With standout sophomore left-hander Kyle Harrison on the mound, it stood to reason that De La Salle would need only a few runs to be in position to win its North Coast Section Division I semifinal game against Heritage on Tuesday afternoon. Regardless, the Spartans provided plenty of power at the plate, and cruised into Saturday afternoon’s championship game with a 10-0 victory.
It did not take long for the big blow to occur. After Harrison allowed a lead-off single to Ryan Jackson in the top of the first, he struck out two of the next three batters to quickly retire the side. Taison Corio reached on an error to open the bottom of the first, and Nick Cirelli drew a five-pitch walk to place runners on first and second. That brought up Portland-bound first baseman Trace Tammaro, who promptly pulled a 3-1 pitch over the fence in right field for a three-run homer, which more than enough for Harrison and the Spartans’ pitching staff on this day.
“I was just looking for something to drive and to hit the ball hard,” Tammaro said. “My focus was really just to put a good swing on the ball.”
It took five more batters, but Heritage pitcher Bryson Kinnick escaped the rest of the inning without further damage. The top pitcher from the BVAL this season got little rest, however, as the EBAL Pitcher of the Year quickly dispatched the Patriots’ offense in the top of the second, needing just nine pitches in the frame, and recorded his third strikeout of the game. De La Salle then added to the lead in the bottom of the second, on back-to-back doubles from Corio and Cirelli.
Heritage got a runner to third in the top of the fourth, but Harrison again slammed the door with another strikeout to finish his stint on the mound, having allowed just three hits with seven strikeouts, and needing just 55 pitches, meaning he will be fresh for the section championship game, and has six available innings for the week. The Spartans then put the game away in the bottom of the fourth, and the damage all happened with two outs.
Corio reached on an infield single to start the inning, but Kinnick retired the next two batters. Blake Burke pulled a single into right field, however, and that brought up Cal State Northridge-bound catcher Austin Elder, who took a 1-1 pitch over the fence towards right for another three-run homer, providing a 7-0 lead for the Spartans. De La Salle tacked on one more after back-to-back singles from Chris Santiago and Jack Powers, aided by an error in the outfield, for an 8-0 lead after four innings.
Corio added a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth, on an absolute bomb to left field, and Nick Fusari scored on another error to end the game early. In three playoff games this year, the Spartans have outscored their opponents 31-3, with the last two games both ending in shortened, mercy-rule victories.
“Our momentum in the playoffs has simply been about playing our own game,” Tammaro added. “With the powerful lineup we have, we just have to stay within ourselves.”
De La Salle will now see a familiar face in the title game, set for this Saturday, 3:30 pm at Saint Mary’s College. The Spartans will face EBAL rival Foothill, who they went 10 innings against earlier this year, but then beat 11-4 in the league title game.
Foothill cruises into title game
Host Foothill scored six times in the bottom of the fifth inning to end things early against Freedom, defeating the visiting Falcons 11-1 in the other NCS Division I semifinal.
Sophomore Ben Hansen scattered five hits over five innings, while striking out a pair, and both Corey Steinhauer and Jake Simons drove in a pair of runs during the win. Foothill also ran the bases seemingly at will, notching six steals in the game, led by two from Sam Novitske, who scored three times.
Ryan McKinley and Neko Capsiliaris each had two hits in the loss for Freedom.
Sixth inning lifts San Marin into title game
Tied at two entering the top of the sixth inning, visiting San Marin scored five times against Bishop O’Dowd, and went on to the 7-4 victory in the Division III semifinals.
With two outs and runners on first and second, Caden Franceschini singled to score Connor Cevolani with the go-ahead run, and the throw to the plate allowed both runners to wind up in scoring position. Connor Moylan then singled to left, scoring both Josh Franks and Franceschini for a 5-2 lead. A double by Jake Schmidt then added to the Mustangs’ lead, scoring Moylan, and after a walk to Matt Lozovoy, Christian Pedersen reached on an error, allowing Schmidt to score the final San Marin run.
Bishop O’Dowd closed the gap with a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh, courtesy of two bases-loaded hit batters, but Alex Sheron got a pop-up to end the game.
San Marin will face Campolindo on Saturday, 12 pm at Saint Mary’s College for the section title. The Cougars defeated Kennedy-Fremont, 12-3, in the other semifinal.
Athenian rallies St. Vincent to reach section final
For the second straight year, St. Vincent de Paul’s run in the playoffs ended against Athenian, but this one might hurt a little more.
The top-seeded Mustangs had won their first 25 games to open the season, and led the visiting Owls 5-1 headed to the top of the fourth inning, when things came undone. Athenian scored five times in the fourth, and added another five-spot in the fifth inning to pull away for the semifinal victory.
St. Vincent retired the first two batters in the top of the fourth, but a walk and an error on a pop-up to first base led to another walk to load the bases. AJ Sheinberg then singled to score Bryan Tierney, and Justin Armanino doubled to drive in Marcus Santo Domingo and Caleb McCurdy, cutting the lead to one run. When Nathan Ackerman’s fly ball to center field was misplayed, both Sheinberg and Armanino scored to give the Owls a 6-5 lead.
St. Vincent loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the fourth, but the game turned on a bloop towards second base, which resulted in a diving catch by McCurdy, who then doubled the runner off third base. Trent Free walked to load the bases again, but Rushil Ray notched a strikeout to end the threat without any runs crossing the plate. Ray tossed four innings of one-hit ball in relief of Tierney, striking out four in the process.
The Owls tallied five more runs in the top of the fifth to pull away, aided by a run-scoring double off the bat of Tierney and run-scoring singles from McCurdy and Armanino.
Athenian advances to face Branson in the Division V title game. That game will be played Saturday, 1 pm at Marin Catholic HS.