Sleeping giant has awakened for Southern Section

Ranked No. 1 in preseason, St. John Bosco’s baseball crew suffered some shocking losses during the National High School Invitational and Boras Classic, shedding three straight at one level.

“The little bump in the road was our last opportunities to get guys in there for non-Trinity League games to see what they could do,” coach Andy Rojo said.

The laptop rankings didn’t respect St. John Bosco’s experimentation. The Braves closed the common season with 11 straight wins and a Trinity League title, but had been punished when the Southern Section Division 1 playoff pairings got here out Friday. Orange Lutheran, second place to the Braves, was given a No. 4 seed forward of No. 6 St. John Bosco.

The disrespect will only add to the motivation for the defending Division 1 champions. St. John Bosco completed the common season 22-5 and 14-1 in the Trinity League.

It’s another lesson in this new period of relying on laptop algorithms for playoff pairings. The people operating the computer systems received’t release their secrets and techniques about how groups are actually ranked. It’s locked up just like the recipe for Kentucky Fried Chicken. Two issues are sure for all laptop rankings: Head-to-head matchups are actually not important and league end doesn’t matter. Those are two standards that used to be among the most important in the times when people put together pairings, so you may perceive why old-timers are having a arduous time adjusting.

“We feel good,” Rojo said.

And he ought to. For Southern Section Division 1 baseball, it actually doesn’t matter where you’re ranked. The 16 groups are so good that everyone seems to be set to go through a gauntlet and could the best crew rise to the top.

St. John Bosco opens the playoffs on Tuesday in pool C dealing with in all probability the best opening opponent in Crestview League champion Cypress. St. John Bosco has ace Julian Garcia prepared to go, but Cypress has a number of pitchers prepared to compete. Sierra Canyon is the very best seed in pool C and opens at home against Oaks Christian.

Big VIII League champion Norco acquired the No. 1 seed for the first 16-team pool play match in Division 1. There are 4 four-team swimming pools with the possibility to lose one sport and not go home. The first- and second-place finishers in each pool will advance to the only elimination eight-team quarterfinals.

“I love the double elimination,” Rojo said. “If you have a bad day, you get to redeem yourself.”

The other eight divisions stay 32 groups and single elimination.

The Braves successfully managed pitches for Garcia all season in his return from arm surgical procedure that compelled him to miss all of 2025. He was even taken out with a no-hitter in the sixth inning against Mater Dei while sticking with 85 pitches to protect him for the playoffs. He’s had a pitcher-of-the-year season with a 7-1 document, 0.72 ERA and 69 strikeouts in 48⅓ innings.

The big change for the 2026 playoffs for St. John Bosco from 2025 is that nearer Jack Champlin would be the No. 2 starter. Sophomore Brayden Krakowski has shown he could be an efficient nearer. A major determination by Rojo was to shake up his batting order after the three-game shedding streak. He switched Jaden Jackson and James Clark, with Jackson turning into the leadoff man and Clark batting second.

“They’re both thriving,” Rojo said.

And so is St. John Bosco, whether or not laptop believes it or not.