Welcome to playoff softball.
This is where regular-season success means nothing if you can’t deliver when it matters most.
The margin for error shrinks. Pressure rises. Every inning feels heavier than the last.
For 20 San Joaquin County teams, that postseason journey began May 13. For more than half, it was over by night’s end.
Now, only eight teams remain heading into Friday’s quarterfinals on May 15.
Still standing are Tracy in Division II, Manteca in Division III, Oakdale in Division IV, Escalon and Liberty Ranch in Division V, Linden and BHCPA in Division VI, and Elliot Christian in Division VII.
So who’s up next? Which teams can keep this going? And who might be staring at a real championship path?
Here’s the quarterfinals schedule, broken down by division from Division I through Division VII.
Division II
No. 8 West Park (16-4) at No. 1 Tracy (23-1), 4 p.m.
Division III
No. 5 Dixon (14-8) at No. 4 Manteca (17-8), 4 p.m.
Division IV
No. 6 Del Campo (19-8) at No. 3 Oakdale (14-9), 4 p.m.
Division V
No. 5 Casa Roble (14-10) at No. 4 Liberty Ranch (15-8), 4 p.m.
No. 7 Escalon (12-11) at No. 2 Calaveras (24-2), 4 p.m.
Division VI
No. 6 Bear River (16-8) at No. 3 Linden (18-6), 4 p.m.
No. 7 Ben Holt College Prep Academy (20-7) at No. 2 Argonaut (20-8), 4 p.m.
Division VII
No. 7 Vacaville (8-9) at No. 2 Elliot Christian (9-3), 4 p.m.
This article originally appeared on The Record: San Joaquin County softball playoffs see eight teams reach quarters
Reporting by Dylan Ackermann, The Stockton Record / The Record
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
