4 Auburn-area baseball teams qualify for Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs

The Auburn area will be well represented at the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs, with four teams qualified. The action kicked off Tuesday in Divisions I-IV. Placer earned the No. 3 seed in D-IV and drew No. 14 West Campus in the opening round. The Hillmen entered the playoffs riding two straight series wins to wrap up the Foothill Valley League season. The Placer-West Campus winner plays Thursday at 4 p.m. against the winner between No. 6 Casa Roble and No. 11 Galt. Here is a look at Wednesday's games: Division V: No. 6 Hughson at No. 3 Colfax Colfax is one of the hottest small schools in the area, sweeping last week to take the season series against Pioneer Valley League champion and D-IV's top seed, Marysville. The Falcons earned the No. 3 seed in Division V and will host Hughson. The Huskies finished third in the Trans Valley League and are led in nearly every offensive category by pitcher and third baseman Ethan Jones. It will be interesting to see who Colfax coach Chris Nave gives the ball to. Falcons ace Noah Souza has been dominant this year with a 6-1 record and 0.724 ERA. Marcus Maeder may get the nod. Maeder has 77 strikeouts and a 2.22 ERA through 47 1/3 innings. The winner faces either No. 2 Linden or No. 7 Bret Harte on Monday. D-VI: No. 5 Leroy Greene Academy at No. 4 Bear River Finishing just two games above .500, Bear River's tough schedule paid off, as it earned the No. 4 seed in Division VI. Despite taking fourth in a brutal PVL, the Bruins will get a home game in the opening round against Leroy Greene Academy. Bear River is led by Ryder Holcomb, who enters the playoffs with a .449 batting average, 18 RBIs and 18 stolen bases. The Bruins will need a strong performance from their pitching staff if they want to advance into next week. The winner will take on either No. 1 Alpha Charter of Elverta or No. 8 Hughes Academy of Stockton on Monday. D-VII: No. 7 Foresthill at No. 2 Turlock Christian Foresthill is the smallest school in the area to qualify for the postseason. The Wildfires claimed the third and final playoff spot in the Central Valley California League, beating Forest Lake Christian twice last week to do so. Now standing in front of Foresthill is second-seeded Turlock Christian. The Eagles have been a force of late with four consecutive shutouts, all of which were double-digit victories. Foresthill will travel to face the winner between No. 3 Woodland Christian and No. 6 Vacaville Christian if it can pull off the upset.