Verdugo Hills baseball eliminated after bench-clearing incident
Verdugo Hills baseball was five outs from achieving its goal of reaching a CIF regional title game.
But an incident against No. 5 seed Roosevelt in the CIF SoCal Division V semifinals drowned No. 1 seed Verdugo Hills’ expanded postseason title hopes.
Verdugo Hills and Roosevelt were both disqualified from the regional playoffs after a bench-clearing fracas in the bottom of the sixth inning Thursday night, according to CIF Director of Media Rebecca Brutlag.
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Verdugo Hills was ahead 5-1 and on the verge of reaching the Division V regional championship against Coastal Academy of Oceanside.
Coastal Academy was declared the Division V champion, Brutlag confirmed Friday morning.
The fracas took place after an exchange between a Verdugo Hills baserunner and an Roosevelt infielder. The Verdugo Hills baserunner was caught in a rundown between third base and home plate. The runner collided with an Roosevelt infielder attempting to make a tag at third base, based on footage available on the NFHS network.
Benches from both sides emptied and afterward the umpires declared the game over.
Verdugo Hills would have been just the second CIF LA City Section team to advance to a CIF SoCal Regional final since the expanded playoffs for baseball began in 2021.
LAUSD Police Department PIO Jorge Herrera released a statement on behalf of Verdugo Hills’ Arturo Barcenas.
“The health and safety of our students and our staff remains my top priority,” the statement read. “I wanted to take the time to inform you of an incident that occurred during tonight's baseball game when students were involved in a physical altercation. We are investigating this incident further in accordance with Los Angeles Unified policy and with the assistance of the Los Angeles School Police Department. Out of an abundance of caution, L.A. School Police will also be providing additional patrols around our school campus.
“We take the safety and security of our students and our campus very seriously. We encourage everyone in our school community to treat each other with respect, kindness and compassion. Students are always encouraged to tell an adult at school if they are experiencing any issues with other students,” per Herrera and Barcenas.
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This story was originally published June 5, 2026 at 10:04 AM.