Softball
Division I
No. 6 Granada 12, No. 11 Foothill 10
Granada senior Jayden Roldan walked off visiting Foothill in the bottom of the seventh inning when she blasted a double into center field to break a 10-10 deadlock and send Granada into the quarterfinals of the North Coast Section Division I playoffs.
A few batters before that, Delaney Aumua, who was 3 for 3 with four runs scored, tied the game with a leadoff homer.
Granada (13-9) will travel to No. 3 College Park on Friday. Foothill ended its season 12-10.
The teams combined for 27 hits in a back-and-forth game. After Granada scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth to tie the score at nine apiece, Foothill’s Ellie Novitske drew a bases loaded walk to retake the lead with two outs in the seventh.
But the next batter grounded out, keeping the difference at just one, which wasn’t enough for the Falcons.
Foothill standout Kaycie Burdick had a home run and four RBIs, and teammate Sophia Burdick was 3 for 5.
Granada seniors Hannah Temple and Sarah Deplitch each hit home runs, and Madison Hom had a team-high three RBIs despite not getting a hit.
No. 1 California 8, No. 16 Berkeley 0
California’s postseason quest for a second consecutive NCS Division I title began with an easy shutout victory over visiting Berkeley. Senior ace Kaitlyn Le threw a complete game and had 10 strikeouts and zero walks.
Sophom*ore catcher Shayla Santolucito was the star offensively, going 3 for 4 with a home run and a team-high three RBIs. Jayda Crosby and Kirsten Li each had two hits for the Grizzlies.
Berkeley, which ended its season 11-12, got two doubles from Camden Bernhard and two hits in three at-bats from Oona Capristo.
California improved to 17-8. The Grizzlies will play host to San Ramon Valley on Friday in a rematch of last season’s NCS Division I title game.
No. 3 College Park 2, No. 14 Arroyo 1
The third-seeded Falcons survived a first-round scare after visiting No. 14 Arroyo gave the Pleasant Hill school everything it could handle on Wednesday night.
Arroyo tied the score in the top of the fourth inning on Savina Romero’s RBI single, but then College Park retook the lead in their half of the frame when Lyka Capulong drove a ground ball to second base to bring home Avery Rodriguez.
Arroyo freshman Sadie Fernandez allowed just one walk and a single earned run in a stellar playoff debut in the circle.
In the top of the seventh, Arroyo’s Lily Williams and Aneesa Aguon each got on via a single and walk, but College Park pitcher Keira Pfeiffer shut the door by inducing a lineout and getting a strikeout to end the game.
College Park (13-8) will play host to red-hot Granada on Friday, while Arroyo ended its season 9-13.
Division III
Encinal 14, Miramonte 4
The high-flying Jets soared into the second round of the Division III playoffs by run-ruling Miramonte in a game that, admittedly, was closer than the final score indicated.
The No. 14 seed Dons put up four runs in the top of the third inning to briefly take a 4-2 lead. Second-seeded Encinal answered with three in the bottom half of the inning.
After the visitors couldn’t answer in the top of the fourth, the hosts from Alameda pulled away after dropping seven in the bottom half of the frame.
Encinal senior Riley Chadwick was 2 for 2 with a home run and team-high four RBIs, and sophom*ores Sherrielyn Ferrer and Cameron Tran each had three RBIs.
Encinal, which improved to 21-4, will play host to No. 7 Archie Williams at Lower Washington Park on Friday. Miramonte ended its season 14-8.
Baseball
Division II
No. 6 Livermore 9, No. 11 American Canyon 4
Braeden McRae went 3 for 4 with three RBIs, a double and a home run to lead Livermore past American Canyon in the first round of the Division II playoffs.
The Cowboys built a 4-0 lead going into the fourth inning and didn’t look back.
Livermore junior Jaden Vassallo and sophom*ore Nico Rodriguez each had a double and an RBI.
The Cowboys captured their first playoff win since 2016. They will play at Ukiah on Friday.
No. 8 Alameda 11, No. 9 Maria Carrillo 6
The Hornets weathered a five-run first inning from the Santa Rosa school and came out on top to advance to the second round of the NCS Division II playoffs.
Alameda scored four runs in the second, three in the third and three in the fourth to take a 10-5 late.
Sophom*ore Parker Nomura was 3 for 4 and had four RBIs for Alameda. Senior Max Cohen added two hits, two RBIs and a triple.
Alameda will play top-seeded Cardinal Newman in the quarterfinals on Saturday.
Division IV
No. 10 Hercules 7, No. 7 Fort Bragg 1
Hercules traveled more than three hours north and picked up a big win against Fort Bragg in the first round of the NCS Division IV playoffs.
Junior Wynston Bishop and senior Elijah Thomas combined to allow just four hits and one earned run while striking out nine in a stellar pitching performance.
William Hobbs had a double and four RBIs. Bishop was 2 for 2 and walked twice.
Hercules will travel much closer to home on Saturday when it visits Piedmont in the quarterfinals.
Oakland Section
No. 1 Oakland Tech 8, No. 2 Skyline 3
The Bulldogs won the Oakland Section, beating Oakland Athletic League foe Skyline.Sophom*ore Mike Martin was 2 for 3 and had a double and an RBI. Junior Jordan Smith had a hit and two RBIs.
Tech pitcher Elias Thompson struck out six in four innings.
