DLS captures title

The very first pitch of the game was driven into the right-centerfield gap as De La Salle leadoff hitter John Velasco tripled. Velasco was brought in by Cal Poly commit Austin Dondanville, who drove in three runs on the day to lead the Spartans to a North Coast Section Championship. With ace Justin Hooper delivering a solid performance on the mound, De La Salle beat San Ramon Valley, 6-2.

Dondanville led the offensive charge for the Spartans, going 2-for-3 with three runs batted in and two steals. Outfielder Michael Mcadoo drove in two runs on an RBI-triple, which put De La Salle ahead, 6-0, early in the game. Hooper went five and one third innings, while allowing just one earned run, he struck-out three and hit two batters. Senior Henry Alms came in to shut the door as he got a huge double play ball in the seventh inning.

San Ramon Valley went down by a lot early as their starting pitcher, Connor Loar, went just 1 and one third innings, giving up six earned runs. The Wolves bullpen did not allow a single run after Loar exited the game, Conor Neumann was inserted to limit the damage. Conner Morgan came in with the bases loaded and no outs and managed to get out of the inning after Neumann exited.

As for offense, the Wolves managed just two hits, the big one came on a Ryan Weisenberg triple, he would come in to score on an RBI groundout off the bat of Stanford commit Matt Winaker. The only other San Ramon Valley run would come on a passed ball as the hits just were not coming the Wolves way.

De La Salle finishes their season on a high note by capturing the NCS Championship. The Spartans end up with a 21-7 record, but nothing was better for them than beating a league rival for the title, especially after San Ramon had swept the season series two games to zero.

San Ramon Valley, no matter the result, can walk away knowing they had a terrific season. The Wolves finish with a 20-8 record as they had cruised their way to the NCS Finals. With young talent returning next year, they look primed to make yet another deep run into the postseason.