Freshman outfielder Jazmyn Jackson led Archbishop Mitty to a 4-0 victory over Hillsdale at PAL Stadium on Wednesday, clinching a spot in the Central Coast Section Division II championship.
Jackson was 3 for 3 with a home run and two RBIs.
“She always performs,” Mitty junior Chiara Biagini said of Jackson. “She’s stepped up as a leader for this team.”
The top-seeded Monarchs (27-3) will face either No. 3 Valley Christian (24-5) or No. 7 Prospect (17-4) in Saturday’s final at PAL Stadium. Valley Christian and Prospect play at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at 4:30 p.m. at PAL.
Mitty will be gunning for its sixth CCS title in seven years on Saturday. The Monarchs’ run of five consecutive Division II championships was halted last season.
Jackson’s home run in the fourth inning, a solo shot to center, broke open a scoreless game. She added an RBI double in the fifth.
“She’s been doing that all year,” Mitty coach Brian Yocke said. “The moment’s not too big for her. She plays up to it.”
It helped that Jackson got a little pregame coaching.
“Before the game I had a final, and before the final I hit with Coach Yocke for a half-hour,” she said. “He really helped me a lot. He helped me get my timing down.”
Berlyn Rippentropp and Vanessa Alvarez combined on a three-hit shutout for the Monarchs. Together, they outdueled Hillsdale pitcher Jordan Richwood (21-4), who struck out 12.
Senior second baseman Shannon King had two hits and scored a run for Mitty, and sophomore Catherine Callaway had a pinch RBI single in the sixth inning.
Baseball
San Benito 5, Salinas 0: A tumultuous season for San Benito will end with a shot at a CCS championship.
Senior right-hander Bryan Granger threw a no-hitter to lead the No. 5 Haybalers to a 5-0 victory over No. 8 Salinas. In Saturday’s Division I championship game, San Benito will face Palo Alto, a 5-2 winner over Archbishop Mitty.
Granger got better and better as the afternoon wore on at Municipal Stadium. High school coaches often hide the scorebook from a starter working on a no-hitter, but Granger said Municipal Stadium’s big electronic scoreboard was hard to miss.
If Granger was nervous in the seventh inning, he didn’t show it. He struck out the first two hitters of the inning, and after plunking Salinas’ Jesse White, clinched the no-hitter with his seventh strikeout of the game.
“I always like to save a little bit extra for that last inning,” Granger said with a smile.
San Benito (22-8) lost Arizona State-bound senior right-hander Darin Gillies (4-1, 2.27 ERA) to a fractured right wrist on April 27, and coach Jason Bugg was fired two weeks later after being accused of insulting a player with a homophobic slur.
But the Haybalers have regrouped and may get their ace back for the championship. Gillies had his cast removed Wednesday, and after throwing a bullpen session, said he hopes to get medical clearance to pitch Saturday.
Palo Alto 5, Mitty 2: Wednesday’s late game was set to be a pitcher’s duel, but Mitty’s Brett Fuller walked three and gave up four runs in the first inning before being replaced by Tyler Davis in the second.
Davis struck out nine and allowed just one run, but the No. 2 Monarchs (26-6-1) were unable to catch up.
Palo Alto junior Ben Sneider (11-3) gave up just four hits and two runs over 41/3 innings and senior Drake Swezey held the Monarchs scoreless over 22/3 innings to pick up the save for the third-seeded Vikings (27-9).
“They competed in the strike zone and scattered hits,” Palo Alto coach Erick Raich said. “They weren’t afraid to attack and go at guys.”
Palo Alto senior Christoph Bono had three hits, two runs and three stolen bases, and Jack Witte had a two-run single.
First pitch for Saturday’s championship game is set for 7 p.m. at Municipal Stadium.
Staff writer Alex Pavlovic contributed to this report.
