Angels players from SoCal discuss their favorite CIF-SS memories

Published May. 22, 2014 2:50 p.m. ET

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With all of the action in the wild-card round wrapped up, first-round games in the CIF Southern Section baseball playoffs get underway Thursday and Friday.

Teams throughout the southland will begin their push towards the CIF championships on June 6 at Dodger Stadium (Divisions I-III) and June 7 at UC Riverside (Divisions IV-VII).

The games can be seen live on Prep Zone.

Inside the Angels clubhouse are a few CIF-SS alums who shared their fondest playoff memories from high school with FOXSportsWest.com.

OF/3B Grant Green: Anaheim Canyon High School

We always had good teams. We never really did well in the playoffs. We got knocked out in the second round twice. In my senior year, we lost in the third round but my freshman year, we ended up making it to the CIF Finals. I didn't get in at all but that would probably be the one moment that I would always remember was we played (Mark Trumbo and) Villa Park (in 2003) actually in the semifinals of CIF that year.

My brother (Garett) ended up hitting (a two-run) homer and being on the bench for that was actually kind of special. We did it at their ballpark and they were supposed to kick our (butt). We ended up showing up and giving it to them and ended up making it to the finals (at Angel Stadium). We ended up losing to Thousand Oaks but, probably that, seeing my brother go off in that game was huge.  

C Hank Conger: Huntington Beach High School

I think one of the fondest ones was just, kind of, clinching the Sunset League (my sophomore year in 2004) and we won a playoff game for the first time in a long time. But one of the toughest ones was, I think, the semifinals (during the same season) and we were playing (Riverside) Arlington and it was like extra innings and a pop up went up to short, a guy dropped it, and we ended up losing the game. But that was really the only high school memory I remember. They had a guy (Eaton) Rincon, he went somewhere and (New York Mets outfielder and first baseman) Lucas Duda was on the team. So, he was like one of their main guys. That was a long time ago.

That was my first year catching. The year before I was a third baseman but we had a senior catcher so that was my first year catching. ... I think that '04 season had a lot to do with people being like 'Huntington is on the map, baseball-wise' and slowly you get guys coming along and wanting to play at Huntington.  

P Tyler Skaggs: Santa Monica High School

It was probably pitching in Dodger Stadium (in 2007) when I was a sophomore in high school. It was (the) CIF championship game. I was like 15 at the time. It was one of those things where everybody, kind of, looked up to me. I went out there and I thought I threw the ball pretty well. I didn't perform to what everybody else wanted. I think that, kind of, set me up on the right path to getting drafted and becoming a big leaguer. At that time I was only 15-years-old and that was a huge stage in front of a lot of people and I didn't respond well (Charter Oak defeated Santa Monica, 7-1).

It was still a great memory. Santa Monica High School is not known for their baseball team. It was one of those things where it was a magical year (It was the school's first appearance in a CIF final in 34 years). We won a lot of games. We had some really big playoff (wins).

P Jered Weaver: Simi Valley High School

I never made the playoffs in baseball. We didn't have that great of a team. It was more like a hobby, more like going out there and having fun with it. We knew that it was going to be a battle for us to win games. There wasn't too many memories that stick out in high school.

I wasn't really that great to tell you the truth. I was more committed to basketball and stuff like that.

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