


For the first time since 2015, College Park will play for a North Coast Section baseball championship.
The fifth-seeded Falcons, playing on their home field in Pleasant Hill, blanked ninth-seeded Casa Grande 10-0 on Tuesday to advance to the Division I final.
College Park will play second-seeded De La Salle on Saturday at Saint Mary’s College in a rematch of the 2015 Division I title game, which the Falcons won with a roster that included current big leaguers Trevor Larnach (Twins), Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Reds) and Willie MacIver (A’s).
On Tuesday, James Voorhies pitched a complete game for College Park, scattering five hits and walking one against an opponent that upset top-seeded and defending champion Granada in the previous round.
TJ Reinhart led College Park’s offense with two RBIs. Connor Berkowitz, Desmond Cobb, Jack Carpenter, Davin Koepp, Vincent Vasell, Josh Northrup and Dante Nishizawa each knocked in one.
College Park scored three in the first inning and didn’t look back.
The Falcons stretched the lead to 5-0 in the third inning after Koepp and Reinhart scored on a fielding error. College Park added one in the fourth, then scored four in the sixth to end the game because of the 10-run rule.
College Park (17-10) extended its winning streak to six and has won nine of its past 10.
The Falcons will face a De La Salle team that has won 30 of its past 31 NCS playoff games since losing to College Park a decade ago.
Division III
No. 1 California 7, No. 12 Freedom 4: California built a six-run lead after two innings and held off Freedom in the seventh to advance to the Division III final this weekend against Marin Catholic. Jacob Casiano had two hits and two RBIs and Johnny Edwards tripled among his two hits, knocked in a run and scored twice to lead the Grizzlies on their home field in San Ramon.
Ethan Rye also had two hits and an RBI and Brayden Gijbels pitched 6 1/3 innings to help end Freedom’s Cinderella run. Andrew Borrego had two hits and drove in two runs for Freedom (14-13). California improved to 15-11.
No. 6 Marin Catholic 4, No. 10 Northgate 3: Northgate’s Cinderella run through the Division III playoffs has come to an end. After scoring two runs in the first inning, the Broncos gave up four runs in the fourth and couldn’t recover against host Marin Catholic. Johnny Greco had a two-run RBI double to lead Marin Catholic. Northgate ended its season 18-8.
Division V
No. 5 Kennedy-Fremont 5, No. 1 Pinole Valley 4: Kennedy held on in the bottom of the seventh to upset top-seeded Pinole Valley, keeping its hopes alive for the program’s first NCS baseball championship. The Titans led 5-1 after five innings but gave up two in the sixth and two in the seventh before the game’s final out was recorded in stunning fashion.
Pitcher Abhay Dhaliwal threw to shortstop Michael Pickett, picking off a pinch runner at second base to end the game. Rylan Padilla had two hits and three RBIs, Ethan Kennedy doubled and knocked in two runs and Hunter Padilla had two hits and scored a run to lead Kennedy.
The Titans (14-12) will play second-seeded Arcata for the Division V championship this weekend. Craig Jensen III had two hits, including a double, and two RBIs for Pinole Valley (12-12-1).
Softball Division II
No. 2 Carondelet 11, No. 3 James Logan 4: Maia Scholtens struck out 11 and allowed one unearned run in 6.1 innings and Angela Gates had three hits, including a double, and scored a run as Carondelet rolled into the Division II final this weekend with a victory at home over James Logan. Arielle Henriquez homered and Brooke Hamilton had two hits and an RBI to help put Carondelet in position for its first NCS championship since 2018 and third overall. The Cougars (15-12) will play top-seeded Cardinal Newman for the championship. James Logan dropped to 19-7-1.
No. 1 Cardinal Newman 7, No. 5 Benicia 0: Kloie Ruiz, Alana Robinson and Ava Rojas each had a hit for Benicia, but this one was all Cardinal Newman as the Santa Rosa school cruised on its home field to a semifinal victory. Cardinal Newman (21-6) advanced to a final for the third consecutive year. The Cardinals won the Division III title last season and Division IV crown in 2023. Benicia fell to 16-11.
Division IV
No. 1 Northgate 7, No. 5 Pinole Valley 4: Chloe Alfonso, Addison Baxter and Sophie Hanko each knocked in two runs as Northgate won on its home field in Walnut Creek over Pinole Valley. Julissa Sanchez went 3 for 4 with a triple and an RBI for Pinole Valley. Northgate (12-11) will play No. 2 Berean Christian in the championship game this weekend. The date and time have not been announced. Pinole Valley finished 18-8.
No. 2 Berean Christian 6, No. 6 Salesian 5: Alissa Jones hit a walk-off homer in the bottom of the seventh to send Berean Christian to the Division IV championship game. The Eagles entered the home half of the seventh down a run, but tied the game on a solo homer by freshman Leila Rhoads. In the next at-bat, Jones smacked a pitch to center field to end the game. Berean Christian (18-3) is seeking its second consecutive NCS title. Salesian dropped to 17-7.
Division V
No. 2 Kennedy-Fremont 7, No. 3 Piner 2: Marilyn Rivas was excellent in the circle, striking out eight and allowing no earned runs in a complete-game effort. and Juliette Dekker had two RBIs to lead Kennedy to a victory over Pinole Valley in the semifinals of the Division V playoffs.
Madelyn Montague, Hannah Cornell and Rivas each had one RBI for the Titans (12-8), who will play the winner of Wednesday’s semifinal between McKinleyville and Miramonte this weekend for the championship.