Granada completes near-perfect season with CIF NorCal championship

The East Bay Athletic League finished the 2023-24 school year with a bang as Tri-Valley captured the CIF NorCal Division I baseball and softball championships.

The Granada baseball team completed a near-perfect season by defeating St. Mary's of Stockton 6-4 on Saturday, June 1 to close out the season 32-1.

The Amador girls finished the season with a seven-game winning streak, ending it with a 13-11 victory over Oak Ridge at El Dorado Hills in the championship game.

Here's how the week went for the two title teams…

Granada Baseball

It was simply an incredible season for the Matadors, who lost 5-2 to Amador Valley on April 10, a far cry from a perfect season and a likely Top 5 national ranking.

While Granada came through the regular season with both offense and fire, when it came to the playoffs, it was all about the young men on the mound.

In the seven playoff games, the Matadors pitching staff allowed six runs, including four in the NorCal championship game.

In three CIF playoff games, top-seeded Mats opened with a 2-1 win over Clovis West, then followed with a 5-0 victory over De La Salle in the semifinals.

The win over De La Salle was the third of the season against the Spartans – it has only happened once in EBAL history.

De La Salle has averaged over eight points per game this year and had a five-game stretch in which they averaged 18.4 points per game. But Granada's staff held them scoreless for 21 straight innings in the North Coast Section finals and CIF semifinals.

In the win over Clovis West, it was a four-man shooting effort. Logan Robinson went four innings, AJ Hattaway 2.2 innings, Jake Sekany one inning and Mason Ravera one inning.

Nate Brown had two hits and scored a run. For the second straight game, AJ Martinez scored the game-winner, driving in the winning run in the bottom of the seventh.

In the semifinal against De La Salle, it was ace Parker Warner. The Stanford-bound senior went the distance, allowing just four hits and striking out two.

Granada's defense was impressive, committing only one error. On offense, Tommy Brown and Martinez had two hits, while Nate Brown, Peyton Richards and Riley Winchell drove in runs.

In the final, the starting mission was entrusted to Sekany — and he did not disappoint.

The junior, who will be one of next season's top pitchers, struck out the team in the first and finished with seven strikeouts in his four innings.

Luke Palma entered the game and pitched 1/3 inning, with Hattaway going 2-2/3 innings to close out the game, allowing only one hit.

As for the offense, the Matadors continued to put the ball in play, which was crucial as St. Mary's committed six errors in the game and Granada took full advantage.

In the second inning, Granada scored five times, aided by three Rams errors. A clutch single to center with two outs by Nate Brown scored the first two runs.

A Tommy Brown grounder to third was thrown out at first, making the score 3-0. Warner closed out the inning with a two-run single and the lead was 5-0.

St. Mary's made things interesting in the fourth, scoring three times. And when the Rams pushed one in the fifth, it was a one-run game at 5-4.

Granada got the insurance shot it needed in the sixth when Tommy Brown made a blooper in the outfield, scoring Tyler Kardy for a 6-4 lead.

In the seventh quarter, Hattaway got the first two batters, then gave up a two-out single, bringing in Michael Quedens, the Rams' leading hitter.

Quedens led St. Mary's in average (.459), home runs (5), hits (51) and RBIs (33). Scary numbers, but Hattaway got Michigan's commitment to fly out to finish the game and start the celebrations.

Amador Valley Softball

On May 7, when the Amador Valley softball team lost 2-1 to California in the first round of the EBAL playoffs, the Dons fell to 12-11 on the season and the odds for postseason success playoffs didn't look good.

There's that old saying that looks can be deceiving – and with the Dons, they've brought that statement to life.

Last Saturday night (June 1), the Dons capped an incredible playoff run by defeating Oak Ridge of El Dorado Hills 13-11 in extra innings to win the CIF NorCal DI Softball Championship.

And it was a road well traveled in the NorCal playoffs.

As the No. 8 seed in an eight-team field, the Dons had no chance of playing a home game.

On May 28, Amador traveled to Mountain View to face defending NorCal champion and No. 1 seed Saint Francis. It was only a 64 mile round trip – it turned out to be by far the shortest of the week.

To the surprise of everyone in the softball community, the Dons upset the Lancers 4-1 to advance to the semifinals.

From there came a trip to take on No. 4 Clovis North, a 310-mile round trip. Once again, the Dons pulled off the upset, knocking Clovis North out of the tournament with a 7-2 victory.

That set up Saturday night's finale at El Dorado Hills, with Oak Ridge just 218 miles round trip.

Doing the math, that’s 592 miles traveled for three games in five days. And it was during Amador finals week, capped by graduation ceremonies Friday night.

For perspective, San Diego is only 474 miles from Pleasanton.

The Dons were true “Road Warriors” and brought their game with them along the way.

In the first round, the Dons faced a St. Francis team that was 28-0, ranked No. 1 in California and second in the nation.

Kaylee Davis went the distance in the circle for the Dons. She allowed five hits, struck out six and walked five.

On offense, Kaylee Davis had a single and a double, Emerson Giles added a pair of doubles. Lauren Tran had two singles, with Taylor Oxe and Riya Sharda each having a hit in the 4-1 victory.

In the semifinals, the Dons defeated Clovis North 7-2, with Kaylee Davis again going the distance. She allowed nine hits, struck out four and walked zero.

Sharda was huge at the plate with a double and two singles. McKenna Charbonneau had a single and a big two-run home run for the Dons in the third.

Ava Davis, Kaylee Davis, Giles and Tran each had a hit.

In the title game, it all depended on the grit and determination of Kaylee Davis and her teammates to earn the overtime victory.

She went eight innings in the circle, throwing 124 pitches, facing 43 batters and allowing 13 hits. Emily Bull pitched one inning, facing three batters and retiring all three.

Kaylee Davis also got the game-winning hit when she homered in the top of the ninth, scoring Tran and herself.

Mai Falcone hit a two-run homer, hers coming in the eighth. Oxe hit a solo home run in the eighth.

Tran finished the match with three singles, as did Sharda. Kaylee Davis hit a double to go with her home run, while Charbonneau hit a pair of doubles.

Oxe also had a double to accompany his solo shot, and Falcone added a single to accompany his bomb. Ava Davis and Bull added singles.

Editor's note: Dennis Miller is a contributing sports editor for the Pleasanton Weekly. This column originally appeared in Tri-Valley Preps Playbook, a weekly sports e-newsletter published by Embarcadero Media Foundation.

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