Castro Valley in driver’s seat for league crown after notching win over Encinal

ALAMEDA Castro Valley hasn t won a league title in at least years But after Friday s win over Encinal that drought might conclusively end Behind a dominant pitching performance from Owen Seidel the Trojans shut out Encinal - on the road to take a commanding lead in the West Alameda County Conference Foothill Division standings Seidel struck out nine and allowed just one hit across six innings to notch his fifth win of the season Castro Valley pitcher Encinal celebrates his double play against Encinal High in the sixth inning of a baseball contest at the College of Alameda baseball field in Alameda Calif on Friday May Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Berkeley defeated second-place Piedmont on Friday meaning Castro Valley just necessities to split next week s two-game series against Alameda to capture the WAC Foothill Division regular season title We ve been dreaming about this moment since freshman year senior infielder David Colon disclosed about the chance of winning a league title Castro Valley hasn t had the chance to win the league championship in forever We came a long way and can t wait to be on top Castro Valley struggled to find a rhythm early as Encinal pitcher Anthony Wilson retired Castro Valley s first eight batters four of which by strikeout But that all changed in the top of the third inning when senior left fielder Arthur Sims came up to bat With two outs and two runners on Sims drilled a pitch to the left field wall that scored Anthony and Diego Mares to put Castro Valley on the board Wilson finished Friday s championship striking out nine and allowing five hits two of which came by Sims in a complete match effort I haven t had the greatest at-bats this year Sims mentioned To come up big for my band in that spot to rally and get hits speaks volume to our teamwork and our bond Castro Valley s Arthur Sims follows the flight of his -run double against Encinal High in the second inning of a baseball tournament at the College of Alameda baseball field in Alameda Calif on Friday May Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group On defense the Trojans were dominant Seidel gave up his only hit in his first at-bat of the contest but then retired Encinal s next batters My fastball was working good and I just followed that up with a good off speed pitch Seidel disclosed Everything was on in the present day Encinal did have chances to count but Castro Valley held on In the home half of the sixth the Jets had the tying run at first with one out until the Trojans turned a - - double play to end the inning In the seventh Castro Valley moved Seidel from pitcher to first base after he threw his st pitch of the competition which walked Encinal s leadoff hitter Castro Valley coach Jonathan Rodriguez then moved Colon from the infield to the mound to close the competition In that big situation David advised me Hey I want the ball Rodriguez mentioned He started off rough but once he got his momentum he was untouchable Castro Valley pitcher David Colon celebrates the last out of their - win over Encinal High at the College of Alameda baseball field in Alameda Calif on Friday May Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Related Articles Prep roundup Foothill scores Santa Clara tops Monta Vista Capuchino pitcher throws no-hitter drives in runs High school baseball rankings April Bay Area News Group Top Los Altos rallies to edge Bellarmine as Darrion Wesley delivers big hit Prep roundup Pioneer hands Leigh its first BVAL loss Mills dominates SI in nonleague softball action Willow Glen baseball weathers rain cold car alarm to sweep Branham in San Jose crosstown BVAL rivalry Colon walked the first batter he faced putting a runner on first and second base with no outs The senior then forced Encinal into a - - double play and struck out the Jets final batter to ice the tournament for Castro Valley While winning a league title is Castro Valley s goal in the short term the Trojans believe they could make a deep run in the North Coast Section playoffs As of Friday night Castro Valley is ranked th in MaxPreps North Coast Section rankings which would slot them as one of the top seeds in the Division II bracket We just have to keep it simple Colon commented We gotta start putting more hits together because that s where we ve been lacking But other than that we just have to play the championship and have fun Castro Valley s gets high-fives from teammates in the dugout after scoring on Arthur Sims -run double against Encinal High in the second inning of a baseball battle at the College of Alameda baseball field in Alameda Calif on Friday May Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Encinal pitcher Anthony Wilson pitches against Castro Valley High in the first inning of a baseball contest at the College of Alameda baseball field in Alameda Calif on Friday May Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Castro Valley pitcher Encinal pitches against Encinal High in the first inning of a baseball contest at the College of Alameda baseball field in Alameda Calif on Friday May Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Encinal s Evan Furuichi can t stop a grounder by Castro Valley s Diego Mares in the second inning of a baseball meeting at the College of Alameda baseball field in Alameda Calif on Friday May Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Castro Valley s Diego Mares retrieves the ball after Aidan Hackbarth dropped a fly ball by Encinal s Evan Furuichi in the second inning of a baseball contest at the College of Alameda baseball field in Alameda Calif on Friday May Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Encinal s Hunter Willett throws to first to force out Castro Valley s Alex Nicol in the third inning of a baseball challenge at the College of Alameda baseball field in Alameda Calif on Friday May Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Castro Valley s Arthur Sims is out at second as Encinal s Eric Proctor throws to first for a double play in the sixth inning of a baseball meeting at the College of Alameda baseball field in Alameda Calif on Friday May Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Castro Valley s Aidan Hackbarth drops a foul ball by Encinal s Matan Antebi in the seventh inning of a baseball tournament at the College of Alameda baseball field in Alameda Calif on Friday May Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Castro Valley s Aidan Hackbarth drops a foul ball by Encinal s Matan Antebi in the seventh inning of a baseball championship at the College of Alameda baseball field in Alameda Calif on Friday May Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Encinal s Matan Antebi dives back safe at first as Castro Valley s Owen Seidel attempts to tag him out in the seventh inning of a baseball challenge at the College of Alameda baseball field in Alameda Calif on Friday May Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Encinal s Matan Antebi dives back safe at first as Castro Valley s Owen Seidel attempts to tag him out in the seventh inning of a baseball encounter at the College of Alameda baseball field in Alameda Calif on Friday May Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group