CIF softball playoffs lose direction with double-elimination maneuvers

Unless a team goes straight through to the final, the San Diego Section’s double-elimination softball playoff brackets can become somewhat confusing — and downright confounding as well.

Chula Vista Calvary Christian Academy and High Tech High Chula Vista had the opportunity to get to know one another quite well as their Division V playoff bracket went the distance.

Calvary Christian Academy received the No. 1 seed in the eight-team division while HTH Chula Vista received the No. 2 seed. In a single-elimination bracket set-up, neither team would meet until the championship game. Not so in the section’s quirky double-elimination format.

To start, Castle Park and Gompers Prep met in a play-in game on May 16 to determine which team would receive the No. 8 seed and a first-round match-up against Calvary Christian. Castle Park won 9-5 to earn the right to advance to the double-elimination bracket but dropped a 3-1 decision to the Lady Royal Knights to start double-elimination play.

Meanwhile, HTH-CV defeated seventh-seeded Escondido Adventist, 13-2, in its first-round game to advance to the second round along with CCA.

Castle Park was guaranteed a second game in the double-elimination format and paired with fifth-seeded Borrego Springs — a 10-9 first-round loser to fourth-seeded Foothills Christian — in a second-round game on May 21.

Borrego Springs won, 6-4, to eliminate Castle Park.

In another second-round elimination game, sixth-seeded Julian downed Escondido Adventist by a score of 16-14.

Calvary Christian Academy edged Foothills Christian, 12-11, in its second-round game to skip directly to fourth-round play.

HTH-Chula Vista suffered a hiccup in its second-round game against third-seeded Classical Academy as the Lady Bruins dropped a 10-7 decision. HTH-CV dropped to the elimination bracket while Classical Academy continued on in the winners bracket.

At this point, there were six teams remaining in contention for berths in the division championship game, with Calvary Christian Academy and Classical Academy receiving byes to fourth round play (i.e. the semifinals).

For some reason that escapes me, HTH Chula Vista crossed from the lower half of the bracket to the upper half of the bracket to meet Borrego Springs in a third-round elimination game. This is where us media types completely become disoriented in  the CIF softball playoffs.

The Lady Bruins defeated Borrego Springs, 15-5, in third-round play on May 24 while Julian defeated Foothills Christian, 11-6, in another third-round elimination game to remain in the bracket.

That left four teams alive in the tournament, with the No. 1 and No. 2-seeded teams meeting in one double-elimination match-up and the No. 3 and No. 6-seeded teams meeting in the other double-elimination match-up.

In fourth round play on May 26, Classical Academy dispatched Julian, 14-3, to secure a position in last Friday’s division championship game as the loss was Julian’s second in double-elimination play.

However, HTH-CV surprised top-seeded Calvary Christian Academy by defeating the Lady Royal Knights, 12-2, to force a semifinal replay as CCA had not lost to that point in the playoffs.

Rather than wait another day, the second semifinal game was played two hours later that same day at the Poway USA Sportsplex. The Lady Bruins again triumphed, this time by a rather lopsided score of 21-1, to eliminate top-seeded Calvary Christian Academy.

Second-seeded HTH-CV then advanced to meet third-seeded Classical Academy in the championship game.

Despite the convolution of double-elimination bracket play, the teams that advanced to the title game seemed deserving of that honor after vanquishing their challengers in a fair fight.

Now, as for Classical Academy, what to do about them as the Lady Caimans had not yet lost in the tournament? If the Lady Bruins hung a loss on them in the final, would there have to be a championship game replay?

As it turns out, the championship game is a single-elimination winner-take-all affair.

The Lady Bruins held an early edge, leading 7-3, before Classical Academy rallied to post an 8-7 victory and finally lay claim to the Division V championship banner.

HTH-Chula Vista (15-5) wound up playing six games in the division playoffs while Classical Academy (16-10) played four games.

Calvary Christian Academy (20-4) played four games in the playoffs with two wins and two losses. The Lady Royal Knights finished 6-0 in Citrus League play this season.

The Lady Bruins finished 4-2 in Frontier League play while the Lady Caimans finished 7-7 in Pacific League play.

Don’t even ask me to summarize the other five divisional playoff brackets. Let’s just say that no other South County team made it as far as the championship game.

San Diego Section Softball Championships

Finals at UC-San Diego

Friday, May 27

Division V: (3) Classical Academy 8 (2) High Tech High Chula Vista 7

Division I: (2) Rancho Buena Vista 5, (1) Patrick Henry 2

Saturday, May 28

Division IV: (1) Christian 5, (3) La Jolla 0

Division III: (1) Grossmont 5, (5) University City 3

Division II: (4) Calexico 3, (1) Escondido 0

Open Division: (3) San Marcos 7, (4) Poway 6