Orange Lutheran seeded No. 1 for Division 1 softball playoffs

Orange Lutheran receives No. 1 seed for Southern Section Division 1 softball playoffs

Pitcher Brianne Weiss of Orange Lutheran poses for a photo.

Columnist

April 27, 2024 10:53 AM PT

Orange Lutheran High, the Trinity League champion armed with the best pitcher in Southern California in Brianne Weiss, has been seeded No. 1 for the 16-team Southern Section Division 1 softball playoffs released Saturday.

Weiss, a Notre Dame commit, is 16-1 with a 0.51 ERA. Division 1 teams have wild-card games on Thursday and first-round games on May 7. Orange Lutheran will face the winner of the wild-card game between Marina and Capistrano Valley.

Defending champion Garden Grove Pacifica is seeded No. 2, Norco is No. 3 and Murrieta Mesa No. 4.

Wild-card games are Tuesday and first-round games are Thursday in the other divisions. The championships are set for May 17 and 18 at Bill Barber Park in Irvine.

Norco, which has nine freshmen making contributions, is a team to watch. The Cougars are 22-3 and coach Rick Robinson put his team through some tough tournaments in an attempt to get his young players experience before the playoffs.

“I feel good about the team,” he said. “I thought we’d hit a few more bumps. They’re as ready as they can be. They’ve never experienced the high school playoffs before.”

It will be up to freshman pitcher Coral Williams and sophomore pitcher Peyton May to get the Cougars through some pressure-filled games.

Robinson said Pacifica (23-2) remains the most dangerous team. Pacifica won its first 15 games, was ranked No. 1, then lost consecutive games to Anaheim Canyon and Orange Lutheran. “On paper, Pacifica is the team to beat,” he said. “That doesn’t mean they can’t have that bad week or great week they had before. They definitely have the experience.”

El Modena is seeded No. 1 in Division 2.

In boys’ lacrosse, St. Margaret’s received the No. 1 seed. In girls’ lacrosse, Foothill is seeded first.