Four Empire teams seek baseball or softball section titles Saturday

Four local high schools could come away with North Coast Section championships Saturday, including two from Petaluma.

Two softball and two baseball teams will vie for section titles. For one, it could be their seventh.

Casa Grande baseball is the highest seed of all at the No. 1 spot in Division 2.

The Gauchos will face No. 3 Arroyo at 4 p.m. at Petaluma High School in a quest for their seventh NCS championship.

No. 3 Rincon Valley Christian looks to topple host No. 1 Ferndale at 1 p.m. in the Division 6 baseball final.

In Division 3 softball, No. 2 Sonoma Valley travels to Marin County to take on No. 1 San Marin at 7 p.m.

And in another 1-2 softball matchup, St. Vincent will face top-seeded Berean Christian at noon at St. Mary's College in Moraga.

For both Sonoma Valley softball and Rincon Valley baseball, a win would be their school's first section title in history.

St. Vincent is looking to claim its fourth title.

The Gauchos rolled through the North Bay League with a 13-1 record and are 24-4 overall. They won the NBL tournament handily, downing Cardinal Newman 16-8 in round one and Maria Carrillo 11-1 in the title game.

The NCS tournament bracket wasn't much more challenging, as Casa defeated No. 16 Mt. Eden 5-0, No. 8 Marin Catholic 7-2 and No. 5 Ukiah 13-8.

The Gauchos bring their .361 team batting average and 2.42 earned run average to face the 13-3, 26-6-1 Dons. Casa is ranked No. 19 in the state by MaxPreps while Arroyo is No. 133.

Spencer Torkelson (.487) and Max Cerini (.464) lead the Gauchos at the plate, while the deep pitching staff includes Chris Joaquim, Parker Ruoff, Quinton Gago and Nik Kamages and Broc Burleson.

Rincon Valley is hoping to bring home its first baseball pennant to hang in the gym, coach Ron Speakes said.

The Eagles, 14-4 overall and 7-3 in the North Central League II, are officially the underdogs, seeded third in Division 6 to Ferndale's 1.

But on paper, Rincon Valley looks stronger. Ferndale was 12-11 overall and 6-6 in its league, and is ranked 896th in the state, compared with Rincon Valley's 598.

“They've scored 98 runs and given up 106 while we've scored 160 and given up 50,” Speakes said.

Still, he knows anything can happen in a one-game final. And Ferndale is the defending champion.

“We're staying humble, but getting prepared mentally and physically,” he said. “We don't want to get overly confident, but still go in with confidence that if we play our game, we're going to be tough to beat.”

Starting pitchers Nick Guiseponi and Jacob Hobson are both healthy and ready to go, he said, and nine Eagles are currently hitting over .400.

The Sonoma Valley girls are also looking to bring home their first softball banner.

Coach Keeley Ray knows the 22-1, 15-1 Mustangs will be a challenge. San Marin's freshman ace, Madison Papenhausen, brings a 7-1 record and 1.49 ERA to the Division 3 title game.

“They're a great hitting team. My pitcher is going to have to work hard, work around them, keep them on their toes,” Ray said. “Our defense needs to stay strong, but they are strong, so I'm not worried about that.”

Alissa Orr will start in the circle for the Dragons.

“Their pitcher is strong, but if we come out aggressive like we have the last couple games, we'll be fine,” Ray said. “We're dialed in right now.”

Starting catcher Ally Alcayaga, a freshman, is among team leaders with a .444 batting average, along with Lyndsey Lee (.500).

In Division 5, second-seeded St. Vincent will take on No. 1 Berean Christian.

The Mustangs are coming off a 10-4 win against Cloverdale in the semis, while Berean Christian won on the back of a sixth-inning comeback to beat Head-Royce 7-6 and advance to the final.

Haley Antonini, Sully Henry and McKenna Wilson-Kay lead the Mustangs with over-.420 averages.

Henry, a sophomore, leads the team with 7 home runs and is also the ace, having started 19 of the team's 20 games this year and winning 14.

You can reach staff writer Lori A. Carter at 707-521-5470 or lori.carter@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @loriacarter.