After dropping its last five games of the regular season, Leigh made a run to the CCS Division 5 championship, culminating in a 4-1 win over St. Ignatius Saturday at San Jose City College. Sophomore Camryn Manning-Alarcon hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning and senior Brianna Buchanan went 2-for-2 with two runs scored and two RBIs. SI scored its only run in the seventh inning when junior Angelina Ugaitafa knocked in sophomore Delilah Berry with an RBI single.
Leigh continues its season Tuesday at home against St. Bernard’s in the NorCal Division 5 playoffs. St. Ignatius ends its season with a 12-12 record.
After finishing fourth in the six-team WCAL, SI opened the playoffs with a 7-1 win over Woodside. Berry had three hits and scored three runs and senior Cece Hammond drove in four runs. In the semifinals, the Wildcats routed Homestead 11-1 as freshman Sasha Vassar went 3-for-3 with a single, double, triple and three runs scored. Sophomore Gianna Gallarza went 2-for-3 with a triple and four RBIs.
Leigh reached the final with wins over King City and Burlingame. The Longhorns rolled out to a 5-1 lead after two innings. Four players – Liliana Pon, Sophia Gandara, Manning-Alarcon and Elliana Snyder – had two hits apiece to spark a 12-hit attack and Gandara threw a complete-game three-hitter with 10 strikeouts. In the semifinals, Leigh took advantage of some poor Burlingame defense to score three runs in the first inning and held on for a 3-1 win. Gandara went the distance, allowing just six hits with 12 strikeouts.
