Granada captures EBAL baseball tournament title after trusting in pitcher’s wipeout slider
LIVERMORE – Even when Granada was down by one, two, three then four runs, Jake Sekany maintained an unshakable faith in his best pitch during the East Bay Athletic League tournament championship game.
No, he wasn’t leaning on an overpowering 95 mile-per-hour four-seamer to get him out of trouble after convincing coach Corrigan Willis to keep him in.
The junior righthander maintained his belief in a slower but equally effective pitch, a wipeout slider that dropped off a cliff to his glove side. His belief was rewarded after the Matadors ambushed visiting San Ramon Valley in a six-run fourth inning.
Sekany locked in from there, throwing three more scoreless innings after that to complete a 14 strikeout complete game on Friday afternoon. Granada captured the tournament title 6-4 after winning the regular season crown.
“After they scored those runs, I felt more confident than ever,” a chilly Sekany said after his teammates doused him in ice water. “I actually didn’t throw that slider until this season, but it’s been really effective for me.”
Sekany had an uneven first three innings. While his first nine outs came on strikeouts, many on his trademark slider that left SRV hitters with buckling knees, he also gave up plenty of contact.
San Ramon Valley had reached the championship by defeating De La Salle 8-2 in Concord, and early on, it appeared as if that momentum had carried over.
Jake Hensley had two RBIs at the bottom of SRV’s batting order, and Lucas Glazier hit a double and drove in a run. Steady first baseman Julian Cambra also went 1 for 3 with an RBI as San Ramon Valley jumped out to 4-0 lead at the end of three innings.
“The quality of this league is unbelievable,” SRV coach Justin Hughes said. “It’s a lot of good baseball, and we got them last year and they got us this year. Hopefully, we’ll see them in a couple weeks.”
Granada coach Corrigan Willis considered putting Stanford commit Parker Warner in, but Sekany convinced the coach to trust in the junior.
“Every time I go out, he’s been lobbying to stay in,” Willis said. “This is the first time I actually agreed with him … he proved himself right.”
That’s when the Granada juggernaut offense, the team that entered the game with 25 wins and only one loss to its record, the team powerhouse that blanked Monte Vista 9-0 in the semifinals, finally showed up.
The Matadors batted around, starting with Riley Winchell’s leadoff single into left field. A.J Martinez followed up with another single into left, and then starting quarterback Quinn Boyd loaded the bases with a third single through the left side of the infield.
Centerfielder Tyler Kardy finally gave the home crowd something to cheer about when he cut the deficit in half with a double, and then that cheer turned into a roar when leadoff hitter Tommy Brown tied the game on another double.
Mikey Boyd’s double, Granada’s fourth of the inning, broke the deadlock and gave Sekany the cushion he needed.
“We never felt like we were down, because the dugout was loud the whole time,” Mikey Boyd said. “All we needed was one good inning, and we got that.”
Sekany retired the last 15 batters he faced in a row, befuddling the Wolves (16-10) with a a diverse set of pitches, and getting some help from shortstop Nate Brown on a couple of plays.
The starter’s 14 strikeouts blew away his previous season-high of nine, set against Dougherty and Reno-Nevada.
Granada (26-1) won’t have much time to enjoy the victory, as the Matadors are expected to be the top seed in the NCS Division I playoffs when the seeds are announced on Saturday.
Then it will be on to preparing for their next opponent, the first of what they hope is a championship run that goes through Livermore.
“We’ll probably be the No. 1 seed, so we’ll be home for every game, and we’ve got some great crowds coming out and supporting us,” Sekany said.