San Mateo County local diamond briefs • Tuesday, April 28, 2026

Hillsdale 14, Carlmont 1

The Knights won their fifth straight PAL Bay Division game, and sixth overall, as they overwhelmed the Scots in a mercy-rule win.

Leading 2-0 after one inning, Hillsdale (8-1 PAL Bay, 14-7 overall) scored seven runs in the second to take control of the game before tacking on four more in the third and ending things with a three-run fourth.

Mia DeMartini had a monster game for the Knights, going 3 for 3 with a homer and six RBIs. Giuliana Brum drove in a pair of runs, as well, for Hillsdale.

Parker Jensen, the granddaughter of longtime Serra baseball skipper Peter Jensen, got the win in the circle, allowing one run on one hit — to Grace Stiefel. Micayla Lorber drove in Sydney Lapin with a bases-loaded walk to account for the run for Carlmont (0-8, 3-17-1).

San Mateo 11, Aragon 0

The second-place Bearcats kept the pressure on Bay Division-leading Hillsdale by thumping the crosstown rival Dons in a mercy-rule win.

San Mateo (8-2 PAL Bay, 14-4 overall) scored in all five innings, scoring twice in the first and fourth innings, with single runs in the second and fourth. The Bearcats put the game away with a five-run fifth as they banged out 14 hits.

Alice Han, once again, drove the San Mateo offense as the sophomore shortstop went 4 for 4 with a homer, double and four RBIs. Celia Hernandez and Aliyah Scheller each drove in two runs apiece, with Scheller going deep.

That was more than enough offense for Hernandez in the circle as she pitched four innings, scattering five hits.

Menlo-Atherton 9, Notre Dame-San Jose 1

The Bears were held under 10 runs for the first time since a 5-3, non-league loss to Woodside March 25. But they took a commanding lead in the PAL Ocean Division race by handing the Regents their second loss in as many days.

M-A (4-0 PAL Ocean, 15-2 overall) scored three runs in both the first and second innings to take control of the game. Carey Maletis and Kylie Cox each drove in a pair of runs to pace the offense for the Bears. Gracy Nava picked up the win, tossing a complete game, allowing one run on three hits.

NDSJ falls to 2-2 in PAL Ocean play and 10-8 overall.

Woodside 6, Burlingame 5

The Wildcats scored three runs in the first and a three-run fourth completed a rally from a 5-3 deficit as they beat the Panthers in a non-league game.

Vanessa Carlos had a double and two RBIs to lead Woodside (12-7 overall) offensively.

Marisa Calderon got the win in relief of Hannah Walker. Calderon pitched the final two innings, giving up just two hits.

Burlingame (8-8) scored once in the top of the first and added four more in the second to take a 5-3 lead. Brooke Arce doubled twice and drove in three runs to pace the Panthers’ offense.

Capuchino 13, Sequoia 3

The Mustangs scored 11 runs in the first three innings to cruise to the non-league win over the Ravens.

Capuchino (7-10 overall) scored four runs in both the first and second innings before adding three more in the third and closing out the mercy-rule win with two in the bottom of the fifth.

Dana Motroni went 2 for 4 with four RBIs and two runs scored to lead the offense for the Mustangs. Kiki Ngaluafe doubled twice and drove in a pair for Capuchino, as well. All of which made a winner of Lily Thomas, who worked four innings, giving up two runs on five hits.

Sequoia (5-8) got RBIs from Annie Gottshall, Grace Taylor and LuLu Odom.

PAL Bay Division standings: Hillsdale 8-1, San Mateo 8-2, Aragon 5-4, King’s Academy 4-4, Capuchino 3-4, Mills 3-5, Woodside 3-6, Carlmont 0-8.

PAL Ocean Division standings: Menlo-Atherton 4-0, Notre Dame-SJ 2-2, Burlingame 1-2, Terra Nova 1-2, Notre Dame-Belmont 1-2, Sequoia 1-2.

Baseball

Serra 8, St. Ignatius 5

The Padres appear to be peaking at the right time as they beat the Wildcats for their fourth straight win in West Catholic Athletic League play as they moved above .500 in league play.

Trailing 1-0 after two innings, Serra (5-4 WCAL, 15-6 overall) took the lead for good with two runs in the top of the third and took control with a four-run fourth. The Padres tacked on two more insurance runs in the sixth to give themselves some breathing room.

Nate Hui paced the offense for Serra, hitting a home run and driving in three runs while going 2 for 4 at the plate. Ayden Beal added a two-run double for the Padres, with Nick Moore also coming up with an RBI.

That made a winner of Riley Lim, who worked into the seventh inning. He allowed five runs on eight hits, striking out six. Kelley got the one-out save.

San Mateo native Chase Gordon had the big stick for SI (6-3, 14-6), collecting a homer and double while driving in three runs.

Sacred Heart Prep 1, San Mateo 0, 11 innings

It took nearly two games worth of play when the Gators hosted the Bearcats in a showdown for first place in the Peninsula Athletic League’s Ocean Division.

Both teams came into the two-game series with identical 7-1 records and they played like the top two teams in the division. But it was the Gators that came out on top, walking off the Bearcats in the bottom of the 11th inning for the game’s only run as the teams combined for just six hits — three apiece.

Thomas Barton singled home Drew Parker with the winning run, after Parker had doubled.

The game featured two of the top pitchers in the PAL, with Rallin Covey going for SHP and Christian Louie on the bump for San Mateo. Neither earned a decision, but both were nearly unhittable. Covey pitched into the ninth inning, giving up just two hits while striking out a dozen against no walks.

Louie was just as good, as he worked the first eight innings of no-hit ball. He struck out 11 and walked four. Chase Affrunti got the win for the Gators with 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief. Tyce Copus was the hard-luck loser, allowing an unearned run on three hits in two innings of work.

Terra Nova 3, South City 2

Tigers starting pitcher Jesse Martinez, coming off a no-hitter last week, posted another complete game in getting the win over the Warriors.

Martinez allowed one earned run while scattering seven hits, with seven strikeouts and no walks. He also helped his cause at the plate with an RBI double. Evan Wilson also doubled in a run and Aiden James drove in the other run for Terra Nova (6-3 PAL Ocean, 12-8 overall).

But for the first five innings, Terra Nova trailed, as South City (1-8, 7-14) took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. The Tigers were held scoreless until scoring twice in the top of the sixth for a 2-1 lead, but the Warriors tied it in the bottom half of the inning.

But Terra Nova pulled out the win with a run in the top of the seventh.

Diego Carranza had the only RBI for South City. Warriors starting pitcher Vince Bernal worked into the sixth inning, allowing no earned runs on five hits. None of the three Terra Nova runs were earned.

Aragon 6, Mills 3

The Dons rebounded from a sweep at the hands of Ocean leading Sacred Heart Prep last week by doubling up the Vikings.

Mills (0-9 PAL Ocean, 4-13 overall) took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second innings, but Aragon (5-4, 13-7) took the lead with three runs in the bottom of the third and two more in the fourth.

Mills closed to 5-3 with two runs in the sixth, but Aragon answered with a run in the bottom of the inning to post the win.

El Camino 7, Harker 1

The Colts stayed undefeated in PAL Lake Division action and opened up a two-game gap against the Eagles in a Lake Division showdown of the division’s top two teams.

El Camino (10-0 PAL Lake, 15-4 overall) showed who the boss was early, scoring two runs in the first and taking control with a four-run second.

Nicholas Jang homered and drove in two runs for the Colts, while Adrian Iniguez had a couple of sacrifice flies and an RBI single as he drove in a game-high four runs. Quentin Bromaghim got the win on the mound with a complete game effort. He kept Harker (8-2, 13-8) off the scoreboard for the first six innings and settled for a two-hit, one earned performance with seven strikeouts.

Priory 14, Crystal 5

Tied at 2-all after the first inning and trailing 4-3 after 3 1/2, the Panthers scored five in the bottom of the fourth, five more in the fifth before tacking on two more runs in the sixth to pull away from the Gryphons.

Nico Abad, Charlie Dyner, Christopher Campana and Ben Michaels all drove in a run for Crystal (2-7 PAL Lake, 2-10-1 overall). Priory improves to 6-4 in Lake play and 12-4 overall.

Westmoor 10, Jefferson 0

Rams’ starting pitcher Cristian Fausto limited the Grizzlies to just two hits as he tossed a complete game with 13 strikeouts.

After a scoreless first, Westmoor (3-6 PAL Lake, 6-7 overall) gave Fausto all the run support he would need with three runs in the top of the second. The Rams added single runs in innings three through five before closing things out with a four-run sixth.

Darragh Murphy and Leon Sakhel each drove in a pair of runs for Westmoor.

Jefferson falls to 0-10 in Lake play and 1-16 overall.

In other action ...

Half Moon Bay (5-4 PAL Ocean, 9-9 overall) took control early, scoring two runs in both the first and second innings on their way to a 6-2 win over Woodside (4-5, 10-9).

A 10-run second inning propelled Design Tech (10-0 PSAL, 11-6-1 overall) to a 21-3 win over KIPP-SJ Collegiate as Josiah Hernandez went 3 for 4 with four RBIs.

WCAL standings: St. Francis 8-1, Bellarmine 7-2, Valley Christian 6-3, St. Ignatius 6-3, Serra 5-4, Mitty 3-6, Sacred Heart Cathedral 1-8, Riordan 0-9.

PAL Ocean Division standings: Sacred Heart Prep 8-1, San Mateo 7-2, Terra Nova 6-3, Half Moon Bay 5-4, Aragon 5-4, Woodside 4-5, South City 1-8, Mills 0-9.

PAL Lake Division standings: El Camino 10-0, Harker 8-2, Priory 6-4, Westmoor 3-6, Crystal 2-7, Jefferson 0-10.