Prep roundup: St. Francis, Benicia baseball take down top-ranked teams, Livermore softball survives challenge
BASEBALL
St. Francis 6, Serra 4
St. Francis was on a four-game losing streak and had just lost to the powerhouse Padres by 15 runs a few days ago. Every sign pointed to another big Serra win on Tuesday afternoon.
As the saying goes, that’s why they play the games.
Tysen Ellis hit a double and triple and drove in a team-high three RBIs for St. Francis in one of the surprises of the day. Fellow senior Luke DeVine also went 2 for 3 and had two RBIs, and sophomore Gino Cappellazzo scored twice.
Chris Han pitched five solid innings, giving up just one run and striking out three while allowing just two hits. Serra was able to put up three runs in a furious rally in the top of the seventh, but the Padres couldn’t complete the rally.
St. Francis improved to 9-12-1, 3-6-1. Serra dropped to 17-4, 8-2.
Benicia 8, Acalanes 1
Benicia did everything right while everything seemed to go wrong for Acalanes in a dominant victory for the visiting Panthers in a Diablo Athletic League game.
The top four hitters in the Benicia lineup – Peyton Rowles, Stevie Todd, Myles Cooper and Wyatt Miyamoto – combined for seven RBIs, with the other scoring hit contributed by No. 9 hitter Abdi Maas.
Pitcher Dominic Louro got the win after he pitched 5.1 innings and allowed just one earned run on four hits for Benicia (12-6, 4-1). Acalanes (17-2, 3-2) lost for the second time all year after committing five errors.
Since winning their first 17 games, the Dons are now on a two-game skid against league opponents. College Park beat Acalanes 5-1 last week.
Valley Christian 4, Archbishop Mitty 0
At least one Top 3 team came out of Tuesday unscathed. Stanford commit Quinten Marsh pitched another gem for the reigning Central Coast Section champions, allowing just one hit and striking out four in six innings in the Valley Christian victory.
The bottom half of Valley’s lineup gave him all the run support he needed to cruise to the victory. Rocco Muccilli, Kole Laubach and Brock Ketelsen each had an RBI for the Warriors, which improved to 20-3 and 7-2 in WCAL play.
Andrew Sauceda had the only hit of the day for Archbishop Mitty (13-9-1, 5-3-1).
Westmont 1, Pioneer 0
Westmont’s winning ways in Tony Pianto’s first year back as head coach continued on Tuesday thanks to a great outing from senior Mason Pound.
Pound, who started at quarterback for the football team this fall, threw a two-hit complete game, striking out five and walking none. His Pioneer counterpart Ryan Webber went six innings and struck out four.
Bryce Corbett drove in the winning run in the sixth inning when his single got Lakin Anderson across the plate. Westmont improved to 16-6 and 9-4 in Blossom Valley Athletic League play. Pioneer dropped to 10-11, 6-7.
SOFTBALL
Lincoln-San Jose 10, Piedmont Hills 4
Lincoln senior Gianna Crouch had five RBIs as the Lions put up five runs in the sixth inning to separate from Piedmont Hills in a matchup of top teams in the Blossom Valley Athletic League.
Freshmen Jocelynn Perez and Serenity Hernandez combined for five hits and five runs scored for Lincoln (13-3, 8-0). Michelle Torres went 3 for 4 with two RBIs for Piedmont HIlls, which dropped to 11-5, 4-3.
Livermore 2, Foothill 1
The host Cowboys put up two runs in the second inning and then held on in a tight East Bay Athletic League showdown with Foothill.
Livermore’s Sophia Gerochi had an RBI, and freshman teammate Payten Williams was 2 for 3 with the team’s other RBI. Kaci Norton went the distance for the hosts, striking out six, walking none and allowing a single unearned run.
Livermore improved to 17-4, 9-1 while Foothill dropped to 11-7, 4-6.
Hillsdale 9, San Mateo 0
Ace pitcher Alexis Kuka threw a two-hit complete game as Hillsdale rolled to an easy victory over crosstown opponent San Mateo in a Peninsula Athletic League game. Kuka also helped her own cause at the plate and drove in two runs.
Liana Mack had two hits for Hillsdale, and senior Claire Shelton went 1 for 4 with an RBI as the Knights improved to 19-3, 7-2. Senior Nia Mapa had a double for San Mateo, which dropped to 7-8, 5-4.