Prep roundup: Foothill rallies to beat No. 1 Granada in EBAL baseball clash

The Foothill Falcons scored two runs in the home half of the fifth and four more in the sixth to erase a three-run deficit and upset Granada 6-4 on Wednesday.

The Matadors, ranked No. 1 in the Bay Area News Group top 20, suffered their first East Bay Athletic League defeat after seven wins.

As dramatic as the victory was for Foothill, this was not a shocker. The Falcons came in eighth in the BANG rankings, and now have the same 15-4 overall record as Granada. The Matadors, with their 7-1 league record, do have a two-game edge over Foothill (5-3) in the EBAL standings.

Granada led 3-0 after four when the Falcons began their comeback.

A triple by Jack Fowler, two Granada errors and Hudson Flora’s sacrifice fly plated two runs, cutting the Matadors’ margin to 3-2. Fowler’s three-bagger was one of his four hits on the afternoon. He also had three singles and scored two runs.

Granada pushed across a run in the top of the sixth to go ahead 4-2.

In the bottom of the sixth, Aiden Tavares began the Falcons’ four-run rally with a walk. After a strikeout, Dylan Souza and Fowler followed with singles. George Schmitt drove in two with a single that tied the game at 4-4, and Landon Comerford broke the deadlock with a single that led to two more runs. The first run crossed on Comerford’s hit, the second was the result of a Granada error.

Foothill reliever Jackson Hoban was the winning pitcher, retiring all four Granada hitters he faced.

Joey Marasco was 3-for-3 with a double to lead Granada’s offense.

The Matadors scored their first three runs when Mikey Boyd scored on a wild pitch in the first inning, Tyler Kennedy came home on a sacrifice fly by Adrian Zambrano in the second and Peyton Richards singled home Zambrano in the fourth.

No. 2 De La Salle 2, San Ramon Valley 0

Junior right-hander Roman Bartosh allowed one hit and struck out 11 as the Spartans won for the 13th time in 14 games since beginning the season with two defeats.

De La Salle, 13-3 overall and 5-1 in the EBAL, pulled to within one game of Granada in the league standings. The teams are even in the loss column. Granada is 7-1 in the EBAL.

The Spartans scored both of their runs in the second. Alec Blair was hit by a pitch, then stole second. A bunt moved the Oklahoma-bound Blair to third, then Brandon Vargas knocked him in with the only run De La Salle would need. A double by Zach Tchejeyan drove in Vargas.

Ryan Gehrke was the hard luck losing pitcher. The junior allowed only three hits and pitched a complete game.

Michael Yribarren had the only hit for San Ramon Valley, which is 10-8, 4-4.

No. 6 Los Gatos 3, Homestead 2

Beau Musser scored from third base on a one-out error in the bottom of the seventh to hand the Wildcats their seventh win in a row. Los Gatos improved to 14-3 overall and 7-0 in the SCVAL De Anza, and hold a three-game lead over several teams tied for second.

Musser, a junior shortstop, began the deciding rally with an infield single. He then stole second and Julian McMahon was intentionally walked. Musser went to third on another steal, his 10th of the season, and came home on an error.

Chase Oberthier pitched the first 5⅓ innings for Los Gatos, then Baker Robinson retired the final five Homestead batters without allowing any of them to reach base.

Musser had a big day at the plate for the Wildcats, getting two of their four hits including a triple, scoring two runs and driving home a run.

Homestead outhit the Wildcats 5-4. The Mustangs tied the game at 2-2 in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Ajay Lohitsa, who had both RBIs for Homestead. The Mustangs are 9-9, 3-4.

Amador Valley 5, No. 7 Dublin 0

Amador Valley left-hander Brennan Baptist fired a four-hitter and blanked the Bay Area News Group’s seventh-ranked Gaels for only the second time in 20 games this season. The Dons’ senior also had two hits and scored a run.

Amador Valley (12-7, 4-5 EBAL) scored all the runs it needed in the home half of the first. Aaron Solomon singled, Kade Robertson and George Fagundes were hit by pitches, then Ryan Doan singled home Solomon. Robertson was out at the plate trying to score on Doan’s hit, but Fagundes scored Amador Valley’s second run on a single by Gavin Whalley.

Baptist walked two and struck out four while improving to 5-1 and lowering hs ERA to 1.94.

Dublin, 16-4 overall and 5-4 in the EBAL, suffered its second straight loss after a six-game winning streak. The Gaels were last shutout on March 26, losing 1-0 to De La Salle.

Brandt Nunemacher had two hits for Dublin.

No. 10 Leigh 3, Pioneer 2, 9 innings

The visiting Longhorns clawed back from a 2-0 deficit in the seventh with a pair of sacrifice flies, then won it in the ninth.

Cooper Low’s sacrifice fly with nobody cut Pioneer’s advantage to 2-1, then Marcus Glanville followed with his sacrifice fly to knot the score at 2-2. Justin Jeong and Michael Mogannam scored on the two fly balls.

Leigh pushed the go-ahead run across in the ninth when Aiden Phillips walked, stole second and raced home on an error following a Dylan Christian single.

The Longhorns are 16-2 on the season and 7-0 in the BVAL Mt. Hamilton. Both of their losses were by one run.

Pioneer (7-9, 4-3) gave it a go. The Mustangs built their 2-0 lead with single runs in the third and fifth innings. Easton Deguera singled home Elijah Fong to give Pioneer a 1-0 lead, then Ben Kennaday hit another single to drive in Preston Bright in the fifth.

Glanville pitched a gem for Leigh, allowing just one earned run over 7⅔ innings. Lance Takamura got the win by retiring the final four Pioneer hitters.

Mustangs starter Griffin Bacon was also outstanding, throwing five shutout innings before turning the game over to the bullpen.

No. 18 Menlo-Atherton 5, Sequoia 3

After falling behind against Sequoia 3-0 in the second inning, the Bears clawed back with four in the fourth, then added an insurance run in the sixth.

Menlo Atherton improved to 15-6 in all games and 7-1 in the PAL Bay. Sequoia is 9-9, 3-5.

Relievers Anthony Kabrich and Jimmy Zaharias combined for four shutout innings, allowing one hit, no walks and striking out four. Kabrich was the winning pitcher and Zaharias earned the save.

In the Bears’ fourth inning, MJ Ellazar drove in two runs with a double. Gianni Olivero’s RBI double in the sixth provided M-A with an insurance run.

Mario Fausto drove in two of Sequoia’s third-inning runs with a single.

No. 19 Castro Valley 5, Piedmont 0

The Trojans scored in three straight innings beginning with the third to win their fifth straight WACC Foothill contest.

Starting pitcher Scott Baldwin scattered six hits over the first 6⅓ innings, and Braden Spade got the final two outs. Spade also had a big game at the plate, driving in two runs with a double.

Castro Valley improved to 15-4 overall and 5-0 in league play. Piedmont is 12-6, 3-2.

Softball

No. 8 Mills 18, Terra Nova 3

The Vikings scored 11 runs in the first inning, and the game was called after four.

Lucy Esquivel led the charge with a homer, double, five RBIs and three runs scored. Teammates Sofia Kwan and Morgan Chu both hit a pair of doubles, four of the six two-baggers hit by the home team. Chu had three RBIs

Mills is 13-3-1 overall and 3-1 in the PAL Ocean. Struggling Terra Nova is 3-10, 0-5.

No. 10 Castro Valley 11, San Leandro 0

Sophomore Alanys Robertson pitched a two-hitter, homered and drove in three runs

The score was a little closer than the final margin makes it sound. Castro Valley led 5-0 until scoring three runs apiece in the fifth and sixth innings.

Robertson limited San Leandro to just two hits over six innings. She walked one and fanned eight.

On the offensive side, Kailey Armstrong and Zaylee Gutierrez joined Robertson in hitting homers. Gutierrez had three RBIs.

Castro Valley improved to 13-3. As for San Leandro, despite the one-sided defeat, the Pirates look bound for the postseason at 16-3.

No. 14 Alameda 3, Arroyo 0

Julia Lambert allowed only one hit and struck out 11 in this non-league matchup.

Lambert got all the run support she needed when the Hornets scored two runs in the second inning. Desiree Shablo was the offensive star, going 4-for-4 with two RBIs.

Amador Valley 10, No. 16 James Logan 8, 8 innings

The Dons built an 8-3 lead through four innings, then watched James Logan rally to tie the contest with five unanswered runs over the last three innings.

In the top of the eighth, Quinn Seltzer and Sarah Candland hit RBI groundouts, and Lauren Tran, who pitched all eight innings for Amador Valley, made it stand up. It was a classic case of grinding out a victory by Tran, who gave up eight hits and seven walks.

Seltzer had a nice day at the plate with two hits and three RBIs. McKenna Charbonneau led the Amador Valley offense, driving in three runs, scoring twice and belting two doubles and a triple. Ava Davis added three hits for the Dons.

Amador Valley improved its record to 9-10 with the non-league win over a ranked opponent.

Freshman Naliyah Orozco put on quite a display at the plate for James Logan (12-3-1). She knocked in five runs with a homer and double.