It’s the time of the season the Cate Rams have been waiting for: the playoffs.
Cate completed a 14-1-1 regular campaign and will enter the postseason as the CIF Division 7’s top seed and the No. 1 team in the final County Super Seven rankings.
The defending division champions have an impressive resumé, beating Orange County power JSerra and Channel League runner-up San Marcos of Division 1 and Tri-Valley League champion Carpinteria of Division 5. Their loss came against Oxnard-Pacifica and the tie was against Santa Ynez, all playoff-bound teams.
The playoff pairings will be released Monday.
Santa Ynez recovered from its 2-0 loss against Cabrillo and whipped Templeton to gain a share of the Los Padres League title with Nipomo. The Pirates have an impressive 18-2-4 record, but they are in a very tough Division 3 with perennial powers Paramount and Santa Ana Valley.
Fifth-ranked San Marcos will return to the playoffs after a long absence. The Royals (9-5-6) finished second in the Channel League.
Final County Super Seven
1) Cate (14-1-1): beat Laguna Blanca 7-0. The Rams are ready to begin defense of the CIF Division 7 title.
2) Carpinteria (15-6-1): beat Malibu 2-1; tied Santa Paula 2-2. The Warriors responded to a wake-up call loss against Oaks Christian in the league opener and repeated as Tri-Valley League champions.
3) Santa Ynez (18-2-4): lost to Cabrillo 2-0; beat Templeton 5-1. The Pirates went 10-2 in league and won a share of the Los Padres League title.
4) Cabrillo (15-8-3): beat Santa Ynez 2-0; lost to Nipomo 2-0. The Conquistadores finished third in a very competitive LPL.
5) San Marcos (9-5-6): beat Buena 3-0. The Royals went 3-0-1 in the second round of Channel League play to nab second place.
6) Santa Barbara (15-6-4): beat Dos Pueblos 1-0; lost to Ventura 2-1. The Dons will be a tough third-place team in the playoffs.
7) Pioneer Valley (14-6-2): beat Atascacero 2-1; lost to San Luis Obispo 4-0. The Panthers finished second behind San Luis Obispo in the PAC-7.
