6-foot-2 junior right-hander Jack Snook took the ball for Amador Valley on Tuesday afternoon, and never gave it up, blanking California in the opening round of the EBAL baseball tournament, as the Dons advanced to the quarterfinals with a 5-0 victory.
Snook scattered six hits and struck out seven, while getting some early run support at the plate. Junior Justin Rasmussen singled to lead off the game for Amador Valley, and after Max Heverly sacrificed to get Rasmussen into scoring position, Nick Proctor delivered with a one-out double for a 1-0 lead. Michael Wiborn grounded out for the second out of the inning, but Proctor advanced to third and scored one pitch later on a passed ball for an early 2-0 Dons lead.
Amador Valley added two more runs in the bottom of the third, which was plenty of support for Snook. Junior Ari Solomon struck a big two-out blow for the Dons, singling with the bases loaded to score both Proctor and Wiborn for a 4-0 lead. Proctor capped the scoring with a two-out single in the bottom of the fourth, taking a 3-1 pitch into right field to score Rasmussen for the fifth and final run of the game.
Proctor and Rasmussen had two hits each for the Dons, who advanced to face De La Salle in Wednesday’s semifinals. Amador Valley beat the Spartans, 3-2, in their previous meeting.
Antioch rally leads to extra-inning win
Trailing by three runs heading into the sixth inning, visiting Antioch chipped away over the final innings and finally beat host Liberty with a clutch two-out hit in the top of the ninth inning, 4-3.
With the game tied at three in the top of the ninth inning, Sebastian Palma walked with one out and advanced to second on an error. Tyler Winters got the second out of the inning by striking out Isaiah Mixon, but RJ McDowell came through in the clutch for the Panthers, singling up the middle on a full count pitch to score Palma from second for the one-run lead.
It appeared that Liberty might be able to tie or win the game in the bottom of the ninth inning, when the Lions loaded the bases with one out, on two errors and a walk, but Eduardo Lopez got Max Cappello to ground into a double play to end the game.
Liberty led 3-1 headed into the seventh inning, but Antioch loaded the bases with no outs, and cut the lead to one run on a ground ball to shortstop, which resulted in an out at second base. Brayden Spears struck out McDowell for the second out of the inning, but was lifted for Tyler Winters, who gave up a game-tying single to Devon Crump.
The loss was costly for Liberty, which had been tied for first in the Bay Valley Athletic League with Heritage entering the day. Heritage beat Deer Valley, 3-0, and faces Antioch in the regular season finale on Thursday, looking to now claim an outright title. Liberty and Freedom are now tied for second place, and face each other on Thursday.
Alameda, Berkeley set to meet for WACC-Foothill tournament crown
Max Nyrop scattered six hits and struck out five to lead Alameda past Castro Valley, 2-0, and into the title game of the WACC-Foothill tournament.
Nyrop needed just 93 pitches, did not walk a batter during the win, and never allowed a runner past second base during the complete game performance.
Alameda took a 1-0 lead in the third inning when Tristan Wiley’s two-out ground ball resulted in an error to score Darren Taira, and added to the lead in the sixth inning on Chris Regan’s two-out single to left field, which scored Jack Loudon.
Berkeley defeated Bishop O’Dowd, 4-3, in the other tournament semifinal. Senior Caden Wells drove in a pair of runs for the Yellowjackets. Berkeley and Alameda split their regular season series.
Acalanes win creates tie atop DAL-Foothill
Acalanes scored five runs in the first three innings and held on for a 5-3 win over Northgate on Tuesday, dropping the Broncos back into a tie for first place in the DAL-Foothill standings.
Northgate led by one game over College Park entering the day, but the loss coupled with the Falcons’ 3-0 win over Clayton Valley leaves them tied with one game remaining.
Gavin Shipp struck the big blow early for the Dons in the win over Northgate, hitting a three-run homer in the bottom of the first inning for an early 3-0 lead, and Acalanes added single runs in each of the next two innings, capped by a two-out RBI double in the bottom of the third by Simon Oh.
Northgate scored twice in the top of the fourth, on run-scoring singles by Luke Saunders and Kevin Clancy, but Ian Villers’ run-scoring ground out in the top of the fifth was the only other run that the Broncos could manage.
College Park, meanwhile, got a complete game shutout performance on the mound from junior Connor Sullivan in the win over Clayton Valley, as he allowed just two hits. The Falcons face Campolindo on Thursday, while Northgate faces Clayton Valley.
Miramonte, Concord on collision course
Miramonte routed Ygnacio Valley, 24-5, on Tuesday, while Concord turned back Las Lomas, 2-1, setting the stage for Thursday’s regular season finale. Miramonte leads Concord by one game in the DAL-Valley standings, and the teams meet to finish the league slate.
Miramonte got four RBI from Ben Jungbluth in the win over the Warriors, Charlie Mollahan went 3-for-3, and both Jake Hassard and Adrese Azzani drove in three runs. Concord, meanwhile, got a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh inning from Ryan Murphy to drive in Ryan Parisi with the game-winning run over the Knights.
Jonathan Miller allowed just three hits and struck out five in the complete game effort on the mound for Concord.
