College roundup: Hartnell baseball, softball pull out wins in playoffs
QUINCY — Resilience has been the theme all season. That attitude and fortitude have put the Hartnell baseball program — one that hadn’t sniffed the postseason in 21 years — in uncharted waters.
One loss from elimination on Friday, the Panthers are now one victory from advancing into the 3C2A Elite 8 for the first time in four-plus decades after a 15-11 win over host Feather River in a best-of-three Super Regional Series.
“The message is the same as yesterday,” Hartnell coach Kyle Czaplak said. “Take the positives and build off them. We have to get it done on Saturday. We’re going to get punched. Punch back. We’re excited for the opportunity.”
The two teams will meet at noon to decide who advances to the Elite 8 — the top eight teams in the state. The Panthers have won four of their five postseason games to date.
“Tomorrow we’re going all in,” said Czaplak, now in his fourth year as the Panthers coach. “We talked about doubling down. All the chips are on the table.”
On the heels of their first winning season in 15 years, the Panthers (27-19) have scored 45 runs in five playoff games, having scored 10 or more runs in 20 games this season.
“We made a decision to push the offense and do what we really do well,” Czaplak said. “It was on full display today. We were cyber-aggressive.”
Champions of the Golden Valley Conference and owners of 33 wins, Feather River is 0-2 in the playoffs when giving up 10 or more runs, allowing 24 runs in a loss in the regionals last week.
“It’s uncharted waters. But it’s also a belief,” Czaplak said. “When you get in, anything can happen. We’ve leaned on this group to play quality baseball. We’re not surprised that we’re here. We deserve to be here.”
Kaden Raymond and Emmet Desmond delivered big blows with back-to-back homers in the second inning as the Panthers jumped out to a 7-1 lead through three innings.
“We told our players after Thursday’s game, you have to look that part in the face and look past it,” Czaplak said. “We have done a good job of growing during the season. The positive part of this group is they have been about learning and making adjustments.”
The Panthers did just that, showing off their power with three homers, while stealing seven bases in producing eight more runs after the fifth inning.
Raymond highlighted a four-run sixth inning for Hartnell with his second homer of the game — a three-run shot, finishing 4-for-5 with four runs batted in.
In Thursday’s 10-5 loss to Feather River, the Panthers, who finished fourth in the Coast Conference South, never scored again after taking a brief 5-4 lead in the fourth inning.
As potent as the Panthers bats were throughout the game, no one put up a more gritty effort than Coast Conference Reliever of the Year Easton Vargas.
Battling the flu, Vargas tossed six innings of relief, taming Feather River’s bats to pick up the win.
“Vargas stepped up big time,” Czaplak said. “There’s a reason why he was the conference Reliever of the Year.”
Softball
Hartnell 10, Santa Rosa 8: Former North Salinas standout Kalea De Leon ripped a pair of homers as the Panthers are a win away from advancing to the Elite 8 Championships for the first time in school history.
De Leon drove in four runs, while Hannah Sanchez added a home run and two runs batted in for Hartnell, who is 33-9 overall this season.
“I told the girls we took care of business,” Hartnell coach Natalie Basaldua said. “We’re one game away from state. You can make history. But we have to stay locked in.”
Hartnell will host Santa Rosa on Saturday at noon. A loss would force a third and final game later in the afternoon between the two teams for the right to move on to the Elite 8 next weekend in Bakersfield.
“This group doesn’t let anything rattle them,” said Basaldua, a former Gonzales High standout. “We have a lot sophomores that got this experience last year. We have a lot of mature minds.”
Former Greenfield standout Mikayla Sanchez added three hits and two RBI, while going the distance in the circle, improving to 19-5 on the season.
“We have a lot of local talent,” said Basaldua, whose squad is the only program to have beaten state power San Mateo this spring. “I remind them we have to work hard for what we want.”
Hartnell, who finished third in the Coast Conference South behind San Mateo and West Valley, has won all three of its playoff games and is 18-4 at home this season.
Alvarez product Michelle Wallace and Jessalyn Casillas each had two hits for Hartnell, who is averaging 8.5 runs a game in the postseason. Mia Henson, Wallace, Aaliyah Cordova and Mikayla Sanchez all collected doubles.
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