CCS roundup: Los Gatos cools off Bellarmine to reach D-I baseball semis
The Bellarmine baseball team had plenty of momentum coming into its Central Coast Section Division I playoff opener on Saturday at Los Gatos.
But the Wildcats were not fazed.
They have been on a roll themselves – pretty much all season, in fact – and that continued on their home field Saturday as third-seeded Los Gatos won 3-0 over sixth-seeded Bellarmine to advance to the semifinals next week against No. 2 seed Valley Christian.
Ethan Williams pitched a complete game for Los Gatos, scattering four hits and a walk and striking out five against an opponent that beat St. Francis, Serra and Valley Christian in consecutive days last week to capture the West Catholic Athletic League tournament championship.
Los Gatos (24-4) gave Williams all the scoring he’d need with two runs in the first and added an insurance run in the fifth.
Brayden Smith had a hit and two RBIs to lead Los Gatos’ offense.
Los Gatos had won 15 in a row before losing its regular-season finale to Wilcox, the only blemish on the Wildcats’ record in Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division play. Los Gatos won the league by three games.
Bellarmine finished 17-14.
No. 2 Valley Christian 3, No. 7 Soquel 2
Jordan Ortiz knocked in a run in the first and one in the fifth and Quinten Marsh had an RBI to help lead Valley Christian to a victory at home over Soquel.
Brock Ketelsen allowed two runs in 4 ⅔ innings and Rohan Kasanagottu pitched two scoreless frames to end Soquel’s season.
Soquel scored two in the fifth to take a 2-1 lead. But Valley responded with two in the bottom half of the frame as Ortiz and Marsh accounted for the RBIs.
Valley improved to 24-6-1. Soquel finished 25-2.
No. 1 Serra 8, No. 8 Palma 3
Serra scored three in the second, three in the fourth and two in the fifth as the Padres cruised to an opening-round victory over Palma on its home field in San Mateo.
Ian Josephson had a double and three RBIs, Evan Bradshaw had two hits and drove in three and Davis Minton had two hits and knocked in two for Serra (24-6).
Palma (21-7) scored all of its runs in the seventh.
No. 5 St. Francis 2, No. 4 St. Ignatius 1
Nick Chow struck out seven in six innings and Landon Kim pitched a scoreless seventh for the save as St. Francis held off St. Ignatius to set up a semifinal matchup against Serra.
Sione Tulua and Tanner Wall knocked in St. Francis’ runs. SI cut the margin in half in the sixth on a run-scoring hit by Beau Schaffer.
St. Francis improved to 19-9. SI finished 17-10-2.
Division II
No. 8 Capuchino 5, No. 1 Leigh 3
It didn’t appear Mustangs’ pitcher Declan Mendel would last long after he gave up three hits and hit a batter to start the bottom of the first inning. But the senior right-hander was brilliant after that, allowing one hit and striking out three in Capuchino’s quarterfinal upset of No. 1 seed Leigh.
The Longhorns led 3-0 after that first inning, but Capuchino (18-10) put together a 14-hit attack and scored two runs in the fourth and three more in the fifth. Travis Ciardella, one of six Mustangs with two or more hits, drilled a two-run double in the fifth to break a 3-3 tie.
Noah Miller drove in two runs for the Longhorns (21-7).
No. 2 Menlo-Atherton 6, No. 7 Pioneer 1
M-A scored three in the first, stretched its advantage to six after four innings and cruised into the semifinals with a win at home over Pioneer.
MJ Ellazar had a hit and drove in two runs, Ryder Kelly had three hits, including two doubles, and Merrick Lee added three hits and an RBI to lead the Bears.
Wes Peterson pitched four innings and Anthony Kabrich was on the mound for three as M-A (21-7) advanced to next week’s semifinals.
Pioneer finished 14-11.
No. 5 Wilcox 12 No. 4 Archbishop Mitty 3
Matthew Tiendas had three hits and knocked in four runs and Jake Prettol had two hits and three RBIs as Wilcox breezed past host Mitty in a quarterfinal game.
The Chargers scored a run in the first and one in the second, then erupted for five in the third and five in the fourth to break open the game.
Wilcox (20-8) advances to the semifinals next week against eighth-seeded Capuchino.
Mitty finished 13-16.
Division III
No. 5 Christopher 3, No. 4 Palo Alto 2
The visiting Cougars (16-10) stole five bases, with three of the thefts playing key roles in a pair of rallies.
After Palo Alto (14-14) took a 1-0 lead in the first inning, Christopher answered with two runs in the third. Jacob Vasquez reached base on a one-out error and stole second, Brayden Rogers walked, then raced home on the first of two singles by Sam Guenther. Guenther scored when Jaxon Robinson, the Cougars’ Northern Arizona-bound quarterback, was hit by a pitch.
Christopher scored what proved to be the winning run in the sixth. Vasquez singled and Jacob Huerta walked, then they pulled off a double steal with two out. Vasquez continued home on a throwing error.
Palo Alto cut the lead to one run in the seventh on a double by Dexter Cleveringa and a pair of groundouts, but that was it as Christopher reliever Matthew Anderson got the save.
The Cougars will face top-seeded Carmel and touted prospect Matthew Maxon in next week’s semifinals. Maxon is rated one of the top 200 prospects in the senior class by Baseball America. He homered, scored four runs and drove home two in Carmel’s 7-0 win over Santa Cruz on Saturday.
No. 7 Los Altos 4, No. 2 Sequoia 3
Gavin Moore’s seventh homer of the season, a two-run shot to center field in the fifth inning, lifted the visiting Eagles into the semifinal round of the D-III playoffs.
Los Altos (20-8) was trailing 3-2 in the fifth when Moore launched his homer with Kai MacQuiddy on second. MacQuiddy led off the inning with a double. He also got the save in relief of starting pitcher Sly Cash, who worked the first five innings.
Moore has hit seven of the Eagles’ 11 homers this season. The senior first baseman has a team-leading 32 RBIs and a .317 batting average.
Sequoia’s record is 15-13.
No. 3 Willow Glen 7, No. 6 The King’s Academy 2
Tommy Moran went 3 for 3 with two RBIs and Joshua Kaminski, Ben Mudgett and Austin Korba each had two hits to lead Willow Glen to a victory at home over TKA in a quarterfinal game.
After TKA took a 2-0 lead in the top of the fourth, Willow Glen (22-6) answered with three in the fourth, two in the fifth and two in the sixth to advance to play seventh-seeded Los Altos in the semifinals.
TKA finished 13-12.
Division IV
No. 8 Santa Clara 5, No. 1 Carlmont 4 (9 innings)
Greg Salgado’s home run to left leading off the top of the ninth completed a wild comeback as Santa Clara stunned top-seeded Carlmont in a quarterfinal thriller.
Carlmont scored in the fifth to even the score and added three in the sixth to take what seemed like a safe cushion.
But Santa Clara, coming off an impressive regular season but seeded low because of its strength of schedule, responded with three in the seventh to force extra innings.
Zach Gallegos’ double brought home Santiago Lopez to cut the deficit to 4-2.
Jaxton Chao followed with a single to drive in Dominick Chavarria, and Connor Houle’s single to right knocked in Gallegos to tie the score 4-4.
Santa Clara (25-3) will play Branham in the semifinals next week.
Carlmont finished 13-15.
No. 5 Branham 7, No. 4 Mountain View 4
Trailing 4-3 after four innings, Branham rallied for a run in the fifth and three in the sixth to beat host Mountain View in a quarterfinal game.
Ethan Vietvu had three hits and scored a run and Chris Von Barloewen went 2 for 3 with a walk and scored a run to lead Branham (14-10).
Kyle Shachal and Preston Huang each had two hits and combined to drive in three runs for Mountain View (16-12).
Branham advances to the semifinals next week.
Division V
No. 5 Piedmont Hills 5, No. 4 Terra Nova 3 (9 innings)
Diego Gilbert drove in two runs and Josh Gomez knocked in one to help lead Piedmont Hills to a victory on the road over Terra Nova in a quarterfinal game.
Piedmont Hills scored a run in the seventh to force extra innings, added three in the ninth and then held on for the win.
The Pirates (19-9) advance to next week’s semifinals.
Luke Ornelas had two RBIs for Terra Nova, which finished the season 18-7-1.
Softball
Open Division
No. 4 Capuchino 4, No. 5 Valley Christian 3 (9 innings)
Brianna Lopiccolo two-out single to left brought home Nadia Keishk with the winning run in the bottom of the ninth as Capuchino prevailed at home in an epic quarterfinal game against Valley Christian.
Capuchino forced extra innings when Lola Sierra’s two-out single to center knocked in Lily Thomas to tie the score 3-3.
Valley Christian had taken a 3-2 lead in the top of the seventh on Hannah Paquiz’s two-out double to left that scored Gabrielle Ho and Makenzie Leon.
Capuchino scored two in the first, and Valley Christian cut the margin in half in the fifth to set up the dramatic final innings.
The Mustangs (21-6) advance to the semifinals next week.
Valley Christian finished 21-7.
No. 1 Willow Glen 1, No. 8 Archbishop Mitty 0
Offense was at a premium as Willow Glen hosted Mitty in this all-San Jose battle. Captain Katelynn Dilbeck had the lone run-scoring hit for the Rams, homering in the second inning.
Alanna Clincy was her usual dominant self in the circle, going the distance with five hits allowed and 10 strikeouts.
Mitty brought the tying run to third base in the seventh inning, as Rylie Hicks doubled to lead off the inning. Hicks advanced to third on a sac bunt by Alyssa Cabrera, but Clincy retired the final two batters with a strikeout and groundout to third.
Willow Glen remained unblemished with a 27-0 record. Mitty’s season ends at 14-8-1.
No. 2 St. Francis 7, No. 7 Los Gatos 0
St. Francis scored early and added on late to take care of business in the opening round. Ava Bulanti set the tone for the Lancers (24-3) with six no-hit innings, and Hailey Nguyen finished the game off with a scoreless seventh.
Maya Yumiba scored on an error in the first inning, and Malianna Liongitau homered in the second to put St. Francis up 2-0. The Lancers put the game out of reach in the fifth as May Meltz homered, Jaime Oakland drove in Yumiba with a single and Bulanti scored Oakland with an RBI groundout.
Yumiba doubled in the sixth to score Meltz, and Bulanti batted in Yumiba with a sac fly.
St. Francis advances to face No. 3 Monterey, which beat No. 6 Salinas 1-0 on Saturday.
Los Gatos finishes the season 18-8-1.
Division I
No. 4 The King’s Academy 3, No. 5 Hollister 2 (9 innings)
TKA rallied at home with a run in the bottom of the seventh and then walked off Hollister with a run in the ninth to advance to the semifinals.
Hannah Woo had a double and an RBI and Mia Bennette drove in a run to lead TKA (18-7), which will play top-seeded Live Oak for a berth in the final.
Hollister finished 14-12.
Division II
No. 4 Notre Dame-Belmont 2, No. 5 Piedmont Hills 1
Notre Dame tied the score in the sixth and won it in the home half of the seventh when Hailey Truong’s single to right knocked in Eliana Crespin with the walk-off run.
Truong and Allison Lui combined to hold Piedmont Hills to one run while striking out nine.
Michelle Torres had two hits and drove in a second-inning run for Piedmont Hills, which finished the season 18-7.
Notre Dame (20-4-1) advances to play top-seeded Hillsdale in the semifinals next week.
No. 1 Hillsdale 10, No. 8 Branham 0
Hillsdale scored four runs in the first and broke open the game with six in the fourth, cruising at home to a five-inning, run-rule rout of Branham.
Mia DeMartini went 2 for 3 with a home run and a triple and knocked in three runs and Lola Jones struck out 12 of the 17 batters she faced as Hillsdale (17-9-1) powered its way into the semifinals.
Branham finished 14-13.
Division III
No. 6 Sobrato 2, No. 3 Prospect 0
Sam Zimmerman allowed two hits and struck out eight in six innings to help lead Sobrato past host Prospect in an opening-round game in Saratoga. Sophomore Amber Rodriguez pitched a hitless final inning to pick up the save, navigating a one-out error to close out the game.
Zimmerman also drove in the first run, grounding into a fielder’s choice in the first inning. Senior Zoe Rodriguez hit into another fielder’s choice in the second, giving Sobrato an early insurance run.
Sobrato (12-10) advances to face No. 7 Aptos in the semifinals next week. Aptos (16-7) upset No. 2 Alisal of Salinas 8-1 on Saturday.
Prospect finished the season 17-6.
Division V
No. 1 Independence 12, No. 8 Greenfield 5
Independence built a six-run lead after two innings and put the score out of reach with four in the sixth to advance to the semifinals.
Laila Morales had two hits and two RBIs and Kayla Shem and MacKenzy Sauao each drew three walks to lead the 76ers (17-4), who will play King City next.
Greenfield finished 13-14.
Mike Lefkow contributed to this report. Check back for updates all day Saturday.