Aptos High dedicated its baseball diamond to brothers Paul and Robert Bailey on Tuesday before the Mariners’ Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League game against Soquel High.
Aptos Athletic Director Mark Dorfman said the dedication was long overdue for the Bailey family, longtime supporters and donors to Aptos athletics.
“They’ve done so much for Aptos High School,” Dorfman said. “Not just in terms of money, but in terms of support, effort and community love. This is the least we could for them.”
After the dedication, Aptos rallied to beat Soquel, 2-1, by scoring two runs in the sixth inning.
The Mariners also edged San Lorenzo Valley High, 1-0, on Wednesday evening to punch their ticket to the Central Coast Section playoffs.
In other high school baseball action:
CCS ADDS DIVISION
The CCS playoffs will be split into four divisions this season.
There will still be 48 postseason berths to be had, but the addition of the Division III bracket will slice the Open Division field in half.
Eight teams will compete for the prestigious Open Division crown. In D-I and D-II, the field will remain at 16 teams, while eight teams will battle for the D-III title.
The six “A” league champions and the next two qualifers with the most CCS “power” points will make up the Open Division. The other 40 teams will be divided into the three remaining divisions according to enrollment.
TOUGH FINISH
Monte Vista Christian closed out its season with its seventh straight loss, falling 5-1 to Gilroy High on Tuesday in Monterey Bay League Gabilan division action.
M.V.C. finished its season at 8-19 overall and 4-14 in league contests.
Senior Garret Laine was again a bright spot for the Mustangs, extending his hit streak to 14 games by belting a triple. He also earned a walk and scored a run.
GOING LONG
Senior Derric Estrada-Haro hit his fourth home run of the season in St. Francis High’s 8-1 SCCAL win over Harbor on Tuesday.
Estrada-Haro hit his second and third homers on Friday in the Sharks’ league loss to Scotts Valley High.
LINE OF THE WEEK (May 3-9)
St. Francis senior Derric Estrada-Haro went 3-for-4 with two home runs, three RBIs and two scored runs in the Sharks’ 9-6 loss to Scotts Valley on Friday.
GAME OF THE WEEK (May 11-17)
St. Francis at Aptos, May 11, 4 p.m. — The Sharks will travel up Highway 1 to play the Mariners in a battle for second place in the SCCAL.
It will be the second game of a back-to-back series between the two league rivals, who have already punched their ticket to the CCS playoffs.
