Valley Christian, Ponderosa, Clovis among baseball section champions.
By Kevin Askeland
MaxPreps.com
Central Coast Section – Division 1
Valley Christian 1, Archbishop Mitty 0
For six innings, Mitty pitcher Trevor Hildenberger had been close to perfect. The seventh inning proved to be a different story.
The Valley Christian Warriors stroked three basehits in the bottom of the seventh to break a 0-0 deadlock and capture the Central Coast Section Division 1 championship Saturday at San Jose Municipal Stadium.
The three hits the Warriors managed in the final frame equaled the total number of hits Valley Christian got in the first six innings off of Hildenberger. The Mitty junior was superb, going three and two-thirds innings without giving up a hit and never allowing a Valley Christian past first base the entire game.
However Valley Christian’s fortunes changed in the bottom of the seventh when leadoff batter Clayton Eslick singled his way aboard. A bunt single moved Eslick to second base and brought Christian Lam to the plate.
Lam laced a base hit to right that Mitty fielder Scott Masik, who fielded the ball cleanly and gunned it to catcher Elliot Stewart at home plate. Eslick was running on contact and reached the plate just as Masik’s throw reached Stewart.
Although the throw was there in time, Stewart was unable to hang on to the throw, allowing Eslick to slide home for the game’s only run.
The Warriors won their second straight Division 1 championship and the fifth in school history.
Valley Christian received a strong pitching effort from Anthony Kupbens, who went five and two-thirds innings before giving way to Jonathan Hughes in the sixth.
Hughes got the Warriors out of a sticky situation. With Nik Balog at third base and Mitch Haniger at first base for Mitty, Hughes got the next batter to ground out to third base to end the inning.
The Warriors end the season 30-6 while Mitty finished the year 24-11.
Division 2
Wilcox 3, Los Altos 1
The Wilcox Chargers had to use a little trickery on its way to winning the Central Coast Section Division 2 championship on Saturday.
With the score tied at 1-1 in the top of the sixth inning and runners at first and second base with only one out, Wilcox coach Paul Rosa decided to make a pitching change. He brought in Kyle Barraclough to replace starter Ivan Rodriguez and it proved to be a wise choice.
Before Barraclough even made a pitch, the Chargers attempted to pick off the Eagle baserunner at second base. As Barraclough spun to make the throw, the Wilcox shortstop and second baseman dove for the ball and acted as if the throw had gone wide of the mark.
The Eagle baserunner, not realizing that Barraclough had never thrown the ball, got up and sprinted to third base, only to have Barraclough tag him out for the second out of the inning.
Barraclough then struck out the next batter to end the frame and the Los Altos threat.
The Chargers then went to work in the bottom of the sixth with Kyle Johnston reaching on a dropped fly ball in left field and Trevor Scott bunting his way aboard to put runners at the corners.
Rodriguez looked like he might break the tie with his fly ball to right field, but Los Altos fielder Keane Johnson made the catch and threw out Johnston at the plate for a double play.
The play only stemmed the Charger surge momentarily. Eric Lumbert singled and Justin Chapman walked to load the bases for Ruben Zendejas, who singled to left field to plate two runners for a 3-1 lead.
Los Altos was able to load the bases in the top of the seventh on a pair of walks and an error. But a groundball to third base got an out at home plate and Barraclough struck out the next batter to end the game.
The title was the first for Wilcox since 2004 when the Chargers played at the Division 1 level. Wilcox, the No. 2 seed in the tournament, finished the year 25-9 while Los Altos, the No. 5 seed, finished 23-11.
Division 3
Live Oak 3, Santa Cruz 2
Live Oak put together a three-run rally in the sixth inning and held off a rally by the Santa Cruz Cardinals in the bottom of the frame to collect the Central Coast Section Division 3 championship Saturday at San Jose Municipal Stadium.
The two teams battled through a scoreless tie for five innings before the Acorns posted three runs in the top of the sixth. A throwing error and a fielding error put runners at first and second for Anthony Macadaeg, who singled to right field to load the bases. Matthew Cummins then broke the tie with a single up the middle to plate Steven Rodriguez for the first run of the game.
Tim O’Rourke got the third straight hit for the Acorns, driving in two runs and giving Live Oak a 3-0 advantage.
The Acorns nearly gave it all back to the Cardinals in the bottom of the sixth. A sure out to left field was dropped for a two-base error. After a groundout moved the runner to third, the Live Oak second baseman bobbled a grounder to score a run and allow Chris Freeman to reach base safely. Following a basehit by Peter Miller and a strikeout, Matt England doubled down the left field line to score Freeman and put Miller at third base.
However Cummins, the Live Oak pitcher, struck out the next batter to end the threat.
The Cardinals got the tying run aboard in the bottom of the seventh, but Cummins induced three straight groundouts to end the game.
Tony Austin had two hits for Live Oak while Miller had a pair for the Cardinals.
Santa Cruz, the top seed in the tournament, finished the season with a 26-8 mark. The Acorns end the year at 26-7.
Sac-Joaquin Section – Division 2
Ponderosa 3, Del Oro 2
The Bruins captured the Sac-Joaquin Section Division 2 championship in dramatic fashion when Casey Freiderich blasted a gamewinning two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh to give Ponderosa the come-from-behind 3-2 victory over the Del Oro Golden Eagles.
Ponderosa got a strong pitching effort from Matt Evanoff, who allowed just two runs on four hits while striking out seven batters. Del Oro’s Cole Saunders was just as impressive, allowing eight hits and striking out eight.
The Bruins end the year at 24-8 while Del Oro finished at 17-14.
Division 3
Yuba City 3, Benicia 2
Brandon Pope shut down the Benicia Panthers at Sacramento City College to lift the Yuba City Honkers to their second straight Sac-Joaquin Section Division 3 championship Monday.
Pope gave up just five hits in a 3-2 win over the Panthers, striking out 10 and issuing two walks. It got a little dicey for the Honker senior in the seventh inning. With the Honkers lead 3-1, Pope gave up a single and a double to put runners at second and third with no outs.
A groundout to shortstop scored a run, but Pope struck out the next batter to put the Honkers one out away from the title. A walk temporarily suspended the celebration, but Pope delivered a strikeout in the next at-bat to end the game.
Benicia struck first, scoring on a pair of singles by Josh Van Blake and Devon Zenn in the third frame.
The Honkers rebounded with a run in the fourth when Justin Lamb singled and scored on James Haymore’s double.
Yuba City took the lead in the sixth when Haymore walked, went to third on pinch-hitter Jake Stassi’s basehit and scored on a wild pitch.
The Honker lead went to 3-1 in the top of the seventh following a double by Zach Walden to lead off the inning, a balk and an RBI basehit by Kevin Noall.
Noall and Haymore each had a double and a single for the Honkers, who finish the season 29-3. Benicia ends the season 22-8.
Division 4
Oakdale 4, East Union 0
The Oakdale Mustangs repeated as Sac Joaquin Section Division 4 champions thanks to a shut out pitching effort by junior lefthander Justin Jones in a 4-0 win over East Union of Manteca.
Jones allowed only one Mustang baserunner past second base while giving up just four hits and striking out 10.
Meanwhile the Mustang offense pushed one run across in the second and fifth innings and scored twice in the third.
Jones pulled off some thievery in the second frame when he stole home. Jones was able to slide under the tag of Lancer catcher Wade Morten for the first run of the game.
In the second inning, Bryce Gerhardt walked and came home on a sacrifice fly by Nick Vandertuig. The Mustangs also scored on a bases-loaded walk to Dante Major.
Major also scored the final run of the game when he singled and scored on Clayton Wagner’s basehit.
Oakdale ends the season with a 25-3-3 mark while East Union finishes 15-10.
Division 5
Central Catholic 8, Hughson 1
The Raiders won their ninth consecutive Sac Joaquin Section championship on the strength of home runs by Jeremiah Graff and Ryan Tiscareno in an 8-1 win over Hughson on Monday in Lodi.
Graff ripped a three-run blast in the second inning and Tiscareno followed later in the frame with a two-run shot.
Hunter Adrian got the victory, giving up just five hits in his work on the mound. The Raiders end the year at 26-4.
Division 6
Mariposa 11, Capital Christian 2
David Hawes limited Capital Christian to six hits while striking out 11 to lift Mariposa to an 11-1 win over the Cougars on Monday in Lodi.
Mariposa rallied for six runs in the sixth inning to put the game away. The Grizzlies outscored their opponents in the postseason by a total of 48-10.
Division 7
Valley Christian 11, Brookside Christian 1
Valley Christian won the first baseball championship in school history with the rout of Brookside Christian in Lodi on Monday.
Kevin Gillespie blasted a home run and Drew Risucci pitched four and two-thirds innings for the win for the Lions (25-4). Risucci struck out nine and gave up just three hits.
Central Section – Division 1
Stockdale 7, Clovis 6
KC Hobson, son of former major leaguer Butch Hobson, delivered the game-winning hit for Stockdale with a two-out single in the eighth inning in a 7-6 win over Clovis in the Central Section Division 1 championship game.
Hobson also hit a two-run homer in the first inning and went six and two-thirds innings on the mound.
Stockdale (30-3) also had to rally in the seventh inning to send the game into extra frames. Trailing 6-4, Stockdale scored twice on singles by Imaad Nuriddin and Greg Osteen.
Clovis (24-8) received home runs from Chad Neal, Evan Wolf and David Rohm in defeat.
Division 2
Mt. Whitney 9, San Joaquin Memorial 4
Ben Bowen 2as 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI while Jeremy Acevedo was 3-for-3 with two RBI in Mt. Whitney’s win over San Joaquin Memorial in the Division 2 championship.
Mt. Whitney rallied for five runs in the second inning to build a 7-0 early lead. Jeremy Pitts helped out on offense with a double while Alex Prado had three RBI. Mitch Duarte was the winning pitcher for Mt. Whitney (27-8). San Joaquin Memorial (23-9) received a home run from Ryan De La Cerda.
Division 3
McLane 11, South 3
Antonio Ibarra and Jesus Covarrubias led McLane’s 11-hit attack with six RBI and six hits between them in an 11-3 victory over South in the Division 3 championship game.
Ibarra was 3-for-3 with a home run and two RBI while Covarrubias was 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and four RBI. Carlos Hernandez helped out with a pair of hits, both doubles. He also picked up the win, going five and a third innings and giving up two runs on six hits with three strikeouts.
McLane finished the season 22-10 while South ended the year at 17-15.
Division 4
Chowchilla 7, Kingsburg 0
In the only matchup that pitted the top two seeds, No. 1 Chowchilla proved the seeding committee correct with a 7-0 victory over No. 2 Kingsburg for the Division 4 championship.
Kyle Espinola was 4-for-4 with a double for Chowchilla while Matt Kinsley had a two-run homer.
Michael York struck out 10 to get the win for Chowchilla (26-6). Brian Brady took the loss for Kingsburg (21-7).
Division 5
Fowler 14, Bakersfield Christian 11
Josh Poytress, the Fresno area MVP last year, got the call on the mound for the championship game against Bakersfield, but it was the job he did with his bat that helped the Redcats win their third straight championship.
Poytress, who had pitched just 10 innings all season due to arm trouble, struggled on the mound, giving up seven runs on three hits with five walks. He went just two innings before leaving the game.
However at the plate, Poytress sparked an eight-run fourth inning with a two-run homer. Tyler Davis also had a three-run double in the inning to bring Fowler (28-6) back from a 7-3 deficit against Bakersfield Christian (26-5).
