Stars align for Hillsdale; Three San Mateo County baseball teams also playing for CCS titles

Standing between the third-seeded Knights and their first title in 26 years is top-seeded Notre Dame-Salinas (24-6), which will be looking for its 16th CCS title. The Division II championship game is at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at San Jose’s PAL Stadium.

“If you asked me a month and half ago if we would be in the CCS finals, I would have laughed,” said Hillsdale coach Randy Metheany, who also happened to be the coach during that 1991 championship season.

It hasn’t been all smooth sailing for the Knights. After capturing the Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division title in 2016, they sputtered to a 6-8 mark this season and lost three of their last four going into the playoffs.

But the Knights loaded up on quality non-league opponents and the rigors of the Bay Division certainly prepared them for this moment.

“I always play a tough schedule. We beat four league champs,” Metheany said. “At the same time, we’ve been up and down. Right now, we’re in an up cycle. They’re feeling good about themselves. I think the kids have learned … they shouldn’t be scared of anybody. But you have to [perform] on that (championship) day. That two-hour window.”

Counting this season, Hillsdale (19-11) has made five straight semifinals appearances and seven of the last nine. Yet these talented teams could never quite get over the hump.

But the 2017 squad, one that features just two seniors in first baseman Gabby Mataele and outfielder/pitcher Karinna Chong, is the team that finally found the right combination of skill and good fortune to finally advance to the CCS Division II championship game.

“I have to give credit to the kids. [The coaching staff has] let them evolve,” Metheany said. “[Saturday] we have to play well. Defensively, we’ve been playing real good and (starting pitcher Kealani Kaufusi) has been spot on. We gotta hit the ball and put pressure on them (Notre Dame-Salinas) to make plays.”

Kaufusi lost her last four regular-season starts, but is 3-0 in CCS, having allowing just three runs in 19 innings of work.

In addition to being the team’s starting pitcher, Kaufusi is also the team’s best hitter. Her .461 batting average helped the Knights hit over .300 as a team. Bella Zalba, who leads the team with 27 runs driven in this season, snapped out of a late-season funk and has broken out in the playoffs, driving in five runs over the last three games.

The Knights won’t be facing an unfamiliar opponent in the Spirits. They will be see many of the same faces who beat Hillsdale 4-3 in last year’s semifinals, including starting pitcher Vanessa Gonzalez, who allowed three runs on four hits, while striking out six a year ago. Gonzalez pitched a five-hit shutout in a 2-0 win over Notre Dame-Belmont in Wednesday’s semifinal game. Gonzalez is 21-1 on the season, with an ERA in the low twos. Offensively, the Spirits are batting .366 as a team and are led by senior Spencer Hyosaka, who is batting .423 with 27 RBIs, 11 doubles, three triples and three home runs.

If you’re looking for any kind of pattern, Hillsdale beat Notre Dame-Belmont 4-3 earlier this season in a non-league game.

“Notre Dame-Salinas has been great for 25 years. They get the best of the best (players in its county),” Metheany said. “But I don’t care who it (is you’re facing). I know how hard it is to win that last game.

“You gotta hope the ball bounces your way.”

Baseball

Open Division championship

No. 15 Serra (17-13) vs. No. 13 Valley Christian (21-11-1)

7 p.m. San Jose’s Municipal Stadium

These two teams were at the complete opposite ends of the spectrum by the end of the season. Valley Christian wobbled out of the gate to start the year, before finishing with a flourish, winning 11 of its final 13 games.

Serra, on the other hand, stumbled down the stretch, losing eight of its final nine games.

None of that matters now, however, as both ran the table in Open Division play to make it to the finals. The Warriors beat fourth-seeded Willow Glen 10-3 in the first round and outlasted No. 5 Santa Cruz 1-0 in the quarterfinals. They punched their ticket to the championship game with another close win, 3-2 over No. 16 Mitty.

The Padres knocked off No. 2 Carlmont, 5-2, in the first round, followed by wins over No. 10 Los Gatos (7-3), a team that beat the Padres 9-1 April 29, and No. 6 Palma (7-2).

What does matter is the fact the Warriors swept the season series from the Padres. Serra dropped a 3-0 decision in March and then were on the short side of a 5-4, nine-inning contest in late April.

Serra is looking for its first CCS title since 2009, while Valley Christian last won it in 2012.

Division II championship game

No. 8 Burlingame (14-12-1) vs. No. 11 Menlo School (18-10-1)

1 p.m. San Jose’s Municipal Stadium

The Panthers had to win two of their final three PAL Bay Division games to secure a tie for fourth place with Sequoia in the standings, thus earning one of the division’s five automatic playoff berths.

The Knights, the defending Division II CCS champs, won the PAL Ocean Division title by two games over Half Moon Bay. The Knights were just 6-7-1 outside of division play, but won the Ocean crown with a 9-3 mark. Counting the three CCS games, Menlo is riding a four-game winning streak.

In three CCS games, Burlingame has allowed just four runs. The Panthers beat No. 9 King City 8-1 in the first round before knocking off top-seeded Sacred Heart Cathedral 3-1 in the quarterfinals. They then slipped past Live Oak in the semifinals, 3-2.

Menlo has also been stingy in allowing opponents to score in the postseason, having allowing just six runs. The Knights beat a pair of PAL rivals in the first two rounds — No. 6 El Camino 10-3 in the first round and slipping past No. 14 Half Moon Bay 2-1 in the quarters. They earned their second straight trip to the Division II title game with a 7-2 win over No. 7 St. Francis-Watsonville in the semifinals.

Burlingame last won a CCS title in 2010, while Menlo is the defending Division II champion.