NorCal roundup: Mitty falls to Franklin-Elk Grove in D-II baseball final
Archbishop Mitty's bid for a second NorCal regional baseball championship fell short as the Monarchs lost on the road to Franklin-Elk Grove 5-1 on Saturday.
The San Jose school had bounced back from a rough season in West Catholic Athletic League play to win the Central Coast Section Division II title and two games this week to reach the CIF NorCal Division II final.
But Franklin, a proud program that has won at least 20 games in eight consecutive seasons, proved too formidable as the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I runners-up scored two runs in the third and three more in the fourth after Mitty had scored its only run.
Ethan Chase and Noah Fishman provided the scoring highlight for Mitty.
With the Monarchs trailing 2-0 in the top of the fourth, Chase led off the inning with a double to left. Fishman followed with a single to right to drive in Chase and make it 2-1.
Franklin responded in the bottom half of the inning with Kyle Timmons' run-scoring single and Ryan Cody's two-out single that brought home Andrew Flores and Timmons to stretch the advantage to 5-1.
That was plenty of support for right-hander David Hernandez, who scattered nine hits and two walks in a complete-game effort.
Kelen Johnson and Elijah Kroenung each had two hits for Mitty. Kroenung finished with a team-high 37 this season.
Mitty won the NorCal Division II title in 2022, the first year the CIF held regional playoffs in the northern half of the state.
This season, the Monarchs finished seventh in the WCAL with a 4-10 record but showed encouraging signs in the final week, splitting a two-game series with Valley Christian, which has since won the CCS Division I title and reached the NorCal Division I final.
Mitty brought a five-game winning streak into Saturday's title game, a run that included a 21-0 rout of top-seeded Carmel during the CCS playoffs and 7-2 win on Tuesday over top-seeded Clayton Valley Charter in the regionals.
The Monarchs won in eight innings at Rodriguez-Fairfield on Thursday to earn a date with Franklin, which finished third behind Elk Grove and Laguna Creek in its league.
The regional championship was Franklin's first.
Division III
No. 1 Roseville 4, No. 2 Menlo School 2: Jack Freehill’s single to center drove in Zach Roeder to give Menlo School the lead in the visitor’s half of the first inning.
But Roseville responded in the bottom half of the frame.
Loudly.
Benjamin Jordan’s two-run homer to left put Roseville on top to stay as the Tigers prevailed, preventing Menlo from capturing back-to-back regional titles. The Knights won the Division IV crown last year.
After Roseville added a run in the second, Menlo pulled to within 3-2 in the third when Chuck Wynn’s single drove in Freehill.
Roseville (30-4) then denied every Menlo threat while adding another run in the fifth.
The victory was the 14th in a row for the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV champs and gave Roseville its first regional title. The Tigers lost to Rohnert Park in last year’s Division III final.
Menlo (22-11) won the CCS Division III title this year and beat two East Bay schools — James Logan and Alameda — to reach Saturday’s final.
SOFTBALL
Division V
No. 2 Le Grand 5, No. 4 Moreau Catholic 3: Something had to give when Moreau Catholic traveled from its Hayward campus to Merced County to play Le Grand for the Division V championship.
Moreau brought a 12-game winning streak to the game.
Le Grand had won 13 in a row.
The home team struck quickly as Aaliyah Ceja hit a two-run, inside-the-park home run in the first inning. Elisa Angel had gotten hit by a pitch to lead off the frame.
Moreau scored three runs in the fifth to take the lead, but the rally could have been better – a lot better.
Olivia Ritchie's single cut the deficit to 2-1. Jossi Jones walked with the bases loaded to even the score, and Sofia Mascorro singled to put Moreau on top.
The bases were still loaded, with no outs.
But Ava Avila slammed the door, striking out the next three batters to keep Le Grand's deficit at one.
In the bottom half of the inning, Le Grand (22-7) scored two runs to reclaim the lead and added an insurance run in the sixth.
Moreau finished the season 18-13.
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This story was originally published June 6, 2026 at 7:21 PM.