CCS playoff roundup: Seven county teams extend postseason run
CARMEL – Bigger challenges await in a stacked division. Yet, pitching in the baseball postseason matters, and Carmel High has some guys with golden arms.
Add a little punch at the plate and the top-seeded Padres are headed to the Central Coast Section Division II baseball semifinals after an 8-4 win Saturday over visiting Menlo-Atherton.
Champions of the Pacific Coast Athletic League Gabilan Division, Carmel threw Stanford-bound Matt Maxon and Kenny Sanchez at Menlo-Atherton, extending their season, where it will host No. 5 seed Mitty of San Jose on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Owners of eight straight wins, the Padres have scored 92 runs during their current run. Mitty opened the tournament with a 4-2 win over West Catholic Athletic League rival Sacred Heart Cathedral.
The Padres put on a display of power at the plate with Alex Hirschfield and Sean Carr both ripping two-run homers. Sanchez and Skyler Brown each added clutch hits.
Palma 9, Palo Alto 2: The No. 2 seeded Chieftains turned to Zach Gonzales, who tossed six solid innings, while ripping a three-run homer in a lopsided win over Palo Alto.
Palma has scored 59 runs in its past six games, improving 21-7 overall. It will host No. 3 seed Burlingame – 2-0 winners over Leigh – either on Tuesday or Wednesday in the Division II semifinals.
Dylan Rocchi added two hits for the Chieftains – the Gabilan Division runner-ups, including a three-run homer, while Rocco Razzeca finished with two hits.
Division IV
Piedmont Hills 2, Monterey 1: Despite a gem on the mound from Johnny Money, the Toreadores couldn’t provide enough support at the plate in seeing their season end in the Division IV quarterfinals at Solecito Park.
Money struck out nine, while allowing just four hits as Monterey (14-14) went 1-3 this season in games decided by one run. He also scored the team’s only run.
Anthony Esquivel collected two hits, while Grayson Everett drove in a run as the Toreadores outhit Piedmont Hills 7-4, yet left 11 runners stranded on the base paths.
Division V
Sobrato 4, Stevenson 2: Bumped up a division for the postseason, the defending CCS Division VI champions were knocked out by No. 3 seed Sobrato of Morgan Hill in the Division V tournament.
UC Davis-bound Phinn Thomas and Jacob Hall combined to strike out 11 for Stevenson, which defended its Mission Division title this spring.
Thomas also collected two hits, while Brady Mugan finished with two hits and two RBI for Stevenson (17-7).
San Mateo 7, Salinas 4: A tumultuous season that included a coaching change at mid-season ended in the Division V quarterfinals for Salinas.
The top-seeded Bearcats erupted for six runs in the third inning to build a 7-0 lead over Salinas, which scored three runs in the sixth inning and actually had the tying run at the plate in the seventh.
Brady Knoch collected two hits and an RBI for the Cowboys, who finished 10-18 overall, while Gavin Rainey finished with two hits. Bradeon Cagle and Isaac Garcia each drove in a run.
Division VI
Pacific Grove 7, Monta Vista 2: Northrup Kirk broke up a 2-2 tie in the fifth inning with a run-scoring single as the Breakers erupted for four runs in the inning en route to ending Monta Vista of Cupertino’s season.
Runner-ups in the Mission Division, the No. 4 seeded Breakers (15-12) will visit top seed Gunn – 5-1 winners over Design Tech – on Tuesday in the semifinals.
Kai Clarkson added a run-scoring single during Pacific Grove’s four-run uprising in the fifth inning.
Softball
Open Division
St. Francis 1, Salinas 0: The defending Northern California Division II champion Cowboys put a scare into state-ranked and top-seeded St. Francis of Mountain View in the Open Division.
In fact, it took a solo homer in the bottom of the ninth inning for the Lancers to escape with a 1-0 win over Salinas and advance to the Open Division semifinals, ensuring a spot in the NorCal tournament.
Gigi Rossi and Kasey Domenighini each had two hits for No. 8 seed Salinas, which went 1-3 in its last four games decided by one run, finishing the year 18-9.
Willow Glen 7, Palma 0: Thrown into the Open Division in just their second season of sports, the Chieftains ran into a hot Willow Glen team.
Palma, which put together a six-game improvement this past season, went 9-1 down the stretch to finish second in the Gabilan Division behind Hollister, ending the year 16-9.
Division I
Alisal 8, Piedmont Hills 1: The Mission Division co-champions opened the Division I playoffs by going on the road and upsetting No. 2 seed Piedmont Hills of San Jose for their first postseason win in over 35 years.
Seeded No. 7 in the Division I playoffs, the Trojans (18-5) turned to pitcher Abigail Walker, who was dynamic in the circle to extend their season into Tuesday’s semifinals, where they’ll face Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League champion and No. 3 seed Aptos.
Micah Smith and Brooklyn Smith each had multiple hits, including triples for Alisal, which is 12-1 in its last 13 games. Neveah Lopez and Chloe Ruvalcaba both recorded multiple hits.
Division II
Monterey 3, Homestead 2: Nicole Seal was sensational in the circle, striking out 13 as the Toreadores went on the road as the No. 7 seed and stunned No. 2 Homestead of Sunnyvale.
With Homestead intentionally walking Utah University-bound Danae Lee twice, Jenna Deese made them pay by driving in a pair of runs for Monterey, which will visit No. 6 seed Burlingame – 10-0 winners over No. 3 Mercy – on Tuesday in the semifinals.
Lee, who broke the Monterey single-season school record for homers with 13, and is one away from tying the county record, is hitting over .500 this year.
Bella Berry singled home a run for Monterey (14-10), with Brooklyn Yamashita adding a single in the No. 9 slot in the order, while scoring a pair of runs.
Woodside 4, Carmel 2: The top-seeded Padres were upset in the quarterfinals by No. 8 seed Woodside, seeing their magical season abruptly end.
Co-champions of the Mission Division, Carmel came into the playoffs riding a six-game winning streak and was 15-1 in their last 16 games.
Division IV
Pacific Grove 2, Leland 1: Alex Giammanco handcuffed Leland at the plate, striking out six in hurling the Breakers into the semifinals of the Division IV tournament.
Having gone just 1-14 after being forced into the Gabilan Division this past spring, Pacific Grove won a play-in game to advance to the postseason.
Owners of three wins in their past four games, the No. 7 seeded Breakers will visit No. 3 Branham – 14-2 winners over Presentation – on Tuesday.
Destiny Buckles drove in a run for Pacific Grove (8-18 overall), while Jasmine Booker and Izzy Turnver both scored runs. North Salinas fell 8-5 to King’s Academy in the other Division IV bracket.
Division V
North County 11, Design Tech 1: Ariana Makela tossed a three-hitter, striking out 11 as the Condors advanced to the semifinals of the Division V tournament.
Makela contributed at the plate as well with a pair of doubles, driving in two runs for North County, who will face No. 2 Santa Clara – 12-2 winners over Fremont on Tuesday.
On the heels of the program’s first league title in 31 years, the Cypress Division champion Condors (19-8) saw Maya Ibarra double and triple, knocking in a pair while scoring three, with Samantha Scharton adding two hits and two RBI.
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This story was originally published May 24, 2026 at 12:05 AM.