Andrew Edwards/Special to the Record Searchlight
 |  Redding Record Searchlight

There was first and second round action in the CIF Northern Section postseason on Friday.

Two Redding-area teams are on the brink of elimination after losses, and two grew one step closer to a section championship.

Division II: Foothill held scoreless, one step closer to elimination

Foothill lost, 2-0, in a pitching duel with Red Bluff in the second round and will face Pleasant Valley, which lost to Chico, 5-4, at 10 a.m. Tuesday. The Division II and III brackets are double elimination up until the championship game.

Red Bluff’s blue-chip right-hander and LSU commit, junior Cooper Sides, pitched a seven-inning shutout. Sides’ 11 strikeouts were a season high.

Up-and-coming standout sophomore Kayden Williams threw all six innings for the Cougars and gave up six hits and two runs.

Red Bluff will now face one-loss top-seeded Chico in a rematch of last season’s section championship game. The winner will earn a trip to this season’s title game, and the loser will see the winner of Foothill and Pleasant Valley in an elimination game.

As the lowly No. 6 seed, Foothill’s postseason run, which started with a win over No. 3 seed Las Plumas, is still alive. Its season now hinges on a do-or-die clash with No. 4 Pleasant Valley.

The Cougars lost the season series to the Vikings, 1-2, but did manage an 8-0 win when Williams pitched six scoreless innings.

Division III: An improbable end to a section-best win streak

West Valley’s 17-game win streak came to an abrupt end against No. 5 seed Yreka on Friday. After leading the entire game, the top-seeded Eagles allowed three runs in the top of the seventh inning to lose 4-3.

Senior ace Jayden Knight pitched five innings and allowed one run before being relieved in the sixth inning. Gridley, the No. 2 seed, lost to No. 3 seed Lassen and will see West Valley at 10 a.m. on Tuesday in Cottonwood for a win-or-go-home game.

Friday’s win marked the first time Yreka has won two playoff games in twelve years. It had lost in the first round three straight seasons prior to this run, and now has back-to-back upset wins.

The Miners traveled 271 miles in their first two road playoff games, and will now make their longest trek yet — 169 miles to Lassen. The No. 3 seed Grizzlies will host Yreka for a shot to advance to the title. The loser will face the winner of Gridley and West Valley for the same opportunity.

Division IV: Panthers find revenge against a familiar face

University Prep put an end to Colusa’s season on Friday — the team that had knocked it out of the postseason in back-to-back campaigns: the 2023 section championship and 2024 semifinal.

Senior Jacob Lindell struck out eight and pitched his fourth shutout of the season. He is one of five seniors who endured that postseason heartbreak in back-to-back seasons.

Durham, the No. 2 seed, will host No. 3 seed U-Prep in a win-or-go-home game at 4 p.m. on Tuesday. The winner will see either No. 1 seed Winters or No. 4 seed East Nicolaus in the title game.

Division VI: Redding Christian set to face the top seed after first-round win

The reigning Division VI champions, No. 5 seed Redding Christian, enjoyed a comfortable 10-2 win over No. 4 seed Plumas Charter on Friday.

Junior Brodie Ogden pitched a seven-inning complete game and had a career-high 12 strikeouts. He had never recorded a double-digit strikeout game in his career prior to Friday.

Ogden was one of five Lions to record an RBI, and one of two to record multiple. Junior Josh Price also drove in a pair of runs.

Top-seeded Los Molinos will try and fend off a dangerous Redding Christian team at 4 p.m. Tuesday with a section championship bid on the line. Maxwell, the No. 3 seed, or Biggs, the No. 2 seed, will face the winner.