NCS playoff roundup: Washington edges Cardinal Newman in D-II baseball
Ehkam Braich didn’t get much run support on Wednesday in the first round of the North Coast Section Division II baseball playoffs.
But he didn’t need it.
The Washington-Fremont senior pitched six scoreless innings and Joseph Guerra drove in the only run as the seventh-seeded Huskies edged 10th-seeded Cardinal Newman 1-0.
Hugo Marks pitched the seventh inning for the save as Washington advanced to play at second-seeded Northgate on Saturday.
The only offense for either side came in the home half of the third as Carter Moore singled with one out and Peyton Romero followed with a two-out single.
Guerra then singled to center to knock in Moore from second base.
Cardinal Newman had just three hits. Washington managed four, all but one accounting for the third-inning rally.
Washington improved to 19-6. Cardinal Newman finished 13-13.
No. 2 Northgate 11, No. 15 Eureka 1 (5 innings): Leading by two entering the fifth inning, host Northgate exploded for eight runs to put an end to this first-round game by mercy rule.
Luke Dress had three hits, including a double, and drove in three runs, and Andres Zaragoza Roberts and Mason Mierzwa had two RBIs apiece to lead Northgate.
Brandon King pitched five innings for Northgate, which improved to 19-6.
Eureka finished 20-8.
No. 8 Bishop O’Dowd 4, No. 9 Benicia 1: Behind solid pitching from Dimitri Williams, the Dragons downed Benicia at home to advance to the quarterfinals.
Williams struck out three and allowed just four hits and an earned run across five innings. O’Dowd junior Oliver Makeig knocked in two runs and Williams added an RBI.
O’Dowd will travel to McKinleyville on Saturday for their next matchup.
Benicia ends it season 13-12.
No. 12 Alameda 15, No. 5 Freedom 6: Alameda led 10-0 after 1 1/2 innings, withstood a five-run Freedom rally and then cruised to a first-round upset on the road in Oakley.
Muscle was the story of the day.
Archer Schullstrom, Kayden Thai, Parker Nomura and Noah Nonato each hit a home run as the Hornets pounded their way to nine extra-base hits and 14 hits overall.
Connor Kniep pitched five innings of one-run ball for Alameda, which will play No. 13 Marin Catholic on Saturday at College of Alameda.
The Hornets improved to 15-12. Freedom closed the season 15-10.
No. 13 Marin Catholic 8, No. 4 Encinal 3: The Jets couldn't overcome a five-run, first-inning deficit as their season ended with a loss at home to Marin Catholic.
Freshman Enzi-Yaw Otieku led Encinal with two hits and two RBIs. Senior Eric Proctor also knocked in a run.
Marin Catholic scored eight runs on eight hits and took advantage of four Encinal errors.
Encinal finished 19-8.
Division IV
No. 11 Livermore 4, No. 6 Piedmont 2: Livermore scored two runs in the visitor’s half of the seventh to break a 2-2 tie and held on to defeat Piedmont in a first-round game.
Matthew Kilkenny’s one-out single drove in the two runs in the seventh to give Livermore the lead. Braden Ford and Ajay Sahi also had an RBI for the Cowboys (7-18).
Massimo Mittone and Jack Meyjes knocked in Piedmont’s runs.
Livermore will visit third-seeded Justin-Siena on Saturday. Piedmont finished 8-16-2.
SOFTBALL
Division II
No. 4 College Park 5, No. 13 Heritage 2: College Park scored four in the third to erase a one-run deficit and that was enough to defeat Heritage in an opening-round game.
Freshman Elle Osborne had three hits and scored two runs and Mia Pfeiffer had two hits and an RBI to lead College Park, which advanced to play at home Friday against fifth-seeded Castro Valley.
College Park upped its record to 18-6. Heritage finished 16-7.
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This story was originally published May 20, 2026 at 10:32 PM.