baseball

Norco receives No. 1 seed for revamped Southern Section Division 1 baseball playoffs

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Four four-team pools will be used only for the Division 1 playoffs this postseason. All other divisions will be a traditional single-elimination bracket.

Dylan Seward (left) and Jordan Ayala are standout baseball players at Norco High, the top-seeded team in the Southern Section Division 1 playoffs. (Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times) Norco High received the No. 1 seed for the Southern Section Division 1 baseball playoffs on Friday that will begin with pool play on Tuesday.

It's the first time you can lose an opening game and not go home. There are four four-team pools, with the first- and second-place teams advancing to the single-elimination quarterfinals. Norco opens in pool A with a home game against Maranatha.

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame hosts Ayala and standout pitcher Caleb Trugman in the other pool A game. Round 2 is May 15 and if another round is needed, Tuesday, May 19. The quarterfinals are May 22.

Other top seeds in the Division 1 pools are No. 2 Harvard-Westlake (pool B), No. 3 Sierra Canyon (pool C) and No.