Benicia High’s varsity baseball and softball teams each open the postseason on Tuesday in Sacramento.

The Panther baseball team, champions of the Solano County Athletic Conference, earned the No. 3 seed in the 10-team Sac-Joaquin Section Division II bracket and will face No. 6 seed Oakmont at American River College at 4 p.m. The Lady Panthers earned the No. 5 seed in the 16-team Division III bracket and take on No. 12 seed El Capitan (14-7-2) at the Sacramento Softball Complex at 5 p.m.

The Lady Panthers officially ended their regular season on Friday with a 7-1 loss to host Sheldon in Sacramento. Sheldon (25-2) is arguably the best team in the entire SJS and is ranked No. 16 in the state.

“They’re a good team and we knew that going in,” said Benicia softball manager Kristin Grubbs. “We wanted to face some good competition before we start the playoffs and see some good pitching, hitting and defense. The score isn’t indicative of how well we played. Overall, I thought it was a good showing.”

The Lady Huskies scored three times in the third inning and added four more runs over the next two innings to take command. Adriana Chavez doubled home Olivia Mackey in the fourth inning for Benicia’s only run.

The defeat snapped a nine-game winning streak for the Lady Panthers (18-5), who enter the postseason having won two straight SJS championships. Benicia had last season’s SJS title stripped away due to a paperwork mishap and is itching to get the championship banner back.

“We still have to work hard and we’re really focused on that,” Grubbs said. “Our hitting is coming along and we’re making solid contact. We’re doing everything we can to make sure we have a good showing in the playoffs.”

Benicia’s baseball team enters the postseason with a mediocre 15-12 record but has won seven of its past eight games after getting off to a 3-8 start.

“We’re a completely different team from where we were in the first month of the season,” said Benicia baseball manager Jim Bowles. “We’re a very confident team now from top to bottom. We’re playing well in all phases of the game and I’m very optimistic that we’re going to be a very tough team to beat.”

The Panthers will start junior Cole Eigenhuis on the hill against Oakmont (16-11), a team that finished third in the Capital Valley Conference. Eigenhuis is 6-1 this season with a 1.52 earned-run average.

“It’s always stressful being in an elimination game, but we have a big-time pitcher in Cole and he’s definitely proven to be a great competitor,” Bowles said.

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