Brian Gadsby will be on the mound for the first pitch of Crescenta Valley High School’s first round playoff game today at 3:15 p.m. against Damien High School at Stengel Field. The Falcons captured their third straight Pacific League championship last week, beating Arcadia 1-0 for an outright title. Despite a great regular season the past two years, CV was dropped in the first round each time, including a 1-0 loss to Yucaipa at Stengel last May.

The Falcons (19-7-1 overall record) boast steady leadership from senior centerfielder Bryan Wang, slick fielding by third basman Joe Torres, and a big bat in the lineup from Michael Russo. They also have a dominant pitching staff, including Gadsby, Torres, Jimmy Smiley and Tanner Carrico. The staff hasn’t allowed a run in six straight games.

Damien was 8-7 in the Sierra League, finishing in fourth place.