POWERS COLLIDE
Foothill and its ace, Brett Hansen, to meet powerful De La Salle for Division I crown
Brett Hansen estimates that he’s spentmore than 1,000 hours on this patch of baseball real estate on the Foothill High campus in Pleasanton, a field that sits beneath a picturesque view of the hills and is home to many memories for Hansen and his senior classmates.
But this was it, the final home game of their high school careers.
Hansen and his teammates passed the test, blasting Freedom 11-1 this week in a game called in the fifth inning because of the 10run mercy rule, and now have one final challenge remaining. It’s a daunting one, too. They will play East Bay Athletic League rival and top seed De La Salle for the North Coast Section Division I championship Saturday at Saint Mary’s College. De La Salle reached thefinalwitha 10-0mercyrule victory over Heritage.
When second- seeded Foothill and De La Sallemet twoweeks ago for the EBAL championship, De La Salle cruised 11- 4. But Saturday, the Spartans will face Hansen — the Bay Area’s top high school prospect in the upcoming baseball draft — for the first time all season.
It’s a dream matchup between the East Bay’s top teams.
“I just got to do what I do every day,” Hansen said. “Prepare the same way. Not do anything out of the ordinary. I’ve been looking forward to this game for a long time.”
De La Salle has powered its way to the title game. The Spartans (254) have hit 27 home runs this season, including three in the semifinals.
“We know we have power, and we’ve been working in the weight room all season,” Trace Tammaro, a 6-foot-4, 225-pound first baseman, told Bay Area News Group correspondentMike Lefkow after hitting his team-leading seventh home run Tuesday.
Senior Ryan Costeiu (9- 0, 1.21 ERA) is scheduled to start Saturday for De La Salle in the 3:30 p.m. final.
Hansen, a 6- 4, 200-pound lefthander, will bring an 8- 0 record and 1.17 ERA into the championship game for Foothill (23-5).
“We’re very confident with his left arm out there,” said Sam Novitske, Foothill’s Oregon- bound shortstop. “He’s a very, very good talent, obviously, fromthe left side. With him on the mound, you’re very confident that he’s going to compete and give you a chance to win.”
Since the loss at De La Salle in the EBAL final — one of its two losses this season against the reigning NCS Division I champ — Foothill has torn through the first three rounds of the section playoffs. It beat James Logan 10- 0 in five innings, College Park 7- 0 and now the five-inning, 11-1 rout of Freedom.
“We were just able to stay positive,” Novitske said. “This brotherhood and togetherness on the team, we didn’t hang our heads. We just didn’t have it against themthat first time around. They’re a good ballclub. We respect them. But we’re going to have to come out with our best this next time around.”
De La Salle has beaten its three playoff opponents — Castro Valley, San Ramon Valley, Heritage — by a combined score of 31-3.
Before Foothill could set its sights on De La Salle, it had onemore special memory to make at home.
Other NCS finals
In the Division II title game, Saturday (3:30 p.m.) at Diablo Valley College, top seed Alameda (26-2-1) will face N. 2 seed Maria Carrillo (23- 6). Alameda advanced with a 1- 0 win over Drake. … Campolindo will play for the Division III championship Saturday (noon) at Saint Mary’s College after scoring nine runs in the sixth to beat KennedyFremont 12-3 in a semifinal. The second-seeded Cougars (15-10) will play ninth-seeded San Marin (1611). … Fourth-seeded Piedmont (199-1) will meet No. 6 seed Redwood Christian (20-7) for the Division IV title on Saturday (noon) at Diablo Valley College.