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GRANADA: CHASE BEGINS FOR BACK-TO-BACK NORCAL TITLES
Granada had an all-time great baseball team last season.
The Matadors finished the year winning an East Bay Athletic League and North Coast Section Division I title and hosting a NorCal Division I plaque after beating St. Mary’s-Stockton.
They lost only one of their 33 games and became the first public school to win a NorCal Division I crown since the baseball regionals began in 2022.
But for Granada, one NorCal title isn’t enough. The goal for the Matadors this spring is to repeat, though they know winning a second in a row will be even harder than what they achieved last season.
“At the beginning of the season, it’s kind of hard to not look at last season and try to be better than last year’s team,” senior catcher Tommy Brown said. “But we realize that it’s going to be hard to be better than that team. So, we just got to be better and play like us and we’re just going to win EBAL then NCS and keep going.”
Granada has already surpassed its loss total from last season after dropping its season opener to St. Ignatius and losing to Alameda a few weeks ago. But the Livermore school has shown why it should still be one of NorCal’s top teams with wins over James Logan, College Park, Cardinal Newman, De La Salle and most recently Pittsburg.
The Matadors lost many of last year’s key seniors, a list that includes Stanford pitcher Parker Warner. But this year’s squad returns plenty of college talent.
Brown, an Arizona State commit, is one of the Bay Area’s top catchers. USC-bound pitcher Jake Sekany leads a deep pitching staff and infielder Tyler Kardy, a St. Mary’s commit, is slated to return to the lineup soon after sustaining an injury a few weeks ago.
“I don’t think anything changes with our approach,” Granada coach Corrigan Willis said. “Teams are gunning for us a little bit more this year and we welcome it because we want everyone’s best.”
– Nathan Canilao
MITTY ALUM WINS LUGE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
The weather is starting to warm up in the Bay Area. But for one Archbishop Mitty senior, nothing’s better than the cold.
Ellie Kleinheinz, a Santa Clara native, won the Junior (ages 19-21) women’s division of the Norton Junior National Championships on March 14 in Park City, Utah, topping the luge field at the event with a four-run combined time of 3 minutes and 0.871 seconds.
Kleinheinz has won gold in every national category she has entered, according to USA Luge. These include the Youth A (ages 13 and under) and Youth B (ages 14-18) titles in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
Kleinheinz trains in Lake Placid, New York, in the early wintertime before heading to Europe for more training and racing in January and February. The U.S. nationals in March represent the final event of the season.
Also a softball player at Mitty, Kleinheinz is committed to attend Salem State University outside Boston, where she will travel with Team USA Luge during the winter and return for the softball season in the spring.
– Christian Babcock
EL CERRITO: ‘VIETNAMESE VELOCIRAPTOR’ ON A ROLE
El Cerrito senior Warren Lieu still doesn’t know how he got the nickname “Vietnamese Velociraptor,” but he has been rolling with it.
“My wheels aren’t all that, but maybe it’s because I hit so hard,” Lieu said.
Lieu has been one of the key reasons for El Cerrito’s hot start. The senior has stood out in the infield, helping lead the Gauchos to a 9-5 start.
Against Salesian on Wednesday, Lieu’s bases-clearing triple in the fifth inning helped lead the Gauchos to a 6-1 victory in their league opener.
“We’ve been working a lot with him and just trying to have him use all parts of the field right now,” first-year El Cerrito coach Wayne Chin said. “I think it’s really starting to come together for him.”
– Nathan Canilao
SEQUOIA: SOFTBALL COACH DOES IT ALL
Sha Crockett just doesn’t have enough to do, it seems.
Sequoia’s softball coach has enough on his plate with one team. But would you believe he coaches three separate teams with the Ravens?
Crockett also serves as the football team’s running backs coach and special teams coordinator and played a key role as Sequoia made a run to the CCS Division V championship game last fall. His son Jordan was the Ravens’ star player and an all-Bay Area News Group honoree.
Sha Crockett also coaches Sequoia’s freshman basketball team. It’s the result of a love affair with the school, one that dates back to his own time as a student at what he calls “the finest school on the Peninsula.”
Her daughter Jada, Jordan’s twin sister, plays on his softball team, and his eldest daughter Maya, currently a junior at San Jose State, played softball and volleyball for the Ravens.
“This is my school, my alma mater,” Crockett said. “I love this place, and I love this school.”
He’s had three biological kids come through Sequoia, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have others too – in a manner of speaking.
“The only other kids I have are players that I coach,” Crockett quipped.
— Christian Babcock
ST. FRANCIS: STAR PITCHER COMMITS TO STANFORD
St. Francis isn’t far from Stanford, and for one South Bay softball player, it’s the perfect fit.
Lancers star pitcher Ava Bulanti announced her commitment to the Stanford softball team last Saturday, giving the Cardinal an ace they should be able to call upon in the coming years.
Bulanti has been a key contributor at St. Francis for years as a batter and pitcher. In seven games this season, she is hitting .650 and has allowed no runs in three appearances in the circle.
— Christian Babcock
7-ON-7 TOURNAMENT COMING TO THE BAY AREA
Some say April marks the start of baseball season. Others would contend that it’s playoff time, as the postseason nears in the NBA and NHL.
But for those who can’t get enough of high school football, there’s only one way to describe this time of year – time for spring ball.
While teams around the Bay Area hold spring practice sessions, some players choose to hone their skills in 7-on-7 play as well. The skill-based competition, which removes linemen from the game in favor of passing-oriented action, has been a key recruiting and development mechanism for high school players for decades.
A significant 7-on-7 event is coming to the South Bay next weekend. The aptly named 7on7 Association, a nationwide brand, is hosting a tournament at Wilcox High School from April 12-13.
247Sports’ Brandon Huffman, the website’s National Recruiting Editor, will be in attendance. Huffman is widely regarded as the leading college football recruiting insider on the West Coast.
“A lot of guys that haven’t had the opportunity to showcase anything in front of (scouts and coaches), this is an opportunity for them to go out there and do that,” said new Leland coach Anthony Herrera, who is involved with planning the event. “At the end of the day, it’s all about the community and the players, and giving them the best opportunity to be successful and be seen. Especially for some of those underrated guys.”
– Christian Babcock