The North Coast Section released its seeding for the baseball and softball playoffs on Sunday, which starts the road to crowning the 12 enrollment division champions in the two sports, with games starting this Tuesday. We take a look at each field, how the seeds played out, which players could impact the division, and assign a sleeper team and predicted champion to each group. But as previous years have already taught us, nothing will go as planned.
This feature focuses on the top three enrollment divisions.
DIVISION I (bracket)
TOP FOUR SEEDS: De La Salle, Foothill, Berkeley, Heritage
OVERVIEW: Top seed De La Salle enters as the regular season and tournament champion out of the EBAL, and offers a well-rounded approach. The Spartans’ lineup can hit for average and power, with Nick Cirelli, Taison Corio, and Jared Amigh all hitting over .400, while Blake Burke, Chris Santiago, and Trace Tammaro have combined for 16 home runs. The pitching staff sports a 1.68 ERA, led by sophomore left-hander Kyle Harrison and senior Ryan Costeiu.
Foothill and James Logan meet in a two versus 15 game that could be closer than usually expected. The two teams played in early March, with Foothill winning 1-0. Brett Hansen has been phenomenal again this year, going 7-0 with a 1.31 ERA and batting .507 with 26 RBI. Jeremy Lea, Owen Camp, and Cory Steinhauer are all batting over .400, while Dylan Pottgeiser and Ben Hansen have added exceptional depth to the pitching rotation. If the Colts are going to challenge Foothill in the first round, Logan will likely need a tremendous start from staff ace Mark Turnquist, who has a 1.67 ERA this season.
WACC-Foothill tournament champion Berkeley grabbed the three seed, aided by a regular season win over four seed and BVAL champion Heritage. Junior center fielder Michael Dixon in the linchpin for the Yellowjackets, batting .351 with four home runs, 21 RBI, and 13 stolen bases. Berkeley will see Freedom in the first round, and the Falcons are led by standout junior shortstop Kyren Paris, who is hitting .456 with 26 stolen bases this year. Meanwhile, emerging sophomore Andrew Neil will likely get the call on the mound for Freedom, where he boasts wins over Heritage and Logan already this year.
Cross-town rivals Heritage and Liberty meet up in a first-round game which should plenty of emotions running high, and the host Patriots will have to defeat the Lions for a third time this season. Staff ace Bryson Kinnick has been dominant in both his starts against Liberty this year, but it also means the Lions could be seeing a familiar arm in the first round game.
Despite losing five of its last eight games, Monte Vista is the five seed, and with Josh White and Ryan Fleming leading the pitching staff, the Mustangs have the arms to make a run. Amador Valley is the six seed, but opens with a team it lost to in the regular season, hosting Dougherty Valley in the first round. The 11 seed Wildcats won 3-2 in the first meeting between these teams. Staff ace Jesse Barron took the hill in that win for Dougherty Valley, and will likely get the call again.
The 7 versus 10 game between College Park and Granada features one of the best hitters in the region, College Park’s Christian Encarnacion-Strand, while Nick Bouillerce has been a solid staff ace for Granada. A dangerous Acalanes team sits at the eight seed, with earlier wins over Monte Vista and Amador Valley, and a staff ERA of 1.90. Nine seed San Ramon Valley counters with its own elite pitching depth, led by the trio of Connor Linchey, Scott Burkland, and Mason Fowler.
SLEEPER TEAM: Before hitting the skids with a six-game losing streak, Granada was viewed as one of the top emerging teams in the section. If Bouillerce is on, and the lineup combo of Cameron Geyer and Jake Crittenden can get things going, the Matadors could be dangerous again. Dougherty Valley and Freedom also jump out as lower-seeded teams capable of pulling an early upset or two.
PREDICTED CHAMPION: De La Salle
DIVISION II (bracket)
TOP FOUR SEEDS: Alameda, Maria Carrillo, Casa Grande, Drake
OVERVIEW: Alameda has had the top seed here locked down for a few weeks, but a couple upsets in league tournaments shook up the other top seeds, as Maria Carrillo beat Casa Grande in the NBL tournament final and Drake fell to Redwood.
A couple of losses in the final week of league play, plus an earlier loss to Casa Grande, left Northgate sitting as the five seed, though still ahead of SCL champion Petaluma, who split its meetings with Casa Grande this season.
Due to its wins over Tamalpais and Drake in the MCAL tournament, Redwood moved up to the seven seed, while Tam rounds out the top eight and faces a familiar foe in Marin Catholic.
The reality here is that any of the top six, and maybe the top nine, seeds can make a legitimate run to the title in what appears to be a wide-open field. Alameda continues to be led by its pitching, as the one-two punch of Max Nyrop and Bryan Woo give the Hornets the requisite cast of starting arms to make a title run. Meanwhile, Maria Carrillo also has a bona-fide ace in Cade Sheets, but also a devastating combo in its lineup with the hot bats of Brian Orr and emerging sophomore Bryce Veler.
Drake and Petaluma have each looked like championship-caliber teams at times this year. Petaluma has one of the biggest non-league wins among any team in the section, having beaten Serra-San Mateo, and has six players hitting above .400. Meanwhile, Drake has ace pitcher Ryan McLaughlin, and a lineup that has pop with Eamonn Lance and his 10 home runs.
Northgate had won four straight in the rugged DAL-Foothill prior to its late two-game skid, and the Broncos are also battle-tested in non-league, suffering a pair of one-run defeats to Maria Carrillo and Casa Grande. Northgate also has the requisite pitching depth, led by Cal commit Ian Villers and supported by sophomore Evan Tomlinson and senior Nico Zeglin. Zeglin and Kevin Clancy have been red-hot at the plate.
SLEEPER TEAM: With a deep pitching staff and a pair of hot bats, Marin Catholic could make a run, even from the difficult position of being a nine seed. Addison Berger, Vaughn Mauterer, and Max Manning are all capable of shutting down an opponent, while Ben Skinner and Dylan Joyce power the lineup. Joyce can also jump on the hill and dominate opposing hitters.
PREDICTED CHAMPION: Drake
DIVISION III (bracket)
TOP FOUR SEEDS: Miramonte, Campolindo, Encinal, Cardinal Newman
OVERVIEW: After reaching last year’s Division III title game, Miramonte is the top seed and seeking more than just a trip to the final. On the other side of the bracket are the Matadors’ neighboring rival, Campolindo, while two of the top individual players in the section, Osiris Johnson and Jason Moran, lead Encinal and Cardinal Newman into the playoffs, respectively.
Cardinal Newman is certainly the most intriguing team in this field, a group capable of beating Maria Carrillo 17-2 in one game and then get shutout in the very next meeting. The Cardinals have wins over such programs as Tracy, Oak Ridge, and Casa Grande, but also a loss to Campolindo. Cardinal Newman is a team which has the firepower to win the title, but could also face a stiff challenge in the first round from Justin-Siena and staff ace Nolan Dunkle.
A similar first round match-up could take place in the five versus 12 games, where Bishop O’Dowd earned the five seed, but opens against a San Rafael team which features ace Jack Cottrell. Junior Matthias Haas powers the O’Dowd lineup.
SLEEPER TEAM: Despite having finished the regular season on a three-game losing streak, there is plenty of evidence throughout the year to suggest that San Marin could make a run. That includes a five-game winning streak in April which featured victories over both Marin Catholic and Redwood. If senior Tyler Abell and sophomore Josh Franks can spark the attack at the plate, keep an eye on the Mustangs.
PREDICTED CHAMPION: Miramonte
