NCS championship roundup: Berean Christian outlasts St. Bernard’s for D-V softball crown
NCS softball
Division V
Berean Christian found a way to rally on Friday after St. Bernard’s scored two runs in the top of the seventh to take the lead.
The Walnut Creek school answered with two in the home half of the seventh to capture the North Coast Section Division V championship with a 10-9 victory over its Eureka opponent in a game played at Clayton Valley Charter.
Emmalyn Decarlo, Irene Smith and Audrey Longtin each drove in two runs as the fifth-seeded Eagles won their third section title in program history and first since 2017.
Berean Christian led 5-1 through two innings.
After sixth-seeded St. Bernard’s scored three in the third to cut the margin to one, Berean responded with two in the fourth.
St. Bernard’s tied the score with three in the fifth.
Berean went back in front with a run in the sixth, but two more St. Bernard’s runs put the home team behind heading to the final half-inning.
An error accounted for the winning runs.
Berean improved to 13-6. St. Bernard’s is 19-10.
Division II
No. 1 Casa Grande 2, No. 2 Livermore 0
Livermore’s quest for a second section championship fell short as Lila Partridge pitched a two-hitter with nine strikeouts to lead Casa Grande to the Division II crown at San Marin High.
Abby McSweeney knocked in both Casa Grande runs, one on a homer. The Petaluma school scored one in the fourth and another in the sixth as it improved to 23-2.
Kaci Norton pitched all six innings for Livermore, which fell to 24-6.
NCS baseball
Division V
No. 5 Branson 11, No. 2 Head-Royce 3
Head-Royce will have to wait at least another year for its seventh NCS title as the Oakland school could not slow down Branson in the Division V final.
Branson put the game away with four in the fifth and three in the sixth.
Cooper Tenney doubled, tripled and drove in four runs and Liam Parrot had two hits and three RBIs to lead the way.
Ezra Goldfarb finished with three hits, including two doubles, and scored twice for Head-Royce.
Branson improved to 12-15. Head-Royce is 18-6.