Granada, San Ramon Valley's NCS playoff game suspended due to darkness

Granada and San Ramon Valley‘s North Coast Section baseball playoff game has been suspended after seven innings with the score tied 5-5.

The NCS contest started at 5 p.m. on Tuesday at Granada and was called on account of darkness by the game’s umpires at approximately 8:15 p.m. Granada’s baseball field does not have any lights, and the field was getting visibly dark during the seventh inning.

Granada coach Corrigan Willis and San Ramon Valley coach Justin Santich-Hughes mutually decided to restart the game on Wednesday at 4 p.m. The game will continue to be played at Granada, the matchup’s higher seed.

The NCS practice of starting playoffs game at 5 p.m. has been a point of discussion for many years. The Central Coast Section typically starts afternoon playoff games at 4 p.m.

It came into play for Granada just two years ago, when the Matadors faced De La Salle in the NCS championship game at Monte Vista High in Danville.

That contest started at 5 p.m. and lasted 11 innings before it was suspended on account of darkness. It restarted the next day at Granada, which won 1-0 in the 14th inning.

Ironically, Monte Vista’s NCS game against Liberty, held in Danville, was also suspended Tuesday due to darkness. The game has lasted – you guessed it – 11 innings so far and is tied 3-3.

Santich-Hughes encountered a similar situation in 2011, when his Acalanes team tied San Marin 4-4 in the NCS Division III championship when the game was called on account of darkness after 10 innings.

"It was called a tie because we had graduation and Disney trips, all that stuff," he said. "We couldn’t make it up. And I know the next couple years after that, because of that, we started at four, and then they went back to five.

"But to put us in this position on a field of no lights, where there’s a chance you might not finish it – if you start at four, we’re finishing – it’s unfortunate. I don’t know if they’re doing it for the gate or for whatever, but just starting at five when we haven’t done that all year doesn’t make any sense. I know a lot of coaches are frustrated about that."

Willis, though he didn’t want to use the late start as an excuse, is among them. While he noted that Granada needs to be ready to play at any time – or on any day, even after an awkward restart – the logistics of starting playoff games an hour earlier, as most teams have done all season, would be much easier.

"That was an interesting ball game," Willis said of a game that still isn't over. "I knew darkness was gonna come into effect, because it was kind of a slow-moving game, and it was getting dark. And the 5 o’clock start doesn’t help, for sure. But this is why you compete and play, for games like this. Hopefully, we come out on top tomorrow."

It was indeed a fascinating portion of a baseball game. On the strength of strong pitching and timely hitting, SRV had a 5-2 lead entering the sixth before Granada mounted a season-saving rally.

Austin Sheldon singled, Tyler Palma walked and Logan Simonetti walked to set the table, then Jack Badger broke the ice with a single to right.

Then Joseph Holt broke through with the big hit, blasting a two-run tying double to deep left that just barely remained inside the park.

That bounce was consequential, as Granada failed to score despite loading the bases with no outs after Luke Creeden reached on a fielder's choice.

Both teams were retired quickly in the seventh, with only SRV's Dario Boban reaching base on a hit-by-pitch.

Granada reliever Brandon Hahn struck out Mitch Nelson to end the top of the seventh and yelled toward the Wolves' dugout after the play. He didn't know it at the time, but that was the last pitch he would throw in the game.

And maybe this season. Though Hahn could have continued to pitch if the game continued Tuesday, pitch count rules prohibit him from retaking the mound to restart the contest on Wednesday.

"I knew it was getting dark, but I didn’t know that was going to be the rest of it," Hahn said. "SRV is in our league, so that’s where it came from. I lost to them a couple weeks ago, so I knew it was win or go home. So I was kind of hyped. I didn’t want to go home."

As it turned out, everyone had to go home.

But they’ll be back on Wednesday.

"Hopefully, we can finish in one inning," Hahn said.

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This story was originally published May 19, 2026 at 10:55 PM.