
North Hollywood 6
Chatsworth 2
Saturday, 10:00 am pic.twitter.com/PjC695pWcP
— CIF LA City Section (@CIFLACS) May 23, 2024
Diego Velazquez, a senior, leads the team in hitting with a .377 batting average, 40 hits and 12 doubles and also has 18 RBIs. Calderon has driven in the most runs (25 RBIs) and is hitting .293 with an on-base percentage of .473.
Yi threw a no-hitter in a 4-0 win over Wilson in the opening round of the playoffs. He logged 10 strikeouts as North Hollywood beat Wilson 4-0.
Calderon (3-0) and Yi (7-3) have been two of the Huskies’ best pitchers this season. Calderon holds a 2.41 ERA and has struck out 33 hitters in 40 2/3 innings this season, while Yi owns an ERA of 2.24 in 72 1/3 innings and has struck out 115 opponents
North Hollywood also has an option in junior Maxwell Koster, who is 3-3 on the mound with a 2.02 ERA.
Banning is playing for its first City Section championship since 1997. Pitcher and dual-sport athlete Robert Guerrero gave up two hits in the semifinal win over South East and is hitting .352.
OPEN DIVISION
Birmingham (19-11-2) vs. Bell (21-6), 1 p.m.
Birmingham, the West Valley League champion, is making its third straight appearance in the Open Division final after shutting out Carson 3-0 in the semifinals.
“You play all season and all offseason for that,” Patriots coach Matt Mowry said after the game. “The ultimate goal is getting there and it’s not easy.”
Birmingham baseball is going back to the City Section Open Division championship game. #journalist #reporter #baseball #sports #highschoolbaseball #highschoolsports #vannuys #sanfernandovalley #malibu
♬ Congratulations – Post Malone
The Patriots shut out both Carson and San Pedro on their way to Dodger Stadium. No. 2 pitcher Allen Olmos logged five strikeouts in five innings against Carson before Michael Figueroa came in for two innings of relief. Figueroa, a battle-tested senior ace, will start in the championship game.
“The biggest thing we did last year as a staff was have him pitch in that state playoff game against Calabasas,” Lowry said of Figueroa. “That really gave him some playoff experience and I think it’s helped him out so far. Hopefully, it’ll continue to work for him.”
Jayb Dalumpines, who bats third, had one hit in the semifinal game and Sebastian Valadez had two hits and a double. Freshman Julius Truitt hit a triple in the second inning that gave the Patriots a 2-0 lead, then scored a run after that.
Bell shut out top-seeded Granada Hills Charter 1-0 in the semifinals and limited the Highlanders to just two hits.
The Eagles started multiple underclassmen in the win and will be making their first championship appearance since 1953. Sophomore pitcher Jayden Rojas (8-2, 1.05 ERA) will be available for the championship game.
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