
CITYWIDE — Ocean League baseball champ Santa Monica heads into the postseason with momentum.
Winner of 10 of the past 11 games, including a perfect record in league play, Samohi (20-10 overall) opens at home against Knight on Thursday in the CIF-Southern Section Division 3 playoffs.
Palmdale Knight enters as the second place finisher in the Golden League with a 19-5 record.
The two teams last faced each other during the 2008-09 playoffs. Samohi won the first round game, 1-0.
Samohi was eliminated by Downey last year in the first round.
Thursday's game is scheduled for 3:15 p.m.
Crossroads v-ball in final four
Crossroads' boys' volleyball is a win away from an appearance in the CIF-SS Division 3 final.
The Roadrunners host South Pasadena today, Wednesday, at 7 p.m.
Crossroads advanced to the semifinal with a comeback win over Warren on Saturday. South Pasadena needed four sets to dispatch Heritage Christian to qualify for the game.
On the other side of the bracket, No. 1 seed Camarillo knocked off Samohi in five sets in the quarterfinal. Camarillo advanced to meet Hemet, also on Wednesday.
The Division 3 final is scheduled for Saturday at Santiago Canyon College.
Samohi softball at home for first round
After cruising to a ninth consecutive Ocean League softball title, Samohi earned a first-round home playoff game in CIF-SS Division 4.
Samohi will face the winner of a wild card game between Hesperia and Palm Springs, which took place on Tuesday. The result from that game was not available at presstime.
Samohi finished the season 15-10 overall and 10-0 in league. The year was highlighted by Samohi's 90th consecutive league victory.
The Vikings' first round game is scheduled for Thursday at 3:15 p.m. at Memorial Park.
Rugby teams clinch titles
Both the under-16 and under-14 boys from the Santa Monica Rugby Club won their 2013 Southern California Youth Rugby championship matches on Saturday at Cal State Fullerton.
The U-14 team crushed Santa Clarita, 43-0, in earning their age group title.
The U-16 squad knocked off the undefeated Young Aztecs, 16-15, to secure their crown.
The Santa Monica U-18 team also appeared in the final of their group, but they fell to San Diego, 36-7.
daniela@www.smdp.com