Thundering Herd scores twice in fifth to win North Division title, will face Temecula Valley for tournament crown in May.
Taking advantage of just four hits,
Elk Grove (Calif.) knocked off a nationally ranked team for the second day in a row to claim the Boras Classic North Division championship, posting a 2-1 win over
St. Francis (Mountain View, Calif.) Thursday.
Carlos Moseley, Elk Grove
File photo by Ralph Thompson
The host Thundering Herd scored twice in the fifth inning to overcome a 1-0 Lancer lead.
Nick Madrigal reached base on a fielder's choice and went to third base on a double by
Carlos Moseley. Madrigal tied the game when he scored on a wild pitch. Moseley scored the go-ahead run when three straight players walked to force in the run.
Dustin Jack and
Cody Barnes combined to shut down St. Francis. Although neither recorded a strikeout, Jack was able to induce six groundouts and three flyouts while Barnes had three groundouts and five flyouts. Barnes did not allow a hit in his three innings and collected the win. Jack started the game and gave up one earned run on six hits.
Blake Billinger took the loss, giving up two earned runs on four hits with two strikeouts.
Conor Thane scored the lone run for St. Francis, as he doubled to lead off the fourth inning and scored on
Jeremy Ydens' base hit.
The win was the second in a row for Elk Grove over a nationally ranked team. The Thundering Herd defeated
Buchanan (Clovis, Calif.), ranked No. 6 in the nation, in the semifinals and then topped No. 15 St. Francis. Elk Grove upped its record to 12-4 with the four wins in the tournament. St. Francis fell to 16-3 overall.
Elk Grove will meet
Temecula Valley (Temecula, Calif.), winner of the Boras Classic South Division earlier this month, in the overall tournament championship game on May 3 at University of Pacific in Stockton.
In other tournament games, the brackets were adjusted with teams not necessarily playing opponents as they fell in the original bracket.
Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove, Calif.), last year's tournament champion, defeated Buchanan 10-2 in the third-place game while
Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills, Calif.) defeated
Clovis West (Fresno, Calif.) 7-5.
Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.) also topped
Davis (Calif.) 8-4 in the consolation championship.
De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) knocked off
Granite Bay (Calif.) 11-1 for seventh place.
