Prep roundup: O’Dowd softball pulls off stunner, Benicia wins wild one, Gilroy baseball survives pitcher’s duel
SOFTBALL
Bishop O’Dowd 2, No. 3 Alameda 1
Bishop O’Dowd took the short trip from Oakland to Alameda and handed the Hornets their first loss since Feb. 27.
O’Dowd sophomore Tulip Barnes was 2 for 3 with and RBI, and senior Priya Kasling also scored a run for the Dragons.
Freshman Zoe Bolick pitched five scoreless innings for O’Dowd and allowed just three hits. Alameda, which entered the game on an 11-game winning streak, didn’t go quietly into the night though.
Miley Gradney’s single cut the deficit to just one run in the bottom of the seventh, and Alameda later had runners on first and third with two outs.
O’Dowd had lost seven in a row to Alameda prior to that victory. Bishop O’Dowd’s last victory had come in 2019.
The Dragons got out of the jam though, and improved to 10-6, 3-1. Alameda fell to 11-2, 2-1.
No. 10 Benicia 14, Granada 10 (8 innings)
Benicia won a wild extra-inning game against Granada on Wednesday night, scoring seven in the eighth inning to take the lead, and then surviving a three-run bottom of the eighth to hold on to the lead.
Morgan Kacalek broke the 7-7 deadlock with a grand slam over the left field fence, her second home run of the season. Ava Rojas drove in two more on a fly ball into right, and then Emma French singled home Rojas to give Benicia a 14-7 lead.
Delaney Aumua belted the ball over the centerfield barrier for a three-run homer to cut the deficit to four, but Granada could not get any closer.
Aryanna Banks-Lockhart had three hits and two RBIs for Benicia, and teammate Kyra Mason had four walks as the Panthers’ leadoff hitter. Saskia Rabb had two RBIs for Granada.
Benicia improved to 10-1, and Granada fell to 5-9.
No. 2 Archbishop Mitty 8, St. Ignatius 0
The Monarchs rebounded from back-to-back losses to No. 1 St. Francis with an easy victory over West Catholic Athletic League opponent St. Ignatius.
Lindsey Miller hit a home run and had two RBIs, and Corri HIcks, Mia Roriguez and McKenna Woliczko each had two hits. Mitty outhit SI 11-8.
Kyleigh Mace went the distance for the San Jose powerhouse, striking out three and walking none. Archbishop Mitty improved to 12-3, 1-2 while St. Ignatius dropped to 5-8, 0-3.
Gunderson 26, James Lick 0
James Lick rolled through another Blossom Valley Athletic League West Valley Division opponent, putting up 23 hits and stealing eight bases against overmatched Lick.
Jaelyn Vejar hit three triples and had five RBIs, and Desirae Regalado and Alanna Martinez Poklong also had five hits apiece. Breanna Bartek and Judah Tillman also had four hits each.
Aside from her great day at the plate, Poklong also dominated in the circle. She pitched five innings, struck out 13 and did not allow a hit. Gunderson improved to 8-3 on the year and in league play, and Lick dropped to 6-6, 4-4.
BASEBALL
Gilroy 1, Prospect 0
Gilroy was able to eke out a victory despite having just two hits, a number that doubled Prospect’s total of one hit.
It was an old-fashioned pitcher’s duel, with each hurler going the distance.
Winning pitcher Brayden Martinez had 10 strikeouts and issued just two walks as the senior threw 95 pitches. Meanwhile, Prospect freshman Jeremy Wang allowed just two hits and struck out three.
Martinez didn’t just shine on the mound. He also drove in what would be the winning run in the first inning, hitting a fly ball to left that scored Carter Martinez.
Gilroy improved to 4-15, 4-7 in BVAL Santa Teresa play, while Prospect dropped to 7-9, 5-5.
No. 1 Granada 5, Foothill 1
Granada has now won two in a row after its 16-game winning streak to start the season was snapped by Amador Valley.
Jake Sekany gave up just four hits and struck out three with no walks in five ⅔ innings. Cleanup hitter Riley Winchell drove in two runs, and Mikey Boyd also had an RBI. Nate Brown had two hits from the No. 9 spot in the order.
Take Sato-Kreis had Foothill’s only RBI in the East Bay Athletic League showdown. Granada improved to 18-1, 7-1 and Foothill fell to 10-9, 4-4.
Piedmont 6, Castro Valley 2
Piedmont got contributions from up and down its lineup as the Highlanders improved to 12-2 and stayed a perfect 4-0 in league play.
Peter Krumins, a senior, was 2 for 3 with two doubles and an RBI, and Dimitri Papahadjopoulos was also 2 for 3 and had two RBIs.
Jordan Vo and Will Parker each had RBIs too, and pitcher John Olsen had six strikeouts in six innings. Castro Valley dropped to 11-6-1, 1-2-1.
Palo Alto 17, Gunn 1
Palo Alto routed its crosstown rival Gunn on Wednesday afternoon, turning 21 hits into 17 runs. Paly junior Coco Vonderhaar hit a home run, going 3 for 5 with four RBIs.
Isaiah Walker, Ari Smolar-Eisenberg and Dexter Cleveringa each had three hits, and Vincent Braga had three RBIs. Charlie Bates hit a double and scored three runs. Cormac White threw six innings and struck out five.
Palo Alto improved to 9-10, 4-3 in Peninsula Athletic League play, and Gunn dropped to 4-13, 0-7.