Cardinal Newman, Casa Grande earn spots in Northern California baseball, softball playoffs

Cardinal Newman and Casa Grande are headed to the Northern California regional playoffs in both baseball and softball after all four teams won North Coast Section titles over the weekend.

Cardinal Newman is the No. 4 seed in the top NorCal baseball division and will host No. 5 Whitney of Rocklin in Tuesday’s first round.

Casa Grande, the third seed in Division 2, will host No. 6 Live Oak of Morgan Hill in the first round.

Newman beat Campolindo in a walk-off victory Saturday to repeat as NCS Division 3 champions. The Cardinals won the North Bay League Oak division this season and boast an overall record of 27-1.

Tuesday’s opponent, the Whitney Wildcats, went 26-6 to win the Sierra Foothill League.

Casa Grande, meanwhile, went 23-5 and won the Vine Valley Athletic League. The Live Oak Acorns went 18-10 and were champions of the Mt. Hamilton League.

In softball, the eighth-seeded Casa Grande Gauchos will open on the road against top-seeded Willow Glen of San Jose.

The Gauchos, 25-4 this year and champions of the Vine Valley Athletic League, beat Livermore on Friday for the NCS title.

The Willow Glen Rams went 20-7 in winning the Mt. Hamilton League.

Cardinal Newman’s softball squad beat Del Norte on Friday for its section title after going 18-9 and finishing third in the NBL-Oak.

The Cardinals are also seeded eighth in the NorCal tournament but are playing in Division 3, opening on the road at the top-seeded Ponderosa Bruins of Shingle Springs.

All four Tuesday games begin at 4 p.m. Winners will advance to Thursday’s semifinals, also set to begin at 4 p.m.

Regional championship games will take place at 4 p.m. Saturday.