Logan ends perfect run by Amador Valley
Amador Valley’s hope for a perfect season and mythical national softball championship was cut down at the plate with two outs in the seventh inning.
The Dons from Pleasanton were ranked No. 1 in the country by MaxPreps.com and No. 2 by ESPNHS before James LoganUnion City handed them a 1-0 defeat Friday in the North Coast Section Division I title game at St. Mary’s College.
After Logan (24-1) scored on a two-out, two-strike windblown double by winning pitcher Raeann Garza in the top of the seventh, center fielder Marissa Perez threw out Ashley
Lotoszynski trying to score on a Zoe Price single with two outs in the bottom half to end it. Catcher Caley Bonansea applied the tag.
“It was definitely the biggest play of my career,” Perez said.
Amador Valley (26-1), which outhit Logan 7-3, was the defending champion and winner of 38 in a row. Sophomore pitcher Johanna Grauer, who says she’ll play at Arizona State, struck out 17 in defeat.
Teri Johnson, the NCS’ winningest coach, captured her 531st victory and fourth section title at Logan. Amador Valley coach Julie Marshall, a UCLA All-American and LibertyBrentwood graduate, said: “There aren’t a lot of times you can get 17 strikeouts and lose. But we just couldn’t capitalize on things.”
More softball: Winning pitcher Dani Albini went 4-for-5 with five RBIs and Bridget Pacchetti blasted a grand slam as San Marin-Novato (24-1) defeated Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland 13-8 in the NCS D3 title game. It was San Marin’s eighth NCS crown, six with coach
Randy Willis, who retired after the game. … Concord (24-4), St. Patrick-Vallejo (26-3) and St. Vincent-Petaluma (17-9) won D2, 4 and 5 titles, respectively. Raising the bar: Presentation sophomore pole-vaulter Taylore Jaques fulfilled a seasonlong goal by winning her event at the state meet with a clearance of 13 feet, 4¼ inches Saturday in Clovis (Fresno County). Her goal was the height, but her payoff the title. Her previous best was 13-0.
“There aren’t a lot of
times you can get 17
strikeouts and lose. But we just couldn’t capitalize on things.” Teri Johnson, Amador Valley softball coach
“It was amazing,” she said. “When the bar stayed up, I didn’t know what to do with myself. I was just very, very happy. My goal all season was to make 13-4, and to do it at the state finals was a great way to end my season.”
Jaques, who is 5-foot-8, has two years to pursue her ultimate goal of breaking the national high school record of 14-1 set in 2007 by Castilleja-Palo Alto’s Tori Anthony, who just graduated from UCLA. Jaques, like Anthony, was an accomplished gymnast, competes in multiple events and is trained by the father-son tandem Bob and Scott Stover. Bob Stover coached Taylore’s father and Presentation coach Warren Jaques. Anthony has also helped train Taylore during the summer months.
“I couldn’t have better coaching or direction,” Jaques said. Making the list: Metro Area athletes left off the state track medalists list in Sunday’s Sporting Greenwere Rachel Bolton (Homestead-Cupertino, sixth place, pole vault, 12-4), Yohaness Estifanos (Milpitas, sixth, 3,200 meters, 9:09.12), Jasmine Guinn (Berkeley, sixth, long jump, 18-9¼), Luis Luna (Piner-Santa Rosa, fifth, 3,200, 9:08.82), Ricky Strehlow (Wilcox-Santa Clara, fifth, triple jump, 47-8¼). City All-Star baseball: Lowell pitcher Nick Tam was named game MVP for Team City, which beat Team SF 15-3 in the inaugural San Francisco City All-Star Game at Benedetti Diamond on Sunday. Team SF MVP Chris Miguel (Sacred Heart Cathedral) and Travis McDow (St. Ignatius) shared home run derby honors.