Franklin baseball, Destiny Christian softball eliminated in CIF tournament play
The end came too soon and swift for the Sacramento area’s top-ranked baseball team and third-ranked softball club on a mixed day from CIF Northern California Regional openers on Tuesday.
Seeded second in the Division I baseball bracket, Franklin High School of Elk Grove fell to No. 7 Los Gatos, 9-8, as the Wildcats of Santa Clara County held off a late rally. Franklin came in as winners of the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I tournament.
Also in NorCal Division I, No. 8-seeded Del Oro of Loomis lost at top-seeded and two-time NorCal champion De La Salle, 7-3, in Concord. Del Oro was coming off of its first section championship since 1991. Carson Moore had three hits, including two doubles, and Shane Maloney homered for Del Oro.
In Sacramento, a two-time defending NorCal softball champion lost its opener when King’s Academy of Sunnyvale rallied for a 5-4 victory over Destiny Christian Academy in Division II, in one of the biggest upsets of the day for either sport.
The Knights rallied to win by scoring three runs in the top of the seventh inning. Despite striking out 12 times, King’s Academy collected seven hits. For King’s Academy Katia Nesper and Mia Bennette each drove in two runs, and Nesper struck out 14.
DCA wanted to be in the Division I bracket in the CIF’s “competitive-equity” model where strength of program and schedule are factors over school enrollment. The Lions, formerly known as Capital Christian, finished 23-3.
Softball Division I
Oak Ridge 10, Capuchino 0 — The top-seeded Trojans scored four runs in the bottom of the first inning and five in the second and rolled the Mustangs of San Bruno in El Dorado Hills.
Brooklyn Paratore had a double and a triple and drove in three runs, and Emery Glaser, Arissa Jerrett and Aly Watson had two RBI for the three-time defending Division I section champions. Ellison Schroeder allowed two singles and struck out six in five innings for Oak Ridge, which sealed it after five innings due to the CIF’s mercy rule.
Whitney 2, Clovis North 1 — Emma Rabe had two hits and two RBIs, including the game winner, Rebecca Rau had two hits, and Grace Boyd and Larissa Ragowski each scored a run as the No. 4-seeded Wildcats of Rocklin squeezed out a victory in eight innings.
Whitney at 4 p.m. Thursday will play at Oak Ridge in an all-Sierra Foothill League semifinal.
Del Oro 9, Willow Glen 4 — The No. 2-seeded Golden Eagles scored seven runs in the bottom of the first inning and two in the fourth, and Kate Brown and Caelyn Campos each drove in three runs to hold off the Rams of San Jose, who came in at 28-2.
Mikayla Finn overcame eight walks to strike out four as Del Oro improved to 29-2. Del Oro on Thursday hosts Saint Francis of Mountain View in a semifinal, a team that eliminated SFL-member Rocklin 3-2 on Tuesday.
Division IV
East Nicolaus 7, Woodside 1 — Gabby Sotelo had two RBI, Makinze Massey and Lilly Smith each had an RBI, and Kaylyn Ponce scored two runs to power the top-seeded Spartans of the Northern Section past the Wildcats of San Mateo County.
East Nicolaus stole five bases — two by Smith — and Spartans pitchers Kylah Glenn and Stevie Knight combined on a three-hitter and 12 strikeouts to set up a semifinal meeting at home on Thursday against No. 4 Northgate of Walnut Creek, an 11-2 winner over Gridley.
Baseball Division II
Yuba City 5, Hollister 1 — Brody Miller had two hits and two RBIs, and Elijah Moncher, Max Guth and Wyatt Lane each had an RBI to fuel the top-seeded Honkers past the Haybalers of San Benito County.
Ashton Decker earned the win, pitching 5.2 innings of four-hit ball with four strikeouts for Yuba City, which next hosts No. 5 Lodi, a 3-0 winner over No. 4 Casa Grande.
Division III
Roseville 9, California 4 — The top-seeded Tigers scored five runs in the bottom of the fourth inning and three in the sixth while pounding out 11 hits to eliminate the Grizzlies of San Ramon.
Freshman Benjamin Jordan had three hits, two doubles and three RBIs, and Jacob Welch drove in three runs for Roseville, which hosts No. 4 Fowler of Fresno County on Thursday. Fowler beat Lincoln of Placer County 2-1 in an opener.
Division IV
Woodland Christian 10, Durham 0 - Jayden Badhesha homered and had four RBI, and he struck out eight as the winning pitcher to power the defending champion Cardinals past the Trojans of Butte County.
Badhesha’s twin brother and battery mate had a hit and three RBI for Woodland Christian.
▪ For complete brackets, tickets and NFHS streaming links, visit the CIF State page here.
CIF Northern California Regional scores
BASEBALL
Division I
De La Salle 7, Del Oro 3
St. Mary’s 4, Valley Christian 3
Serra 2, College Park 1
Los Gatos 9, Franklin-Elk Grove 8
Division II
Yuba City 5, Hollister 1
Lodi 3, Casa Grande 0
Acalanes 9, Chico 3
Saint Francis 5, Central Catholic-Modesto 0
Division III
Roseville 9, California 4
Fowler 2, Lincoln 1
Rancho Cotate 7, Kingsburg 2
Carmel 9, Morro Bay 0
Division IV
Woodland Christian 10, Durham 0
Menlo-School 2, Las Lomas 0
Santa Clara 10, Oakland Tech 9
West Valley 9, Arcata 8
Division V
Etna 6, Maxwell 9
Los Molinos 13, Swett 3
Lincoln-SF 16, Vacaville Christian 4
Stevenson 5, Torres 2
SOFTBALL
Division I
Oak Ridge 10, Capuchino 0
Whitney 2, Clovis North 1
Saint Francis 3, Rocklin 2
Del Oro 9, Willow Glen 4
Division II
Vanden 8, Foothill 6
Liberty 14, Central Catholic 3
King’s Academy 5, Destiny Christian 4
Salinas 5, Casa Grande 2
Division III
Liberty 1, Foothill 0
Pleasant Valley 1, Carondelet 0
Cardinal Newman 5, Calaveras 1
*No. 1 Hillsdale, bye
Division IV
East Nicolaus 7, Woodside 1
Northgate 11, Gridley 2
San Leandro 4, University Prep 3
Aptos 4, Argonaut 3
Division V
Biggs 10, Willits 0
Miramonte 7, Oakland 4
King City 11, Torres 1
Balboa 20, Foresthill 3
This story was originally published June 3, 2025 at 10:38 PM.