NCS baseball: Maria Carrillo rallies to beat Rancho Cotate

Second-seeded Maria Carrillo hit two clutch doubles in the bottom of the seventh inning to tie No. 10 Rancho Cotate 3-3 and set up a dramatic Pumas encore on Saturday in a North Coast Section Division 2 quarterfinal.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Maria Carrillo's Bryce Cannon hit the game-winning single to cap a come-from-behind 4-3 home victory.

“We battled all game long. Our guys showed heart,” Maria Carrillo coach Sam Bruno said. “We had a lot of opportunities early in the game and we couldn't get the clutch hit. … We did get the clutch hits in the end.”

The Pumas (22-6) will host No. 11 El Cerrito, which upset No. 3 Casa Grande in a Saturday quarterfinal.

“We were hoping to get another shot at Casa Grande, but it didn't happen,” Bruno said. “El Cerrito has an ace that throws hard and they have a lineup to deal, so I'm expecting a great game.”

Maria Carrillo went 2-1 versus North Bay League rival Rancho Cotate (15-12) this season and the rubber match was one to remember.

Rancho Cotate took a 3-2 lead in the top of the seventh after Maria center fielder Chris Latorre slipped before he could catch a routine fly ball with two outs and it fell for a single to score a Cougars runner from second base.

Latorre responded with a one-out double in the bottom of the seventh and scored the tying run after Brian Orr doubled him home.

“Latorre slipped and that is baseball; it happens,” Bruno said. “Instead of sulking, Chris wanted to stay mentally tough and come through when his team needed him (at bat).”

After a scoreless eighth inning, Maria Carrillo won on Cannon's single with two outs to left-center to plate the winning run from second base.

Orr (3-5, 2 doubles, RBI, run) and Cannon (2-4, RBI) led the Pumas in hitting.

Maria Carrillo reliever Zeke Brockley got the win, pitching a scoreless ninth inning. Pumas starter Cade Sheets went eight innings and surrendered three runs.

Rancho reliever Zach Hendry took the loss in 1? innings of service. Cougars starter Justin Thomas went 7? innings and gave up three runs.

“It is the kind of win that you want at this time of the season to bring everybody together,” Bruno said. “Our team didn't want our season to end and neither did I.”

El Cerrito 7, Casa Grande 3

The No. 3 Gauchos (20-8) were upset by the visiting No. 11 Gauchos (20-6) from the East Bay in a Division 2 quarterfinal.

“El Cerrito played really well. We just got beat today. El Cerrito got the big hits when they needed to,” Casa Grande coach Chad Fillinger said. “It would have been nice to play Carrillo again. El Cerrito is going to have their hands full with them.”

Casa Grande led 3-2 after fiving innings when it hit a ditch. El Cerrito scored two runs in the sixth and three in the seventh to pull away.

Casa Grande starter Broc Burleson (6? innings, 6 runs, 5 hits) took the loss.

“Broc threw a great five innings. El Cerrito got the best of him late in the game. They converted late,” Fillinger said. “I don't think Broc was fatigued. He competed and forced them to beat him. El Cerrito is a very competitive team.”

El Cerrito starter Jacob Rossi (5 innings, 3 runs, 6 hits) earned the win.

“Rossi threw strikes and didn't walk anybody,” Fillinger said. “We weren't able to get that big hit.”

Casa Grande's scoring came via a Joey Loveless two-run homer and an Ibai Guadron RBI-single in the fourth inning. Cameron Downing went 3-for-4 with a run.

“It turned out to be a great season for us,” Fillinger said. “I think we exceeded all of our expectations. We won league (NBL), won 20 games and made it to the second round of the NCS.”

Redwood Christian 7, Fort Bragg 2

The visiting No. 6 Eagles (19-7) of San Lorenzo upset the No. 3 Timberwolves (17-6) in a Division 4 quarterfinal on the strength of flame-throwing starter Alex Williams, who kept Fort Bragg's hitters from reaching base until the seventh inning, when he lost a perfect game.

“The kid (Williams) can pitch. He throws 91 miles per hour and has a great slider,” Fort Bragg coach Roy Perkins said. “He was better than anyone else we have seen all season. Sometimes one guy can control things.”

Williams gave up two runs and three hits in seven innings and had 14 strikeouts. He also hit a grand slam in the fourth inning to give Redwood Christian a 7-0 lead.

“That grand slam really changed everything,” Perkins said. “We ran into a buzz saw.”

Fort Bragg starter Garrett James (4 innings, 7 runs, 6 hits) took the loss.

“Garrett had a little trouble with his command. He pitched well, but their lineup was solid all the way through,” Perkins said. “We had a good, solid season. We were second in our league (North Central League I) and hosted two NCS games at home, which hasn't happened since 1992.”

Middletown 3, El Molino 1

In a Division 4 quarterfinal, the host No. 1 Mustangs (19-3) scored three runs in the second inning and it held up to defeat the No. 8 Lions (14-10).

El Molino scored a run in the top of the third but was blanked the rest of the way.

Middletown hosts a semifinal on Wednesday at 5 p.m. against No. 4 Piedmont (18-9-1).

In NCS softball action:

Cloverdale 10, St. Bernard's 0 (5 innings)

In a Division 5 quarterfinal, the No. 1 Eagles (17-1) rolled over the No. 8 Crusaders (9-16) of Eureka with five runs in the third and fourth innings.

“We did a great job of adjusting the second time through the order and putting the ball in play,” Cloverdale coach Margaret Fitzgerald said. “We laid off the high pitch and attacked sooner in the count.”

Eagles starter Tehya Bird (5 innings, 0 runs, 2 hits) earned the win. Cloverdale's Heather Sterline (2-3, 2 RBIs, 2 runs) and Vanessa Fisher (2-3, double, 3 RBIs, 2 runs) led Cloverdale's offense.

The game was originally scheduled for Friday, but heavy rain pushed it to Saturday.

St. Bernard's was unprepared to stay over in Cloverdale, so the team drove hundreds of miles back to Eureka on Friday night and then back down to Cloverdale on Saturday morning.

“Driving back and forth for a total of almost 10 hours had to affect them,” Fitzgerald said of the Eagles' home-field advantage. “My girls got to sleep in their comfy beds.”

Cloverdale hosts No. 4 Hoopa Valley (15-7) at 5 p.m. Wednesday in a semifinal.