League titles in prep baseball will be on the line this week as the regular season comes to exciting conclusion.
Dos Pueblos, Santa Barbara, Carpinteria and Cate are all in the hunt for championships.
In the Channel League, Dos Pueblos and Santa Barbara are battling Buena the top spot. Dos Pueblos (7-2) has three games this week, playing at Ventura on Tuesday, at Buena on Wednesday and finishing with a home game against Ventura.
Buena (8-3) completes league play against DP.
Santa Barbara (6-4) is home and away against San Marcos on Tuesday and Thursday.
A sweep of the week will give DP the championship outright. If the Chargers go 2-1, with a win over Buena, they would be co-champs with the Bulldogs. A 1-2 week, with the win over Buena, also would give DP a share of the title.
For DP coach Nick Katzenstein, his approach for the week is take it one game at a time.
“Our sights are set on Ventura this Tuesday,” he said.
Buena wins the title outright with a victory over DP and Ventura taking one from the Chargers. The Bulldogs can still share the title with a loss. They hold the advantage for CIF placement by winning the season series over DP.
Santa Barbara can earn a co-championship with two wins, a Buena loss and two losses by DP. The Dons won the season series against Buena (2-1) but lost all three meetings against DP.
There’s a four-team logjam at the top of the Frontier League. Carpinteria, Fillmore, Santa Paula and Malibu all have 5-3 records going into the final week of games.
Carpinteria finishes league play against Malibu on Tuesday (away) and Thursday (home) while Highway 126 rivals Santa Paula and Fillmore square off on the same days. Santa Clara is right there, too. The Saints (4-4) finish with two games against winless Villanova.
“There are a great many scenarios, everything from a five-way tie for first to Carpinteria missing the playoffs,” Warriors coach Pat Cooney said. “Winning two games versus highly touted Malibu would ensure a share of the title for Carpinteria.”
The Condor League title comes down to Wednesday’s finale between Cate and Dunn in Los Olivos. Both teams are 4-1. The Rams missed a chance to wrap up a share of the title on Saturday, losing at Ojai Valley, 10-9.
