De La Salle claims Division 1 crown
An emotional season came to a euphoric close for the De La Salle-Concord baseball team Saturday at St. Mary’s College.
The Spartans began the school year in mourning when Ryan Abele, a 2016 graduate and player on the North Coast Section Division 1 championship squad, died after falling down stairs at his University of Nevada fraternity house. It ended with a 4-3 extra-inning win over East Bay Athletic League rival Monte Vista-Danville.
“A lot of up and downs,” said De La Salle starting pitcher Cullen Kafka. The Oregonbound right-hander, an 11-game winner, took a no decision after allowing two earned runs over six innings. “Our main goal was ... to win this championship for him.”
De La Salle (21-8) trailed 2-0 after two innings against a Mustangs team that beat them twice in league play. The Spartans took advantage of a few defensive miscues to tie the game with two runs in the top of the fifth, and take the lead 3-2 in the sixth.
Monte Vista (21-9) was down to its last out in the seventh when Jack Murphy cranked a tying home run on the first pitch from Nick Cirelli. The Spartans scored the winning run two batters into the eighth as Michael Curran reached on an
error and Austin Elder singled him in.
“It was a special year,” De La Salle coach David Jeans said, “We didn’t start off too well with the Ryan Abele situation, and they just came together and decided they wanted to win it for each other and for the spirit of our program.”
Gio Mijares and Trace Tammaro each had RBI singles for the Spartans. Kafka finished with seven strikeouts.
Drake-San Anselmo 4, MiramonteOrinda 3: In Division 3, Ryan McLaughlin went the distance, struck out seven and hit a two-run double as the thirdseeded Pirates (25-5) denied the top-seeded Matadors’ bid for a perfect season by claiming their fourth NCS title. Miramonte (27-1) entered the game hoping to become the section’s first undefeated baseball champion since Justin-Siena-Napa in 2005. The Matadors were also hoping to send 26-year coach Vince Dell’Aquila out on a victory. Miramonte had its best chance to tie or take the lead when it loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the sixth. McLaughlin limited the Matadors to one run, on a sacrifice fly. He finished the season 9-1.
Other games: In Division 4, 13thseeded St. Patrick-St.Vincent-Vallejo was unable to complete its Cinderella run as No. 3 St. Joseph Notre DameAlameda scored two runs in the first inning on Hudson Hennigh’s single and never trailed en route to a 4-1 victory at Diablo Valley College in Concord. … In the Division 2 championship game at Petaluma High, third-seeded ArroyoSan Lorenzo (22-6-1) battled back from an early 2-0 deficit to top-seeded Casa Grande-Petaluma (24-5) and claim its first title with a 6-3 victory. … In Division 5, top-seeded Redwood Christian-San Lorenzo (22-4) earned its third title with a 4-1 win over Athenian-Danville (18-6) at Diablo Valley College.
SOFTBALL
Foothill-Pleasanton 6, James LoganUnion City 2: In Division 1, freshman pitcher Nicole May worked around a two-run, first-inning home run and picked up three runs of support from her freshman battery mate, Courtney Beaudin, as the Falcons won their fifth NCS title and first since 2007. Foothill (26-4) trailed for only a half inning after Aliyah Yates homered to left field just four batters into the game at Diablo Valley College. Foothill coach Matt Sweeney said: “I knew it was going to be a dog fight, and that we were going to compete.” The Falcons tied the game in the bottom of the first by taking advantage of a throwing error, then getting a run-scoring single by Beaudin. The freshman catcher put her team up for good in the third inning with a two-out, two-run home run to left center. She finished 2-for-2 with a walk and three RBIs. James Logan (23-4) reached the championship game by beating No. 1 seed Amador Valley-Pleasanton in the quarterfinals and topping defending champion Freedom-Oakley in the semifinals.The Falcons pushed the lead to 6-2 in the fifth inning with a two-run single from junior Lauren Hermes. May allowed two earned runs and six hits with six strikeouts and three walks.
Other games: In Division 5, Kylie Chen had a three-run triple to break open a close game in the fourth inning and top-seeded Berean Christian-Walnut Creek (13-12) defeated No. 2 St. Vincent-Petaluma 8-2 at St. Mary’s. … In Division 3, host San Marin-Novato (23-2) won its eighth title with a 15-0 win over Sonoma Valley-Sonoma (21-6) . ... In Division 4, host Del NorteCrescent City (20-10) won 3-1 over St. Mary’s-Berkeley (17-10).