Tremendous pitching took center stage on a Tuesday afternoon in Northern California, especially across the Bay Area, where one performance after another made dramatic impacts on the baseball and softball landscapes. We take a quick look at some of the top performances across the region.
- Having lost four of their last six games, Miramonte was in bad need of a win over an Acalanes team yesterday which came into the game at 9-2, with the losses against Elk Grove and Mitty. Enter 6-foot-3 right-hander Billy Duby for the Matadors.
Duby no-hit the Dons on Tuesday afternoon, as Miramonte eked out a 2-1 victory, courtesy of an RBI double by Sam Liang and a run-scoring by Adrese Azzani, both in the first inning. Acalanes manufactured a run in the sixth inning, when Jake Delaney was hit by a pitch, stole second and third, and scored on a sacrifice fly, but this was Duby’s day, as he retired Tommy Thrasher on a fly ball to escape the inning.
The senior finished the day with five strikeouts, as the Matadors notched a signature victory which should carry weight later this year.
- Every time Arkansas commit Patrick Wicklander takes the mound for Valley Christian, something special is possible. On Tuesday, he was virtually untouchable, striking out 18 of the 23 Riordan batters he faced, in a 7-0 win over the Crusaders for the top-ranked team in the CCS and Northern California.
Wicklander started the game by registering the first 10 outs by strikeout, broken up only by a first-inning, two-out walk. After a ground ball back to the mound in the bottom of the fourth inning resulted in a throwing error, he then induced a ground ball to second base for the second out of the inning before notching his 11th strikeout of the game.
He retired six more straight outs by strikeout in the fifth and sixth innings, and entered the seventh inning with 17 strikeouts. Sophomore Eddie Park provided the only offense needed with his two-run homer in the first inning, and he finished the day 2-for-3 with three RBI and two runs scored.
- The King’s Academy softball team has been up-and-down this season, but on Tuesday afternoon, Ilona Sullivan carried the Knights to a huge 3-0 win over Notre Dame-Belmont, who entered the game as our fifth-ranked team in the CCS. Sullivan struck out 19 batters in a complete game no-hitter, walking two batters, and also provided some offense, going 2-for-3 with a run scored.
- Coming off a tough run at the Livermore Stampede, California handed the ball to freshman Cal commit Gabriella Tobey, and she responded with the best outing of her young career, striking out 11 batters and allowing just two hits in a 6-0 win over Carondelet. Amanda Robman provided some pop for the Grizzlies’ offense, with a two-run homer.
- Antioch softball prepared for Bay Valley Athletic League play with an 11-0 win over Acalanes on Tuesday, as Ayanna Sanchez dominated with a 16-strikeout, two-hit performance. Freshman Haley Painter went 3-for-4 with a home run and four RBI.
- Rancho Cotate rolled past Santa Rosa in North Bay League softball action, 10-0. Kaylee Drake and Izzy Luevano combined to no-hit the Panthers. Drake notched six strikeouts in her four innings in the circle, and also went 2-for-3 at the plate, with a home run, triple, and four RBI.
- Berkeley baseball showed it belongs in the top five of the NCS rankings, as junior left-hander Ole Iverson struck out 15 and allowed just two hits in a dominant complete game performance to down San Leandro, 4-0.
League rivalries produce key results
Aside from the tremendous pitching performances, there were also some big statements made in key league games around the region. Here’s a quick look at some of those key results.
- St. Ignatius softball had shut out six straight opponents, but the Wildcats had no such fortune against Mitty on Tuesday, as the Monarchs put their bats to work and outscored SI 11-7 in a key WCAL game.
Mitty pounded out 11 hits, which was compounded by four Wildcats’ errors in the field, but the big blows were struck during a six-run outburst in the top of the fourth inning. Tied at two entering the fourth, the Monarchs scored on a bases loaded walk to freshman Alexis Camacho, and then cleared the bases on an inside-the-park home run by sophomore Diamond Holland to take a 7-2 lead. Hana DeGuzman completed the rally by scoring on a passed ball with two outs.
St. Ignatius cut the deficit to 9-6 in the bottom of the sixth inning, on three straight run-scoring singles by Leila Hennessy, Marina Egbert, and Jane Ghiselli, but the Monarchs added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the seventh, highlighted by a run-scoring single from Marissa Ramos.
Holland finished the game 5-for-5 for Mitty, scoring four times. Kelly McGuigan went 3-for-4 with a solo home run and scored twice for St. Ignatius.
- In a battle between two of the top softball programs in the Bay Area, Amador Valley outlasted previous number-one Foothill, 1-0 on Tuesday afternoon.
Danielle Williams struck out 13 batters for the Dons, who took the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning, when Maddie Hildebrand singled to score Chloe Engel, who had doubled earlier in the inning.
Nicole May also struck out 13 in the circle for Foothill, which lost for the first time since a May 11 regular-season loss to Amador Valley last season.
- Melanie Laronde stifled Granada in a key 3-1 victory for Livermore, in East Bay Athletic League play. Laronde allowed just four hits while striking out five, and Emily Trask went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored, while Madison Kahwaty drove in a pair of runs.
Local track stars shine at Arcadia
The last time Heritage’s Jett Charvet lost an 800 meter race was at the 2017 NCS Meet of Champions, where he had stated before the meet that his goal was merely to qualify for state. Since then, the once-unheralded middle-distance standout has been dominant against top state and national competition. That continued this past Saturday at the Arcadia Invitational.
After narrowly finishing behind Bellarmine’s Alex Scales in the 1600 meters at the Stanford Invitational, Charvet won this meeting between the two standouts, covering the half-mile distance in 1:52.60, while Scales finished in third, finishing in 1:53.71.
Charvet was one of a small handful of Arcadia champions from Northern California. Dublin’s 4x1600 meter relay team took first, as the deep cast of Gaels’ distance runners teamed up to cover the four-mile relay in 17:29.92, edging Scales and Bellarmine for the title.
Amador Valley’s Chinyere Okoro pulled an impressive double at Arcadia, winning the girls’ 200 meters in 24.08, into a head-wind, while also placing third in the 100 meters. California’s Alyssa Brewer cruised to victory in the 800 meters, running 2:09.81, a couple seconds off her best, but still good enough to win by almost two seconds.
Bishop O’Dowd also displayed its strength in the girls’ sprints, as the Dragons’ sprint medley team captured first place, beating Long Beach Poly by over a full second, while Tierra Robinson-Jones also shined individually in the 400 meters with a second place finish, running 53.37. The 400 meter race appeared to be a dead heat, and a possible tie had to be broken by determining to the thousandths.
Maybe the most dramatic victory of the meet, however, came from Saint Mary’s-Albany’s Kali Hatcher, who fouled her first two attempts in the triple jump and was staring at possibly not even making the finals, before exploding out to a jump of 42’ 3.25” to win the event. Clayton Valley’s Aidan Jackman also had a strong performance in the 110 and 300 meter hurdles, placing second in both boys’ races.
Football coaching updates
It has been a few weeks since we last reported recent hires in high school football. Since then, Burt Codera has taken the head job at Santa Clara, replacing Hank Roberts, while John Trotman was hired to replace James Holan at Piedmont.
