Bullpups gain No.1 baseball seed

Hanford High has won 11 consecutive games and locked up a league championship.

Now the Bullpups will try to take things to the next level as they begin the Central Section Division II baseball playoffs.

And they'll have the benefit of doing so from the No. 1 position.

The Bullpups (21-5) were assigned the top seed for the 13-team playoffs, which begin Tuesday.

Seedings were announced Saturday.

Hanford has a first-round bye, and will play Thursday at home against the winner of an opening-round game between No. 8 Fresno and No. 9 Tulare Western All games are scheduled for 4:30 p.m..

If the Bullpups keep winning, they'll maintain the home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Quarterfinals are Tuesday, May 20, with the championship slated for Thursday, May 22.

North is the second seed, followed by No. 3 Mt. Whitney, No. 4 San Joaquin Memorial, No. 5 El Diamante, No. 6 Reedley and No. 7 Tulare Union.

El Diamante is the last team to defeat Hanford. The Miners topped the Bullpups 5-4 on April. 1.

Hanford will be seeking its first section championship since 1994. The Bullpups last reached the finals in 2001.

Hanford is one of two county teams with a high seed for the baseball playoffs.

Corcoran is the No. 3 seed in Division IV, and will play host to No. 6 Central Valley Christian in a Thursday quarterfinal.

Corcoran won the ESL with a 13-1 mark and is 14-7 overall. CVC placed second in the league at 10-4, and is 14-9 overall. The teams split their two league games.

Chowchilla is the top seed in Division IV, and Kingsburg is No. 2.