The Record tried to warn you: Playoff baseball hits different.
Once the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs began, everything changed. Records disappeared. Regular-season results stopped mattering. Every pitch, swing and defensive play suddenly carries season-changing weight.
Nineteen San Joaquin County teams entered the postseason May 6 chasing section titles. By the end of opening round, 12 of those runs were already over.
Seven teams remained heading into Friday’s quarterfinals. Now, only five are still alive: St. Mary’s, Manteca, East Union, Escalon and Ripon Christian.
The road changes from here, too.
The semifinals move away from single elimination and into best-of-three series, meaning teams now must win two games to advance to the championship round.
Here is the semifinal schedule for every division from Division I through Division VII.
Division I
No. 1 St. Mary’s (24-5) vs. No. 4 Granite Bay (18-12) — May 12 at St. Mary’s, 4 p.m.; May 14 at Granite Bay, 4 p.m.; May 15 at St. Mary’s, 4 p.m.
Division III
No. 3 Manteca (22-8) vs. No. 7 El Capitan (23-7) — May 12 at Manteca, 4 p.m.; May 14 at El Capitan, 4 p.m.; May 15 at Manteca, 4 p.m.
Division IV
No. 1 Roseville (24-4) at No. 4 East Union (21-8) — May 12 at Roseville, 4 p.m.; May 14 at East Union, 4 p.m.; May 15 at Roseville, 4 p.m.
Division V
No. 5 Wheatland (21-8) vs. No. 8 Escalon (20-8) — May 12 at Wheatland, 4 p.m.; May 14 at Escalon, 4 p.m.; May 15 at Wheatland, 4 p.m.
Division VI
No. 1 Ripon Christian (26-2) vs. No. 5 Colfax (12-14-1) — May 12 at Ripon Christian, 4 p.m.; May 14 at Colfax, 4 p.m.; May 15 at Ripon Christian, 4 p.m.
This article originally appeared on The Record: San Joaquin County baseball playoffs: Five teams reach semifinals
Reporting by Dylan Ackermann, The Stockton Record / The Record
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
