Top two ranked baseball teams fall to wrap up regular season
No. 1 De La Salle, No. 2 Bellarmine both stumble in league finales
Whether it was a hint of upcoming playoff unpredictability or one of those days, the top two teams in the latest Bay Area News Group rankings ended the regular season Friday in defeat.
Top-ranked De La Salle lost at No. 8 California, 3-0.
Second-ranked Bellarmine fell on the road against No. 10 Sacred Heart Cathedral, 10-8.
De La Salle had already clinched the top seed in next week's East Bay Athletic League playoffs with its win over San Ramon Valley on Wednesday.
Bellarmine's quest for the West Catholic Athletic League regular-season championship ended Thursday when St. Francis wrapped up the title with a victory over Archbishop Mitty.
All WCAL teams will move on to the league playoffs next week.
Friday, California's Noah Dutcher, Steven Verespey and Zach Robman scattered six hits and Dom Tuyor homered to lead the Grizzlies to their first victory over De La Salle since 2014.
The Concord powerhouse had won the previous 15 games between the teams.
Nic Bronzini and Cade Hannula also drove in runs for California, which improved to 20-4 overall and 10-3 in the EBAL.
De La Salle fell to 19-5, 11-2.
In San Francisco, Sacred Heart Cathedral built a 10-run lead through three innings and then held off a huge Bellarmine rally. The Bells scored one in the fifth and seven in the sixth.
Justin Tapia had two hits and three RBIs and Aidan Taclas had two hits and knocked in a run for SHC (16-9-1, 8-6).
Thomas Trombatore drove in three runs and Matthew Dicicco had two RBIs for Bellarmine (19-6-1, 10-3-1).
The Bells and Valley Christian tied for second in the WCAL standings.
No. 4 Valley Christian 5, Serra 0
Michael Singleton, Carter Will and Easton Kreshel combined on a two-hitter and Louis Zulaica knocked in two runs as Valley Christian closed out WCAL play with a victory at home over Serra on Senior Day.
Valley improved to 21-5-1, 10-3-1. Serra is 13-13, 4-10.
No. 5 Foothill 4, Amador Valley 3
The battle of Pleasanton almost ended in an upset as Amador Valley, playing at home, rallied for three runs in the seventh before Foothill got the final out.
Tyler Gebb pitched six scoreless innings and Nick Walsh and Evan Bilter each had two hits and an RBI to lead Foothill (204, 10-3).
Mitchell Kreider and Brian Walrath had an RBI apiece for Amador Valley (618, 1-12).
No. 6 Palo Alto 20, Los Altos 3
Henry Bolte hit two homers, knocked in seven runs and stole two bases — giving him 43 steals this season — as Palo Alto routed host Los Altos in a Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division game.
Palo Alto scored nine in the second and eight in the third.
Dominic De Feo had three hits, including a homer, and three RBIs, Jack Haight homered and Andre Hyrkin had three hits and two RBIs for the Vikings (22-5, 13-1).
Palo Alto also got two hits and three RBIs from Rowan Felsch.
Los Altos is 7-18, 4-10.
Alameda 3, No. 11 Berkeley 2 (8 innings)
Berkeley's bid for an undefeated record in West Alameda County Conference Foothill Division play ended when Alameda scored the winning run in the home half of the eighth inning.
The Yellowjackets (17-6, 9-1) will head into next week's league playoffs as the top seed.
Alameda is 18-6, 7-3.
No. 12 Branham 15, No. 17 Santa Teresa 3
Two days after losing 10-0 at Santa Teresa in the opener of a two-game Blossom Valley Athletic League Mt. Hamilton Division series, Branham (19-6, 9-3) reversed the script in the rematch.
The Bruins, playing at home, scored 12 runs in the third on their way to a five-inning mercy-rule victory. Santa Teresa (205, 9-3) won by mercy rule in six innings Wednesday.
The results left Branham, Santa Teresa and Live Oak tied for first with two games left.
In next week's series, Santa Teresa plays Leigh (7-5 in league), Branham meets Sobrato (3-9) and Live Oak faces Willow Glen (3-9).
Friday, Evan Williams had two hits, scored twice and drove in four and Keaton Cooper and Jason Armer each knocked in three to lead Branham.
Rick Vidal and Izaiah Alvarado had two hits apiece for Santa Teresa.
SOFTBALL No. 2 St. Francis 2, Valley Christian 0
Jessica Oakland homered and knocked in two runs and Kate Munnerlyn pitched a two-hitter with nine strikeouts as St. Francis prevailed on the road over Valley Christian in a WCAL game.
St. Francis is 23-2, 8-0. Valley fell to 159, 5-3.
No. 3 Archbishop Mitty 12, St. Ignatius 0
Mitty, playing at home in San Jose, scored five in the first and five in the second en route to a five-inning victory over St. Ignatius in WCAL play.
Jamie Hicks and Elon Butler each homered twice and knocked in four runs, Corri Hicks homered and Ava Markert pitched a two-hitter for Mitty (22-3, 6-2).
SI is 9-12, 2-6.
No. 13 Santa Teresa 5, Branham 1
Trailing 1-0 after five innings on the road, Santa Teresa scored a run in the sixth and four in the seventh to beat Branham in a BVAL Mt. Hamilton game.
Kokoro Sagae had a home run and two RBIs and Gianna Martinico had two hits, including a triple, and knocked in a run for Santa Teresa (20-5, 10-2).
Branham is 18-7, 7-5.