Wednesday’s CIF North Coast Section semifinals in baseball saw the top seeds get through in Division I – state-ranked De La Salle and College Park will meet on Saturday with State Baseball Team of the Year implications in play – but in Division V unbeaten Clear Lake was defeated by Head-Royce of Oakland.
On Tuesday in the CIF Southern Section Division III semifinals, the San Dimas baseball team found out for the first and only time this season what it feels like to lose a game.
On Wednesday in the CIF North Coast Section Division V semifinals, the Clear Lake of Lakeport baseball team did the same.
With a 26-0 record and going for a possible 28-0 final record, the Cardinals lost to Head-Royce of Oakland 7-3. Like Walnut against San Dimas down south, Head-Royce entered the game with seven losses. It’s still difficult to call it an upset, though, since the Jayhawks have won the last three NCS D5 titles and have Stanford-bound Nico Hoerner on the roster.
Hoerner blasted a two-run homer in the top of the first inning to get Head-Royce off to a strong start. Teammate C.J. Novogradac also finished with four hits, including a pair of doubles.
With both San Dimas and Clear Lake losing this week, California’s last unbeaten team for a season remains Pacific Grove, which went 31-0 for 2013. The state record of 35-0 was set in 2004 by Chatsworth, regarded as one of the two greatest high school teams in state and national history along with 1958 Fresno High.
College Park to play De La Salle Saturday
In the NCS D1 semifinals on Wednesday, state No. 3 College Park of Pleasant Hill (25-4) advanced to the final with a 4-0 win over Monte Vista of Danville. The Falcons are not the top seed in the bracket, however, due to having a head-to-head loss against defending champion De La Salle of Concord.
De La Salle (19-8) also won on Wednesday, topping Amador Valley of Pleasanton 7-6 in come-from-behind fashion.
Both of the team’s aces – Mr. Baseball State POY candidate Joe DeMers of the Falcons and expected high MLB draft pick Justin Hooper of the Spartans – should pitch some innings in the final.
If College Park can avenge its loss to De La Salle and win the NCS title (the Falcons won the D2 section crown last year), it would have a solid argument to be moved to No. 1 for the final Cal-Hi Sports state rankings.
San Dimas was No. 1 entering the week with St. Francis of Mountain View (27-5) sitting at No. 2. The Lancers, who won this year’s Boras Classic tournament, have already won the CIF Central Coast Section Open Division title. They do have a head-to-head loss, however, to College Park in their own Elite 8 tournament.
Note: The College Park vs. De La Salle showdown can be seen live on the NFHS Network. For details, CLICK HERE. For details on how to get a one-year sub to the NFHS Network for half-price only through CalHiSports.com, CLICK HERE.
