The first day of the North Coast Section baseball playoffs featured some thrilling finishes across all divisions, but likely none of them met the standard set by host Maria Carrillo and visiting Alameda in a Division II battle between the four and 13 seeds.
The host Pumas bolted out to a 5-0 advantage after the first two innings, and seemed headed for the quarterfinals, especially with Cal-bound Andrew Vaughn on the mound. But the Hornets were not about to let their season slip away that easily, and rallied for four runs in the top of the third to cut Maria Carrillo's lead to 5-4 after three innings. From there, both pitchers settled down, and the score stayed that way headed into the seventh inning.
The top of the seventh inning unfolded like something out of a movie scene for Alameda, as sophomore Bryan Woo walked to lead off the inning. From there, the next four batters all produced in two-strike situations. Junior Josh Meadows singled on an 0-2 count, and after both runners advanced on a passed ball, sophomore Tristen Wiley hit a sacrifice fly while facing an 0-2 count, scoring Woo with the tying run. Kyle Averitt then singled to right, also against an 0-2 count, which was followed by Francisco Pedraza's single to center, making the score 7-5 in favor of Alameda. Pedraza had also faced an 0-2 count, but battled back all the way to a full count before driving in a run.
"All their run-scoring hits came with two strikes, and it just goes to show how tough Alameda played today," said Maria Carrillo coach Derek DeBenedetti. "They were determined in their final at-bats and so were we. No one wanted their season to end today."
Despite facing a two-run disadvantage, DeBenedetti stated he felt confident heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, with the Pumas heart of the order coming to bat. Jo Bynum was retired for the first out of the inning, but Vaughn got things going with a single to right. Two pitches later, senior Aidan Nagle homered to center field, tying the game with one out.
"The home run by Aidan was just huge," DeBenedetti said. "You realize you've never seen it all, and today was another example."
Following a Vincent Riggio ground out, it appeared things might have been headed for extra innings, but sophomore John Nieman got the two-out rally going with a single to left. After Nieman advanced to second on a wild pitch, Hunter Estabrook ended things with a game-winning double.
"We've had walk-off wins before, but this had so much more meaning because it could have been our last game," DeBenedetti said. "It was just such an exciting finish."
Maria Carrillo advances to the quarterfinals, where it will face the winner of Wednesday's game between five seed Arroyo and 12 seed Kennedy-Fremont.
14 seed Trojans oust Matadors
On the road and trailing 3-1 after four innings, Castro Valley came back with three runs in the next two frames, eliminating third-seeded Granada in the first round of the Division I bracket.
Robbie Brue's single to center opened the top of the fifth for the Trojans, and junior David Taylor's triple, two batters later, cut the Granada lead to one run. After a walk to Manny Garcia, Matt Barazza hit into a fielder's choice, scoring Taylor with the tying run.
Castro Valley did its damage in the top of the sixth with one out, as Cole Coffey doubled to right field, and Brian Tagnolini singled through the middle in the next at-bat to score Coffey with the game-winning run.
Despite a somewhat shaky start, which included a two-run homer for Granada's Zach Patterson, Trojans' starter Matt Mascio finished the complete game victory, allowing two earned runs while striking out six batters.
Castro Valley advances to the Division I quarterfinals, where it will face the winner of Wednesday's San Leandro at Monte Vista match-up.
Knights overcome early three-run deficit
Stuart Hall spotted visiting Cloverdale a 3-0 lead after one inning, then came back to tie the game early, and win the game in the Knights' final trip to the plate.
Cloverdale's Chris Harms and Kamrin Mitchell each had run scoring hits during the Eagles' three-run first inning, but that was all the offense allowed by Robbie Vanderlaan and Willie Reader. Meanwhile, Stuart Hall erased the deficit, with two outs in the bottom of the second.
Nick Hom drew a two-out bases loaded walk to score the Knights' first run of the game, and Zach Avila erased the remainder of the deficit with his double to left field, scoring Alex Palmer and Angel Padilla. Things stayed that way until the bottom of the sixth inning.
After Jacob Hubbard drew a lead-off walk in the bottom of the sixth, Reader singled to center field. An error by the center fielder, however, resulted in two extra bases for both runners, giving Stuart Hall a 4-3 lead and a runner on third base with no outs. Two batters later, Palmer grounded out to first, enabling Reader to score with an insurance run.
Vanderlaan pitched the first five innings, striking out six, while Reader picked up the win in relief, tossing two scoreless innings. Stuart Hall advances to the Division V quarterfinals, where it will face five seed St. Vincent de Paul, an 8-1 winner over Sonoma Academy on Tuesday.
Other results from Tuesday's action
Division I - #1 De La Salle, 10 Pittsburg 0
Division I - #4 College Park 2, #13 Irvington 1
Division I - #2 Heritage 13, #15 Berkeley 3
Division II - #1 Casa Grande 8, #16 Rancho Cotate 2
Division II - #3 Marin Catholic 5, #14 San Lorenzo 2
Division II - #7 Livermore 8, #10 Washington 2
Division III - #3 Analy 10, #14 Bishop O'Dowd 5
Division III - #12 Miramonte 3, #5 Tamalpais 1
Division III - #15 De Anza 4, #2 San Marin 1
Division IV - #2 Saint Mary's 10, #15 Livermore Valley Charter Prep 0
Division IV - #4 Healdsburg 5, #13 Salesian 2
Division IV - #10 Piedmont 3, #7 St, Helena 2
Division V - #1 St. Joseph Notre Dame 17, #16 The Bay School 1
Division V - #8 Head-Royce 4, #9 Valley Christian-Dublin 2
Division VI - #1 St. Bernard's-Eureka 15, #8 San Francisco Waldorf 1
Division VI - #2 Ferndale 12, #7 Tomales 0
