NCS playoffs | St. Bernard's baseball rolls to semifinals; Eureka softball advances

There are a couple of teams left in the North Coast Section playoffs - St. Bernard's baseball and Eureka softball.

Baseball

The St. Bernard's baseball team, after a first-round bye in the North Coast Section Division 6 Playoffs, opened quarterfinal action at home Saturday as the top seed, besting Pinole Valley 5-3. Michael Manzi started and gave up three runs in the opening two innings, as the Crusaders went down 3-2 after not playing well behind their pitcher, according to head coach Matt Tomlin. But SB rallied behind the strength of a three-run fifth inning to ultimately take the result. Saehwon Kwan was solid in relief for the home team, pitching three innings to earn the victory with the only blemish a walk, striking out two. Manzi had struck out seven in his four innings.

Sophomore Henry Hinrichs led the Crusaders at the plate in his return from injury, going 2-for-3 with a double, two runs scored, and a run batted in. Maxwell Collins also had a solid game, reaching base in all three of his plate appearances with two walks, a hit, and a run.

"Saehwon was the superstar; he threw three hitless, scoreless innings to get us the victory," said Tomlin. Hinrichs got credit for being outstanding at the plate and also making a diving play at third base that saved a run at third base. He later moved over to second for four innings and turned a double play. "He was the position player of the game," said Tomlin.

Hinrichs is still suffering from soreness from his collision with Crusader first baseman Luke Brunton on a pop-up into shallow right field against Eureka in the Lakin Tournament, but "really gave us a spark," according to Tomlin. "I thought Michael also pitched well and got us our of some jams in the first and second inning, when we didn't play great defense behind him. He was able to get some strikeouts to get out of big jams." Manzi received kudos for his work at catcher as well.

"Henry really played well the whole game," added Tomlin. "And the last three weeks, he's been on fire prior to the injury and now that he's back, picking up right where he left off. He's definitely playing good baseball."

Looking ahead, SB will take on No. 5 seed Newark Memorial in the section semifinals on Wednesday at 4 p.m.

"We've got a big challenge," said Tomlin. "They've got a really good pitcher who'll throw about 88 miles per hour on his fastball. He's struck out a lot of guys, in 80 innings around 120. He's only walked 15, and we're facing a big-time college prospect tomorrow. We're going to have our work cut out for us, but do our best to prepare for the challenge."

Softball

Eureka High remains the only softball squad standing from the Humboldt-Del Norte League, as they won their quarterfinal opener against No. 8 San Domenico on Saturday by the final of 13-1 in five innings in the North Coast Section Division 5 bracket. Mackenze Wolff was the stalwart in the circle for the No. 1 seed Loggers, going all five innings and allowing just the one unearned run on four hits, with three strikeouts and one walk.

Bailey Brown went 2-for-3 at the plate for Eureka with a double and three runs scored, and Macy Secor also went 2-for-3 with a double and three runs scored, adding three runs batted in. Megan Secor was 1-for-1 with two walks, a stolen base, a run, and an RBI, and Jaycee Childress was 1-for-2 with a walk, a triple, a run scored, and two RBIs. Kylee Secor and Ella Moxon both had a hit, a run, and an RBI.

Eureka took a 5-1 lead after the first inning before sealing the contest with an eight-run fourth. The Loggers next host Moreau Catholic on Tuesday evening in the semifinals. Head coach Bob Secor was not available for comment by press time.

Meanwhile, the South Fork softball team saw its playoff journey end Saturday at the hands of No. 5 Moreau Catholic in a home game for the Cubs, 9-2, also in the NCS Division 5 bracket. The No. 4 seed Cubs got an early home run, but couldn't sustain the positive momentum, though they snapped a five-game scoreless streak by Mariner pitching. Mackenzie Coleman got the early solo shot for South Fork, Hailey Shepherd had two hits and scored a run, and Makenzie Brewer had two knocks, but outside of that, the Cub bats were largely quiet.

"We struggled, we were kind of swinging at bad pitches, weren't really focusing in the box on what we should be swinging at," said Cub head coach Lisa Todd. "We'd get girls on, and leave them stranded. We just weren't producing enough runs, and I think we had 13 strikeouts… I thought Mackenzie (with her first-inning home run) would set the tone for our hitting, and we just didn't follow suit."

She said Leila Coleman did a good job in the circle against a hard-hitting team (four of the nine runs were earned, as Coleman gave up 12 hits and struck out five while walking one). She was satisfied with her outfield and defensive play, but saw the opposition net two home runs and make use of hitting into the gaps. Moreau plated three in the third inning, two in the fifth, and four in the sixth. They were moved down to Division 4 from the regular season.

"I think we gave it our best shot, if we would've hit better, we would've had a better outcome," said Todd. "But they were a good team, and I'm proud of them for how they played, holding their own and getting as far as we did… I'm proud of the girls, we worked hard all year, league champs for the second year in a row, and proud of what we accomplished. I think next year we'll be just as strong."

-Ken McCanless can be reached at 707-441-0526.

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This story was originally published May 26, 2026 at 8:06 PM.