CCS, NCS prep roundup: Mitty softball dominates Hollister, Campolindo baseball advances to D-III title game
Milpitas pulls off upset of No. 1 Valley Christian. College Park, Livermore roll. Menlo baseball gets close win against South San Francisco.
NCS Baseball
Division III
No. 4 Campolindo 3, No. 9 Sonoma Valley 1
Junior right-hander Colin Rutzen scattered seven hits while allowing one unearned run as the Cougars (15-12) advanced to the championship game against San Marin, which eased past Encinal 10-3. Date and time of the game have not been announced.
Campo did all its scoring in the third, then Rutzen took over. He walked one and struck out one. Sonoma Valley (13-14) scored in the sixth. Cole Fischer, William Myers and Cameron Imberg took care of the offense. They combined to score all three Campo runs and had all four hits.
Fischer was 2-for-2 with a run and RBI. Myers doubled, scored and drove in a run, and Imberg singled and scored.
The Cougars have used outstanding pitching to reach the title game, having yielded just four runs in victories over Montgomery, Pinole Valley and Sonoma Valley.
Division V
No. 5 Branson 1, No. 1 Berean Christian 0
Treyvor Mathews pitched a two-hitter to lead Branson (11-15) into the title game Friday against Head-Royce. Mathews walked one and struck out five. He got the only run he needed in the second inning when Mo Jacoby hit a pop single to left that drove in Grayson Roberts. Ivver Vertulfo was the hard-luck losing pitcher, allowing one unearned run on five hits in the game played at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill.
Vertulfo also had one of Berean’s two hits. The other was a double by Max McTighe. Branson’s opponent, Head-Royce, will be seeking its first section title since winning three in a row from 2012-2014. Those Jayhawks teams were led by current Chicago Cubs’ infielder Nico Hoerner.
No. 2 Head-Royce 9, No. 3 University 1
Head-Royce will be heading to its first section title game since 2014 after beating University by eight runs.
Sophomore Ezra Goldfarb struck out eight and allowed just three hits and a run. Goldfarb got it done on offense too, totaling three hits and five RBIs.
The Jayhawks will play Branson in the section championship on Friday.
CCS baseball
Division V
No. 1 Capuchino 4, No. 4 Monterey 3
Trailing 3-0 going to the home half of the sixth, Capuchino likely felt anything but at home in its semifinal contest against Monterey. Despite being the No. 1 seed in the division and entering the game with a record that was considerably better than their opponent, the Mustangs were the team that had to take the long bus ride to Sollecito Park in Monterey.
Didn’t matter as it turned out.
Capuchino (19-10) scored four runs in the sixth and didn’t need its final at-bat. Anakin Manuel drove in two runs and Joseph Tressitte and Yulio Ceron each had an RBI during the uprising.
The Mustangs outhit Monterey 8-3 for the game, but the Dores (14-15) did have their opportunities with nine bases on balls. Michael Riordan pitched the final 1⅔ innings for the win.
Capuchino will be a little closer to home when it plays Santa Cruz for the title on Thursday at Excite Ballpark.
Division VI
No. 1 Menlo School 6, No. 4 South San Francisco 5
Luke Rogers grounded a hard single past third base with two outs in the bottom of the seventh to drive in the winning run and send the Knights to the D-VI championship against Lincoln. The teams will meet Thursday at Excite Ballpark in San Jose.
Rogers came into the game leading Menlo with a .457 batting average, but he was 0-for-4 until his clutch base hit in the game’s final at-bat. He finished the day still leading the Knights (20-9) with a .448 average.
SSF (22-6) had tied the game with single runs in the sixth and seventh after falling behind 5-3 in the fourth.
Jackson Flanagan was the winning pitcher after working the final two innings in relief. Menlo scored its final three runs on two-out hits: Rogers’ single and a two-run double by Renner Barnett in the fourth that broke a 3-3 tie.
Owen Keith led SSF with two hits and three runs scored. Jacob Nabung doubled, singled and drove in a run for the Warriors.
No. 3 Lincoln 6, No. 2 Alisal 4
The Lions wiped out a 4-2 deficit by erupting for four in the top of the seventh in a game played at Hartnell College.
Alisal (19-8) scored four runs in the fourth to go up 4-1, but Lincoln (23-4) carved into the lead with a run in the fifth before its big rally in the seventh.
Lorenzo Collazo had three hits for the Lions while Ryan Bernwanger and Ryan Rogers collected two hits apiece. Lincoln outhit Alisal 11-4. Jayden Peters pitched the final four innings in relief to get the win.
NCS softball
Division I
No. 3 College Park 7, No. 7 Liberty 3
The Falcons led 4-0 after the fourth inning and didn’t look back.
Senior Ava Davis was 3 for 3 with three RBIs and a double. Freshman Alexis Weiler had two hits, a triple and scored two runs.
Liberty freshman Jewel Cooper had two hits and two RBIs.
College Park will play the winner of California and Amador Valley in the section championship game.
Division II
No. 2 Livermore 6, No. 3 Benicia 3
Livermore erased a one-run deficit with four in the fifth inning en route to a rematch with Casa Grande for the D-II championship. The teams played a non-league contest April 20 at Livermore, which the Cowboys lost 7-1.
Sophomore Laine Macosky and freshman Payten Williams led the Livermore offense. They each drove in two runs, helping to minimize a 9-6 advantage in hits for Benicia, which came into the game with an eye-catching 23-1 record.
Williams has been a terror at the plate all season for Livermore (24-5). She leads the team in home runs and RBI. Macosky is second on the Cowboys in both categories.
Kaci Norton pitched a complete game for Livermore. She allowed nine hits but only two runs against her were earned. Ava Rojas had four hits for Benicia.
No. 1 Casa Grande 3, No. 5 Alameda 1
For the second year in a row, Alameda saw its section postseason run end at Casa Grande in the NCS playoffs. Casa Grande was up 3-0 by the bottom of the fourth, and the Hornets offense just couldn’t get going against the Napa school.
Miley Gradney and Leaira Robinson each went 2 for 3, and Alameda teammate Aaliyah Soderlund had the team’s only RBI.
Pitcher Jasmine Whorley went the distance and struck out two while allowing just one earned run.
Alameda fell to 20-4.
CCS Softball
Open Division
No. 3 Archbishop Mitty 6, No. 2 Hollister 0
The Monarchs drove down to the Salinas Sports Complex and emphatically ended the Haybalers dreams of back-to-back CCS Open Division titles.
Mia Rodriguez, who went 3 for 3, scored the first run of the day on a sacrifice fly by Keira Brady. In the third inning, two-sport star McKenna Woliczko smashed her first home run of the season to give the Monarchs a 3-0 lead.
Two more Brady RBIs and Sara Pina’s RBI single finished the scoring for the San Jose private school. Sophomore pitcher Kyleigh Mace struck out seven and allowed just four hits in a complete game.
Archbishop Mitty improved to 22-3.
Mitty has not allowed a run in six consecutive games, but that streak will be tested against the winner of Willow Glen and No. 1 seed Saint Francis in the final.
Division II
No. 4 Milpitas 8, No. 1 Valley Christian 1
Visiting Milpitas pulled off the stunner and took down the No. 1 seed in Division II when the Trojans scored all eight runs in the first two innings.
Senior Brooke Vogel had an RBI double that scored three runs. Sophomore Dahana Gonzalez added two hits and two RBIs.
Milpitas pitcher Priyah Quinonez pitched a complete game, striking out five and allowing six hits and a run.
The Trojans will play the winner of Mountain View and Capuchino in the finals on Saturday.
Division IV
No. 4 Aragon 6, No. 8 Los Altos 3
Senior Rae D’Amato totaled two hits, two RBIs and a double in Aragon’s 6-3 win over Los Altos.
The San Mateo school put up a three-spot in the third inning and scored two runs in the fifth to advance to the Division IV championship where it will play either Christopher or Cupertino.
Aragon sophomore Destiny Garcia had a home run and Are Makropoulos had three hits.
Los Altos senior Paula Lara-Espinoza had a hit and an RBI.