Baseball
No. 1 Serra 5, No. 6 Valley Christian 4
Some teams have a knack for coming up big in the clutch.
Just ask Serra.
After going down three runs in the first inning, Valley Christian stormed all the way back and had the bases loaded with one out in the bottom of the seventh. But junior pitcher Nate Hui got out of the jam, retiring the next two batters to seal a 5-4 win for visiting Serra.
Hui earned his fourth save this season.
Valley Christian sophomore Colton Hadfield knocked in Quinten Marsh and Jordan Ortiz to make the score 5-4 going into the sixth inning.
In the seventh, Hadfield got on base with a single and the next two batters reached base on a walk and an error. Hui went on to retire the next batter on a pop fly and struck out Valley Christian’s final batter on three strikes.
Serra (12-1, 4-1 West Catholic Athletic League) will host Valley Christian (8-4, 2-3) on Friday to wrap up the two-game series.
No. 2 St. Francis 6, Bellarmine 1
The Lancers made quick work of Bellarmine, taking a four-run lead into the fifth inning to capture their 10th win of the season.
St. Francis’ senior pitcher Landon Kim struck out four and allowed just two hits and an unearned run across five innings. Matteo Pignati was 2 for 4 with three RBIs and a double.
St. Francis is scheduled to host Bellarmine on Friday to close the two-game series between the teams.
No. 7 St. Ignatius 10, No. 15 Archbishop Mitty 0
In what was one of Tuesday’s marquee baseball matchups, St. Ignatius left no doubt.
The Wildcats blanked Mitty in five innings to remain undefeated in West Catholic Athletic League play.
Stanford commit Archer Horn was 3 for 4 with three RBIs and a home run. Junior DJ Delaney’s grand slam in the fifth inning gave St. Ignatius a commanding 10-run lead in the fifth inning.
Juniors Finn Demuth and Tycco Giometti combined to strike out nine while giving up just four hits.
St. Ignatius moved to 7-2-2, 4-0 and will travel to Mitty (8-4, 3-2) for the second game of the two-game series on Friday.
No. 12 Benicia 4, El Cerrito 1
Benicia broke open a scoreless game, putting up three runs in the fourth and one in the fifth to down El Cerrito at home.
Benicia senior Nash Rubins had an RBI triple and Carlos Largaespada, Myles Cooper and Matteo Bivian each brought in a run.
El Cerrito’s Ellis Fuller knocked in the Gauchos’ lone run in the eighth inning when he brought home Talio Ubalde.
No. 20 Castro Valley 8, San Leandro 0
Castro Valley put up six runs through the first two innings to put this game away early.
David Colon’s three-run homer in the second inning gave the Trojans a big lead and they didn’t look back. Senior Braden Spade had a two-run RBI double while seniors Gilbert Seidel, Anthony Mares and Owen Seidel each knocked in a run.
Castro Valley remains undefeated through two West Alameda Foothill games and will host Hayward on Monday.
Softball
No. 12 Alameda 8, Encinal 4
Alameda won against its cross-town rival at home, putting up all eight runs before the fifth inning.
Senior Aaliyah Soderlund had a monster game as she totaled three hits, three RBIs and a triple. Freshman Maddy Yoon and sophomore Mia Wong each knocked in two runs.
No. 20 El Cerrito 10, St. Patrick-St. Vincent 0
El Cerrito continued its dominance with a 10-run win over SPSV.
Senior Courtney Miles and freshman Natalia Gawlikowski combined to strike out seven and allowed just one hit.
Vacaville 28, Clayton Valley 20
Yes, this was a softball game.
The two teams combined for four home runs, 44 RBIs and 46 hits as Vacaville came out with a 28-20 win.
Sophomore Izabella Holt led Clayton Valley, going 4 for 6 with six RBIs, a triple and a home run.