Upset first-round playoff wins have Centennial baseball, softball believing in themselves
The first day of postseason playoff games are intriguing. Seeding usually matters the most because it gauges what is thought of teams on a body of regular-season work, rewards some for a strong season and for others, based on their divisions, they can get a lift from where they land. And there’s always those who feel they should be a higher seed or have been dealt a tough hand.
Let the games begin and see if what's on paper translates to what happens on the field. On Friday, the higher seeds in baseball went 32-14 (70%). The higher softball seeds were 32-7 (82%).
Sure, Division 1 softball teams all had a bye until Wednesday. That covers most of the difference in games and add Garces, which had a bye in Division 2 softball. But the best thing for any baseball or softball team to do is to just focus on what it can do.
“It starts with belief,” Centennial baseball coach Sean Alexander said. “I truly believe when we show up, we’re capable of beating anyone in the valley. The message I tried to relay to our guys going in was ‘we’ve got to believe and if we do, we’ve got a shot.
’” Alexander, a first-year head coach, watched his team face a quality left-handed starting pitcher, San Joaquin Memorial’s Joe Alvarez. He kept the Golden Hawks’ offense at bay, and SJM was ahead 2-1 until the sixth inning changed it all. Centennial scored five runs to take a 6-2 lead.