NCS playoffs: College Park pitcher fires two-hitter; Castro Valley upsets SRV in extras
Bay Area prep roundup: Granada, De La Salle, Acalanes also win baseball openers. In softball, Benicia rolls past Newark Memorial, Alameda too much for Rancho Cotate.
Baseball
Division I
No. 3 College Park 2, No. 14 Berkeley 0
Senior right-hander Nathan Leffel fired a complete-game two-hitter, sending the Falcons (18-7) into the quarterfinals, where they will host a game Friday against Castro Valley.
Sophomore Desmond Cobb drove in both College Park runs with a double in the fourth. Leffel, whose Perfect Game profile lists him as an infielder and catcher but not as a pitcher, leads his team in innings pitched, ERA (sub 1.00), base hits and 11 doubles.
The 5-foot-11 Leffel hits left-handed. Cobb, who entered Tuesday’s game with a batting average below .200, snapped out his slump at the right time with a liner to center, plating Hunter Pelayo and Samuel Johnston, both on base with singles.
The Falcons are 9-1 over their last 10 games. Julian Ito was the tough-luck loser for Berkeley. He went the distance, giving up five hits, walking none and striking out four.
Isaiah Mays and Antonio Nordman had hits for Berkeley, which finished the season 12-12.
– Mike Lefkow
No. 1 Granada 7, No. 16 Dublin 0
A.J. Martinez drove in a run with a single in the first and two more with another single in the fourth as top-seeded Granada rolled at home in the first round of the NCS Division I playoffs.
The Matadors scored two in the first, added a run in the second and put the game away with four in the fourth as they extended their winning streak to 10 games.
Three pitchers – Parker Warner, Mason Ravera and Bryce Berry – combined on a two-hitter with 11 strikeouts.
Warner, a Stanford-bound ace, pitched 4 ⅔ innings and threw 68 pitches, leaving open the possibility that he could be available for a few outs in the quarterfinals on Friday at home against Monte Vista or James Logan.
Granada also got two hits, two runs and an RBI from Mikey Boyd as it improved to 26-1. Dublin finished 11-14.
– Darren Sabedra
No. 2 De La Salle 10, No. 15 Liberty 0
The Spartans put up crooked numbers in the first, third and fifth innings to go up 9-0, then Carlo Garcia drilled a one-out homer in the sixth to end the game, because of the 10-run rule in high school.
Liberty’s left-handed ace David Roberts had a rough afternoon, yielding six runs in four innings. The Arizona State-bound Roberts allowed five hits and walked five.
Joe McGee got things started right away for DLS (18-6) when he lined a leadoff single off Roberts’ non-throwing arm. That led to two runs for the Spartans, the only runs they needed. Hank Tripaldi, last year’s postseason hero for DLS, clubbed two doubles, scored twice and had an RBI.
Jamie Mullin also had two hits for De La Salle. Lefty RJ Meyn, who is headed for Santa Clara, worked the first five innings for the Spartans, allowing three hits and two walks while striking out four.
Tristan Ainsworth had two hits for Liberty (13-14).
– Mike Lefkow
No. 4 Acalanes 6, No. 13 Freedom 0
Benji O’Rourke doubled, knocked in three runs and scored a run to lead Acalanes past Freedom in a first-round NCS game.
Isaac Copen added a hit and two RBIs and Peter Thorn scattered three hits over five scoreless innings as Acalanes improved to 22-3.
The Dons will play host to fifth-seeded Casa Grande on Friday.
Freedom finished 12-13.
— Darren Sabedra
No. 11 Castro Valley 5, No. 6 San Ramon Valley 3 (9 innings)
Ninth-inning homers by Anthony Mares and starting pitcher Michael Olsen lifted the visiting Trojans to an upset win.
Castro Valley (17-8-1) led 3-0 after five innings, but San Ramon Valley (16-11) scored three runs in the sixth to knot things up. From that point, the game continued to the ninth.
Mares, a junior, homered with one out to break the 3-3 tie, then Olsen added a solo shot with two out.
Mares also worked the first 5⅓ innings before giving way to the bullpen. Riley Eagan was the star in relief, going three innings and allowing one hit and one walk. He had one strikeout.
Jack Hensley had three hits for SRV and Marco Jones clubbed a pair of doubles.
– Mike Lefkow
No. 7 Heritage 4, No. 10 Pittsburg 0
Heritage scored all four runs in the fourth inning, relying almost exclusively on players who will return next season to lead the way.
Sophomores Tyler Williams and Jett Guevara combined for three RBI, and junior Jace Bernard also drove in a run.
JJ Kinnaird pitched the first 6⅓ innings for Heritage, allowing two hits and walking four. He had two strikeouts. Jason Stevens picked up the save for the Patriots.
One of Pittsburg’s two hits was a double by Devin Simonton. The Pirates completed their season at 20-7.
– Mike Lefkow
Division III
No. 5 Pinole Valley 4, No. 12 Moreau Catholic 3
Pinole Valley scored four runs in the first inning to erase a one-run deficit and that was all the offense it needed to turn back visiting Moreau Catholic in a Division III opener.
Max Castro knocked in two runs and Michael Macon and Daniel Rios each had two hits to lead the Spartans, who advanced to play at fourth-seeded Campolindo in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Rey Malan pitched a complete game for Pinole Valley. He allowed three runs (one earned) and six hits and struck out eight.
Pinole Valley improved to 16-8. Moreau Catholic finished 12-12.
– Darren Sabedra
Division V
No. 1 Berean Christian 13, No. 16 Urban 0
Berean Christian put this one away early as the Eagles scored six in the first and five in the second for an 11-0 cushion. They added two in the fourth before ending it in the fifth because of the mercy rule.
Damon Neu drove in three runs and Bennett Wilson knocked in two to lead Berean, which also got three innings on the mound from Luke Upshaw and two from Colton Swift. They combined for six strikeouts.
Berean (19-6) moves on to face Sonoma Academy or Credo on Friday at Concord.
Urban finished 7-9.
– Darren Sabedra
Softball
Division II
No. 3 Benicia 17, Newark Memorial 1
Morgan Kacalek homered, Emma French had two hits and four RBIs and Kyra Mason had two hits, including a triple, and three RBIs as Benicia overwhelmed visiting Newark Memorial in the first round of the Division II playoffs called after five innings because of the mercy rule.
Benicia scored four in the first and added eight in the third to put the score out of reach.
Sinead Maas struck out eight in four innings for Benicia, which improved to 22-1.
Newark Memorial finished 13-8.
No. 5 Alameda 8, Rancho Cotate 1
Alameda held a 2-0 lead through five innings, then erupted for six runs in the sixth to secure its spot in the Division II quarterfinals on Friday at fourth-seeded Bishop O’Dowd.
Jasmine Whorley had two doubles and four RBIs, Mia Wong doubled twice and drove in a run and Abbye Haines added two hits and two RBIs as Alameda improved to 19-3.
In the pitcher’s circle, Whorley gave up three hits and an unearned run. She struck out eight.
Rancho Cotate finished 11-11.
— Darren Sabedra