Skyline College swept to turn Coast Conference North baseball on its head

College of San Mateo added to the shakeup by sweeping a three-game set from Cañada College to move into a second-place tie with Skyline. Fourth-place Cañada falls to five games back of first in the six-team conference, while trailing Skyline and CSM by three games.

Skyline (10-5 Coast North, 26-9 overall) was betrayed by its defense in the final innings of the series. After dropping Tuesday’s series opener 11-8, and falling Thursday 18-10, the Trojans were on the verge of salvaging Friday’s series finale. With the game tied 2-all, Skyline plated two runs in the seventh as freshman Josh Kaplan scored on a passed ball, and sophomore Trey Johnson delivered a sacrifice fly to take a 4-2 lead.

But the Gladiators (12-3, 17-17) scratched out an unearned run in the eighth when freshman Evan Wahilani Yau reached on a two-out throwing error to extend the frame. Sophomore Terrell Scott-Romain then cashed with with an RBI double to cut Skyline lead to 4-3. In the ninth, Chabot freshman Braden Spade opened the inning with a comebacker, but sped around second on an errant throw. Sophomore Jonathan Sheppard then delivered an RBI single to drive home Spade with the tying run, forcing extra innings.

Skyline stranded two baserunners in the top of the 10th and another in the 11th. Then Chabot took its first lead of the game, staging a game-winning rally with a one-out walk by Sheppard, followed by a Riley Winchell single. With two outs, freshman Luca Boccasile walked it off with an RBI single.

Winchell paced the Gladiators with four hits, including three doubles and an RBI. The freshman went 8 for 16 with eight RBIs in the series, including two home runs in Tuesday’s series opener.

Skyline sophomore reliever Franco Moran took the loss, allowing three runs (one earned) through 3 2/3 innings of work. Moran took over for sophomore starter Steven Dalton, who was in line for the win after seven innings of work, allowing two runs on five hits. Chabot sophomore left-hander Joshua Van Loon earned the win through one-third inning of relief, striking out Johnson with a runner on second to record the final out in the top of the 11th.

Sophomore slugger Vinny Smith hit a solo home run in the sixth for the Trojans, his seventh of the year. Smith also homered in Thursday’s loss, and has gone deep in five of his last eight games.

Ulrich’s gem caps CSM sweep

Sophomore right-hander Luke Ulrich fired seven shutout innings to lead College of San Mateo (10-5, 22-12) to a 6-2 win Friday at Cañada College to cap a three-game sweep. Ulrich allowed five hits, two walks and a hit batsman, while striking out five. His record improves to 2-1.

The Bulldogs led wire-to-wire, rallying for three runs in the top of the first. Sophomore Jeremy Wrona and freshman Carter Bleeker set the table with back-to-back hit by pitches, and freshman Jacob Prettol walked to load the bases. Freshmen Grayson Munoz and Joseph Hoskins followed with RBI groundouts to make it 2-0, and freshman Tyler Harrison delivered a two-out RBI single to cap the rally.

Bleeker and Prettol supplied RBI singles in the fifth, and Prettol produced a sacrifice fly in the ninth to give the Bulldogs a 6-0 lead. Cañada (7-8, 15-19) rallied in the ninth against CSM sophomore reliever JP McIntyre. But with one on and one out, McIntyre set down the last two batters in order, locking up with sophomore Cole Leschak for a nine-pitch at-bat to record a swinging strikeout to end it.

Bleeker was 3 for 4 with an RBI and two runs scored, upping his season average to .381.

CSM opened the series Tuesday with a 10-3 win in Redwood City, with Prettol going 3 for 5 with a home run. Freshman reliever Jack Molise worked five hitless innings to close it out. The right-hander entered in the fifth with the bases loaded and no outs, and stranded all three inherited baserunners. Just one runner reached against the Menlo-Atherton graduate on an infield error in the sixth. Molise went on to retire the last 12 batters he faces.

Sophomore catcher Ethan Lopez went 3 for 5 with a double and four RBIs in Thursday’s 10-4 win in San Mateo.