De La Salle finds a way
Down to their last out, Spartans rally to win fifth consecutive NCS title
PLEASANTON >> They never stopped believing. Not when they fell two runs behind in the first inning, three behind in the second and four behind in the third.
Down to their final out in the seventh, the De La Salle Spartans still believed that something good was going to happen, that they — not Foothill — would hoist the North Coast Section Division I championship trophy when the sun went down Friday evening.
Kai Smith hit a high chopper between first and second with the bases loaded and two out. Had he not reached safely, Foothill would have captured its first section title.
“It could have been the last at-bat,” the junior said. “I was going to go 150 percent for the seniors. I just out-competed.”
There was no throw. Smith's infield hit knocked in the tying run and forced extra innings.
In the top of the ninth, De La Salle went ahead on an infield error. On the next pitch, Smith launched a two-run homer over the left-field fence to propel the Spartans to a 9-6 victory.
Donovan Chriss, who recorded the last three outs, ended the game with a called third strike.
The Spartans charged out of their dugout to celebrate the program's fifth consecutive NCS title dating to 2016 — there were no playoffs the past two years because of the pandemic — and 13th overall.
“We never give up,” Smith said.
Foothill (25-5) led 6-4 when the seventh inning started and had its ace, Tyler Gebb, still on the mound. Smith Chandler opened the frame with a walk and went to second on a sacrifice bunt.
Tanner Griffith's single to center moved Chandler to third, and Anthony Martinez's sacrifice fly to right brought Chandler home to cut the margin to 6-5.
But now one out from defeat, De La Salle needed more heroics.
Cade Cushing singled sharply and Connor Harrison drew a walk to load the bases.
Gebb, who has won a school-record 14 games this season, was removed because he had reached his pitch limit. Brendan Comerford replaced him, moving over from shortstop.
Smith's chopper off the dirt near the plate floated in the air long enough for him to sprint up the baseline. He slid safely headfirst to the bag as the De La Salle dugout erupted.
Trailing all game, the Spartans (24-6) had tied the score.
“You've got to stick with it,” De La Salle coach David Jeans said. “We put good at-bats together. You just got to keep on grinding. If you don't get it, you don't get it. We gave ourselves an opportunity.”
Cal Randall was charged with six runs (four earned) in 5 1/3 innings. Sam Sitzman followed with 2 2/3 scoreless innings before giving way to Chriss to close it out.
Chriss had an eventful day. He shook off two errors at shortstop to drive in a run with a double and then got the final three outs on the mound.
“It was crazy,” he said. “It started off with the errors and stuff. I just couldn't let it get to me. I started to get a little emotional and let it get to me. But I had to fight through it and come through for the team.”
For Foothill, it was a bitter and emotional end to its quest for a section title.
Gebb was called for a balk in the fourth that accounted for one run and another in the sixth when De La Salle added a run to pull to within 5-4.
Foothill coach Angelo Scavone was ejected in the sixth for disputing the calls and had to vacate the field.
“This is my 28th year,” Scavone said. “I hadn't been ejected in years. I don't know what the call was all about. I got a little excited, and he didn't want to hear it.”
Two weeks earlier, Gebb set Foothill's season record for victories with a 4-1 win at De La Salle to capture the East Bay Athletic League championship, an outcome that elevated Foothill to the No. 1 seed in the NCS playoffs.
Friday, he somberly watched De La Salle celebrate on Foothill's field.
De La Salle, seeded third in NCS, had to win Friday to guarantee its spot in next week's inaugural California Interscholastic Federation NorCal regional.
As a No. 1 seed, Foothill was going to advance no matter the outcome against De La Salle.
That didn't ease the pain. As the jubilant Spartans soaked in another NCS title, Gebb was asked what it will take for his team to bounce back in the regionals.
“Just watching this right now, that's what it is going to take,” he said as De La Salle celebrated. “We're fired up, just watching this. This is giving us all we need.”
The NorCal matchups will be announced today.
Is it just gravy now for De La Salle?
“We want to win NorCal, don't get me wrong,” Jeans said. “Nobody's ever done that (in baseball) at De La Salle. We want to be the first to do that. Don't get me wrong, we're going to get after it.”