Irvine Valley's baseball team is in for the California Community College Athletic Association Baseball Championships.
The Lasers made it in as the 18th seed and will compete in an elimination game on Tuesday afternoon at 2 p.m. at No. 15 Chaffey.
Irvine Valley defeated No. 1 Orange Coast, 5-3, last Friday to get into the playoffs. The Lasers finished with a record of 18-22 overall.
Chaffey has a record of 24-16 overall.
The College of San Mateo and Orange Coast College are the top seeds in the North and South regions, respectively, for the upcoming playoffs, which get underway on Tuesday with 36 teams looking to earn a berth in the state championship tournament in late May in Fresno.
Each regional is comprised of 18 teams. The 15th through 18th seeds in each bracket will play on Tuesday, with winners advancing to best-of-three, first-round action beginning on Friday. The College of San Mateo (33-6) and second-seeded Santa Rosa (29-7) will await the winners of those opening games in the North before learning their opponents for the weekend, while Orange Coast (31-9) and second-seeded Grossmont (28-7-1) will do the same in the South.
The eight first-round series in each regional will advance to Super Regional action - which will also be best-of-three – on May 12-14. Survivors advance to the best-of-three Sectional Regional round on May 19-21, with the two remaining teams in each of the North and South qualifying for the state tournament in Fresno on May 27-29.
All action leading up to the four-team state finals will be played on the home sites of the higher seeds.
Santa Rosa entered last year's tournament as the top seed in the NorCal regional and rode that all the way to Fresno where the Bear Cubs beat Golden West to win the state championship. Those two teams were joined in Fresno by San Joaquin Delta and Cypress. All four finalists are in the field this year as well.
Orange Coast picked up the top seed in this year's tournament after winning three of their last four games. They're followed, in order, by Grossmont, College of the Canyons (27-12), Long Beach City (26-13-1) and El Camino (33-7) in the top five.
The College of San Mateo is 20-3 at home this year and has won 14 of its past 15 contests. The four seeds following them, in order, are Santa Rosa, Ohlone (36-3), Sacramento City (28-11) and San Joaquin Delta (31-9).
Irvine Valley is led by sophomore right fielder and catcher Cole Joy, sophomore shortstop Tyler Odekirk and its pitching staff, headed by sophomores Tyler Venturelli, John Stevens and Austin Reynolds.
Joy is batting .371 with 49 hits, four doubles, three home runs and 20 RBI. Odekirk, who has signed with the University of San Diego, is hitting .351 with 54 hits, three doubles, 27 RBI and 13 stolen bases.
Venturelli is 5-4 with one save and a 2.11 ERA. He has thrown 68.1 innings and has 33 strikeouts. Stevens is 5-5 with four saves and a 3.03 ERA. He has thrown 92.0 innings with 60 strikeouts.
And Reynolds has a 4-5 record with one save and a 3.86 ERA. He has gone 79.1 innings and has 52 strikeouts.
The full post-season schedule is below.
CCCAA Baseball Championships
Regional Pairings
Play-in Games
Northern California
No. 17 Los Medanos (24-15) at No. 16 Sierra (24-16)
No. 18 Lassen (22-16) at No. 15 Reedley (25-15)
Southern California
No. 17 Southwestern (25-15) at No. 16 Golden West (19-21)
No. 18 Irvine Valley (18-22) at No. 15 Chaffey (24-16)
First Round
Best-of-three
May 5-6 (Friday-Saturday)
Northern California
Lowest remaining seed at No. 1 College of San Mateo (33-6)
No. 9 College of the Sequoias (28-12) at No. 8 Feather River (22-16)
No. 12 Skyline (28-11) at No. 5 San Joaquin Delta (31-9)
No. 13 Chabot (24-15) at No. 4 Sacramento City (28-11)
No. 14 Cosumnes River (24-15) at No. 3 Ohlone (36-3)
No. 10 Fresno City (26-14) at No. 6 College of Marin (26-13)
No. 11 Cabrillo (27-13) at No. 7 Merced (26-14)
Second-lowest remaining seed at No. 2 Santa Rosa (29-7)
Southern California
Lowest remaining seed at No. 1 Orange Coast (31-9)
No. 9 Palomar (31-8) at (8) L.A. Mission (26-13)
No. 12 Glendale (32-8) at No. 5 El Camino (33-7)
No. 13 Saddleback (25-15) at No. 4 Long Beach City (26-13-1)
No. 14 Santa Ana (26-14) at No. 3 College of the Canyons (27-12)
No. 11 Cypress (27-13) at No. 6 Santa Barbara (23-16)
No. 10 Riverside City (29-11) at No. 7 Pasadena City (24-13)
Second-lowest remaining seed at No. 2 Grossmont (28-7-1)
Super Regional
Best-of-three
Home sites
May 12-14
Sectional Regional
Best-of-three
Home sites
May 19-21
CCCAA State Championships
Fresno, Calif. (Fresno City College)
May 27-29
