PLEASANTON — When Palo Alto’s Danny Peters stroked a run-scoring double in the top of the second inning Tuesday to drive in the first run of the game, the Vikings were feeling pretty good.
By the end of the inning, the good vides in the visitor’s dugout were long gone.
In the home half of the frame, Foothill sent 16 batters to the plate against three pitchers, 10 scored, and that was pretty much all the fourth-seeded Falcons needed to advance to the California Interscholastic Federation NorCal Division I semifinals Thursday at top-seeded De La Salle.
The home team added five more runs in the third and went on to a 15-5 victory that was called after five innings because of the 10-run mercy rule.
“That was an offensive explosion,” said third baseman Jack Basseer, the leadoff hitter in the Foothill lineup. “We didn’t really do much in the first inning, then we kind of figured him out. We wouldn’t stop. That really secured us the game right there.”
Both teams brought similar resumes to the field. Both captured league titles this spring. Both reached section finals last weekend. Both lost section finals in extra innings to powerhouse private schools.
Both were hungry to bounce back, to give themselves a chance to avenge the losses they had just suffered. Foothill wanted another swing at De La Salle, third-seeded Palo Alto another crack at St. Francis.
Foothill will get its shot.
The Falcons (26-5) rolled Tuesday even without its coach, Angelo Scavone, who wasn’t allowed to be at the field during the game because he was ejected for disputing a call in the North Coast Section Division I final on Friday.
Scavone said he will be back Thursday.
Don Galli handled the head-coaching duties against Palo Alto (26-7), and the players responded with an inning they won’t soon forget at the Pleasanton school.
“They didn’t need me,” Scavone said tongue-in-cheek after arriving at the field postgame. “I feel like I am not wanted. Nah, these guys are prepared and excited and they’re ready to go. We live another day.”
In the marathon second inning, Nick Walsh singled twice and came around to score both times, Basseer hit a two-run double and Payton McMillan and Evan Bilter each had run-scoring hits.
“All of our guys came ready to play today,” said first baseman Nate Novitske, who scored two runs in the second and another in the third. “Everyone was hitting the ball hard. We were just able to execute and drive runners in and get guys on base. It was a good inning.”
Jackson Flora pitched the first 3 2/3 innings for Foothill. Ryan Keenan took over from Flora and finished the game.
Tyler Gebb, Foothill’s 14-game winner, threw 114 pitches against De La Salle on Friday. He figures to be on the mound for the rematch Thursday, returning to the field where he pitched a complete game when Foothill beat the Spartans 4-1 on May 13 to capture the East Bay Athletic League championship.
“We have a lot of respect for De La Salle,” Scavone said. “Round 3 is going to be a 15-round battle.”
For Palo Alto, it was a difficult end to a superb season. Just last week, the Vikings ended Valley Christian’s four-season reign as Central Coast Section champions with a 7-0 victory in the Division I semifinals. But they couldn’t scratch across a run against St. Francis in the final and lost 1-0 in eight innings Saturday.
In previous years, that would have been the end of the season. But the CIF added NorCal regionals this season, creating another prize on the schedule.
Palo Alto won’t capture that crown, either.
“We played out of character, for sure,” coach Pete Fukuhara said. “Not to make any excuses. That’s a good ball club over there. It’s the first time we’ve gone this far in the year. I don’t know what we expected. We had our heart set on CCS all year. That’s what we were all talking about. Then we jump into this new thing. It was a little adjustment and we didn’t adjust quick enough.”
Photos: Foothill 15, Palo Alto 5
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