Calaveras Enterprise

Calaveras will begin the playoffs against Venture Academy as the No. 6 seed

Calaveras hosts Venture Academy at 4 p.m. on May 9



Guy Dossi/Calaveras Enterprise file photo

For the first time in the history of the Calaveras High School baseball program, the San Andreas squad will begin the postseason as the defending section champions.

After finishing the regular season with an overall record of 16-6 and claiming a second consecutive Mother Lode League championship (13-2 MLL), Calaveras will enter the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV playoffs as the No. 6 seed.

The defending D4 champions will start their playoff run the same way they started the playoffs one year ago and that’s by hosting Venture Academy in the opening round. No. 6 Calaveras will host No. 11 Venture Academy at 4 p.m. on May 9 at Matthew Bicocca Field in San Andreas.

In 2022, Calaveras began its title run by beating Venture Academy 12-1 in San Andreas. That game ended early with a 2-run home run off the bat of Gus Tofanelli and Calaveras went on to capture the D4 championship.

Tofanelli knows that Venture Academy hasn’t forgotten what happened a year ago and there’s no question that the No. 11 team in the D4 brackets will be looking for payback.

“Considering the fact of how the match ended last year, there’s definitely more drama to this game and I think the deeper we go if we do go, the more dramatic each game will get,” Tofanelli said. “There’s dogs at the bowl this year and we’re all hungry for the last bite, so we’ll see where we end up in the end.”

Opening the playoffs at home is big for any team, but especially for Calaveras. Tofanelli feels that the support that Calaveras gets when playing on the home diamond is a big factor that cannot be overlooked.

“As you saw against Bret Harte, the home crowd and a much more familiar grass and soil definitely always plays a part in these types of games,” Tofanelli said. “I think as I speak for us seniors, the more we get to play on the field we spent all those hours on, the more wholesome it gets to feel, even for the non-seniors on the team.”

After Calaveras ended the regular season with a 6-2 home victory over Bret Harte, head coach Mark Habbestad was asked if he felt his team was where he’d like them to be to start the playoffs, and Habbestad replied, “Not quite. I’d like to be a little more confident in the deep part of my bullpen and I’d like to see our bats pick up. We’ve been a little slow with our bats here as of late with a lot of our order, but we’ll get it together.”

Venture Academy enters the playoffs with an overall record of 11-12 while going 6-4 in the Central California Athletic Alliance, finishing only behind Turlock Christian (10-0). Calaveras and Venture Academy have two common opponents in 2023 and that’s Bret Harte and Linden. Both teams beat Bret Harte, and both lost to Linden.

The winner of No. 6 Calaveras and No. 11 Venture Academy will take on No. 3 Placer, who received a first-round bye. That game will be played on May 11 on the road. Should Calaveras knock off both Venture Academy and Placer, up next would be a three-game series to determine who goes to the section championship game.

If Calaveras reaches the semifinal round for the second year in a row, it will already have history with two of the three possible teams it would face. Calaveras could face Marysville (No. 7), who lost to Calaveras in the section championship game, or it could be Galt (No. 10), who lost to Calaveras in the semifinals a year ago.

Mother Lode League member Sonora is also in the D4 playoffs as the No. 13 seed and would only meet Calaveras in the section title game.


CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV playoffs
May 9 games
No. 1 Woodland (bye)
No. 2 Oakmont (bye)
No. 3 Placer (bye)
No. 4 Ripon vs. No. 13 Sonora
No. 5 Cala Roble vs. No. 12 El Dorado
No. 6 Calaveras vs. No. 11 Venture Academy
No. 7 Marysville vs. No. 10 Galt
No. 8 Liberty Ranch vs. No. 9 Wheatland

Feb. 25 at Stagg (L) 10-4
March 3 at Alvarez (W) 9-6
March 4 at Soledad (L) 11-1
March 6 at McNair (W) 9-6
March 8 vs. Hughson (L) 12-2
March 10 at Franklin (W) 7-4 (8)
March 17 vs. Summerville (W) 5-3
March 18 at Linden (L) 9-8
March 25 at Amador (W) 14-0
March 27 at Argonaut (W) 6-2
April 4 vs. Bret Harte (W) 15-5
April 6 at Bret Harte (W) 6-0
April 11 vs. Summerville (W) 4-2
April 14 at Summerville (W) 15-2
April 15 vs. Sonora (W) 4-3
April 18 vs. Argonaut (L) 14-3
April 21 at Argonaut (W) 4-3
April 22 at Sonora (W) 6-1
April 25 at Amador (W) 12-0
April 28 vs. Amador (W) 10-0
May 3 vs. Sonora (L) 8-6
May 5 vs. Bret Harte (W) 6-2
May 9 vs. Venture Academy, 4 p.m.

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