One of the thoughts entering the 2017 North Coast Section baseball playoffs was that, especially in the Division I field, any team was capable of emerging victorious. The first day of action proved that to be true, as 15 seed Heritage took down two-seed Amador Valley on the road, and 16 seed Irvington nearly pulled one off against top seed San Ramon Valley.
Heritage, which lost to Amador Valley during the regular season, jumped out to an early lead in the top of the second inning, when catcher Chris Troye drove a 2-0 pitch over the left field fence for a 1-0 lead.
“One of the big things we have been preaching has been going after the fastball in a fastball count,” said Heritage coach Kevin Brannan. “We did that, and it was a big difference. You can’t let the best pitch you will see go by untouched.”
After Walker Brinkman retired the Dons in order in the bottom of the second, Heritage gave itself some breathing room with a big third inning at the plate. Gio Diaz led things off with a double to right, and two batters later, Jake Cosgrove drove him in with a triple. Stephen Murphy’s single to right made the score 3-0, as Cosgrove crossed the plate. Mitch Benson struck out Troye for the second out of the inning, but Oscar Murray came through with a two-out double to left, driving in Murphy for the four-run lead.
Amador Valley started to put together a threat in the bottom of the third, getting runners on the corners with one out. Inexplicably, though, Justin Clark tried to steal second against Troye, one of the top defensive catchers in the state. The out on the steal attempt was then followed by Nick Proctor’s line drive to first base, resulting in the third out of the inning.
“It surprised all of us (Clark trying to steal second),” Brannan said. “Chris was throwing everything on the button in our drills today, and he threw a seed down there (to second).”
The Dons did close the gap with two outs in the bottom of the fourth, when Brad Norton scored on a wild pitch, but the Patriots added some insurance in the top of the seventh. Diaz again led off the inning with a hit, and after Noah Daubin sacrificed Diaz to second, Cosgrove singled to put runners on the corners. Murphy was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out.
Troye was then hit by a 2-1 pitch, bringing Diaz in to score, and Murray added a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Cosgrove for a 6-1 lead, headed to the final half-inning.
Amador Valley did not go down easy in the bottom of the seventh. Chris Murphy, George Briggs, and Mark Molz all led off the inning with consecutive singles, the latter scoring Murphy to cut into the lead. After Cal O’Loughlin grounded into a fielder’s choice for the first out of the inning, Brinkman walked Max Heverly to load the bases, ending his day on the mound.
“Early in the year, Walker did not fare too well against Amador Valley, but he had solid command of three different pitches today, and got ahead of batters,” Brannan said. “We brought in Jacob (Jackson) because he forces guys to put the ball in play, and the last thing we wanted was to put any more guys on base. Also, he did not get lost in the moment. He waited his turn all year, and came through in a clutch situation.”
Jackson quickly took care of things for the Patriots’ faithful who made the drive to Pleasanton, getting Clark to pop up and Proctor to fly out, ending the game and sending Heritage on to face the winner of Wednesday’s Berkeley at Acalanes game.
Big seventh inning rescues top seed San Ramon Valley
Matt Neswick’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh inning scored Billy Facteau with the game-winning run, as San Ramon Valley scored three times in the final frame to take down Irvington, 4-3, and avoid the biggest possible upset on the first day of the post-season.
Irvington led 3-1 entering the final inning, but Brett Tressen reached on a hard ground ball to lead off the inning, and that was followed by walks to Michael Winaker and Kyle Pacioni to load the bases with no outs. Michael Theisen’s fly ball to center for the first out of the inning brought in Tressen, cutting the lead to one run, and Nolan Bartnick’s single to left resulted in an error which allowed Winaker to score the tying run.
After a walk to Nicholas Venezia loaded the bases again, putting the force out in play with just one down in the inning, Neswick got the ball deep enough to left field in order to win the game.
“Irvington played a great game and really competed hard,” said San Ramon Valley coach Chris Declercq. “Our guys kept believing we could do it, and we found a way to pull it out. This time of year, moving on is all that matters. We have played a lot of games that went down to the wire, and we feel good about our chances when we get in tough situations.”
Irvington built its lead with three runs in the top of the third, highlighted by run-scoring singles from Tristan Hess and Tebrez Khan. Tim Stevenson turned in a strong start on the mound for the Vikings, scattering seven hits over five and two-thirds innings, with just one run allowed.
Brent Toulage picked up the win for San Ramon Valley, pitching four scoreless innings in relief, allowing just one hit while striking out four.
De La Salle takes care of Granada in EBAL rematch
Khalid Johnson’s leadoff double set the tone for the De La Salle lineup, which made sure Granada would not pull off a three-game sweep of the Spartans this season, powering to the 12-1 victory on Tuesday afternoon.
The Spartans scored four times in the bottom of the first inning, highlighted by Trace Tammaro’s two-run homer to right with two outs, also scoring Gabe Giosso.
“Khalid was the catalyst from the first pitch, and our offense came out very determined not to let our pitchers down,” said De La Salle coach David Jeans. “Everyone had a good approach against a very good pitcher, and (Cullen) Kafka was good as usual on the mound for us.”
Ian McMillan’s RBI double in the top of the second inning temporarily cut into the De La Salle lead, but a single Spartan run in the third and three more in the fourth inning made it clear there would not be another upset. Ryan Cole’s two-run triple highlighted the fourth inning, while Tammaro’s three-run homer with one out in the bottom of the sixth inning ended the game early.
Tammaro finished the game with three hits and six RBI. Kafka was dominant on the mound, allowing just three hits while striking out 12 batters.
Around the horn
Danny Marzo had three hits, Porter Slate had a triple and three RBI, and Petaluma held off San Lorenzo for the 5-4 victory in Division II action.
Brian Tan and Adrian Padilla combined to one-hit Newark Memorial, as Arroyo cruised to the 14-1 victory. Bryan Rosario homered, while Logan Britto had two hits and three RBI.
Miramonte stayed unbeaten with a 5-2 win over Las Lomas, keeping its dream for the perfect season alive and well. Tim Tague scattered eight hits on the mound, while striking out eight in the DAL-Valley rematch.
Kelseyville’s Jonah Lewis allowed just one hit in the complete game, 10-0 win over Lick-Wilmerding, striking out three in the process. Jacob Beck had two hits, including a double.
Piedmont scored three times in the bottom of the sixth to take down McKinleyville, 10-7. Carson Gerhardy had two hits, including a triple, and three RBI to lead the Highlanders, offsetting a three-hit day from McKinleyville’s Jacob Smith.
Kailon Johnson-Loud had three hits, two stolen bases, and two RBI to spark the St. Patrick-St. Vincent offense, as the 13 seed Bruins took down four-seed Fortuna, 5-2. Adrian Garcia picked up the complete game win, scattering seven hits and striking out three.
Cody Stevenson had three hits, including a double, with a stolen base and two runs scored to lead Kennedy-Fremont past Encinal, 7-3. Cheyne Bennett scattered six hits to pick up the win on the mound.