Teams honored and spurned in playoffs

The bat and ball playoffs were announced by the Central Section over the weekend and the Madera South Stallions baseball team received the program’s first-ever No. 1 seed in Div. IV.

The road to the Div. IV championship runs through Madera South’s Eddie Chapa Field. The top-seeded Stallions will host No. 16 Golden West today at 4:30 p.m. with the winner playing Friday in the quarterfinals.

Madera also received a home game with a No. 6 seed. they will host No. 11 Tulare Union at 4:30 p.m. in Mel Parker Field in the Div. II playoffs. Awaiting them is No. 3 Fresno, who received a first-round bye.

In Div. IV, the Liberty Hawks baseball team earned the No. 10 seed and will travel to No. 7 Dos Palos today in the first round, also at 4:30 p.m.

The Madera Coyotes softball team, the undefeated champions of the County/Metro Athletic Conference, felt a little spurned with its No. 9 seed. The Coyotes headed to No. 8 Arroyo Grande on Tuesday for a 3:30 game.

Madera Coyotes head coach Judy Shaubach said her team’s seeding is a head scratcer. The Coyotes defeated No. 10 Clovis West, No. 13 Clovis East, No. 3 Buchanan and No. 12 Bullard-Fresno while taking top seed Clovis North to eight innings in a one-run loss.

After losing its first six games, the Coyotes closed the season with a 15-2 record, including a CMAC sweep of Bullard while winning their last 12 games.

The Liberty Hawks’ softball team received the No. 3 seed and earned a first-round bye in the 10-team bracket. They advance to play No. 6 Kerman, who also received a first-round bye, on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. at Liberty.