NCS baseball: Cardinal Newman clinches back-to-back titles with walk-off victory

The top-seeded Cardinal Newman baseball team won its second consecutive North Coast Section Division 3 title with a storybook ending — a comeback walk-off victory Saturday afternoon in the bottom of the seventh inning.

The Cardinals defeated No. 3 Campolindo of Moraga 2-1 on their home field in a dramatic last stand to repeat as Division 3 champions.

Winning the NCS title guarantees the Cardinals will be in the NorCal playoffs that start Tuesday. Cardinal Newman — which also won the North Bay League Oak division title — finds out its placement and first opponent Sunday.

Trailing Campolindo (18-9-1) 1-0 going into the home half of the seventh, the Cardinals (27-1) got off the mat and rallied for two runs in the inning to pull out the improbable victory.

“This team just refuses to lose. When the game was on the line, the players focused when it mattered the most,” Cardinal Newman coach Derek DeBenedetti said. “I’m just proud of our players for their resilience and grit.”

Cardinal Newman’s final at-bat began with Sam Valenti hitting the first pitch from Cougars starter Graham Schlicht (Loss, 6⅓ innings, two runs, five hits, five strikeouts) for a line-drive single.

“That first guy getting on in the seventh was just huge,” DeBenedetti said. “Our kids were just focused on getting the run back.”

Pinch-runner Carson Meyer replaced Valenti and promptly stole second base. Justice Brinson then doubled down the right-field line, but Valenti slipped rounding third, so he didn’t score and had to hold 90 feet from pay dirt. Colin Lopez was inserted as a runner for Brinson at second base.

Schlicht hit his maximum pitch allowance and gave way to Cougars reliever Hudson Pergamit.

“Schlicht commanded three different pitches — the change-up, cut slider and fastball,” DeBenedetti said. “He kept us at bay.”

The Cardinals' Anane Wilson (1-for-4, RBI) then hit an infield single in the hole between shortstop and third base to score Meyer for a 1-1 tie.

With runners on first and third and one out, Campolindo's first baseman inexplicably held Wilson at first base instead of playing in to try and cut down the winning run at the plate.

DeBenedetti, seeing the defensive alignment, signaled for hitter Nate Niehaus (1-for-2, RBI, two walks) to bunt toward first base — which he did for an infield hit, scoring Lopez for the 2-1 Cardinals win.

“I was confident the bunt was going to be a hit. It was a perfect bunt,” DeBenedetti said. “Nate is one of our best bunters and we had speed at both corners.”

Cardinal Newman reliever Jack Larson got the win by pitching a scoreless seventh. Cardinals ace starter Mason Lerma lasted six innings, surrendering four hits and one run in a no-decision.

“Mason was outstanding. He is a huge reason why we won that game,” DeBenedetti said. “Campolindo made him pitch, they had some really quality at-bats.”

The Cougars’ lone run came in the sixth to break a scoreless tie. Miles Clayton doubled into the left-center gap to plate a runner from first with two outs.

However, Clayton tried to stretch the double into a triple but got erased at third after a strong throw by center fielder Wilson to shortstop Jack Lazark, whose relay made it to third baseman Raul Valdivia in time to get the sliding Clayton out and limit the damage to one run.

“That was a huge play. We killed their momentum. You never know what would have happened,” DeBenedetti said. “It was a bang-bang play that could have gone either way.”

The Cougars ran themselves out of the seventh inning as well, as they tried to steal second base with two outs — but Cardinals catcher Brinson fired a strike to nail the runner and end the inning to keep the Cardinals’ deficit at only one run, setting up the walk-off win to follow.

“The first NCS championship last year was amazing because it was the first in our school's history (an 8-2 win over San Marin of Novato),” DeBenedetti said. “This game was a different story because it went down to the last three outs. We had to pull out some magic to win this one. To win in a walk-off is a different feeling. It feels great — and that is an understatement.”

The standing-room-only bleachers at Cardinal Newman were packed with fans of both teams who witnessed a memorable battle.

“This was a championship game with the whole season on the line. It was an awesome atmosphere. Campolindo was outstanding today. It was our toughest game of the year,” DeBenedetti said. “It is tough to repeat as champions. For a moment it looked like we wouldn’t repeat, and then we did.”