Four local schools begin baseball playoffs

Friday will be a busy day on the local baseball scene, as Edison, Marina, Huntington Beach and Ocean View all have first-round games in the CIF Southern Section playoffs.

Edison, which clinched the outright Sunset League title with a 4-0 win at Los Alamitos on May 14, opens the Division I playoffs at home against Lakewood. The Chargers (19-5) had Arizona-bound senior Kurt Heyer face the minimum number of batters in the regular-season ending victory over Los Al. Edison will be going against a Lakewood team that finished third in the Moore League. A win and Edison would play either West Ranch or El Dorado on Tuesday.

Marina (20-6) finished second in the Sunset League and also has a Division I home game Friday, going against Pacific View League No. 2 seed Hueneme. The Vikings, who battled Edison for the league lead much of the season, will need to rebound after dropping its last three league games, including two against red-hot Esperanza.

A win would lift Marina to the second round, where it would likely do battle with Valencia of Valencia.

Huntington Beach has already played a game; the Oilers got past John Glenn, 14-8, in a Division II wild-card game Tuesday. Kory Kovac went three for four and Buddy Johns was three for three for the Oilers, who improved to 15-12.

Huntington Beach will play at Sierra League champion Chino in a first-round game. Win, and the Oilers would likely tangle with Arlington in the second round Tuesday.

Ocean View (17-9), which finished second in the Golden West League, is on the road against Sunbelt League champion Paloma Valley in the Division III first round Friday. A win and the Seahawks could have a home game against San Gabriel Valley League champ Downey.

All first-round games start at 3:15 p.m.

— Matt Szabo