by Ethan Ignatovsky

CCL Opening Day might feel like it was just yesterday, but in reality, it was two months ago. The regular season has come and gone, memories have been made, struggles and triumphs have occurred and the field has been set for the Playoffs. 

Six teams -- the No. 1 seed Sonoma Stompers (25-15), No. 2 seed Walnut Creek Crawdads (23-15) and No. 3 seed San Luis Obispo Blues (24-16) from the North Division and the No. 1 seed Conejo Oaks (24-13), No. 2 seed Orange County Riptide (23-14) and No. 3 seed Arroyo Seco Saints (14-20) from the South Division-- will battle it out, and the last team standing will be crowned the CCL Champions. 

The first round in each division will see the No. 3 seed travel to the No. 2 seed's home for a single-elimination game on Tuesday, July 29. The winner of each division's first-round game will then travel to the No. 1 seed's home for a second single-elimination game on Wednesday, July 30. The winner of the second-round game will become their division's representative in the Championship series, which is a best-of-three affair hosted by whoever wins out in the South, and will take place from August 1 to 3. 

Here's a look at the teams. 

CCL North

The No. 3 San Luis Obispo Blues finished just short of the No. 2 seed. If the Walnut Creek Crawdads had lost their final game of the season, the Blues would be hosting the first round, but instead, it's them who have to drive up the coast of California to the East Bay. Even with having to travel a considerable distance, the Blues should be seen as challenging adversaries for the Crawdads. 

The Blues caught fire in July after an inconsistent June, going 15-5, and ending the season with two wins over the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the south: The Conejo Oaks and Orange County Riptide. All-Stars like first baseman Zach Tallerman, second baseman Diego Murrillo, third baseman Sam Ardoin and center fielder EJ Royal help the team score 5.15 runs per game, a very respectable mark considering the pitcher-friendly nature of Sinsheimer Park, their home field. 

The Blues' calling card, though, is pitching. Even in a friendly environment, what the staff has done is extremely impressive. The team owns a 3.85 ERA, one of the best marks in the CCL, and has five starters -- who have started at least three games -- with an ERA below 2.52. 

The Crawdads are also a team that can shut down their opponents with their pitching. Their 4.17 ERA isn't as good as the Blues' mark, but they've only allowed five runs across their last three games and own a 3.32 bullpen ERA over the last week of the season. 

More importantly, the Crawdads are just playing all-around good baseball. They've won five in a row, scored seven runs in their last two games -- they own a 6.9 runs per game mark over the course of the season  -- and are playing good defense. The Crawdads, like the Blues, have had stretches of inconsistency throughout the year, but have seemingly found their stride.  

Both teams' aces -- Right-handed pitcher Ryan Featherston, who owns a 0.26 ERA in 34 innings pitched for the Blues and Left-handed pitcher Aiden White, who owns a 1.01 ERA in 35.2 innings pitched for the Crawdads -- would be pitching on short rest if they appeared in Tuesday's game, meaning it will be up to the rest of both team's respective staffs to get the job done, and the offenses will have to prepare to support those staffs. The two teams are tied in the season series 2-2, with all wins being produced by the home team. 

Whichever team wins this time around will then have to travel north to Sonoma to take on the No. 1 Stompers. The Stompers ended their season going 7-3 in their last 10 games, with a three-game win streak to tie the bow on the No. 1 seed. 

The Stompers had the most potent offense in the CCL during the regular season, scoring 282 runs (7.1 runs per game), the most in the entire league. Their lineup features infielder Max Handron, who is hitting .439 with six home runs, but the team has lost key bats like shortstop Colton Boardman and right fielder Brady Shannon in recent weeks, which could prove to be a sizeable blow in the playoffs. 

Even with those losses, it won't be easy to beat the Stompers, especially when you take into consideration how good their pitching staff is. The Stompers are the proud owners of a 3.30 ERA and have one of the deepest staffs in the league. Plus, with an extra day of rest, they'll be more likely to throw some of their best stuff at their opponents, while they could potentially be reeling from round one. It'll be a tough task for the Blues or Crawdads to win back-to-back elimination games, but both teams have proven they can beat the Stompers before -- the Blues are 2-2 and the Crawdads are 5-4 -- making this one can't-miss action. 

CCL South

Due to the Santa Barbara Foresters not participating in the CCL Playoffs, every team in the south essentially jumped up one spot, which helped the No. 3 Arroyo Seco Saints. The Saints snuck into the Playoffs with a losing record and are 3-7 in their last 10, but could still pose a threat to the No. 2 Orange County Riptide. 

The Saints feature a high-powered offense that scores an impressive 6.8 runs per game, thanks, in large part, to a few key performers. Infielders Jacob Freer and Trotter Enright, as well as outfielder Joey Milto, all have OPSs over .800, and Milto enters the playoffs on fire, with a .333 batting average over his last 10 games. If a few other bats -- such as outfielder Jackson Reed, who carries an .862 OPS over the last four games -- can step up, the Saints could power their way to something special. 

To get there, though, they'll still need their pitching staff to step up. The Saints have an uninspiring 5.24 ERA, and only have a handful of arms having good summers. The staff will need to deliver some special performances to make it far in the playoffs. 

In contrast to the Saints' pitching, the Riptide have one of the best staffs in the league, with a 3.45 ERA. Staff ace's left-handed Michael Erspamer and right-hander Hauze Fragoso -- 1.85 ERA in 34 innings and 1.06 ERA in 25.1 innings, respectively -- will both most likely miss round one against the Saints since they would be pitching on short rest, but the team has no lack of pitching depth. Depth that's helped them end the season going 7-3 in their last 10. 

The Riptide also boasts a formidable offense, scoring an average of 6.5 runs per game. The lineup features three batters with averages over .300 and at least 100 bats -- outfielder Bradley Navarro, outfielder Reid Montgomery and third baseman Luke Johnson. The Riptide don't have much home run pop, but can score in other ways. 

The matchup between the two teams should be a close one. The Saints and Riptide played six games against each other during the regular season, splitting the series 3-3. The two split their final two games against each other during the last week of the regular season, with the Riptide and Saints winning both of their respective games at the other team's stadium. While the individual games were blowouts, the combined score across the two games was a close 13-12 in the Riptide's favor. 

Whoever wins between those two teams will have the tough task of taking on the reigning CCL Champions and No. 1 Conejo Oaks. The Oaks finished the season with a 6-4 stretch to finish a game up on the Riptide. While they're surely ready to face anyone, it's been shown time and time again this summer that the Oaks play much better against the Saints than they do the Riptide. The Oaks are an impressive 6-1 against the Arroyo Seco team, but only a paltry 1-5 against the Riptide. 

While they might not have recent history on their side against the Riptide, the defending champs have a roster that can go up against anyone. Outfielder Tommy Kendlinger, catcher Jacob Galloway and first baseman Jake Schwartz all have OPSs over .800 and Schwartz is sitting at an otherworldly 1.067. The three have helped the team score a very respectable 6.1 runs per game. It might not be the highest mark in the league, but the team finds ways to win. 

Another number that's very respectable but not outlandish is the team's 3.91 ERA. The team has plenty of depth and arms coming out of the bullpen that can shut down opposing offenses. The stars of the show in Conejo reside in the starting rotation, though. Righties Gabe Howard and Alexander Umland have a 0.75 ERA and 0.90 ERA in 24 innings pitched and 20 innings pitched, respectively. Right-hander Caden Beloian and left-hander Charlie Decker have thrown slightly more innings -- 35 and 32, respectively -- but still have impressive ERAs at 2.57 and 3.38, respectively. 

The Oaks' pitching situation makes them a perfectly built team for the Championship series, should they be able to get there. 

Whoever gets there, though, from both divisions, will just be a couple of wins away from the mountain top, and whoever gets there first will have a memory to last a lifetime and their CCL legacy set in stone.  

Full Bracket