NorCal roundup: Amador Valley wins again, advances to D-I softball final

Softball

Division I

No. 8 Amador Valley 7, No. 4 Clovis North 2

Amador Valley’s Cinderella run continued as the Dons traveled to the Central Valley on Thursday and beat Clovis North in a Division I semifinal.

Two days after Amador Valley stunned state No. 1 St. Francis in the opening round, the Dons broke open the semifinal in the middle innings. They scored three in the third and four in the fourth to take a 7-0 lead.

That was plenty for red-hot pitcher Kaylee Davis, who scattered nine hits while allowing a run in the sixth and another in the seventh.

McKenna Charbonneau had two hits, including a home run, and three RBIs and Ava Davis doubled and knocked in two runs to lead Amador Valley.

The eighth-seeded Dons (18-11) will play at No. 6 seed Oak Ridge in the final on Saturday.

Oak Ridge won by forfeit in its semifinal after Whitney-Rocklin was removed from the tournament because it used an ineligible player during its section playoffs.

Oak Ridge is 24-4.

Division III

No. 2 Dixon 3, No. 7 Capuchino 2

Despite holding host Dixon to just two hits, the Mustangs couldn’t overcome a disastrous third inning as the San Bruno school fell in the Division III semifinals.

After an error and two walks loaded the bases, Dixon’s Olivia Gomez drove in all three on a double to center field.

Capuchino made things competitive in the sixth after Dani Motroni singled in one run, and Katalina Ngaluafe drove in Dani’s older sister Avery Motroni with a single to left field.

Freshman Lily Thomas threw 3 ⅓ innings of scoreless relief, but the Mustangs couldn’t complete the comeback in the seventh.

Capuchino, which won the Central Coast Section Division II title, finished 18-12. Dixon will play host to Sutter, which defeated College Park in the other semifinal.

Division V

No. 3 Christopher 6, No. 2 Los Molinos 0

Christopher’s Chanel Lucio and Danielle Keller combined to pitch shutout as the Cougars went to Los Molinos and pulled off a NorCal Division V victory.

Christopher will play at Big Valley Christian-Modesto on Saturday.

The Cougars scored at least one run in each of the last five innings. Melissa Lugo went 3 for 4 with an RBI, and Zoe Griffin went 2 for 4 with two RBIs. Center fielder Alyssa Farrow and Jenessa De la Cruz had two hits apiece.

The Gilroy school lost to Aragon in the Central Coast Section IV championship, but was given a second chance at life when the Dons declined to participate in NorCal.

No. 1 Big Valley Christian-Modesto 10, No. 4 Leigh 2

Leigh scored two runs in the fifth to tie the score, but Big Valley Christian answered with six in the bottom of half of the inning and two in sixth to turn back Leigh in a Division V semifinal in Modesto.

Morgan Merzon and Kailey Rivera homered for Big Valley (23-6-1), which will play host to Christopher in the final on Saturday.

Leigh finished 12-15.

Baseball

Division II

No. 3 Redwood 6, No. 2 St. Ignatius 5

St. Ignatius’ bid for back-to-back Division II regional championships ended at home as Redwood overcame a 4-2 deficit, scoring one in the fifth and three in the sixth, to advance to Saturday’s championship game at top-seeded Cardinal Newman.

Archer Horn had two hits and four RBIs and Emmett Johnson knocked in a run and scored twice for SI, which finished 21-11.

Rex Solle had two doubles and a triple among his four hits in four at-bats and Gavin Soper had two hits for Redwood, which improved to 28-4.

Division III

No. 1 Oakmont 5, No. 5 Christopher 3

Christopher held a three-run lead in the third inning, but couldn’t stop Oakmont as the Vikings came back late to win in a Division III semifinal. 

Oakmont tied the game in the fifth and took the lead in the sixth inning on a Christopher error. The Gilroy school had one last chance in the top of the seventh down two runs to tie the game, but couldn’t find enough offense. 

Pitcher Trevor Wilson retired three consecutive batters, ending Christopher’s season. 

Christopher center fielder Mateo Alcantar was 2 for 4 and had an RBI. Jacob Vasquez and Sam Guenther each knocked in a run. 

The Cougars ended their season 20-9.

Division IV

No. 2 Bradshaw Christian-Sacramento 6, No. 3 Mountain View 1

Tied 1-1 after five innings, Mountain View yielded five runs in the sixth and returned home from Sacramento with a season-ending loss.

Bradshaw Christian will visit top-seeded Piedmont in the final on Saturday.

Kevin Conway had three hits, including a double, and Austin Xu had two hits for Mountain View, which ended the season 18-14.

For Bradshaw Christian, Alex Crosno had three hits, including a triple, and drove in a run and David Wiser and Ethan Rickert held Mountain View to one unearned run.

Bradshaw Christian improved to 31-1.

No. 1 Piedmont 5, No. 4 Colusa 0

Piedmont’s John Olsen pitched a two-hitter to lead Piedmont to the Division IV championship game, where it will play host to No. 2 Bradshaw Christian. 

After taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning, Piedmont exploded for four runs in the third.

Diego Delventhal scored from third base on a wild pitch, giving Piedmont a two-run advantage. Later in the inning, Shafer Dando’s three-run homer gave the Highlanders a 5-0 lead.

With Olsen on the mound, Piedmont’s defense dominated. The senior struck out six and walked two to advance the Highlanders to the NorCal finals. 

Piedmont will be looking for its first NorCal title while Bradshaw Christian is hoping to capture its second Division IV championship in three years. 

Division V

No. 1 Menlo School 3, No. 5 Oakland Tech 2 (9 innings)

Garrett Tran saved his only hit on the day for the right time as his single to center knocked in Luke Rogers with the winning run in the bottom of the ninth to beat Oakland Tech in a Division V semifinal in Atherton.

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Oakland Tech scored a run in the first and another in the second to take a 2-0 lead. The Bulldogs held the advantage until Menlo scored two runs in the sixth, one on a Tech error, the other on an RBI single by Chuck Wynn.

Rogers opened the home half of the ninth with a double. Jack Freehill’s bunt single moved Rogers to third and Tran followed with his walk-off single.

Menlo (23-9) will play host to No. 2 seed Woodlands Christian on Saturday.

Oakland Tech finished 19-7.

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