Branson shortstop Cooper Tenney (7) rounds third base during their North Coast Section Division V playoff game against Athenian at College of Marin in Kentfield, Calif. on Tuesday, May 14, 2024. No. 5 Branson defeated No. 12 Athenian 11-0. (Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal)
Branson first baseman Kaden Gustafson (13) catches a pop fly off the bat of Noah Olivier (2) of Athenian for an out during their North Coast Section Division V playoff game against Athenian at College of Marin in Kentfield, Calif. on Tuesday, May 14, 2024. No. 5 Branson defeated No. 12 Athenian 11-0. (Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal)
Jackson Kayser (1) of Branson slides in safe at third base during their North Coast Section Division V playoff game against Athenian at College of Marin in Kentfield, Calif. on Tuesday, May 14, 2024. No. 5 Branson defeated No. 12 Athenian 11-0. (Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal)
Branson shortstop Cooper Tenney (7) runs down an Athenian ground ball during their North Coast Section Division V playoff game against Athenian at College of Marin in Kentfield, Calif. on Tuesday, May 14, 2024. No. 5 Branson defeated No. 12 Athenian 11-0. (Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal)
Branson relief pitcher Grayson Roberts (15) throws against Athenian during their North Coast Section Division V playoff game against Athenian at College of Marin in Kentfield, Calif. on Tuesday, May 14, 2024. No. 5 Branson defeated No. 12 Athenian 11-0. (Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal)
Branson right fielder Mo Jacoby (8) fields an Athenian base hit during their North Coast Section Division V playoff game at the College of Marin in Kentfield, Calif. on Tuesday, May 14, 2024. No. 5 Branson defeated No. 12 Athenian 11-0. (Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal)
Branson third baseman Tom Lardner (20) catches an Athenian fly ball for an out during their North Coast Section Division V playoff game against Athenian at College of Marin in Kentfield, Calif. on Tuesday, May 14, 2024. No. 5 Branson defeated No. 12 Athenian 11-0. (Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal)
Cobe Benjamin of Branson bats during their North Coast Section Division V playoff game against Athenian at the College of Marin in Kentfield, Calif. on Tuesday, May 14, 2024. No. 5 Branson defeated No. 12 Athenian 11-0. (Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal)
Branson catcher Liam Parrot (17) looks an Athenian base runner back to the base after a throw home during their North Coast Section Division V playoff game against Athenian at College of Marin in Kentfield, Calif. on Tuesday, May 14, 2024. No. 5 Branson defeated No. 12 Athenian 11-0. (Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal)
Tom Lardner (20) of Branson steals second base during their North Coast Section Division V playoff game against Athenian at College of Marin in Kentfield, Calif. on Tuesday, May 14, 2024. No. 5 Branson defeated No. 12 Athenian 11-0. (Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal)
Branson starting pitcher Wilson Wendt (3) throws against Athenian during their North Coast Section Division V playoff game against Athenian at College of Marin in Kentfield, Calif. on Tuesday, May 14, 2024. No. 5 Branson defeated No. 12 Athenian 11-0. (Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal)
Branson School senior shortstop Cooper Tenney says there’s nothing quite like playing defense behind pitchers when they are throwing strikes.
Tenney must have been having a blast Tuesday in the opening round of the North Coast Section Division V playoffs as a pair of Branson pitchers combined on a four-hit shutout and walked only one batter as the No. 5 Bulls brushed aside No. 12 Athenian (Danville) 11-0 in a game called after four-and-a-half innings because of the mercy rule at College of Marin.
“Playing defense is the best when there are hardly any walks,” said Tenney, who made several solid plays at shortstop to anchor a Branson defense that was flawless in the field. “We struggled with defense at the beginning of the season, but we’ve cleaned it up since then.”
The Bulls (9-15), who have section title banners from 2015, 2018 and 2022, advance to Friday’s quarterfinals against No. 4 Bay in San Francisco. Branson advances to a quarterfinal against No. 4 Bay on Friday.
Branson coach Steve Reinertsen, said his team’s defensive improvement is simply explained.
“Part of it is just getting the repetitions in practice,” Reinertsen said. “We don’t have a fall or winter program, so we kind of realize at the beginning of the season it’s going to take awhile to bring our defense up to speed.”
Branson starting pitcher Wilson Wendt relied heavily on his defense during his three-inning stint.
Wendt, who scattered four hits, recorded six of his nine outs via ground balls or pop ups.
Despite the fact Wendt does not throw hard, he put his strikeout capabilities on display when the Owls loaded the bases with two outs on consecutive singles in the third.
Wendt wiggled out of the jam when he struck out Athenian clean-up hitter Ben Lin swinging on four pitches.
“He just throws strikes,” Reinersten said. “And he throws any of his pitches on any count. He’s unflappable and fearless.”
Wendt’s counterpart, southpaw Jack Kaminsky, was not nearly as effective.
In two innings of work, Kaminsky allowed nine runs, five hits, walked three, hit a batter and saw his defense fall apart in the second when it committed four errors.
Branson’s big hits were a leadoff double by Mo Jacoby in the first, which led to a four-run rally, and a two-run double by Tom Lardner in the second spearheading an additional five-run outburst.
“We haven’t done a lot of early scoring this year,” Tenney said. “But when we do, we seem to play well.”
The Bulls salted the victory away by scoring two more runs in the fourth, capitalizing on three walks, a bloop single to right off the bat of Grayson Roberts, a passed ball and a wild pitch.
Roberts, who came on in relief in the fourth, was lights out in his two-inning stint. He struck out the first four batters he faced and five of six in all. Roberts yielded the only walk by Branson’s pitchers with two outs in the fifth before buckling down to end the game on a swinging strike.
