Softball
Postponed game: Granada survives
It took two days and 10 innings, but Granada’s softball team avoided an upset loss.
The Matadors, ranked No. 1 by the Bay Area News Group, outlasted 11th-ranked California 9-7 to remain undefeated in East Bay Athletic League play as Saskia Raab homered, doubled twice and knocked in five runs to lead Granada to the road victory.
“She’s probably been hitting the ball the best out of anybody on our team right now,” coach Johnny Heinz said.
The score was tied 4-4 after six innings when wet weather Thursday postponed the remainder of the game until Friday.
Granada scored five runs in the top of the 10th and held off the Grizzlies in the bottom half to improve to 18-1 overall and 8-0 in the EBAL.
California fell to 11-4, 4-2.
Granada, coming off winning the prestigious Livermore Stampede last weekend, also got two hits and two runs from Sarah Deplitch and a single and two RBIs from Alecsis Phillips.
Heinz said his team responded well.
“A couple of our kids weren’t on their ‘A’ games,” the coach added. “That’s just the way it was. The rest of the kids kind of picked it up. We played well together. It’s just like I’ve told them the whole year long, ‘It doesn’t have to be your day as long as it’s our day.’ That’s been kind of our theme.
“Playing for each other has been kind of a cool thing. They’ve bought into that idea.”
Big day for No. 14 Benicia
Benicia, the only team to beat Granada this season, defeated Sonoma Valley 11-0 and Casa Grande 5-2 on Friday.
Robynn Balmediano had three hits, scored twice and drove in two runs and Sinead Maas and Braxton Brown combined for 18 strikeouts against Sonoma Valley.
Kyra Mason had two hits, including a triple, and an RBI against Casa Grande as Benicia ran its record to 10-4.
No. 10 Branham 10, Pioneer 6
Branham, playing on the road in San Jose, built a 9-1 advantage through three innings and held on to beat Pioneer in a Blossom Valley Athletic League Mt. Hamilton Division game.
Kaila Czarny doubled twice and went 3 for 5 and Abigail Fales and Emma Fales each drove in two runs for Branham (14-5, 3-3).
Sadie Heming was 2 for 4 with a double and Eleri Kane knocked in two runs for Pioneer (4-13, 3-3).
No. 12 Pinole Valley 12, Bethel 0
Kailani Tatro drove in four runs and combined with Briana Swihart to pitch a five-inning one-hitter as Pinole Valley rolled past host Bethel in Tri-County Athletic League Rock Division play.
Pinole Valley (14-2, 7-0) scored six runs in the second inning and five in the third.
Bethel fell to 1-8, 0-8.
No. 16 Santa Teresa 21, Leland 2
Kokoro Sagae went 5 for 5 with two home runs, two doubles and six RBIs and Kassandra Soria was 4 for 4 with two homers, a triple and five RBIs to power Santa Teresa past host Leland in a BVAL Mt. Hamilton game called after five innings.
Santa Teresa broke open the game with nine runs in the third and six in the fourth as the Saints improved to 12-4, 5-1.
Shelby Hood had two hits and an RBI for Leland (8-9, 3-3).
No. 17 Willow Glen 12, Christopher 8
Trailing 8-6, Willow Glen scored six runs in the home half of the sixth inning to beat Christopher in a non-league game.
Sienna Wilson had three hits, knocked in three runs and scored twice and Anaya Zambrano had two RBIs for Willow Glen (17-2). Both are freshmen.
Christopher is 3-12.
Baseball
Dougherty Valley 3, No. 4 Foothill 2
Winless in EBAL games heading into Friday, Dougherty Valley ended the drought by beating the only team that had not lost in league play.
The Wildcats (12-6, 1-6) scored two in the home half of the sixth to erase a 2-1 deficit and held on in the seventh to beat Foothill (15-2, 5-1).
Ethan Hsu went 3 for 3, drove in two runs and scored a run and Cody Williams had two hits for Dougherty Valley.
Trevor Harmon and Jack Dubos each had two hits for Foothill, which had won its previous 10 games.
No. 7 California 1, Granada 0
Nic Bronzini struck out a career-best 14 in a three-hitter as California edged Granada in EBAL play.
It marked the seventh time this season and the 12th time in his four-year high school career that the 6-foot-3, 237-pound Bronzini reached double digits in strikeouts.
His previous career-high was 13, in a 3-1 victory over Amador Valley last April.
Dean Meddaugh’s second-inning RBI accounted for the only run Friday as California improved to 15-3, 5-2.
Granada fell to 12-6, 5-2.
Branham 9, No. 11 Leigh 7
Liam Thompson went 3 for 4 with a homer and three RBIs and Sean Murphy had two hits and three RBIs to lead Branham past neighborhood rival Leigh in a BVAL Mt. Hamilton game.
Branham (14-4, 5-1) scored two in the visitor’s half of the seventh to break a 7-7 tie as it completed a two-game sweep of the Longhorns.
Dom Panella and Damien Velasquez each had two hits for Leigh (13-5, 4-2).
No. 19 Santa Teresa 2, Leland 1
Riley Breton’s two-run single in the bottom of the seventh lifted Santa Teresa to a victory over Leland in BVAL Mt. Hamilton play.
Josh Pedronan allowed one run in six innings and Anthony Dela Cruz pitched a scoreless inning for Santa Teresa (15-4, 6-2).
Leland, which beat Santa Teresa 5-4 on Thursday, fell to 6-10, 4-4.
No. 20 Berkeley 6, Pinole Valley 3
Manny Selles homered and had two RBIs and EJ Cord had two hits and scored twice as Berkeley beat Pinole Valley in a non-league game.
Berkeley improved to 12-5. Pinole Valley is 12-8.
Source: www.mercurynews.com