CCS baseball roundup: Cap knocks off DII’s top seed

Trailing 3-0 early, Cap scored twice in the fourth before using a three-run fifth inning to take the lead. Starting pitcher Declan Mendel did the rest, as the senior right-hander recorded his fifth complete game of the season. Mendel survived a three-run first inning, and somehow did not incite a beanball war as the game wore on, as he allowed three runs on four hits and five hit batsmen, while striking out three.

Cap totaled 16 hits in the contest, upping its season average to .356 as a team. Senior Travis Ciardella led the way with a 3-for-4 day with a double and two RBIs. Senior Anakin Manuel added three hits and an RBI, and seniors Yulio Ceron, Will Hager, Andres Gomez and Lucas Zayac had two hits apiece.

With the win, Mendel improves his unbeaten record to 9-0 with a 0.91 ERA.

There were two No. 8 seeds throughout the six CCS tournaments to knock off the top seeds Saturday. In the Division IV tourney, top-seed Carlmont fell 5-4 to No. 8 Santa Clara in a nine-inning thriller.

Cap now moves on to the Division II semifinals to take on No. 5 Wilcox at Santa Clara University. Wednesday’s first pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. Wilcox also advanced with an upset, winning 12-3 at No. 4 Mitty.

SATURDAY

CCS baseball

Division I

Serra 8, Palma 3

Junior right-hander Riley Lim threw six zeroes on the scoreboard to start the day, and the Serra bats scored early and often as the No. 1-seed Padres (24-6) rolled past No. 8 Palma (21-7) at Frisella Stadium.

Lim worked six-plus innings, allowing two runs on three hits, to earn the win, improving his record to 6-0 with a 2.39 ERA. He took a shutout into the seventh before giving way to junior reliever Aiden Waters, who allowed one unearned run before closing it out. Junior Johnny Carnazzo had the big swing for Palma with a two-run home run, his fifth of the year.

The Padres rallied for three runs in the first, then added three in the fourth and two in the fifth. Senior Ian Josephson had a single and three RBIs, while junior Aaron Maier totaled three hits and three runs scored. Senior Evan Bradshaw added two hits and three RBIs, senior Davis Minton had two hits and two RBIs, and junior Nate Hui had two hits.

Serra now advances to the Open Division semifinals to face No. 4 St. Francis-Mountain View. Wednesday’s first pitch at Excite Ballpark in San Jose is scheduled for 5 p.m. Three of the remaining four Open Division teams are from the West Catholic Athletic League. On the other side of the bracket, No. 2 Valley Christian faces No. 3 Los Gatos in the other Wednesday semifinal at Excite Ballpark, with first pitch slated for 7:30 p.m.

Division II

Menlo-Atherton 6, Pioneer 1

The No. 2-seed Bears (21-7) jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning and led the rest of the way, taking down No. 7 Pioneer (14-11) in their CCS opener in Atherton. Sophomore Merrick Lee went 3 for 4 with an RBI, junior Ryder Kelly added three hits with a pair of doubles, and junior MJ Ellazar had a single and two RBIs in support of starting pitcher Wes Peterson. A junior right-hander, Peterson worked four shutout innings, allowing one hit, one walk and one hit batsman while striking out five, improving his record to 7-3 with a 1.06 ERA. Senior Anthony Kabrich worked the final three innings to record the save, his first of the year.

With the win, M-A gets to travel to Monterey to play as the home team on the scoreboard against No. 7 Pioneer-San Jose. Wednesday’s first pitch at Sollecito Ballpark in scheduled for 4 p.m.

Division III

Los Altos 4, Sequoia 3

The No. 2 Ravens (15-13) saw their season end with an upset at the hands of No. 7 Los Altos (20-8) in Redwood City. Sequoia rallied to take a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the third, but Los Altos mounted a go-ahead rally in the fifth, and senior closer Kai MacQuiddy fired two scoreless innings to close it out and record the save. Gavin Moore homered for Los Altos. Drew Ostrander and Garrett Johnson each had a single and an RBI for Sequoia.

Two Sequoia batters finished the season above the .400 mark. Ostrander hit .402 and led the team with 28 runs, while senior catcher Logan Mathias paced the team with a .435 batting average and 37 hits. Junior Morgan Winfield slashed .380/.510/.709 with a team-leading six home runs, and on the mound went 6-0 with a 1.62 ERA through 65 innings pitched.

Division IV

Santa Clara 5, Carlmont 4

The No. 1-seed Scots (13-15) took a 4-1 lead into the seventh inning, but No 8 Santa Clara (25-3) rallied for three runs in the seventh to tie it, and scored once in the top of the ninth to win the wild extra-inning thriller. Senior Greg Salgado hit a solo home run for one of Santa Clara’s 11 hits. Senior Luke Tofigh paced the Scots with a double and two RBIs. Carlmont starting pitcher Jonathan Fong took a no-decision, allowing one run on five hits through five innings of work.

Fong finishes the year as Carlmont’s wins leader, posting a 5-4 record with a 3.36 ERA through 66 2/3 innings. Senior Grant Goetz led the Scots in hitting with a .391 batting average and 34 hits, while senior Jason Tofigh hit .291 with a team-leading 17 RBIs.s

St. Francis SCP 3, Hillsdale 2

A seventh-inning rally by No. 7 Hillsdale (12-14) came up short as No. 2 St. Francis SCP-Watsonville (14-14) held on for the win. St. Francis senior Nash Horton homered and the Sharks took a 3-0 lead into the seventh, but the Fighting Knights scored twice in the seventh on a two-run single by sophomore Parker Jessup. Horton, St. Francis’ starting pitcher, finished it out, earning the complete-game victory while allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits, two walks and a hit batsman, while striking out 13.

Senior Jake Belloni closes out the year pacing Hillsdale in each of the triple-crown categories, slashing .413/.537/.667 with four home runs and 18 RBIs. Senior starting pitcher Robby Gilbert was the staff workhorse, posting a 4-3 record through 57 1/3 innings, while junior Hugo Guzman recorded a staff-best 2.17 ERA.

Division V

Menlo 4, Soledad 3

The No. 1-seed Knights (19-8) jumped out to an early lead before junior right-hander Jackson Flanagan got snakebit for three unearned runs in the fourth against No. 8 Soledad (10-17). Flanagan didn’t survive the rally, working a season-low 3 2/3 innings, but freshman right-hander Reid Plamondon emerged to fire 5 1/3 scoreless innings of relief to carry the game into extra innings. That set the stage for Menlo to rally for the walk-off win, when freshman Fletcher Cahill came through with an RBI single to drive home senior KC Chavinson in the bottom of the ninth. Plamondon has now recorded wins in four straight appearances, improving to 6-1 with a 2.07 ERA.

With the win, Menlo advances to the Division V semifinals at Mission College to face No. 5 Piedmont Hills. Tuesday’s first pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.

Piedmont Hills 5, Terra Nova 3

The No. 4-seed Tigers (18-7-1) took a 2-1 lead into the seventh, but No. 5 Piedmont Hills (19-9) tied it with a run in the top of the seventh, and scored three times in the ninth to win it in Pacifica. Terra Nova starting pitcher Jesse Martinez turned in a marathon outing, working eight innings while throwing 109 pitches. The sophomore took a no-decision, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits and two walks, while notching a career-high nine strikeouts. Senior Luke Ornelas took the loss in relief, but drove in two runs at the plate, while junior Austin Snead scored all three Terra Nova runs.

Martinez closes out an outstanding sophomore season, with an 8-2 record and a 1.97 ERA. Junior right-hander Aiden James led the Tigers with a 1.45 ERA. At the plate, Ornelas led the team with a .415 batting average and 34 hits, while junior Joey Donati recorded a team-best 24 RBIs, and sophomore Will McDougal led the running game with 19 stolen bases for a Terra Nova team that swiped 78 bags on the year.

Division VI

Stevenson 7, Design Tech 3

Stevenson starter Flint Dickson and Design Tech starter Eddy Yee both went the distance, but it was No. 1-seed Stevenson-Pebble Beach (17-8) that won the day at home against the No. 8 Dragons (13-9). Dickson took a shutout into the seventh inning, but Design Tech rallied for three runs, with RBIs for Eoin Halili, Isaac Gradek and Declan Larkin. Phinn Thomas and Jacob Hall had two hits and two RBIs apiece for the Pirates. Yee allowed seven runs (five earned) on 10 hits, and led the Dragons at the plate with two hits. Design Tech committed four errors in the field.

Design Tech finishes the season with a .349 team batting average, paced by sophomore Aidan Tom team-best .431 average and 28 hits. Senior Maddox Hom added a .422 average, and Gradek, a senior, hit .414.