CIF North Coast Section baseball bracket update, quarterfinal roundup: De La Salle's Alec Blair blasts two home runs, drives in 6
Alec Blair might be making his future life a tad more difficult. Then again, choices are always good.
The De La Salle junior centerfielder blasted a pair of "Titanic" home runs, added a double and six RBI on Friday as the Spartans eliminated the Heritage Patriots from the North Coast Section Division 1 playoffs with a 13-3 quarterfinal victory in Concord.
The rangy 6-foot-6 left-handed standout is considered a pro baseball prospect and after he launched a pair of deep ball onto the rooftops, he sure looked the part.
The problem, a good one, is that he's considered an even better basketball player, last season earning All-State honors by averaging 18.8 points and eight rebounds per game for the Spartans.
He twisted his knee and had to leave his final prep basketball game of the season on Feb. 28, which caused him to miss the first eight games of the baseball season.
He's made amends, especially Friday, upping his average to .415 with 22 hits, 20 RBI, seven doubles, a triple and four home runs, the latter total ties him for the team lead with three players — sophomore Tyler Spangler, Hank Tripaldi and Joe McGee.
After an RBI double in the second inning, Blair added a deep solo homer in the fourth and another towering grand slam in the fifth to make it 12-3. An RBI single later in the same inning by Carlo Garcia ended the game due to the 10-run rule.
It was the second straight game that Garcia walked-off a game, three days after blasting a home run to end a 10-0 win over Liberty. Jamie Mullin had two hits and three RBI for the Spartans on Friday and Spangler added two hits and an RBI.
De La Salle, the second seed and six-time defending champion, improved to 19-6 while Heritage, which got RBIs from Alonzo Alvarez and Jett Guevara, finished 20-6-1.
The Spartans will host College Park in a Tuesday semifinal.
Granada 11, James Logan 1: Another game ended by 10-run rule as the top seeded and host Matadors (27-1) got two RBIs each by Stanford bound Parker Warner, Tommy Brown, Mikey Boyd and Quinn Boyd, who blasted a homer. Winning pitcher Jake Sekany struck out four and gave up three hits. A six-run eruption in the fourth blew the game open.
Acalanes 1, Casa Grande 0: Henry Souza and Peter Thorn combined on a 6-hitter and they got superb defense as the host Dons improved to 23-3 and now travel to Granada for a semifinal game. Gavin Bender singled home the only run in the sixth inning. Casa Grande finished 19-0.
College Park 3, Castro Valley 2: The host Falcons scored three early runs on RBIs from winning pitcher Hunter Pelayo, Nathan Leffel and Desmond Cobb, before holding off a two-run seventh-inning rally by the Trojans. Diego Emerling picked up the save.
DIVISION 3
Campolindo 4, Pinole Valley 2: The host Cougars (14-12) broke open a 2-2 tie with two runs in the fifth to advance to semifinal play. Rey Malan had a two-run double for Pinole Valley (16-9). The Cougars will play Sonoma Valley, an 8-2 winner at top-seed Bishop O'Dowd.
San Marin 1, Novato 0: The Mustangs (20-8) pushed a run across in the bottom of the sixth in a game that featured just two hits. San Marin now plays Encinal, a 2-1 winner over Alhambra.
DIVISION 5
Berean Christian 10, Credo 0: The top-seeded and host Eagles needed only five hits to score 10 runs, utilizing 12 stolen bases, including four by Ivver Vertulfo and three from Jake Silva. Vertulfo had two hits, two runs and an RBI for the Eagles (20-6), who will host Branson in semifinal play.
Branson 5, Bay School 1: The visiting Bulls (10-15) scored four in the first inning and made it stand up, despite delivering just three hits. Nick Patarroyo had a hit and RBI for The Bay School, which made four errors.
Head-Royce 9, St. Bernard's 3: Winning pitcher Matthew Wong and Kento Tsuji each drove in two runs for the host Jayhawks (17-5), who broke open a close game with four in the sixth after scoring five in the first. Wong went the distance and allowed just two hits while striking out four. St. Bernard's, which made the 278-mile trip from Eureka to Oakland, finished 14-13-1.
University 12, St. Vincent 2: Jett Messenger, a sophomore, went 3-for-4 with three RBI and senior Nick Martin drove in four with a double and a triple as the Red Devils (20-7) won by mercy rule in the fifth inning at Paul Goode Field in San Francisco's Presidio. University will travel across the Bay to Head-Royce on Tuesday.
TOP NCS SEEDS/HISTORY
Check out all the California baseball brackets here. Championship games are scheduled for May 24-25.
Top four seeds in order for Division 1 are Granada, De La Salle, College Park and Acalanes.
Other top seeds entering the tournaments were Cardinal Newman (D2), Bishop O'Dowd (D3), St. Mary's (D4), Berean Christian (D5) and Ferndale (D6).
Defending champions are De La Salle (D1), Casa Grande (D2), Cardinal Newman (D3), Arcata (D4), Athenian (D5) and St. Bernard's (D6).
Check the brackets below for the latest matchups, game times and scores:
