The La Jolla High baseball team wrapped up regular season play last week with a sweep of rival University City High.
With the wins, La Jolla finished regular season action at 19-8-1, 8-4 in Western League play (third place).
In the first game, La Jolla plated three runs in the fifth inning to break open a close game and score a 7-1 decision.
Patrick Christensen tossed six innings in earning his ninth win of the season, tying the school record. Peter Sefton went 2-for-3 with a double and three RBIs. Sefton became the first player in school history to drive in 30 runs in two different seasons.
Wyatt Hoff dominated the Centurions en route to a 3-0 victory to close out the regular season.
Hoff faced the minimum (21 batters) as he limited UC to one hit in seven innings. Sefton was 2-for-3 with a triple and two RBIs.
La Jolla finished the season winning five of its last six and 15 of its last 20.
The strong finish earned the Vikings the No. 4 seed in the Division III playoffs and a first-round bye. La Jolla was to open CIF play on Wednesday, May 21, at home.
University City, meantime, opened play May 20 at Santana High. The Sultans beat the Centurions 11-2 to advance.
“This should be a fun and exciting couple of weeks for our team,” La Jolla High head coach Gary Frank said. “The guys have worked really hard and have improved tremendously over the past three months. We are performing well in all aspects of the game and have a legitimate shot to bring home the school’s first CIF baseball title in eight years. I think that we are beginning to peak at just the right time.”
Elsewhere, La Jolla Country Day School dropped its regular season finale last Wednesday, a 5-4 decision to Canyon Crest Academy. The loss put LJCD at 5-3 in league play, a game back of Horizon.
Despite the loss, LJCD’s Greg Wisenberg pitched a strong game.
LJCD grabbed the fifth seed in Division IV and faced Imperial May 20. The Torreys smashed Imperial 13-6 to advance to the second round.
“Our boys are excited to get into the playoffs season … it should be a very exciting Division IV playoffs,” LJCD head coach John Edman noted.
The Bishop’s School dropped its regular season finale, a 10-5 loss to Horizon last Wednesday.
Damien Tschirn and Chris Ludwig each drove in a pair of runs for the Knights, who opened CIF Division IV play May 20 against Olympian High. The Knights handily dispatched Olympian 12-5 to advance to round two.