NorCal champs! Valley Christian routs Elk Grove with another shutout to win first regional title
ELK GROVE - Is it fair to ask a pitching staff to pitch a shutoutevery game?
Not really. Actually, not at all.
But if you're Valley Christian this high school baseball postseason, it's a luxury you can afford time and again.
For the fifth consecutive game, the Warriors’ pitching staff shut out its playoff opponent, this time beating Elk Grove 12-0 in six innings to win the CIF NorCal Division I championship.
It is the Warriors' first regional title in school history. Valley Christian previously reached the 2023 Division I final and lost an 11-8 heartbreaker to De La Salle at home.
This year, its pitching staff was the one breaking hearts – and the wills of opposing hitters. The Warriors finished the playoffs with a run of 38 consecutive scoreless innings dating back to their Central Coast Section opening-round win over Willow Glen.
"Might be the new norm," said Rahul Patel, who pitched five scoreless innings before handing the ball to Alex Kim to close out the game in the sixth. "The pitching for the last couple weeks has been amazing. Gabe (Felix), Alex, everyone has been just phenomenal these past couple weeks."
Across 41 playoff innings, Felix, Patel and Kim – all seniors – combined to throw every frame and only gave up two runs in one inning against Willow Glen.
Felix and Patel shared the mantle of super starter, then Kim closed out any game they couldn't finish themselves. They didn't always need him much or at all – Patel shut out Los Gatos by himself in the CCS semifinals, and Felix went 6 ⅓ in the NorCal semis against De La Salle.
One thing's for sure. There was no weak arm for the opposition to target.
Everyone was an ace during this playoff run.
"It’s whatever the team needs," Kim said. "If they need me to close, I’ll close. If they need me to start, I'll start. It’s really just about getting the job done and putting the team on my back."
Though the offense has often been there to give the Warriors' pitchers room to breathe throughout the playoffs, Valley Christian (23-9) kicked things up a notch on Saturday.
VC scored six runs in the first inning, batting around before Elk Grove starter Cooper Gannon had even a moment to settle in.
The Thundering Herd (29-7) lifted Gannon with only one out recorded in the inning, and Valley added one more run against replacement Anthony Bascherini before Elk Grove finally retired the side.
After taking a breather in the middle innings, the Warriors got their offense going again in the fifth, scoring twice to take an 8-0 lead.
That set them up to bring the 10-run rule into effect, and Chase Vong had the money hit in the sixth, clearing the bases with a two-out double to put Valley up 11-0.
"Before that, I was imagining myself in that moment, making that swing every time I go into the box,” said Vong, who finished with four RBIs overall. "When I made that swing, it felt like all this time I was going to Valley Christian, it was building up to that moment."
You could say John Diatte's tenure at Valley Christian was leading to this conclusion. Diatte, 60, has led VC for 37 years.
He's only had five years to chase a NorCal title since the tournament was introduced in 2022. The Warriors have made the Division I tournament every time.
He'd done just about everything else, winning 12 CCS championships and sending countless players to college.
However many more years he coaches – he said he wants to go 10 more – this may end up his crowning achievement.
It'd be hard to imagine a more perfect playoff run. But next year, Valley Christian can try.
The first state championship game between the NorCal and SoCal champs will be played to end next season.
That's a challenge for next spring's group to chase. Diatte is plenty happy with where he's at right now.
"The CCS championship, that’s all we’ve had for like years," Diatte said. "So you win that section championship, and you feel like, man, you accomplished something amazing, right? You’re at Municipal Stadium, and I guess it’s Excite Ballpark now, but everybody’s excited, and there’s a dog pile.
"And then Monday rolls around, and you’re right back at it, and you’re trying to get the kids focused. So what I’m gonna say is that I’m really happy that tomorrow I’m done. I’m just going to celebrate this."
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This story was originally published June 6, 2026 at 8:28 PM.