Live Oak standout Landon Stump, shown here being congratulated in a game Tuesday, drove in five runs to lead the Acorns to a 10-2 victory over Leigh on Thursday. Live Oak, Leigh and Branham shared the BVAL Mt. Hamilton title. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
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Baseball
BVAL Mt. Hamilton title chase
An incredibly wild race for the Blossom Valley Athletic League Mt. Hamilton Division baseball championship has reached the finish line.
When it did on Thursday, three teams – Live Oak, Leigh and Branham – were tied at the top.
It could have been four, but Leland spoiled Pioneer’s bid for a piece of the championship prize, edging the Mustangs 4-3.
So instead of tying for first, Pioneer finished tied for fourth with Christopher.
A week ago, Leigh had positioned itself to end the race with two games to go. The Longhorns had won 11 in a row (nine in league play) before falling to Branham.
That result swung open the gate for 40 percent of the 10-team division to enter the final week with a chance for first.
Thursday, Live Oak took advantage of the opportunity, completing a two-game sweep of Leigh with a 10-2 victory on its home field in Morgan Hill.
Live Oak and Leigh finished with 12-6 records in the league.
A few miles away, at Sobrato, Branham needed only to beat an opponent that hadn’t won a league game all spring to claim its share of the title.
Sobrato made the Bruins sweat, loading the bases with two out in the bottom of the seventh before Branham got the last out.
Final score: Branham 1, Sobrato 0.
As those games were unfolding, Pioneer was locked in a 2-2 tie at home against Leland after five innings.
Leland scored two in the top of the sixth, and Pioneer loaded the bases with one out in the home half of the frame.
But the Mustangs managed to score just once and went down in order in the seventh.
They finished league play 11-7.
Here are more details about those games:
Live Oak 10, Leigh 2
Landon Stump, one of Live Oak’s two college-bound pitchers, didn’t step on the mound Thursday. The UCLA commit did his damage at the plate, going 3 for 4 with a home run, a double and five RBIs to lead Live Oak to a dominant triumph at home for a share of the league title.
Ethan Lopez also had a huge offensive game for the Acorns, finishing 2 for 4 with a double and four RBIs as Live Oak upped its record to 17-9.
Stanford-bound Aidan Keenan allowed two runs (one earned) and two hits with six strikeouts in five innings. His teammates gave him a 4-0 advantage after one inning and a 9-2 cushion after four.
Leigh fell to 17-10.
Branham 1, Sobrato 0
Evan Williams pitched a five-hitter with eight strikeouts and Jason Armer had two hits and knocked in the only run, in the fourth inning, to lift Branham to a road win and a share of the Mt. Hamilton crown.
Williams struck out the final batter with the bases loaded.
Branham is 19-7.
Sobrato, which got six strong innings on the mound from Ethan Marmie, fell to 4-19-1, 0-17.
Leland 4, Pioneer 3
Vincenzo Chiavettone-Flanagan and Will Fischer each had two hits and drove in a run to help Leland turn back host Pioneer in a BVAL Mt. Hamilton game.
Both of Chiavettone-Flanagan’s hits were doubles. Fischer and Brady Hernandez had one double apiece as Leland improved to 12-14, 8-9.
Andre Valdespino, Noah Morales and Grayden Eister each had two hits for Pioneer, which fell to 15-9-1.
Bay Valley title game
Heritage beat Pittsburg 1-0 to capture the Bay Valley Athletic League tournament championship. The Patriots also won the league’s regular-season title.
Four pitchers combined for a one-hit shutout, led by Landon Marchetti, who struck out seven and walked one in four innings.
JJ Kinnaird knocked in the only run, in the fourth, as Heritage improved to 19-7.
Pittsburg is 18-9.
Softball
Willow Glen 7, Santa Teresa 0
Freshman Alanna Clincy pitched a three-hitter with 13 strikeouts and no walks as Willow Glen won at home over Santa Teresa to clinch the BVAL Mt. Hamilton championship.
Faamaai Ulu had three hits and scored a run and Mariah Rodriguez had two RBIs as the Rams improved to 19-6, 11-3.
Santa Teresa is 12-14, 6-8.
Branham 5, Westmont 0
Riley Smith scattered five hits and Natalia Blanco drove in two runs as Branham spoiled Westmont’s bid for a piece of the BVAL Mt. Hamilton title with a victory at home.
Had Westmont won, it would have shared the championship with Willow Glen.
Instead, the Warriors (18-8, 10-4) tied for second with Branham (16-9, 10-4).
Carlmont 4, Capuchino 3
Carlmont held off Capuchino to position itself to clinch the outright Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division championship.
Carlmont will finish alone in first if it wins at Sequoia on Friday.
If Sequoia prevails, Carlmont and Capuchino will share the title.
Molly Brand had three hits and Isabelle Won and Audrey Schreiner each had two hits to lead Carlmont (15-7, 11-2) in the game Thursday.
Elizabeth Do had three hits and Nohemi Livingston finished with two hits for Capuchino (22-5, 11-3).
Milpitas 4, Wilcox 3 (9 innings)
Taija Warren’s home run with one out in the top of the ninth was the difference as Milpitas edged host Wilcox to clinch the outright Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division crown.
If Wilcox had won, Milpitas (21-4, 10-2) and Los Gatos would have finished tied for first.
Destiny Solis also homered for Milpitas, finishing the game 3 for 5 with two RBIs.
Tyler Scott and Jessica Gutierrez had three hits apiece for Wilcox (14-10, 7-5).
Clayton Valley 14, Alhambra 6
Clayton Valley overcame an early three-run deficit to cruise past host Alhambra, a victory that clinched the Diablo Athletic League Foothill Division title for the Ugly Eagles.
Annika Scheafer went 3 for 4 with two doubles and four RBIs and Isabella Scolini, Lola Winningham, Anja Perreira and Angelina Vargas each knocked in two runs as Clayton Valley improved to 16-5, 4-2.
Alhambra is 11-12-1, 2-4.
Lacrosse
NCS boys finals
De La Salle 13, Redwood 10
The Spartans added another piece of hardware to their trophy case as the Concord school defeated Redwood in the NCS Division I title game. The Spartans have won section titles in each of the past three seasons that the NCS has had playoffs. De La Salle led 7-6 at halftime and 9-7 after three quarters.
Tamalpais 9, Piedmont 8 (2 OTs)
In the Division II final, Tamalpais squeaked past Piedmont 9-8 in overtime, with the Highlanders narrowly missing out on their second championship in school history.
Soren Dixon scored four goals and had one assist, and Nathan Fredericks scored three goals and also handed out an assist for Piedmont, which also got a goal and an assist from Jack Nelson.
Piedmont entered the third quarter up 7-5, surrendered three unanswered goals, and then scored with a little over a minute left in regulation when Fredricks set up Dixon for a goal. Piedmont held Tamalpais scoreless in the first overtime period before surrendering a goal in the second OT.
Oliver Shafroth had numerous clears and won several face-offs, and Noah Lindenbaum, Keita Clear and Bailey Cain anchored a defense that held high-scoring Tamalpais to single-digit goals.
Goalkeeper Gus Von Metzsche made nine saves for Piedmont, which ends its season 14-4.
NCS girls finals
San Ramon Valley completed a 24-0 season with a Division I section title, defeating Oak Ridge 14-7 to claim its third championship in school history.
A few miles down the road, Campolindo’s title run as the No. 3 seed ended in a 15-6 loss to Tamalpais in the Division II final.
Despite the lopsided loss, Campolindo had solid performances from key players. Catie McCauley scored three goals, and Bridgette Lane and Carley Hudson each scored once. Paige Davis also had an assist for the Moraga school.
Boys volleyball
NCS finals
Amador Valley won its third North Coast Section Division I title, and this one gave the school town bragging rights. The Dons defeated Pleasanton rival Foothill 3-1, denying their crosstown rivals a fifth championship and the school’s first since 2010.
In Division II, De La Salle nudged past Northgate 3-2 to earn the school’s ninth title but first in D-II.
Bishop O’Dowd and Moreau Catholic alternated sets in the all-East Bay Division III final, with O’Dowd winning the fifth set 15-8 to repeat as D-III champs.
Berean Christian breezed to its first title in school history, sweeping California Crosspoint in three sets in Division IV.
CCS semifinals
No. 3 seed Valley Christian will visit No. 1 St. Francis in the Central Coast Section Open Division final on Saturday.
The Warriors beat No. 2 seed Archbishop Mitty 3-1 to reach the final, while St. Francis handled No. 5 Sacred Heart Cathedral 3-0 to set up an all-West Catholic Atheltic League title match at noon.
There was far more drama in Division I, where No. 5 Carlmont continued its unlikely run to the final round by sweeping top-seeded Bellarmine in the semifinal.
CarImond advanced to face No. 2-seeded Branham, which beat No. 6 Monta Vista 3-0.
The final at St. Francis, the host for all three CCS title matches, will start at 5 p.m.
In Division II, No. 1 Harker swept No. 5 Harbor, and No. 2 Carmel did the same to No. 3 Monterey to reach the final. The title match at St. Francis is scheduled to start at 2:30 p.m.