The road to a Sac-Joaquin Section title starts now.
Twenty San Joaquin County softball teams punched their ticket to the postseason, with first-round games beginning May 13.
Two county programs outside The Record’s usual coverage area — Ben Holt College Prep Academy and Elliott Christian — also made the cut after putting together seasons too good to leave out.
League titles, winning streaks and regular-season records helped teams get here. From this point on, though, none of that guarantees anything.
One bad inning can end a season. One clutch hit can keep it alive.
Before postseason softball officially begins, here is where every county team finished in league play.
San Joaquin Athletic Association: Bear Creek (second), Edison (third)
Tri-City Atlantic League: Tracy (first), Kimball (second), Lodi (third), St. Mary’s (fourth), Lincoln (fifth)
Valley Oak League: Oakdale (second), Manteca (third), East Union (fourth), Mountain House (fifth), Sierra (seventh)
Trans Valley League: Escalon (second), Ripon (third)
Sierra Valley Conference: Liberty Ranch (second), Galt (seventh)
Central California Athletic Alliance League: BHCPA (first), Millennium (fourth)
Mother Lode League: Linden (second)
Mountain Valley League: Elliot Christian (first)
Now comes the part everyone waits for.
Who did each team draw? Which programs landed favorable seeds? And which ones have what it takes to still be standing with a section title on the line May 23?
Here is the complete first-round schedule, organized by division from Division I through Division VII.
Note: Results and future-round schedules will be posted separately after each round.
Division I
No. 13 Lincoln (13-14) at No. 4 Oak Ridge (12-10), 4 p.m.
No. 14 Mountain House (10-11) at No. 3 Davis Sr. (14-11), 4 p.m.
No. 18 Edison (18-9) at No. 2 Sheldon (13-11), 4 p.m.
Division II
No. 1 Tracy (23-1), BYE
No. 12 St. Francis (11-15) at No. 5 Kimball (19-7), 5 p.m.
No. 13 St. Mary’s (17-11) at No. 4 Elk Grove (24-4), 4 p.m.
No. 11 Lodi (13-10-1) at No. 6 Merced (19-3), 4 p.m.
Division III
No. 16 Bear Creek (16-7) vs. No. 1 Destiny Christian Academy (24-0), 4 p.m.
No. 12 Sierra (7-10) at No. 5 Dixon (13-8), 4 p.m.
No. 13 Buhach Colony (14-11) at No. 3 Manteca (16-8), 4 p.m.
Division IV
No. 9 Pioneer (15-12) at No. 8 East Union (14-12), 4 p.m.
No. 14 Placer (8-11) at No. 3 Oakdale (13-9), 4 p.m.
No. 15 Lathrop (15-8-1) at No. 2 Central Catholic (19-8), 4 p.m.
Division V
No. 13 Woodland (6-14) vs. No. 4 Liberty Ranch (14-8), 4 p.m.
No. 14 Galt (8-15) at No. 3 Sutter (18-8-1), 4 p.m.
No. 11 Lincoln (14-12-1) at No. 6 Ripon (17-8), 4 p.m.
No. 10 Woodland Christian (15-8) at No. 7 Escalon (11-11), 4 p.m
Division VI
No. 14 Colfax (7-9) at No. 3 Linden (17-6), 4 p.m.
No. 10 WSCA (6-4) vs. No. 7 Ben Holt College Prep Academy (19-7), 4 p.m.
Division VII
No. 11 Millennium (3-10) at No. 6 Golden Sierra (8-9), 4 p.m.
No. 15 Valley Christian (1-9) at No. 2 Elliot Christian (8-3), 4 p.m.
This article originally appeared on The Record: CIF SJS first-round softball playoff matchups set in San Joaquin County
Reporting by Dylan Ackermann, The Stockton Record / The Record
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