LAKE COUNTY — The Clear Lake Cardinals, undefeated softball champions of the North Central League I this season, pulled down the No. 1 seed on Sunday in the North Coast Section Division IV playoff bracket.
Only 12 teams had the necessary criteria to qualify for what was supposed to be a 16-team field. As a result, the top four seeds — Clear Lake (19-2), No. 2 St. Patrick/St. Vincent (23-3), No. 3 Cloverdale (18-4) and No. 4 Salesian (16-4) — receive first-round byes and won”t play until the quarterfinal round on either Friday or Saturday.
Clear Lake, 14-0 in the NCL I standings this season, will host the winner of today”s Cardinal Newman (11-12) vs. Fort Bragg (12-6) first-round game on Friday at 4 p.m.
Other first-round games have Lower Lake (14-9) traveling to Hayward on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. game against Moreau Catholic (13-7), the winner to meet Salesian in the quarterfinals; Arcata (10-10) visiting Piedmont on Wednesday, the winner to play Cloverdale in the quarterfinals; and Berean Christian (11-11) at Fortuna (11-12) on Wednesday, the winner to play St. Patrick/St. Vincent in the quarterfinals.
Semifinal-round games take place either May 29 or May 30. The Division IV championship game is either June 1 or June 2.
By seeding priority, the Division IV field is Clear Lake, St. Patrick/St. Vincent, Cloverdale, Salesian, Moreau Catholic, Piedmont, Fortuna, Cardinal Newman, Fort Bragg, Berean Christian, Arcata and Lower Lake.
Last year”s champion, Justin-Siena, failed to qualify for the postseason.
Clear Lake and St. Patrick/St. Vincent, the Bayshore Athletic League champion, are the only two league winners in this year”s field.
Making its first postseason appearance since 1992 are the Lower Lake Trojans under first-year coach Chris Emberson. Lower Lake finished fourth in the NCL I race at 7-7 and had its first winning season since 1993. The Trojans won the old Class A section title in 1990, lost in the semifinals in 1991, and lost in the first round in 1992. Their last playoff victory was a 10-0 win over St. Vincent in the opening round in 1991.
Clear Lake and Cloverdale of the NCL I and St. Patrick/St. Vincent and Salesian of the BSAL are playoff regulars. Cloverdale won the Division IV title in 2010 while St. Patrick/St. Vincent captured section championships in 2006, ”08 and ”09. Clear Lake last won it all in 2007, beating St. Patrick/St. Vincent 2-1 in a memorable championship game in Vallejo that capped a perfect season (27-0). The Cardinals lost to St. Patrick/St. Vincent by that same 2-1 score in the 2009 finals, also at Vallejo.
In last year”s playoffs, Clear Lake drew the No. 2 seed, received a first-round bye and then lost 12-10 to No. 7 Moreau Catholic in a quarterfinal-round game at Lakeport, a game in which the Cardinals held a 10-6 lead at one point. Losing pitcher Emily Wingler hit a pair of home runs in the slugfest.
As top seeds and league champions, Clear Lake and St. Patrick/St. Vincent would host semifinal-round games if they make it that far. If the Cardinals reach the finals for a third time in six seasons, the title game would either be played at Lakeport or a nearby venue.
