Nothing has come easy for Christopher during its postseason run, but the Cougars grinded out three tough games to capture the CCS Division 3 title with a 3-2 win over Hollister last Saturday afternoon at Excite Ballpark.
Christopher scored all of its runs in the first two innings and held on behind the pitching of juniors Aaron Van Kerkwyk (4 2/3 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K) and Nick Valentine, who worked the final 2 1/3 scoreless innings for the save.
Senior Aiden Simeon went 3-for-3 for the Cougars, who took advantage of a pair of errors by the Haybalers to build an early 3-1 lead. The Balers got a run in the fifth, but Valentine put out the fire to pick up his first save.
Christopher advances to the NorCal Division 3 playoffs and will travel to Madera to take on Liberty. The Cougars reached the CCS final with wins over Hillsdale (3-0) and Palma (8-7). Van Kerkwyk threw a seven-hit shutout against the Knights as the Cougars won despite getting just four hits.
In the win over the Chieftains, Christopher got five runs in the first inning and held on for an 8-7 win despite being out-hit 16-7. Senior Mason Dubenko went 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs and the Cougars took advantage of five Palma errors.
The Balers exploded to the final with a pair of one-sided shutout wins, 11-0 over Aptos and 13-0 over Pioneer. Hollister finished the season 14-16.
