Jake Prettol had two hits and knocked in three runs and Matthew Tiendas tripled, doubled and scored three times to lead Wilcox to an 8-2 victory over Capuchino on Wednesday night in the semifinals of the Central Coast Section Division II baseball playoffs at Santa Clara University.
Wilcox will play third-seeded Hollister for the championship on Saturday at Excite Ballpark in San Jose.
Mateo Escobedo pitched four scoreless innings for Wilcox to close out the victory, striking out five and allowing one hit, after Eliah Laureles pitched the first three.
Wilcox led 3-0 after the first inning. Capuchino cut the margin to one with two in the third, but Wilcox pulled away with three in the fifth and two in the sixth.
Will Hafer had a hit and two RBIs for Capuchino, which finished 18-11.
Wilcox (21-8) will be aiming for its sixth section baseball championship in school history but first since 2014.
Division II
No. 3 Hollister 8, No. 2 Menlo-Atherton 2
The Haybalers made fast work of Giants manager Bob Melvin’s alma mater, scoring five runs in the third inning for a 7-0 lead.
The Bears (21-8) didn’t score until the bottom of the seventh when a pickoff attempt with a runner on third was thrown away. Ryder Kelly singled for M-A’s second run.
Hollister (20-8) had 11 hits. Jake Esparza had three RBIs.
Division III
No. 3 Willow Glen 10, No. 7 Los Altos 8
Despite being outhit 6-4, the Rams will play in the D-III championship game. Willow Glen was assisted by seven walks and four Los Altos errors.
The game’s turning point was the bottom of the fifth, when the Rams (23-6) scored six runs. Triples by Miles Austin and Ben Mudgett accounted for all but two runs. Austin’s triple came with the bases loaded. Willow Glen trailed 4-2 before the six-run uprising.
Joshua Kaminski drove in three runs for Willow Glen.
Emmett Heath led the Los Altos (20-9) offense with a pair of doubles.
Softball
Division II
No. 7 San Mateo 2, No. 6 Everett Alvarez 1
The Bearcats are headed to the D-II championship game, with a roster made up entirely of freshmen and sophomores.
Shortstop Alice Han, a sophomore who leads San Mateo (16-9) with 37 runs scored, 25 RBIs and 17 extra-base hits, drove in the winning run Wednesday with a two-out single in the top of the seventh at Capuchino High.
Destina Zhou began the winning rally with a two-out single. She then stole her 12th base of the season and came home on Han’s single to center.
Related Articles
Kate Skinner strikes out 11 as Liberty beats Foothill to clinch NCS title game berth
NCS roundup: Acalanes takes charge in first, upsets Cardinal Newman in D-II semifinals
Hayden Hummel’s HR ignites St. Francis into CCS Open softball final
CCS, NCS scores: Wednesday’s baseball, softball results, championship game matchups
Serra’s six-run third inning powers Padres past St. Francis in CCS Division I semifinals
San Mateo scored its first run in the fourth, also after two were out. Celia Hernandez doubled and Rachel Warner singled to right to tie the game at 1-1.
Anushka Singh was the winning pitcher, working the first 6⅓ innings. The only run she allowed, in the first inning, was unearned. She improved her season’s record to 10-7. Hernandez recorded the last two outs for her sixth save.
Alvarez, located in Salinas, fell to 16-12. Senior Dani Amendola was the hard-luck losing pitcher. Only one of the two runs she allowed was earned. She walked one, yielded five hits and struck out 10.