Prep roundup: Cal-bound ace Oliver de la Torre leads Amador Valley over Granada
Baseball
Pitchers’ duel: Amador Valley blanks Granada
Amador Valley right-hander Oliver de la Torre has spent the 2023 season making up for lost time after missing his junior year while recovering from Tommy John surgery.
If he’s not fully back, he’s pretty close. That was apparent Wednesday when de la Torre outdueled Granada’s Joshua Morano in the Dons’ 3-0 victory at Amador Valley.
The win might have been a mild upset. Amador Valley (15-5, 6-5 EBAL Valley Division) came in ranked No. 7 in the Bay Area News Group Top 20. Granada (16-5, 7-3) is No. 4. Granada holds a half-game edge over Foothill (7-4) in the division standings.
As good as these teams are, the real attraction was the pitching matchup. De la Torre is headed to Cal next season. Morano is going to Arizona.
“There are a lot of (big-league) teams following him,” Amador Valley coach Lou Cesario said of de la Torre. “He’s 6-4, weighs about 215 pounds and throws 92 miles per hour.”
Cesario said de la Torre, who will pitch at Cal next season, can also change speeds, throwing in the mid-80s within some of his other pitches. He began throwing in January after the surgery, Cesario said.
Wednesday, he threw 104 pitches, allowing four hits, walking three and striking out eight in six innings.
The game was scoreless until the sixth, when Braden Whitworth drilled a two-run triple with two out. Ross Kobayashi followed with his third hit of the day to make it a 3-0 game.
Morano worked 5⅔ innings, allowing 10 hits, walking one and striking out four.
No. 17 Burlingame 6, No. 15 Menlo-Atherton 5
Burlingame scored the winning run in the top of the seventh without the benefit of a hit. Dylan Kall and Charlie Happ walked, then they pulled off a double-steal of second and third. A groundout chased home Kall.
The win leaves Burlingame (13-3, 7-2) a half-game behind Menlo-Atherton (13-6, 7-1) in the PAL Bay Division standings. The teams play again Friday at Burlingame.
Aidan Alfers and Will Robbins homered for the victorious Panthers. Robbins’ hit a two-run shot.
“This was a big win in general,” Burlingame coach Shawn Scott said. “Considering they are in first place and how well they’re playing.”
Trevor Heinz had three hits and drove in three runs for Menlo-Atherton. Davis Phillips also had three hits.
No. 1 Valley Christian 13, No. 8 Serra 5
The Warriors (20-3, 11-0 WCAL) ran wild, stealing 10 bases against Serra (13-7, 5-6). Still, the game was close until the fifth, when Valley Christian erupted for six runs and an 11-4 lead.
Tatum Marsh and PJ Mountzourides had three steals apiece. Marsh also homered. So did Quinten Marsh. Mountzourides scored three runs, drove in two and had two hits.
Valley Christian, which now has a two-game lead over No. 2 Mitty (9-2) in the WCAL, has won eight in a row since losing to South Hills-Covina on April 5. The Warriors have outscored their opponents 80-17 during the win streak.
No. 3 De La Salle 5, Dougherty Valley 1
The home team didn’t make it easy on De La Salle. It was a 3-1 game until Max Ghiglieri hit a two-run homer in the sixth. It was his first of the season.
The Spartans (17-4, 9-1) clinched the EBAL’s Mountain Division with the win, their seventh in a row. San Ramon Valley was eliminated when it lost to California on Wednesday.
Smith Chandler accounted for two more De La Salle runs with a double in the third.
Jack Hershey went four innings for the win. He struck out six, allowed three hits and walked four. Spartans coach David Jeans said Hershey was throwing 92 mph.
No. 5 Los Gatos 8, Homestead 2
The Wildcats led 7-0 after three innings in a game that was never close. At 16-6 overall and 9-0 in the SCVAL De Anza, they have a two-game lead over Los Altos, which edged Palo Alto 5-4.
Carter Johnstone supplied the big bat for Los Gatos with three hits and three RBIs. One of his hits was a homer.
Sage Romero also had three hits. He doubled and scored two runs.
Los Gatos has won 10 in a row.
No. 9 Foothill 2, Monte Vista 1
The Falcons stayed within a half-game of Granada, breaking a 1-1 tie against Monte Vista with a run in the sixth. Foothill (13-6, 7-4) is a half-game behind Granada in the Valley Division.
Star pitcher Tyler Gebb had another strong outing for Foothill, yielding a run on five hits in six innings. He walked one and fanned nine.
Ronan French was nearly as good for Monte Vista. Both runs he gave up in six innings were unearned. He walked three and had five strikeouts. The Mustangs are 8-12-1 overall and 3-8 in league play.
California 3, No. 11 San Ramon Valley 1
Elijah Cernak delivered a three-run double in the second after San Ramon Valley scored its only run of the game in the first.
The Wolves were the one team in the EBAL Mountain that still had a chance to catch De La Salle before the beginning of play Wednesday. But the Spartans’ win over Dougherty Valley and San Ramon Valley’s upset loss to Cal took care of that.
Three teams from both EBAL divisions will head to the league playoffs after the regular season is complete, so SRV isn’t through. For that matter, either is California.
Junior Declan Casey pitched a gem for California, going all seven innings and allowing only an unearned run. He gave up five hits, walked one and struck out eight.
The Grizzlies are 9-11 overall and 5-5 in league play, and still very much in the playoff hunt.
Bishop O’Dowd 6, No. 12 Berkeley 3
The Dragons charged out to a 5-0 lead in the second inning en route to a surprise win over Berkeley.
Ben Skiles had three hits for Bishop O’Dowd. He scored twice and drove in a run. Leo Asfar hit his seventh homer of the season for Berkeley.
Bishop O’Dowd’s win tightened things considerably in the WACC Foothill Division. Berkeley and Alameda are both 5-2 and tied for first. The Hornets edged Arroyo 4-2. O’Dowd is a game behind the leaders at 4-3.
No. 14 Dublin 12, Livermore 1
Dublin scored four in the second and six in the fourth to build a 10-1 advantage. The Gaels (14-6, 6-5 EBAL Valley) are another team right in the thick of the divisional race.
Jaden D’Souza was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate. He drove in three runs and scored twice. For Carston Pearson, twos were wild. He had two hits, scored two runs and drove in two more.
No. 20 James Logan 12, Irvington 0
Micah Billings slugged a three-run homer in the fourth that made it 10-0, the same as James Logan’s record in the Mission Valley Athletic League. Billings had another hit and an RBI, giving him four RBI in the game.
Jesus Vazquez had a pair of doubles and three RBI. Jackson Garcia pitched four shutout innings. At the plate he contributed a double.
The Colts, who are 13-6 overall, lead second-place Washington (6-2) by three games, They have already beaten the Huskies twice.
Elsewhere
Senior Gregory Strite pitched a four-hitter to lead Evergreen Valley past Piedmont Hills 8-1 in the Santa Teresa League. Strite gave up an unearned run in the first. He walked one and struck out seven. He’s also done plenty of damage with his bat this season. He has a .450 batting average with 10 doubles and 20 RBI. Joel Reyes, Dylan Chan and Liam Wong each had two RBI for Evergreen against Piedmont Hills. Evergreen Valley is 7-1 in league play, a half-game behind Gilroy (8-1). Prospect is third at 7-2.
Softball
Liberty 9, No. 16 Freedom 5
The Lions turned on the power Wednesday, smacking three home runs in the victory over Bay Valley Athletic League rival Freedom.
Sophomore catcher Sadie Doctolero hit two homers and drove in six runs and Paige Breitstein also drilled a four-bagger. She had two RBI.
The game was tied 4-4 going into the seventh, when Liberty scored five runs.
Liberty and Freedom are even in the BVAL standings at 6-1. Freedom has the better overall record at 13-7. Liberty is 10-11 overall.
No. 1 Archbishop Mitty 12, No. 11 Valley Christian 4
The teams were tied 2-2 through three innings, then the Monarchs scored six in the fourth and three in the fifth to blow the game open. Mitty is 15-2 overall and 5-0 in the WCAL. Valley Christian is 11-6, 2-3.
Freshman McKenna Woliczko scored four runs, had three hits and drove in two. Woliczko, Megan Sutton and Corri Hicks has two RBI.
No. 2 St. Francis 9, Sacred Heart Cathedral 0
Kate Munnerlyn pitched a five-inning no-hitter. She had 11 strikeouts and didn’t walk anyone. An error separated her from a perfect game.
Carly Cummings led a 13-hit attack that included five doubles. Cummings went 3-for-3, scored three runs and drove in four.
The Lancers are 18-2 overall and 3-1 in the WCAL, putting them a game and a half behind Mitty.
No. 4 San Ramon Valley 7, Monte Vista 3
San Ramon Valley pulled a game ahead of arch-rival Monte Vista in the EBAL Mountain standings behind the strong pitching of Paige McLeod and a five-run top of the seventh.
The host Monte Vista Mustangs led 3-2 going into the seventh when SRV exploded. Ava Lyons singled home one run to break a 3-3 tie and Sophia Baccei homered. Baccei had three hits and three RBI.
Addie Layous, Samm Shah and Gianni Baccei had two hits apiece for the Wolves.
SRV is 16-4 overall and 8-2 in the EBAL. It has a one-game edge over Monte Vista (9-9, 7-3).
No. 5 Pinole Valley 11, St. Patrick St. Vincent 1
The game was close for three innings, then the undefeated Spartans (21-0) scored five runs in the fourth to take a 7-1 lead.
Kailani Tatro, who has pitched in every game for Pinole Valley, improved her record to an incredible 21-0, going the distance (six innings) and allowing five hits while striking out seven. Her ERA is 0.55 and she has 196 strikeouts.
Milanya Rosales led the offense with three hits. Melina Mendoza had a double and triple.
No. 14 St. Ignatius 7, Presentation 2
Presentation scored two runs in the first inning, then SI took over. It scored in five of the next six innings and put together a 17-hit attack.
SI freshman Gianna Galarza went 4-for-4. Another freshman, Delilah Berry, had three hits, as did Olivia Levitt.
St. Ignatius is 3-1 in the WCAL, tied with St. Francis for second place.
Leigh 14, Lincoln-San Jose 0
The Longhorns continued their incredible turnaround with a rout of host Lincoln in a BVAL Santa Teresa Division West game as Elise Haneta had three hits and knocked in three runs and Sophia Gandara pitched a two-hitter with 11 strikeouts to lead the way.
Under first-year coach Justin Oliver, the former baseball coach at Los Gatos, Leigh has gone from 4-24 last season to 13-6 this spring. The Longhorns are 5-0 in the league.
In the game Wednesday, Sam Vasquez added a double and three RBIs and Gandara and Elliana Snyder drove in two runs apiece.