San Mateo County local sports roundup

Burlingame 2, Menlo 1

 A crucial late-inning error proved to be the difference and with the regular season coming to an end, both teams finish in a tie for second place in the PAL Bay division.

Both teams qualify for the Central Coast Section playoffs, as the top five teams out of the Bay get in.

The game was tied 1-1 in the bottom of the sixth inning when pinch runner Gino Lopiccolo stole third, forced a wild throw and then hustled home for what ended up being the game-winning run.

Both teams only managed five hits each as they got solid pitching performances out of their starters. Burlingame (9-5 PAL Bay, 13-9 overall) sophomore Jacob Cilia surrendered two hits in five innings of work while his Menlo counterpart, senior Justin Nam, threw 5 2/3 innings, striking out five and giving up five hits and five walks in the loss.

Both pitchers did an excellent job of keeping batters guessing with their off-speed pitches, but it was Burlingame sophomore Max Alvira who ended up getting the win .

Menlo (9-5, 16-9) had plenty of opportunities to score multiple runs, but they left 10 runners on base and stranded the bases loaded twice.

The game was scoreless until the Panthers hit three straight singles to get the first run on the board. Senior Chase Funkhouser drove in the run with a line drive down the third-base line.

After a two-out walk in the fifth, Menlo sophomore JC Ng smashed a pitch into the left-center gap for an RBI double that tied the game at 1-1.

In the top of the sixth, Menlo had a chance to take the lead. The count was full with bases loaded and two outs, but Alvira maintained his composure and got the clutch strikeout to keep the game tied. Burlingame then took the lead in the bottom half of the inning.

The Knights would not go down quietly in the final inning. A walk and a single put runners on first and third with only one out. Alvira struck the next batter out looking and then followed that by forcing a flyout to put an end to Menlo’s rally and the game.

Capuchino 6, King’s Academy 5

The Mustangs scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to beat the Knights and clinch the fifth and final automatic spot out of the PAL’s Bay Division.

Capuchino (7-7 PAL Bay, x-x overall) trailed 5-0 going into the bottom of the sixth when it scored four times. The Mustangs then won the game in walk-off fashion.

Devin Meyer and Jason Arsenault each drove in a pair of runs for Capuchino, while Kenneth Osterlund and Cruise Thompson had an RBI each.

Arsenault, Osterlund, Thompson all had two hits for the Mustangs as well.

Ryan Lapuyade earned the win in relief of Frank Pellegrini, who worked into the sixth inning.

Hillsdale 7, Sacred Heart Prep 2

The Knights dealt the Gators a serious blow to their playoff hopes by beating them in the regular-season finale.

A SHP (6-8 PAL Bay, 11-14-1 overall) win would have tied the Gators with Capuchino for the fifth place and would have gotten the final CCS berth by virtue of the season sweep of the Mustangs.

Hillsdale (4-10, 12-13) took control of the game with four runs in the top of the first. Sam Freeman led the Hillsdale offense with a pair of RBIs. Antonio Paolinelli, LP Lyssenko and Reese Barrelier all drove in a run as well for the Knights.

Braden Fitzgerald, a freshman, drove in both runs for SHP.

College track and field

CSM sends contingent to the state meet

Bulldogs sprinter Sophie Liao won both the 100- and 200-meter Northern California titles during the Nor Cal meet in Modesto.

She will be joined by a host of throwers, led by Taina Livai, who won the Nor Cal javelin title with a state-leading distance of 129-6, more than dozen feet further than the runner-up.

Livai also took third in the shot put with a distance of 39-10.

Teme Fanguna was fourth in the women’s shot put, with a mark of 39-9 1/4.

On the men’s side, Elijah Folau, the Coast Conference champion, took second at Nor Cal with a 48-6, nearly three feet behind the winner, Brenden Coffey of Butte, who is the state leader in the event.

Quincy Daniel took third in the javelin with a mark of 152-11 to also qualify for state.

Jafar Bucknal also qualified for state in the 400 hurdles. He ran a personal record 54.89 to take fourth.

College softball

San Mateo 1, Sequoias 0

The Bulldogs extended their winning streak to 33 games — barely — as they held off the Giants in the first game of their super regional meeting.

The best-of-three series continues today at noon at CSM. An if-necessary game would follow immediately after. The winner of the series goes to the state tournament.

Sophomore pitcher Emily McAdams was masterful for CSM (40-2), throwing a complete-game five hitter to improve to state-leading 29-1. She finished with 10 strikeouts.

Ally Sarabia supplied the offense for the Bulldogs, delivering an RBI single to drive in McAdams with the game’s only run in the bottom of the fifth.

College baseball

Sacramento City 9, San Mateo 5

The Panthers stayed alive and forced a winner-take-all finale Saturday by beating the Bulldogs in Game 2 of their best-of-three series.

CSM (31-13) took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first and tied the game at 2 with a run in the bottom of the fourth. Sac City (31-12) took the lead for good with a four-run fourth and added three more in the seventh as the Panthers banged out 15 hits.

Cole Sperling went 1 for 3 with a pair of walks and two RBIs to lead the CSM offense. Danny Carnazzo and Cole Gabrielson both drove in a run as well. Carnazzo was the only Bulldog with multiple hits, finishing with two.