Granada leaps to top of softball rankings
For the first time in more than three seasons, The Chronicle has a No. 1 softball team not named St. Francis, Heritage-Brentwood or Foothill-Pleasanton.
Granada-Livermore nabbed the top spot after a surprising championship in the Livermore Stampede tournament late Saturday night.
Behind Notre Dame-bound Makayla Winchell, the Matadors (15-1) overcame a 3-2 poolplay loss to Benicia to defeat previous No. 3 Heritage-Oakley (6-4) and two Sac-Joaquin Section squads, Whitney Rock lin (7-4) and Sheldon Sacramento (6-3), to take the title.
Perennial state power Sheldon had beaten St. Francis 6-4 in the semifinals to face the Matadors. Winchell — 9-for-16 with two doubles, five RBIs and seven runs in the tournament — powered Granada in the final, going 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs.
It was Granada’s first title in the 28-year history of the Stampede, regarded as the top softball tournament in the Bay Area. It had been canceled the past two years because of COVID-19.
“I’m so proud of these girls. I could not have done it myself,” Winchell told Prep2Prep senior editor Harold Abend. “It puts us on a pedestal and makes people respect our name.”
Said Granada coach Johnny Heinz: “I think the girls believe they can play with anyone. Our little wake-up call was Benicia.”
Preseason national No. 2 St. Francis (14-2) was dominant in its four tournament wins — by a combined score of 40-2 — but the hiccup against Sheldon (11-4) cost it a chance at the title.
Minnesota-bound shortstop Jessica Oakland, the reigning Metro Player of the Year, hit two home runs in the thirdplace game, an 8-0 win over Whitney-Rocklin. Shannon Keighran fired a five-inning no-hitter with nine strikeouts.
More Stampede results: Third-ranked Mitty (17-2) won the fifth-place game, 5-1 against Livermore as Calbound Elon Butler drove in four runs with a two-run homer and a two-run double. …
Another Cal-bound player, Tianna Bell, had a two-run homer and Mikaela Mortimer added three hits as fifthranked Heritage-Brentwood (9-3-1) defeated Freedom-Oakley 5-2 in the seventh-place game. … Katie Bauer went 5-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs to lead Monte Vista-Danville to a 7-6 win over Foothill for ninth.
Football coaches: The coaching carousel continued last week as Johnny Millard, son of former NFL defensive lineman Keith Millard, was chosen to lead Monte Vista, replacing C.J. Anderson who left after one season to take an assistant job at Rice. Last season, Johnny Millard, 30, and his dad coached at Foothill where Millard’s brother, junior tight end Kade, played. … Jason Miller (Gunn-Palo Alto) and Keith Minor (Encinal-Alameda) are leaving their programs. Miller — 25-10 in four seasons at Gunn — will return to Southern California to take a job at Bellflower (Los Angeles County). Minore led Encinal to a 39-13 record in five seasons with three league titles. … Others who have announced resignations since the end of the 2021 season include Barry McLaughlin (Sacred Heart Cathedral), Paul Cronin (Windsor), Nelson Gifford (Palo Alto), Matt Hoefs (Liberty-Brentwood) and Jahvid Best (St. Mary’s-Berkeley).
Baseball: Bellarmine moved up to No. 8, thanks to two extra-inning, 1-0 home victories, both courtesy of gamewinning singles from Brody Pearson. On April 5, senior Dominc Rolla fired a nineinning complete game against St. Ignatius, allowing just one hit and two walks while striking out three. St. Ignatius junior Jackson Short pitched eight scoreless innings and struck out seven. On Friday, Pearson’s bases-loaded single with two outs in the 11th beat Riordan . ... Junior Landen Rota and Tanner Bradley combined on a three-hitter with seven strikeouts to lead No. 5 Cardinal Newman-Santa Rosa (12-1) to a 3-0 win over Maria Carrillo-Santa Rosa. The Cardinals’ staff is led by juniors Evan Sandoval and Mason Lerma, who are a combined 7-0 with 61 strikeouts and 31 hits allowed in 51 innings. … No. 13 Marin Catholic-Kentfield got gems from Carl Schmidt and Kody Perry in 7-1 and 6-1 wins over BransonRoss.