Ando Butner hit a first-inning leadoff homer and Jimmy Cusumano knocked in two more runs with a double later in the inning to lead fifth-seeded Acalanes past top-seeded Cardinal Newman 4-2 in the semifinals of the North Coast Section Division II playoffs on Wednesday in Santa Rosa.
Acalanes (16-10-1) will play No. 15 seed Rancho Cotate for the division crown Saturday at 1 p.m. at Diablo Valley College. Rancho Cotate beat Tamalpais in the other D-II semifinal.
The Dons scored three runs in the first and added another run in the third against Josh Jannicelli, rated by Baseball America as one of the top prospects in Northern California. The right-hander was ranked No. 235 among the top 500 college and high school draft prospects released this week by the publication. The UC Santa Barbara commit has a sub-1.00 ERA.
He was outdueled by Acalanes junior Branson Smith, who leads his team in wins and innings pitched. Smith pitched a complete game, allowing three hits, walking one and striking out three.
After Butner’s leadoff homer, James Stadt singled and David Gonzales drew a one-out walk. Cusumano then doubled to center.
Cardinal Newman (18-11) scored a run in the bottom of the first, but the Dons got that run back in the fourth when Gonzales singled home Keegan Goddard, who reached base on an error.
Acalanes lost its last three regular-season games before the playoffs.
Division IV
No. 13 Las Lomas 12, No. 8 Healdsburg 0
The Knights continued to make a shambles of the D-IV playoffs, scoring six runs in the third inning and four more in the fourth. The game was called after the fifth.
In three playoff games thus far, the lower-seeded Knights have outscored their opponents 20-1. They have allowed three hits.
Las Lomas has played all three games on the road.
Alessandro Martinez-Cabrera, Matthew Williams and Thomas Wood combined to allow only two hits against Healdsburg. They walked one and struck out eight. Martinez-Cabrera, who no-hit Fort Bragg in Las Lomas’ NCS opener, worked the first three innings. Williams and Wood each pitched an inning.
Jimmy Salinas and Harrison May did most of the damage at the plate. Salinas homered, doubled, scored three runs and drove in three. May had two hits, scored two runs and had two RBI.
Las Lomas (15-11-1) will play at No. 6 seed Clear Lake (19-5) on Saturday at 2 p.m. for the title. Clear Lake beat American Canyon 11-9 on Wednesday.
Division VI
No. 1 Swett 4, No. 4 Athenian 1
When James Gibson hit a leadoff double in the home half of the first, little did anyone know that would be Swett’s only hit of the game. As it turned out, the Warriors didn’t need another.
Gibson eventually scored on two wild pitches, then he crossed the plate again in the third when Swett scored three runs without getting a hit.
The Warriors (14-6-2) will host St. Mary’s-Berkeley for the D-VI crown on Saturday at 1 p.m. Swett has only won an NCS baseball title once before, in 2006. The school opened in 1927, the same year Babe Ruth hit 60 home runs.
Swett’s three-run third was the result of a series of errors, walks, wild pitches and passed balls.
Michael Golden and Adan Miranda split the pitching duties for Swett. They gave up five hits, walked four and struck out 10. The only Athenian run was unearned.
The Owls (14-12) had five hits, two by Wyatt Poage. Owen Williams had a hit and scored Athenian’s run.
No. 2 St. Mary’s-Berkeley 11, No. 3 Sonoma Academy 1
Despite a 6-18 regular-season record, the Panthers were seeded second in D-VI. In their first three playoff games, they have outscored their opponents 40-4.
Against Sonoma Academy (15-6), St. Mary’s led 8-0 after two innings. The 10-run rule ended the game after five innings.
Lucas Nitsan led a nine-hit attack with a homer, double, three runs scored and four RBIs. Logan Donoviel and Damien Nolan each had two hits, scored two runs and drove in two.
Softball
Division I
No. 3 Casa Grande 9, No. 2 Livermore 0
Case Grande dominated on the road to blank Livermore and advance to the NCS Division I final against top-seeded Liberty.
Lila Partridge pitched a one-hitter with nine strikeouts and Lauren Ketchu went 4 for 5 with two RBIs to lead Casa Grande (22-5-1).
The Petaluma school will be seeking its third straight NCS title and first in Division I when it plays Liberty at St. Mary’s College on Friday.
Livermore (19-10) will host Foothill on Friday in a third-place game that will decide which team will receive the section’s final CIF NorCal playoff bid.
Division III
No. 4 Alhambra 12, No. 9 Freedom 1
After being held scoreless through three innings, Alhambra exploded for six runs in the fourth and six in the sixth to rout visiting Freedom.
Senior Willa Adler did it all for the Bulldogs. In the circle, she scattered five hits and struck out five while allowing just one earned run. She also drove in three runs.
Sophomore Jolie Cortez chipped in with two RBIs.
Alhambra (16-10) will play San Leandro in the championship game at Diablo Valley College on Saturday.
Freedom finished 11-10-1.
No. 11 San Leandro 11, No. 2 Maria Carrillo 10
The Pirates pulled off a stunner in a back-and-forth game to advance to the Division III title game.
Down a run going into the fifth inning, San Leandro scored three to take a 10-8 lead. The Pirates added an insurance run in the top of the seventh when Malia Bromstead walked with the bases loaded.
Carrillo came close to tying the game after Erin Kelleher hit a two-out single that scored two runs. But San Leandro’s Marina Sacrey retired the final batter to seal the win.
San Leandro improved to 21-7. Carrillo dropped to 15-11.
Division V
No. 4 Miramonte 2, No. 1 McKinleyville 1
Miramonte is one win away from its first NCS softball championship in program history after the Matadors traveled to McKinleyville and beat the hosts in a tight semifinal.
Abby Warren pitched a complete game and had two hits herself and Maddie McKim and Avery Haynes scored the runs.
Miramonte took a 1-0 lead in the first. McKinleyville evened the score with an unearned run in the third and the visitors broke the tie with a run in the fifth.
The Matadors (17-8) advance to play Kennedy-Fremont (12-8) on Saturday at California School for the Deaf in Fremont for the title.
McKinleyville finished 15-14.
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