An anticipated season-opening game between host De La Salle and Bellarmine quickly took a surprising turn in the top of the fourth inning, as the visiting Bells pushed five runs across the plate and never looked back in a 7-2 victory.
Senior Wes Harper led off the fourth inning with a single to left, and a one-out walk to Mason Eng was followed by a single to right off the bat of Kyle Rauscher, which loaded the bases against De La Salle's Nick Cirelli, the second pitcher of the day for the Spartans.
When DLS third baseman Chris Santiago could not handle Nolan Downey's ground ball to third base, two runners scored, putting the Bells in front. Dustin Greenwood loaded the bases again on his single up the middle, and Reed Sparling took advantage with a two-run double to left. A ground ball off the bat of Connor Henriques completed the tally in the inning, scoring Greenwood.
"I really liked the quality of our at-bats throughout the game," said Bellarmine coach Mike Rodriguez. "We were fortunate to get a few guys on in the fourth, and added a run on a bang-bang play at the plate, but we were tough outs all game long."
As all baseball fans know, one of the keys to making a big inning stick is carrying the momentum through the next half-inning, and Bellarmine's Joe Ammirato made sure that was the case. After Harper tossed three scoreless innings to start the game, allowing just two hits while striking out a pair, Ammirato came in and dominated for the next three innings, striking out six and not allowing a base runner. Meanwhile, the Bells added to the lead with a pair of runs in the top of the sixth, as Henriques drove in Downey with a one-out single to center and Matthew Kao brought in one more run with his ground ball to second base, scoring Sparling.
De La Salle added its runs in the bottom of the seventh, on Santiago's two-run homer to the opposite field in right, which also scored Trace Tammaro.
Harper and Sparling each had a pair of hits for the Bells, in a big early win over the two-time defending North Coast Section Division I champions.
"We hope it's a good momentum builder. But more importantly, we were able to see quality arms, and have quality at-bats early in the year," Rodriguez added. "There are few other teams like (De La Salle) in NorCal, so that's why we play them. We need that quality look early in the year, and that makes this a great performance to see."
Palo Alto notches key opening win
Niko Lillios turned in a gem on the mound for Palo Alto, leading the Vikings to a 2-1 season-opening win over St. Ignatius on Tuesday afternoon.
Lillios went the distance for the Vikings, allowing three hits and no earned runs while striking out six. He also went 2-for-4 at the plate, and scored the first run of the afternoon, in the top of the first, when Nathan Willis came through with a two-out single to center.
"Niko is probably our toughest guy, just a great competitor," said Palo Alto coach Pete Fukuhara. "Putting the ball in his hand is something we are always comfortable with."
Palo Alto added a much-needed insurance run in the top of the sixth, when Max Jung-Goldberg came through with another two-out base hit, this time scoring Aidan Berger. That extra run became the game-winner when SI's Jono Santos singled with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, scoring Matt Rosen.
St. Ignatius got two runners on again in the bottom of the seventh, at first and second with one out, but Lillios closed out the game with a fly ball to center and a ground ball to second base.
In addition to the pair of clutch two-out hits, Palo Alto had 12 hits overall, including three from Josh Kasevich and two from George Welch.
"We preach taking quality at-bats. We saw Valley Christian's pitching in a scrimmage over the weekend, and that certainly helped us today," Fukuhara said. "We hit the ball hard, and those at-bats were big in those situations."
Drake opens title defense with hard-fought win
Defending NCS Division III champion Drake got a great pitching performance from Eamonn Lance, and a tie-breaking two-run homer from Case Delst to take down Petaluma, 3-1, on Tuesday afternoon.
Lance allowed just four hits and one run in the first four innings to earn the win, before turning the ball over to ace Ryan McLaughlin, who slammed the door with three shutout innings in relief, allowing three hits while striking out four.
Petaluma took an early lead on Brad Smith's solo home run in the top of the second inning, but the Pirates tied the game with some heads-up base-running from Isaac Friedenberg, and then went ahead for good on Delst's two-run shot, which also scored Lance.
Blake Buhrer went the distance on the hill for Petaluma, striking out six.
Leigh outlasts Capuchino
Nicolas Robinson's fly ball to left field with one out in the top of the eighth inning was deep enough to score Ren Lowe with the go-ahead and decisive run, as Leigh nipped Capuchino, 2-1, in extra innings.
Leigh got a terrific performance on the mound from Mitchell Dowd, who allowed just four hits and no earned runs over the first seven innings, while striking out five. After the Longhorns took the lead in the eighth, Jack Fowler closed the door in the bottom of the eighth to earn the save.
The loss spoiled from a strong outing from Capuchino starter Trey Herriott, who scattered six hits and allowed one run in seven innings.
Capuchino forced extra innings in the bottom of the seventh, when Ricky Pasquet's fly ball to left field was able to plate Joseph Moncada, who reached on an error to start the inning and advanced to third on a sacrifice. That run erased what had been a 1-0 lead for Leigh, earned when Tyler Mead drove in Giancarlo Leonard in the top of the fourth inning.
Lowe and Mead each had two hits for the Longhorns, while Max Stines and Leonardo Espinoza each had a pair for the Mustangs.
Robinson's dominant start sets tone for Livermore
Starting pitcher Ryan Robinson was simply dominant for Livermore in a season-opening 8-0 win over Mt. Eden, striking out 10 and allowing just one hit over five innings.
Aaron Aguilar and Cole Meyers each tossed scoreless innings in relief for the Cowboys to preserve the shutout.
Tanner Gomes pounded out three hits to pace the Livermore offense, while Brad Archer and Kade Gomes had two hits each, and both players also drove in a pair of runs.
