Max Dupree is one of Santa Rosa Academy’s top pitchers. (Photo by Reece Kimes)
Santa Rosa Academy will be at home on Thursday and Paloma Valley will be on the road on Friday in the first round of the CIF Southern Section baseball playoffs.
The Rangers, co-champions of the South Valley League with a 13-1 record, will take a 17-4 overall mark into their Division 8 playoff opener against Marshall, which enters the playoffs with a 9-15 record.
Santa Rosa Academy has a potent offense featuring several standout hitters:
— Max Dupree (.509, 16 RBIs, 29 runs)
— Dominic Zagone (.469, 32 RBIs, 27 runs)
— Nate Bock (.444, 23 RBIs, 19 runs)
— Dylan Soules (.442, 18 RBIs, 21 runs)
— Elijah Brewer (.388, 18 RBIs, 23 runs)
— Logan Ledesma (.354, 14 RBIs, 18 runs)
Leading pitchers are Dupree (4-1, 3.00 ERA), Ledesma ( 3-1, 2.33 ERA), and Luke Erbacher (5-1, 5.08 ERA).
Paloma Valley heads into the Division 5 playoffs with a 14-13 record, finishing third in the Ivy League. The Wildcats will visit Citrus Valley, which is 13-14 and the third team out of the Citrus Belt League.
The Wildcats’ leading hitters include:
— Christian Stephens (.407, 11 RBIs, 9 runs)
— Clinton Glass (.388, 23 RBIs, 9 runs
— Wyatt Smith (.350, 14 RBIs, 27 runs)
Paloma Valley’s leading pitchers are Glass (4-2, 2.44 ERA) and Holden Pettit (5-4, 2.48 ERA).
