Sports Briefs: COM women fall short in playoff thriller
Isobel Crosswhite put up the kind of impressive numbers she has all season, as College of Marin made its dramatic return to the playoffs after a 20-year drought. But the No. 21 seed Mariners’ drive for the upset came up short with a 64-59 loss to Skyline College in Wednesday’s opener of the California Community College Athletic Association playoffs
Trailing by 14 points after three quarters of play, the Mariners (16-11) stoked a furious rally to outscore Skyline 18-9 in the final frame.
Crosswhite finished the night with 20 points and 14 rebounds, while Jayden Davis added 14 points, four rebounds and four assists.
Lala Lautaimi led Skyline with 18 points and Tatiana Newsome followed with 13 points. The Skyline bench outscored Marin’s reserves 16-11.
Prep baseball
Maybe it was the wind or the bitter cold Thursday that froze the bats, or maybe it was just superb play but Redwood and Rancho Cotate went seven innings without scoring. Sam Gersch’s single to drive home Gavin Soper in the bottom of the eighth inning held up to give Redwood High a 1-0 victory over Rancho Cotate. Rex Solle threw five shutout innings for the Giants (2-0), who are scheduled to host Sacred Heart on Saturday.
College baseball
College of Marin continued to struggle against powerful rival Santa Rosa, as the Mariners lost 9-4 to the Bear Cubs, who scored five runs in the final two innings on Wednesday.
Marin is scheduled to play at San Mateo on Friday to start a home-and-home series. The Mariners are looking to end a three-game skid that includes back-to-back losses to Santa Rosa. The Bear Cubs swept the three scheduled meetings with Marin.
Marin’s Cam Appling was 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI. Lucas Schaefer and Steven Elsner each doubled for Marin (5-9), which is looking to end
San Marin alum Josh Idell threw the first three innings for the Mariners, as he surrendered one run on three hits and two walks. San Rafael grad Jake Verweil and Terra Linda product Zach Coleman came out of the bullpen for Marin, with Coleman pitching the final two innings to take the loss.
NCS playoffs
Marin Catholic saw a pair of its remaining teams get eliminated at the hands of University High of San Francisco on Wednesday night.
The fourth-seeded girls soccer team battled but ultimately fell 2-1 against the top-seeded Red Devils in the North Coast Section Division IV semifinals. The goal came following a corner kick taken by Alina Franchetti and scored by Sloane Carey to tie the game at 1-1 inside the first 15 minutes.
The boys basketball team, also seeded fourth, lost 82-42 against a top-seeded University squad that hasn’t lost since December. The Red Devils (26-3) have won 16 games in a row, including two blowout wins against both Marin Academy and San Domenico in league play.
Charles Williams led MC with 12 points on Wednesday night. Despite the loss, the boys basketball team is qualified for next week’s NorCal playoffs having made it to a section semifinal.