Cuesta Baseball has qualified for the 3C2A Regional Playoffs for the seventh straight season, while the Cougars only have missed the post-season four times since 1990.  It was a little "touch-and-go" for the Cougars this season.  The Cougars opened the season with a three-game losing streak and paired it with another three-game slide to end the regular season, while their 20-20 record during the regular season and 4th place finish helped them squeak into the playoffs.  The Cougars will not have to travel far for the post-season, because, in rare a circumstance, the Cougars will spend the weekend in nearby Santa Maria.  Cuesta shall join local rival Allan Hancock and Grossmont for a three-day, double-elimination playoff series.  The Cougars and Griffins open the affair on Friday (11 AM), with the loser facing the host Bulldogs in a potential elimination game that afternoon.   

 

Cuesta has not faced Grossmont in the post-season since the Griffins beat the#3-seeded Cougars in a best-of-three series in 2006.  However, the Cougars still hold the historical advantage, 3-2, after posting wins over the Griffins in the1997 and 2001 playoffs.  On the other side of the bracket, the host Bulldogs earned a chance to host, after taking the WSC Crown from the defending Champion Cougars.  The Bulldogs, after falling at home, 4-1, in their first meeting with Cuesta, closed strong by taking their last three meetings against the Cougars. The Bulldogs' three-game run against the Cougars helped secure their fourth straight playoff berth, while earning them their first Western State Conference title since 1995.  The Griffins, who were the Runners-Up in the Pacific Coast Conference, hope to squeeze past the local Cuesta-Hancock feud and sneak into the next round of the playoffs.  Grossmont has reached the Super Regional in each of the past two seasons.