The La Mirada, Millikan, Los Alamitos and Long Beach Poly softball teams each earned a notable spot in the CIF Southern Section playoff pairings that were released Saturday morning.
The pairings had been scheduled for weeks to be released on Monday, May 11, but the CIF-SS chose to release them on Saturday, May 9. Local coaches said the early announcement was welcomed.
“Finding out (Saturday) versus Monday is huge because it allows us to get our mindset ready and we can schedule a hefty four days of work leading up to the game,” Millikan coach Michelle Lehr said.
La Mirada, Millikan and Los Alamitos are the only three area teams placed in Division 1, the highest division in the section and one of the most competitive high school playoff divisions in the nation.
The Matadores (22-4) won the Gateway League title and earned the No. 4 seed in the top bracket. They will host area rival Los Alamitos (19-8), the Sunset League champion, in the first round on Friday, May 15. Los Alamitos beat La Mirada 10-0 in a nonleague game during the first week of the season on Feb. 21.
La Mirada head coach Brent Tuttle congratulates Riley Hilliard (11) after hitting a home run on the first inning against Warren in their Gateway League softball game at La Mirada High School on Thursday April 30, 2026. La Mirada defeated Warren 6-0 to clinch the Gateway League Championship. (Photo by Keith Durflinger, Contributing Photographer)
Millikan (22-6) will play at Orange Lutheran (19-8), the Trinity League champions, in the first round on Friday, May 15.
The Rams won the Moore League title and will enter the postseason with a confidence-boosting 4-3 victory against No. 3 seed Fullerton in a nonleague regular season finale on May 6. Millikan likely moved up from Division 2 to Division 1 because of that win.
“We have the ability to beat a top-ranked team,” Lehr explained. “Everything is going to have to come together in order for that to happen.”
Lauryn Kim #48 of Millikan scores past catcher Janelle Morris #5 of Long Beach Poly in the fourth inning of a prep softball game at El Dorado Park West in Long Beach on Thursday, April 16, 2026. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
Meanwhile, Long Beach Poly (15-4), the Moore League’s second-place team, earned the No. 4 seed in the Division 2 bracket. They will host Moorpark (11-8) on May 14. The Jackrabbits won the CIF-SS Division 4 title last season. It was the program’s first CIF title.
All eight divisions will be 32-team single-elimination brackets.
The CIF-SS softball championship games will be played at Deanna Manning Stadium at Barber Park in Irvine on Thursday, May 28, through Saturday, May 30.
Here is the first-round schedule for local teams:
(All games will begin at 3:15 p.m. unless noted otherwise.)
DIVISION 1
First round, Friday, May 15
Millikan at Orange Lutheran
Los Alamitos at La Mirada
DIVISION 2
First round, Thursday, May 14
Warren at Thousand Oaks
St. Joseph/Lakewood at Aliso Niguel
Moorpark at Long Beach Poly
Yorba Linda at Gahr
DIVISION 3
First round, Friday, May 15
Oak Park at Valley Christian/Cerritos
DIVISION 4
First round, Thursday, May 14
Harvard-Westlake at Lakewood
Pasadena Poly at Paramount
DIVISION 5
First round, Friday, May 15
Anaheim at Norwalk
Long Beach Wilson at Temple City
Ontario at Cerritos
DIVISION 7
First round, Friday, May 15
Windward at Artesia
Bellflower at Edgewood
St. Pius X-St. Matthias at Ramona Convent
DIVISION 8
First round, Thursday, May 14
Santa Clarita Christian at Avalon
Calvary Chapel/Downey at Hawthorne MSA