The St. Francis High baseball team nabbed a late lead in extra innings for a 7-6 win against Harbor High in Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League play on May 25.
With the game tied at 6-all, Dez Litel singled on a 3-2 count to drive home the go-ahead run in the top of the 10th inning, giving the Sharks their first and only lead of the game.
Miles Guardino earned the victory on the mound for the Sharks. The right-handed pitcher gave up four hits, but did not allow a run in seven innings of work. He also notched three strikeouts.
Guardino came in to relieve starting pitcher Kai Price, who threw for three innings, allowing three hits and six runs, while striking out four.
The Pirates took an early lead in the first inning after Luke Hartel’s sacrifice fly drove in a run. They drove in two more runs in the second inning to extend the lead to 4-1.
Jackson Gifford batted 2-for-5, while Riley Hesson led the way with four stolen bases for Harbor, which finished the afternoon with nine steals.
St. Francis tallied three runs in the third led by sacrifice flies by Noel Aquino and Kyle Dyer along with a walk drawn by Trey Silva.
Silva delivered a clutch single that evened the game at 6-all in the top of the seventh. He batted 3-for-3 with two RBIs and two walks for St. Francis, which will find out if it will compete in the Central Coast Section playoffs at the section’s seeding meeting on June 9.
Monte Vista Christian 7, St. Francis 2: Jacob Woods was the winning pitcher for the Mustangs in a victory over the Sharks in SCCAL play on May 27.
The right-hander allowed four hits and two runs in five innings. He struck out three batters.
Alex Marks came out of the bullpen to relieve Woods, throwing for two innings to pick up the save.
MVC tallied 13 hits on the day. It got things started in the second inning when Luis Quintero singled on the first pitch to bring in the first run of the game.
Isaiah Rocha, Jack Brothers, Armando Vasquez-Green and Quintero each collected multiple hits for the Mustangs.
Quintero batted 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored; while Rocha batted 2-for-4 with a run scored and a game-high three RBIs.
Noel Aquino started on the mound for St. Francis. He threw for two innings, allowing seven runs on eight hits and walking one batter.
Aquino batted 1-for-2 with an RBI and two walks, and Miles Guardino batted 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Monte Vista Christian 3, Soquel 0: JoJo Keldsen recorded a shutout win that helped lead the Mustangs past the Knights in SCCAL play on May 25.
Keldsen allowed four hits and struck out four batters in seven innings of work.
Diego Mitchell batted 1-for-2 with a pair of RBIs, while Jack Brothers batted 2-for-4 for MVC.
Nate Maas took the loss for Soquel, allowing six hits and three runs in seven innings. He struck out four batters.
Maas clubbed a single in the fourth inning. Alex Kronisch batted 2-for-3 for Soquel.
At North Monterey County 6, King City 1: Willie Bravo threw for 7 innings to lift the Condors past the Mustangs on Senior Day on May 25. He matched a season-best 17 strikeouts and batted 1-for-3 at the plate.
Vince Barajas batted 2-for-4 with an RBI double and two runs scored for North Monterey County, which played Gonzales on Tuesday in the CCS play-in game.
Softball
Aptos 18, Scotts Valley 1: Charlotte Ramirez helped lead the Mariners past the Falcons in SCCAL play on May 25. She batted 3-for-4 with four RBIs.
Aptos tallied eight runs in the third inning led by Ramirez, Raegan Fulton, Sofia Cunha, Dejanae Soria, Milenna Carbajal and Riley Carrera, who each had RBIs in the inning.
The Mariners tallied 24 hits in the game led by Cunha, who batted 4-for-5.
Ada Neu led things off in the circle for the Mariners. The junior righthander allowed three hits and one run in five innings of work. She racked up 11 strikeouts and walked just one batter.
St. Francis 13, Soquel 1: Alicia Mendez was the winning pitcher for the Sharks in a triumph against the Knights in SCCAL play on May 24.
The junior righthander allowed eight hits and one run in six innings of work. She struck out three and allowed one walk.
Sabrina Noto batted 2-for-4 with a home run and two runs scored. Brisea Raygoza batted 3-for-4 with a home run and two runs scored; and Aaliyah Gomez cleared the bases with a triple for three RBIs.
St. Francis tallied 14 hits in the game. Raygoza, Noto, Audrey Hernandez and Brianna Padilla each racked up multiple hits. The Sharks’ defense didn’t commit an error and turned two double plays.
With the win, St. Francis (14-3) clinched a Central Coast Section playoff berth. The seeding meeting takes place Sunday.
Boys basketball
Soquel 61, St.Francis 33: Josh Hernandez scored a team-high seven points for the Sharks in a loss against the Knights in SCCAL play on May 22.
Joseph Rose, Christian Magana and Davin Avila each had six points for St. Francis. Adam Hernandez and Nathaniel Madrigal each contributed three points; while Diego Rameriz had two points for St.Francis, which finished the season with an 0-14 record.
Girls basketball
North Monterey County 61, Watsonville 49: Xitlali Montesino finished with a double-double in a loss against the Condors in non-league play May 28. The sophomore guard had 22 points, 10 rebounds and seven steals.
Michelle Ramirez, sophomore, had five 3-point shots and finished with 15 points for Watsonville.
Swimming
Locals compete at CCS Championship: Monte Vista Chrisitian junior Andrew Sullivan had a strong outing at the 2021 CCS Swimming Championship at San Benito High on May 29.
He placed sixth in 47.41 seconds in the 100-yard freestyle and he finished seventh in 21.55 seconds in the 50 freestyle Saturday, bringing home a medal for MVC, which finished 19th in the standings with 25 points.
On the girls side, Aptos High junior Colette Friedley placed 16th in the 100 breaststroke in 1:09.5 and she finished 12th in the 200 individual freestyle in 2:16.42.
