CARMEL >> It’s not that opponents overlook Matt Maxon’s production at the plate. It’s just that his pitching numbers are filthy with an 8-1 record, a 93-mph fastball and a 0.90 earned run average.

The Stanford-bound pitcher has built quite a resume as a pitcher for Carmel High. Yet, his numbers in the batter’s box have been equally dominating this spring.

The junior ripped his 11th homer of the season — a grand slam — as the No. 2 seeded Padres opened the Northern California Division III playoffs Tuesday with a 9-0 over Morro Bay.

On the heels of the program’s 10th Central Coast Section Division III title last week, Carmel (22-10) will host No. 3 Rancho Cotate of Rohnert Park — 7-2 winners over Kingsburg — on Friday at noon in the semifinals.

The game was originally supposed to be played on Thursday at 4 p.m., but Rancho Cotate is graduating that day. So the California Interscholastic Federation ruled that the game would be moved to Friday — which is the day Carmel graduates.

Runner-ups in the North Coast Section, the Cougars (17-13) have gone 5-1 since enduring a five-game losing streak, with the one setback coming from section champion Acalanes.

“I don’t know anything about them,” Carmel coach Mike Kelly said. “Our focus was on Morro Bay. But in this day and age, you can start learning stuff really quickly about your opponent.”

Maxon, who is chasing a .500 batting average on the season at .479 coming into the game, finished with three more hits and now has 40 runs batted in on the season.

“He’s really separating himself and showcasing,” said Kelly, in speaking about Maxon. “He’s talented like that. We knew that when he arrived as a freshman.”

On the heels of a dramatic eight-inning win on Bo Lewis’ walk-off single in the CCS title game, the senior delivered again with a two-run homer for the Padres, while John Beretti, Dean Briant and Kaleb Herro all collected two hits.

“There’s a lot of momentum that has carried over from the CCS title game,” Kelly said. “We’re playing at a different level for us. We have our limitations. We’re so young. But we’re starting to play older than we actually are.”

Sophomore Lucas Rocha continued his dominance on the mound in the postseason for Carmel, stretching his scoreless streak to 11 innings after needing just 38 pitches to throw four shutout innings.

“We hope it’s a three-game week for us,” Kelly said. “So we pulled Lucas early when we built a big lead, with the thought of being able to use him later in the week.”

A Southern Section finalist, Morro Bay came into the game 26-6, having gone undefeated in league play. Because the Pirates are a team that swings early in the count, Rocha induced a lot of first-pitch strikes.

“He was throwing strikes and the other team was swinging at it,” Kelly said. “I think he walked the first batter, then the next pitch was a double play. We’re playing good defense and that helps limit the pitch count.”

The Padres infield turned three double plays to keep Morro Bay off the scoreboard.

Stevenson 5, Matilda Torres 2

With their state championship golf team cheering them on, the Pirates extended their season beating Matilda Torres of Madera County in the Northern California Division V quarterfinals.

“It’s a quick turnaround going from such a high in winning a section title to getting back at it,” Stevenson coach Nick Wilcox said. “It will be the same thing on Thursday. We feel fortunate to still be putting the jersey on and playing baseball.”

The Mission Division and CCS Division V champion Pirates will host No. 6 Lincoln of San Francisco — 14-4 winners over No. 3 Vacaville Christian — on Thursday at 4 p.m. in the semifinals.

“There is so much team chemistry,” Wilcox said. “It’s a close-knit group. The kids love showing up each day. If I told them there was no practice, they’d convince me we need to practice. It’s a special group. It’s helped with our success. It’s so much fun to show up.”

Phinn Thomas put the Pirates on his back at the plate and on the mound with six innings of one-hit ball, striking out 10. He also contributed three hits and an RBI.

“Torres battled late,” Wilcox said. “Looking at their season, it had a lot of late-inning wins.”

Reggie Bell opened the Pirates’ scoring in the first inning with a ground-rule double, with Thomas singling him home. Jack Bucich drove in two runs, while Jacob Hall doubled home a run.