Division I

No. 3 California 1, No. 6 College Park 0

In games where both pitchers are dialed in and there are zeroes across the scoreboard, sometimes a team, California in this case, needs a fortunate break to emerge victorious. 

Hailey King provided that spark in the bottom of the seventh inning of a North Coast Section Division quarterfinal against College Park, hitting a fly ball to center field and then scrambling around the diamond for an inside-the-park home run. 

“I could see by the trajectory that she had a shot of ending this game,” California coach Tony Bari told the Bay Area News Group via email on Friday, adding that he waved King home as she approached third base. “I told her to get down, which she did, sliding just under their tag attempt for the walk-off. It was incredibly exciting!”

With the 1-0 walk-off victory, third-seeded California advanced to the semifinals on Tuesday at second-seeded Granada. 

California’s Kaitlyn Le won a pitcher’s duel, allowing just four hits and walking none. College Park’s Alexis Sealey matched Le zero for zero until the final inning.

“She is a fierce competitor and when she is in the circle, I believe we can and will beat whoever we are playing,” Bari said about Le. “She shows no emotion in the circle, and she does not get rattled.”

After starting the season 5-6, California has been one of the hottest teams in the Bay Area, winning 14 of its last 16 games. The hot streak includes victories over Alameda, Antioch and the NCS’s top team, San Ramon Valley. 

California improved to 19-8. College Park finished 17-9.

Bari knows a trip to the final won’t be easy, noting that his team will have its hands full in the semifinals against coach Johnny Heinz’s Granada team. 

“We welcome the competition and I’m proud of my team for earning a chance to play them in the NCS D1 semifinal,” Bari said.

No. 1 San Ramon Valley 3, No. 8 Heritage 2

For one inning, the defending NCS Division I champions appeared to be peaking at just the right time. 

Heritage went up 2-0 on an Alex Cutonilli single into center off SRV’s Illinois State-bound ace Paige McLeod. 

That’s when the Wolves turned things around.

McLeod shut the door after that, the San Ramon Valley pitcher allowing no more runs while striking out three in a complete game. 

A single by catcher Ava Lyons in the third inning was mishandled by the defense and got Sofia Jin across home plate. 

In the bottom of the fourth, San Ramon Valley took the lead when Jin doubled into left and drove in two more. 

Heritage pitcher Kylie Garcia was otherwise sharp, pitching six innings and allowing just three hits, with none of SRV’s runs being earned. 

San Ramon Valley improved to 22-5 and will play host to No. 4 Freedom in the semifinals.

Heritage finished 17-6.

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No. 4 Freedom 3, No. 5 Clayton Valley Charter 2

Clayton Valley tied the game at two apiece in the top of the sixth, but host Freedom took the lead again in the home half of the inning and held on to win.

Junior Maya Soto was 2 for 3 with a home run and two RBIs for Freedom. 

CVC’s Isabella Scolini also hit a home run.

Freedom improved to 18-9 and will play at No. 1 San Ramon Valley on Tuesday. Clayton Valley ended the season 17-6. 

No. 2 Granada 5, No. 10 Castro Valley 2

Castro Valley, coming off an upset over No. 7 Amador Valley, was unable to take down another powerhouse from the East Bay Athletic League.

But the visitors gave Granada their best shot, with Kyndal Todd and Gabriella Tavares both hitting home runs off Matadors ace Alex Mello.

Aside from those two shots, Mello was excellent, striking out 12 in a complete game. Leadoff hitter Lauren Delpitch was 2 for 4 with a triple for Granada, and junior Hannah Temple had a hit and an RBI and scored a run.

Granada (21-5) will play host to No. 3 California. Castro Valley finished 17-8. 

Division II

No. 3 Alameda 5, No. 6 Benicia 4

Alameda survived a sixth-inning explosion from Benicia to advance to the NCS Division II semifinals. The Hornets led 5-1 entering the inning, surrendered three runs and then held on for the victory. 

Junior Katy Lambert was almost a one-person offense for the Hornets, collecting two of the team’s three hits and belting a home run while driving in three. First baseman Abbye Haines had the other two Alameda RBIs. 

Sophomores Ary Banks-Lockhart and Emma French each hit a home run for Benicia, which ended the year 14-10-1. Alameda improved to 18-5 and will travel to No. 2 Casa Grande for a semifinal. 

No. 5 Livermore 8, No. 13 Antioch 3

The Cowboys had four doubles and a triple against Antioch as Livermore advanced to the Division II semifinals. Sophomore Maggie Pyke had a double and a triple, and freshman Laine Macosky was 3 for 4 with two RBIs. Junior Jae Cosgriff was 2 for 2 with two RBIs. 

Antioch’s Apollonia Maldonado had three hits and one RBI, and teammates Isabelle Greeson and Alexia Nasty each had two hits. Antioch finished 14-14.

Livermore improved to 14-11 and will play at No. 1 Redwood next. 

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No. 1 Redwood 12, No. 9 Northgate 2

The top seed in Division II needed just five innings to run-rule Northgate, with Redwood scoring seven runs in the first inning to set the tone for the rest of the game.

Jillian Neil, Katelyn Takahashi and Liliana Canfield all hit a double for Northgate, which finished 15-5. Redwood will host No. 5 Livermore in the semifinals. 

Division III

No. 4 Albany 8, No. 12 Sonoma Valley 3

Ciara Morris and Ava Cline each had three hits and an RBI as Albany advanced to the semifinals. Freshman Valeria Trujillo added an RBI for Albany, which improved to 14-7.

 No. 10 Encinal 8, No. 2 Maria Carrillo 7

Encinal’s Cinderella run continued at No. 2 Maria Carrillo, the Jets scoring three runs in the fifth inning and four in the sixth to take the narrow win. Junior Lola Whalen smacked her 10th home run of the season, going 2 for 3 with three RBIs.

Sophomore Jazzy Alcantar also drove in three runs, and freshman Kiely Wong had two RBIs. Encinal, now 14-10, will travel 278 miles north to Eureka for the semifinals. Eureka defeated Moreau Catholic 7-6 in the other quarterfinal.