What's at stake as baseball, softball enter home stretch

WCAL: St. Francis in complete command

The West Catholic Athletic League season resumes today after a two-week hiatus. Over that time, Archbishop Mitty has gotten hot, with four of its five consecutive victories coming in one of the top tournaments in the region, the Boras Classic.

Valley Christian has sizzled, too. The Warriors, who next month will aim for a fifth consecutive championship in the Central Coast Section's top division, have won six in a row.

Bellarmine has won six of seven and sits tied with Valley Christian for second place.

But no team is or has been as hot as St. Francis. Barring a collapse, the Mountain View school will win the league's round-robin championship, perhaps as early as this week.

The Bay Area News Group's top-ranked team has won 15 in a row, which includes a 4-0 shutout of third-ranked Palo Alto on Saturday, and is 9-0 in the WCAL.

Valley and Bellarmine are 6-2-1.

Here is St. Francis' remaining schedule: Today vs. Bellarmine; Friday vs. Archbishop Riordan; Saturday at Valley Christian; May 3 at St. Ignatius; May 5 vs. Mitty.

If the chips fall their way, the Lancers could clinch the title Friday. More likely, they'll have a chance to win it Saturday.

It'll be the first piece of a league title for St. Francis since it won the league tournament in 2017. Valley captured the round-robin title that season.

The league tournament will run from May 10-12.

EBAL: De La Salle now leads the pack

De La Salle took a notable step toward finishing first in East Bay Athletic League round-robin play, winning on the road Saturday over Foothill 4-0.

The Spartans are in sole possession of the league lead, one game in front of Foothill and San Ramon Valley with four games left. California, which has five games to go, is a game and a half behind DLS. Here is what's left for second-second Spartans: Wednesday at Dougherty Valley; Friday vs. Monte Vista; May 4 vs. San Ramon Valley; May 6 at California.

Clearly, this league race will go to the final week, if not the final day. And once it's over, the league tournament will start the week of May 9.

Other notable league races

Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division: Palo Alto (9-1), Wilcox (7-3), Los Gatos (6-4). Each team plays 14 games before the league playoffs.

Diablo Athletic League Foothill Division: Acalanes (5-1), Clayton Valley Charter (6-2), College Park (5-3). Each team plays 12 games.

Blossom Valley Athletic League Mt. Hamilton: Branham (7-1), Santa Teresa (6-2), Live Oak (6-2). Each team plays 14 games.

West Alameda County Conference Foothill Division: Berkeley (6-0), Bishop O'Dowd (6-0), Arroyo (5-2). Each team plays 10 games before the league playoffs. Berkeley and O'Dowd play a two-game series starting Wednesday at O'Dowd.

Saturday highlights

• Blake Rogers allowed one hit and struck out eight over six innings and Elias Duncan doubled, tripled and drove in three runs as host St. Francis beat Palo Alto 4-0 in a nonleague showdown.

• Cal Randal and Sam Sitzman combined for the shutout and Cade Cushing had two RBIs to lead De La Salle over Foothill 4-0 in EBAL play.

• Michael Castaneda pitched a one-hitter with seven strikeouts and Mitchell Birdsall and PJ Mountzouridis each had two RBIs to lift Valley Christian to a 5-0 nonleague win over Carlmont.

• Andy Higgins, who pitched four innings, and three others combined on a one-hitter and Caden Sta Maria knocked in three runs as Bellarmine rolled to an 8-0 nonleague road win over Burlingame.

SOFTBALL EBAL: Granada, Livermore in a tight race

The schedule maker might have gotten this one right. There are five games left in the EBAL regular season. Granada leads Livermore by a game in the standings. The crosstown rivals close out the round-robin schedule against one another on May 5 at Livermore.

Granada is the Bay Area News Group's topranked team. The Matadors have won six in a row since losing to Benicia in pool play at the Livermore Stampede. Granada came back to win the prestigious tournament in a field that included the four teams that are directly behind the Matadors in the latest BANG Top 20: No. 2 St. Francis, No. 3 Mitty, No. 4 Livermore and No. 5 Heritage. Here is Granada's remaining schedule: Today at Foothill; Friday vs. Dublin; May 3 at Amador Valley; then the Livermore finale, followed by the league playoffs the week of May 9.

Other notable league races

WCAL: St. Francis (4-0), Valley Christian (2-1), Mitty (1-1). Each team plays 10 games.

DAL Foothill: Clayton Valley (6-1), College Park (6-1), Benicia (5-1). Each team plays 12 games.

WACC Foothill: Berkeley (5-1), Castro Valley (41), Alameda (3-2). Each team plays 10 games before the league playoffs.

BVAL Mt. Hamilton: Santa Teresa (7-1), Branham (5-3), Silver Creek (5-3), Westmont (4-3). Each team plays 14 games.

SCVAL De Anza: Los Gatos (7-0), Milpitas (6-1). Each team plays 12 games.