With two runners on and no outs in the bottom of the fourth inning of the North Coast Section Division III baseball championship game on Friday, California right-hander Ryan Giffins put down the bunt of his life on the scorching Diablo Valley College field.

He pushed the ball in between three Marin Catholic fielders before sprinting down the first-base line to load the bases.

“I just had to get the job done for the boys,” Giffins said.

His catcher and fellow senior Nolan Jess made the small-ball tactic pay off a few moments later, lacing a double to right and driving in two runs, giving the Grizzlies a three-run lead in what would eventually become a 6-1 triumph and the program’s first section title at any level.

“There’s a lot of emotions, and a lot of excitement,” Jess said. “A lot of hard work was put in this year. It’s been a long season.”

California had 10 hits, nine of them singles, and three steals as the Grizzlies employed a steady, selfless and successful approach to moving runners from station to station.

“Our short game has come a long way this year,” second-year coach Sam Carter said. “It’s a testament to them to buy into it and accept that role, because it’s not always easy. Sometimes, you want to swing it.”

The San Ramon school scored one run in the second, three in the breakout third and then one in the fifth and sixth innings each. Marin Catholic avoided the shutout by plating a solitary run in the sixth on a Cooper Mitchell single.

Jess had two hits, and Grayden Wright was 2 for 2 with a pair of RBIs while teammates Jacob Casiano and Ethan Rye each drove in one run apiece.

CCS Division III

No. 1 Carmel 3, No. 3 Willow Glen 2 (8 innings): Willow Glen was behind the eight-ball early in Friday’s Central Coast Section Division III championship game against Carmel at Santa Clara University.

In the third inning, the Rams committed back-to-back errors and found themselves down two runs after Carmel took advantage with a pair of sacrifice flies. Willow Glen responded with a run in the fourth and tied the game in the top of the fifth.

But the Rams couldn’t break through late to take the lead, and that eventually cost them the championship. Carmel walked off a 3-2 win in the bottom of the eighth, securing the Division III title with a walk and two key singles.

“It’s tough when you play great games like that, someone has to win, someone has to lose,” Willow Glen coach Brian Vieira said.

The Rams (23-7) found themselves in a sticky situation when the third inning started with a pair of throwing errors at first base. The end result was Carmel runners at second and third and nobody out.

The Padres (20-10) made Willow Glen pay dearly for its mistakes. Matt Maxon hit a sacrifice fly to right, then Ty Arnold drove a deep fly ball to center, giving Carmel a quick 2-0 lead.

Willow Glen had an uphill climb from there, and the Rams got to work the very next inning. Miles Austin reached on an error and stole second, then Chris Hudson drove him in with a single to right.

The Rams kept at it in the fifth. Austin Korba singled to right, then stole second. With two outs, Haas Perry singled to right, scoring Korba and tying the game 2-2.

NCS Division V

No. 2 Arcata 1, No. 5 Kennedy-Fremont 0: Kennedy traveled 310 miles to play for the NCS Division V championship. The Titans returned home from the near-tip of Northern California with the second-place trophy after Ben Lukens and Anthony Ebert combined on a no-hitter for Arcata (17-11).

Lukens pitched 6 1/3 innings, striking out seven and walking six. Ebert got the final two outs to clinch Arcata’s fourth NCS baseball championship, all since 2016. Isaiah Ebrahimi was impressive on the mound for Kennedy (14-13), allowing just a fifth-inning run. He struck out seven, gave up two hits and walked five.

SOFTBALL

NCS Division IV

No. 1 Northgate 10, No. 2 Berean Christian 0 (5 innings): Berean Christian earned a rematch against Northgate, with much higher stakes, but the result wasn’t much different from the teams’ game in late March.

It was all Northgate. Again.

The top-seeded Broncos captured the NCS Division IV championship on Friday, beating second-seeded Berean Christian in a run-rule rout at Diablo Valley College.

The game ended when Addison Baxter ripped a fifth-inning double to right that brought in Taelyn Jriyasetapong and Sophie Hanko, which clinched Northgate’s first section softball championship.

Two months after the Broncos rolled over Berean Christian 11-2, they were even more impressive this time.

Baxter led the offensive explosion for Northgate (13-11) with two hits and four RBIs. Stella Hanko added two hits and two RBIs and Ashley Herman had a hit and knocked in two runs. Sophie Hanko had two hits and scored three runs and Lucky Franco and Jriyasetapong each had two hits. In the circle, Herman pitched a two-hitter with eight strikeouts and two walks.

Berean Christian finished 18-4.

CCS Division II

No. 1 Hillsdale 4, No. 7 San Mateo 1: Given that Hillsdale hadn’t lost to crosstown rival San Mateo since MaxPreps began recording results two decades ago, there was a clear favorite when the teams met on Saturday morning for the CCS Division II title at West Valley College.

It was more competitive than when they played on May 13 — an 11-1 Hillsdale win — but the Knights ran their record to 16-0 over San Mateo in the MaxPreps era nonetheless.

Hillsdale scored three runs in the fifth to break a 1-1 tie and went on to capture its fifth section title in softball but first since 1991.

Sophia Shelton had two hits and knocked in two runs, Taylor O’Mahony added two hits and Lola Jones struck out seven in a complete-game effort to lead Hillsdale (19-9-1).

Alice Han had three hits, including a homer and double, for San Mateo (16-10).

CCS Division IV

No. 3 Woodside 4, No. 8 Palma 3: Victoria Torsh delivered the big hit for Woodside, hitting a three-run double in the bottom of the first inning Saturday morning at San Jose City College.

But it was Vanessa Carlos’ single in the third and fielding error on the same play that accounted for Woodside’s fourth run, which the Wildcats needed after Palma (10-15-1) rallied for two in the sixth and one in the seventh.

With the tying run on second base, Hannah Walker induced a fly out to center field to end the game and ignite a celebration for Woodside (16-11), which won its first CCS title in softball.

Bay Area News Group’s Darren Sabedra contributed to this report.