Prep roundup: St. Francis beats Gilroy in extra innings; Alhambra baseball rolls past Acalanes

Gilroy put up a good fight, but softball powerhouse St. Francis proved to be too much down the stretch as the Lancers beat the Mustangs 10-3 in eight innings on Tuesday. 

The game was tied at three after seven innings as Gilroy’s defense held up against St. Francis’ high-powered offense. 

That all changed in the Lancers’ half of the eighth. 

A two-run RBI single from Jaime Oakland started St. Francis’ rally. In the next at-bat, sophomore Peyton Tsao tripled to score two more and a two-run homer from Ava Bulanti gave St. Francis a six-run advantage. 

Tsao led St. Francis, the No. 1 team in the Bay Area News Group’s rankings, going 3 for 5 and knocking in three runs. 

St. Francis improved to 18-2. Gilroy dropped to 12-5. 

No. 2 Willow Glen 11, Sobrato 8

Though the score made this game look close, Willow Glen was in control all the way through as the Rams remained undefeated in league play. 

Willow Glen scored all 11 runs before the fifth inning. Sobrato slowly made the game closer in the later innings, but it was too late. 

Cal commit Alanna Clincy was 2 for 3 with three RBIs and a home run for Willow Glen. Junior Lea Crawford had three hits, knocked in three runs and had a double. 

No. 6 Liberty 17, Deer Valley 1 

Liberty scored 12 runs in the first inning and didn’t look back, cruising to a 16-run win in five innings. 

Liberty sophomore Jewel Cooper had three hits, four RBIs, a double and a home run. Kaitlyn Macias and Hailey Graham combined to throw a one-hitter and struck out eight. 

No. 8 Capuchino, Woodside

Capuchino dominated in a 10-run win over Woodside in five innings. 

Freshman Star Gutierrez had a three-run homer and stole a base to lead Capuchino to the win. Lola Sierra struck out six and gave up five hits and a run. 

Granada 6, No. 17 California 4

The Matadors notched their third win in four games as they defeated California at home. 

Ella Vonbergen and Madison Trindade each knocked in two runs for the Matadors in the win. Freshman Kallie Brannon had a two-run homer. 

Granada (10-7, 5-3) moved to fourth in the East Bay Athletic League standings. Despite the loss, California (11-6, 6-2) still remains in first place. 

No. 12 Livermore 9, Carondelet 8

Livermore pulled off a gutsy East Bay Athletic League win, defeating Carondelet in 10 innings.

Livermore’s Sofia Traverso hit a sacrifice fly to center field that scored Maggie Pyke to seal the win.

Sophomore Gianna Willes led Livermore as she went 3 for 4 with two RBIs and a home run. Carondelet sophomore Reese Albano had a big game, going 4 for 5 with two RBIs. 

The Cowboys improved to 13-6, 5-3. Carondelet is now 8-11, 6-2.

No. 20 Hillsdale 6, Aragon 0 

Hillsdale blanked Aragon behind a superb pitching performance from sophomore Lola Jones. 

Jones struck out 10 and gave up just three hits to lead Hillsdale to a dominant win. Jones also knocked in two runs on an RBI single in the fifth inning. 

Hillsdale is 12-6-1. 

Baseball

No. 16 Alhambra 6, No. 14 Acalanes 2 

Alhambra notched another key league win, defeating Acalanes 6-2 at home. 

Ali Cepeda Jr. and Morgan Tran each knocked in a run for Alhambra while junior Shane Cowperthwaite led the Bulldogs with two knocks. 

Senior pitcher Keegan Murdock pitched a complete game and allowed just two runs to capture his first win of the season.

Alhambra took a three-run lead in the first inning after an Acalanes error brought home Cepeda and Cowperthwaite. 

The Bulldogs took a five-run lead after five innings before the Dons scored two runs in the sixth. Acalanes managed to get eight hits in Tuesday’s game, but left six runners stranded. 

Isaac Copen led Acalanes with two hits and an RBI. 

The win keeps Alhambra (12-4, 2-1) in a four-way tie for first place in the Diablo Athletic League Foothill Division with Clayton Valley, Benicia and College Park. 

Acalanes dropped to 10-5-1, 1-2. 

No. 12 Benicia 5, Campolindo 3

The Panthers gritted out a two-run win over Campolindo on the road in eight innings to win the first of a two-game series this week. 

Campolindo jumped out to a three-run lead in the first inning, capped off by a two-run RBI double from Luke McLeod. 

After scoring two runs in the third inning, Benicia tied the game in the top of the seventh on a Jake Todd sacrifice fly to right field that scored Beckett Miyamoto. 

In Benicia’s half of the eighth, Colton Richardson knocked in Nash Rubins to make the score 4-3. Abdi Maas later scored on an error to give Benicia a two-run lead going into the bottom of the eighth inning. 

Senior Brice Brunson came in relief and retired three of four batters to seal the win for Benicia. 

Benicia improved to 12-4 and will host Campolindo on Thursday. 

No. 9 Pittsburg 1, No. 11 Heritage 0

Pittsburg needed just one run to beat Heritage and snap a four-game losing streak dating back to 2023. 

Pittsburg loaded the bases in the first inning, getting its first three batters on base. Senior Ty Thompson hit into a 6-4-3 double play, but that didn’t stop Devin Simonton from reaching home from third. 

Pittsburg pitcher Diego Deluna threw a two-hitter and struck out six across six innings.  

The win keeps Pittsburg (15-2, 2-1) in a three-way tie for second place in the Bay Valley Athletic League standings. Pittsburg and Heritage will finish the two-game series in Brentwood on Thursday. 

No. 15 Clayton Valley 5, No. 20 College Park 4

Clayton Valley withstood a furious College Park comeback to win a close DAL Foothill Division game on the road. 

The Ugly Eagles jumped out to a four-run lead after their half of the third inning, but College Park scored four consecutive runs in the home half to tie the game. 

No runs were scored for the next three innings until Clayton Valley broke the stalemate in the seventh. 

Vince Della Santina doubled to left field, scoring Michael Walton to give Clayton Valley a one-run advantage. The Ugly Eagled then retired three of four batters in the bottom half of the seventh to seal the win. 

Fabian Gomez, Mateo Perez, Jack Campbell, Walton and Santina each knocked in a run. 

Silver Creek 9, Yerba Buena 3

Silver Creek continued its dominant season, beating Yerba Buena on the road in a Blossom Valley Athletic League West Valley matchup. 

Junior Cayleb Duran led Silver Creek as he was 3 for 4 with an RBI. Nate Spellman, Giovanni Mejia, Nicholas Prum, Jayden Jenkins and Wyatt Sharp each knocked in a run in the win. 

South San Francisco 14, Priory 0

SSF blanked Priory at home and took sole possession of first place in the Peninsula Athletic League Lake Division with the win. 

Giovanni Bernal had a monster game, going 3 for 3 with six RBIs, a double and a home run. He also pitched five innings and allowed two hits while striking out five. 

SSF improved to 13-4, 7-1. 

Lincoln-San Jose 4, Prospect 2

Lincoln extended its winning streak to nine with a tight league win over Prospect on the road. The Lions broke a 1-1 tie in the sixth inning, scoring three runs and taking a 4-1 lead. 

Graeson Wagner and Lorenzo Collazo each had two hits and an RBI in the win. 

Lincoln improved 16-4, 9-2 and are in third place of the BVAL Santa Teresa Division.

Sobrato 3, Live Oak 2 

Sobrato walked off Live Oak on a sacrifice fly from Vince Pomo to remain undefeated in BVAL Santa Teresa Division play. 

Live Oak jumped out to a two-run lead after the first inning, but Sobrato responded with a two-run inning of its own in the third inning. 

Pomo’s sacrifice fly to center field scored Hunter Rubbo from third to seal the game. 

Sobrato improved to 14-2, 11-0. Live Oak dropped to 7-11, 7-4.