One big hit deserves another, and St. Vincent de Paul junior Makayla Bignardi followed one home run with another as the host Mustangs overpowered third-seeded Tomales, 14-3, in 4 1/2 innings in Tuesday’s North Coast Section Division VI semifinal in Petaluma.

Bignardi accounted for the bulk of second-seeded St. Vincent’s offense as she rang up two home runs and a double for seven RBIs and four runs. She was no less impressive in the circle with her big arm as she struck out nine Tomales batters and walked one in a three-hitter.

The Mustangs (10-8) are now in position to win their first North Coast Section pennant since they won back-to-back titles in 2012-13 with a team that featured current head coach Morgan Selmi and assistant coaches Ursula Baumgarten and Hannah Sarlatte.The Mustangs will host No. 5 Willits in Friday’s championship at 5 p.m. Willits was a 7-5 upset winner over top-seeded Kelseyville on Tuesday.

St. Vincent’s reached the NCS D-V finals in three consecutive years, 2017-19, but came up short each time. The Mustangs’ last trip to the finals came in 2019 with a 4-3 loss to Hoopa Valley.

“This means a lot,” said Mustangs catcher Gracie Murphy, a Novato resident. “This is my third year here, and the past two years we’ve been out in the first round, so getting to the championship means a lot. I’ve seen how much this team has grown since the beginning, with new players who had no idea how to even throw a softball. So seeing us really grow and win a big playoff game is really important.”

Tomales (15-5) was making its first NCS since 2022, with a very young roster.

“We have a lot of resiliency with these girls,” Tomales first-year head coach Jim Bidia said. “We have five freshmen on the team, some who’d never touched a softball before this season. For them to constantly come out every week and find ways to win has been awesome to watch.”

Braves standout player Nora Giacomini was 2-for-2 at the plate with a home run, and in the circle struck out five batters, but was touched for 13 hits. Behind her, a young Braves squad committed eight costly errors.

Giacomini cleared the fences in left center field with senior Gillian Alves on base for a 2-0 Braves lead in the top of the first inning.

“That home run gave us some confidence,” Giacomini said. “It felt like we had a chance.”

After that, Bignardi went to work at the plate. Mustangs seniors Maddy Rynning and Murphy singled to lead off the bottom of the inning, setting the table for Bignardi to power a shot deep for a three-run homer. Bignardi, facing off against some of her former travel club teammates, followed with an RBI double in the second inning, and Ava McCarthy added a two-run single for a 6-2 St. Vincent lead.

The Mustangs added three more runs in the third inning and in the fourth, Rynning hit an RBI-double and scored on Bignardi’s second homer of the day, a two-run shot.

“I saw the pitch and I was like “Oh, it’s right there,’ and I just did what I do best,” said. Bignardi, who boosted her home run total to six for the season. “I was planning on base hits the whole time, and then turned it into a couple home runs.”

Alves scored from third on a groundout by Maria Gonzalez in the top of the fourth. Giacomini advanced to third on the play, desperate to spur a rally, but was left stranded when Bignardi struck out the next batter to end the inning.

“It means so much to me and to the rest of these girls to make it to the championships,” said senior Lidia Brady, a Novato resident. “We’ve faced a lot of setbacks this season, so to make it this far is incredible to see.”

Brady was 4-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored for the Mustangs, who also got three RBIs from McCarthy. Junior Johanna Stone had a pair of hits and added an RBI and a run.