Senior Ryan Schnell went the distance, allowing just four hits and a run to lead top-seeded Menlo to a 3-1 win over No. 3 Lincoln in the CCS Division 6 championship last Thursday night at Excite Ballpark. With the win, Menlo advances to the NorCal Division 5 playoffs and will host Redding Christian Tuesday afternoon.
The Knights took advantage of two Lincoln errors to score a pair of unearned runs. Senior Garrett Tran scored two runs and sophomore Chuck Wynn had two of Menlo’s five hits. Lincoln senior Diego Casorla was the hard-luck losing pitcher, allowing just five hits and one earned run over six innings.
Menlo opened the playoffs with a 4-0 win over Gonzales on a three-hit shutout by Schnell. Senior Garrett Tran went 3-for-3 with an RBI and junior Luke Rogers provided a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh in Menlo’s 6-5 win over South San Francisco in the semifinal round.
Lincoln reached the final with wins over Design Tech and Alisal. Casorla went the distance in the opening-round 6-2 win over Design Tech, allowing just five hits and a walk. Senior Ryan Rogers and junior Graeson Wagner had two hits apiece for the Lions. In the semifinal 6-4 win over Alisal, Lincoln rallied for four runs in the top of the seventh inning. Junior Lorenzo Collazo went 3-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI. The Lions finished the season with a 23-5 record.
