The562’s baseball coverage in 2025 is sponsored by the Millikan, Long Beach Poly, Lakewood and Wilson baseball boosters.
Five Long Beach high school baseball teams learned their playoff fate on Monday morning with the release of the CIF Southern Section playoff brackets. Moore League co-champions Wilson and Millikan both drew road games.
Division 2
Millikan will visit Foothill on Friday at 3:15pm in the Division 2 opener. The Rams (21-7) will hope to knock off the host Knights, who are 17-11 and an at-large bid out of the Crestview League. Millikan will face the winner of San Clemente and Westlake in the second round next Tuesday if they can advance out of the opening round.
Division 3
Wilson (19-9) are the Moore League co-champions but the league’s top seed via coin flip. Nonetheless, under the new CIF-SS competitive equity playoff format, the Bruins will start of the playoffs on the road against another league champion in Fullerton (18-9) on Thursday at 3:15pm.
“We’re going to be tested early, Fullerton traditionally has a very good program,” said Wilson coach Andy Hall. “We’re looking forward to the challenge.”
If Wilson wins they’d see the winner of Brea Olinda and Paraclete in the second round on Tuesday.
Division 5
The three other teams from Long Beach and the Moore League will compete in Division 5, with first-round games taking place Friday.
Long Beach Poly earned the Moore League’s three-seed and the Jackrabbits (14-13) got the league’s only home game in the first round of the playoffs, one of the interesting quirks of the new playoff format. The Jackrabbits will host Mayfair at LBCC at 3:30pm on Thursday.
“We’re excited for the opportunity,” said first-year Poly coach Soloman Williams.
If Poly beats Mayfair they’d see the winner of Riverside Poly and Hueneme on Tuesday in the second round.
Lakewood hits the road Thursday to face Moreno Valley. The Lancers (12-16) will be looking to pull an upset over the two-seed from the Sunbelt League in the Vikings (17-10). With a win Lakewood would face the winner of Camarillo and Orange Vista.St. Anthony also made it into the playoffs as the second place team in the Camino Real League. The Saints (17-8) will host Heritage (19-9), the Sunbelt League champions. The game will be at Clark Field Thursday at 3:15pm. With a win the Saints would face the winner of Jurupa Hills and Whittier Christian Tuesday in the second round.
