Oakmont wins, Whitney forfeits and other results from CIF Northern California semifinals
The final day of the 2023-24 sports year for California high schools is Saturday.
Three Sacramento-area baseball teams and four softball teams are among the last ones standing with CIF Northern California championships within grasp.
Top-seeded Oakmont rallied from a three-run deficit to defeat Christopher of Gilroy 5-3 in a Division III baseball semifinal on Thursday in Roseville.
The visiting Cougars scored three runs in the third inning, but Oakmont junior pitcher Trevor Wilson cruised from there, finishing with eight strikeouts, one walk and one earned run as Oakmont improved to 29-7. The Vikings set up a showdown with No. 2 Central Catholic of Modesto in a Sac-Joaquin Section rematch.
Central Catholic was a 1-0 winner over No. 6 Justin-Siena of Napa in the other semifinal. The Raiders suffered a 3-0 loss to Oakmont in the D-III section final on May 23 at Islander Field in Lathrop when Wilson fired a two-hitter with 11 strikeouts and no walks.
Wilson improved to 10-1 this season. He and his teammates now leave it up to staff and co-ace Ayden Dringenberg (9-2) to finish the season. A junior, Dringenberg will start for coach Paul Martinez in Saturday’s championship game at 4 p.m. in Roseville. Martinez is the only Sacramento-area baseball coach to win Sac-Joaquin Section championships at three schools (San Juan, Del Campo, Oakmont).
Cooper Kunis and Gabe Carrillo each had two hits for Oakmont. Kunis, Dringenberg, Tony Lira, Beau Ogles and Jayden Perkins each had RBIs. Perkins, who is scheduled to undergo knee surgery next week, is an inspiration for Oakmont. His single gave the Vikings a 5-4 lead in the sixth inning. Perkins did not have a hit in Oakmont’s previous eight playoff games.
In other semifinal games:
Division IV baseball
Bradshaw Christian 6, Mountain View 1: The No. 2 Pride scored six runs in the bottom of the sixth inning and only had three RBI but benefited from six walks by the No. 3 Spartans.
Bradshaw Christian has won 15 consecutive games. Junior ace and Stanford-committed David Wiser scattered six hits and struck out seven to improve to 13-1 as Bradshaw Christian moved to 31-1 heading into the final at top-seeded Piedmont.
Wiser was the starting pitcher as a freshman two seasons ago when Bradshaw Christian beat unbeaten and host Colusa for a NorCal championship.
Division V baseball
Woodland Christian 9, Ferndale 0: Wyatt Bickel had a day.
The senior crushed a three-run home run in the bottom of the second inning and tossed a three-hitter with six strikeouts to lead the No. 2-seeded Cardinals in the mercy-shortened contest.
Owen Tessier had two hits and an RBI, Gabe Sanchez had three hits, an RBI and scored two runs, and Jayden Badhesha had two hits and three RBI for Woodland Christian, which moved to 24-4.
The Yolo County school’s football team went 15-0 last fall to win the CIF Division 5-A state championship. Sanchez was the star quarterback.
Division I softball
Whitney forfeits
The rematch between Sierra Foothill League rivals who played for the section D-I championship on Saturday did not happen.
Whitney on Wednesday night was formally eliminated from the NorCal D-I field for using a seldom-used ineligible player in a section playoff game. Whitney lost to Oak Ridge 3-0 in the section finals and then defeated Mitty of San Jose 2-0 in a NorCal opener on Tuesday. The Sacramento-based CIF state office was informed by the section office of the ineligible player.
Oak Ridge, seeded sixth, will host the finals at home in El Dorado Hills against No. 8 Amador Valley of Pleasanton, a 7-2 winner over Clovis North in the other semifinal.
“Whitney was removed from the regional softball playoffs due to the use of an ineligible player during the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs on May 14,” CIF Associate Executive Director Brian Seymour said in a text. “The school self-reported the violation to the section office.”
Asked by Mitch Stephens of SBLive Sports on Thursday why Mitty did not get to advance to the semifinal to play Oak Ridge due to the forfeit, Seymour wrote: “We do not advance teams in regional tournaments after the conclusion of the contest. It’s a long-standing policy.”
Division II softball
Capital Christian 3, Salinas 0: Sophomore Ayla Tuua tossed a complete-game two-hitter with 10 strikeouts, her senior sister Alannah Tuua had an RBI double and a home run, and McKayla Fulmer had a homer to power the No. 8-seeded Cougars back to a NorCal final in eliminating No. 4 Salinas.
Capital Christian was the only Sacramento-area softball or baseball team that won a NorCal title last season.
The Cougars (23-5-1) will visit No. 3 Willow Glen of San Jose in the championship game.
Division III softball
Sutter 3, College Park 2: The fourth-seeded Huskies scored their runs in the first two innings and held on to move to 30-0, upsetting the top-seeded Falcons of Pleasant Hill to reach their second final in three seasons.
Alexa Carino’s two-out sacrifice fly scored Olivia Bauer for a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Madison Schamanski had an RBI to extend it to 2-0. Olivia Baer drove in Megan O’Neal to make it 3-0 in the top of the second.
Bauer tossed a complete-game, allowing seven hits to improve her record to 25-0.
Dixon 3, Capuchino 2: The No. 3 Rams received two RBIs from Gomez and one from Garcia, and senior ace Felesha LePenske scattered seven hits over six scoreless innings to beat the Mustangs of San Bruno.
Dixon (22-4) extended its winning streak to 12 games. The Rams will host Sutter on at 4 p.m. Saturday for the championship.
Division IV softball
East Nicolaus 19, St. Helena 0: The Spartans scored six runs in the top of the first inning, six in the third and five in the fifth to blast the top-seeded Saints in a five-inning mercy-shortened game.
Peyton Becker had two RBI for East Nicolaus, a longtime Northern Section powerhouse. Maddie Norton, Adriana Nebuloni, Kira Mashburn, Jordyn Brogard, Natalie Avara and Kaylyn Ponce each drove in a run
Stevie Knight and Kylah Glenn combined to toss a two-hitter with no walks and seven strikeouts for East Nicolaus, which improved to 25-4 with its seventh win in a row. St. Helena (22-5) committed six errors as its 12-game winning streak came to an end.
For complete scores and brackets, visit the CIF state website.
This story was originally published May 31, 2024 at 5:00 AM.