Softball playoffs have arrived.

Oaks Christian, Oak Park and Viewpoint high schools will host first-round games today.

Oaks Christian kicks off the CIF-Southern Section Division 3 postseason as the top overall seed.

“The No. 1 rating is the recognition and reward of 14 girls who really played hard this year to warrant that rating,” Lion head coach Peter Ackermann said.

“A lot of schools’ goals are to just qualify for (the playoffs). I want to congratulate my kids for how well and how hard they played this year.”

Oaks Christian is scheduled to play St. Paul or Lancaster.

Oak Park, which finished second in the Tri-Valley League to the Lions, plays host to Crescenta Valley at Valley View Park.

Viewpoint, the Liberty League champs, plays North County Christian at Calabasas High.

Thousand Oaks’ season ended at Kennedy, 4-0, in a Division 1 wild-card outing. The Lancers finished 20-9 overall.

La Reina opened with a 4-2 Division 3 wild-card win against Atascadero on Tuesday. La Reina (18-9) will play at La Serna.

Today’s games are scheduled to start at 3:15 p.m.

No school enters the postseason with greater expectations—or a bigger wave of momentum— than Oaks Christian, 25-5 overall and 12-0 in the Tri-Valley.

Running through the postseason gantlet is no easy task, however, even for a top seed.

“It’s wide open,” Ackermann said. “We have to win five games to win it all. Some teams have to win six.”

Fortunately for Oaks Christian, the Lions have a stalwart pitching staff, a fastidious defense and an offense that torches foes with the devastating force of napalm scorching jungle canopy.

Kiana Quolas leads the Lions with her arm and bat.

The Coastal Carolina-bound senior has a team-high .479 batting average, six home runs and 11 doubles. She’s added 22 RBI and 31 runs. In the circle, she sports a 0.49 earned-run average with 109 strikeouts and 16 walks in 99 1/3 innings.

“She’s working just as hard after she received her scholarship to a Division I school as she did trying to achieve it,” the skipper said of Quolas.

Hanah Roberg is doing her best Hack Wilson impersonation by driving in 34 runs in her first 30 outings. The Buena transfer plays primarily first base. Roberg has a .477 batting average.

Leah Bleichner patrols center field and bats leadoff, where she hits at a .426 clip with 31 runs and six stolen bases.

Freshman shortstop Kelly Spear hits .463.Third baseman/ catcher Savannah Carpenter (.427 batting average, 25 RBI) is also crushing the ball.

Kahala Bonsignore, Nicole Leonard, Karli Rumburg, Jennifer Krol and Ava Jensen hit above .300. The team has a collective batting average of .388.

Kristin Cullen (1.41 ERA, 98 strikeouts in 64 1/3 innings) complements Quolas.

Ackermann said the Lions must find ways to hit standout pitchers.

“If we can do that, our defense and pitching will help us go quite a ways,” he said.

“If we play together as a unit that will really be the key. The synergy of the team is going to be the key.”

Oak Park (18-9) also hits the crud out of the ball with a team batting average of .356.

Christie Langlois is Wonder Woman in cleats. Langlois has a .538 batting average with eight home runs and 35 RBI.

She is human, however. She’s gone hitless only three games, including two losses to Oaks Christian.

Morgan Schlobohm, Carly Silliman, Kelsey Haines, Morgan Simmons and Kelsey Jensen can all rake the ball.

Viewpoint (9-10) hopes to find its mojo in time to make a deep postseason run.

“We have a young team so we’ve been a little inconsistent,” said 12th-year head coach Pam Oseransky.

The Patriots are most dangerous when they jump on a team early. But don’t let the pedestrian record play tricks on your mind.

“We had the toughest schedule I’ve ever put together for a softball team here,” the skipper said. “I feel we have a lot of potential. We took our bumps and our bruises throughout the season in order to prepare for the postseason.”

Emily Ashton provides a steady pitching arm, especially in recent starts. She also bats .400 with 25 RBI and 11 doubles.

Blythe Berka (.368 batting average) has been hitting consistently all season.

Jacky Farrow has enjoyed an outstanding season, hitting .471 in her first 13 games before breaking a finger while sliding into third base.

Although Farrow will miss today’s game, Oseransky hopes the star freshman can return to the diamond next week. Lineup card

Today, 3:15 p.m.
St. Paul or Lancaster at
Oaks Christian
La Reina at La Serna
Crescenta Valley vs. Oak
Park (at Valley View Park)
North County Christian vs.
Viewpoint (at Calabasas)