LIVERMORE — Granada baseball nonetheless has one thing to show.
The Matadors are the defending CIF NorCal Division I champions. There was no larger achievement Granada’s 2024 squad might have achieved.
However that was final 12 months. This season’s Granada workforce doesn’t have the identical eye-popping one-loss file, nor does it boast present Stanford freshman Parker Warner, final 12 months’s Bay Space Information Group and East Bay Athletic League participant of the 12 months.
But this 12 months’s group clearly nonetheless has rather a lot to fall again on. That a lot was apparent after the Matadors took down De La Salle 5-1 within the EBAL championship held at Granada on Thursday.
The Mats by no means trailed, continually threatened and mixed sturdy pitching and protection to earn a no-doubter of a win. De La Salle (22-4) has had an awesome season, however Granada (21-5) will seemingly be the North Coast Part’s No. 1 seed when the Division I bracket is launched on Sunday.
Granada’s Joey Marasco, left, and Peyton Richards (11) have fun scoring on a double by Mikey Boyd in the course of the third inning of their East Bay Athletic League highschool baseball event championship sport towards De La Salle, Thursday, Might 15, 2025, in Livermore, Calif. (D. Ross Cameron for the Bay Space Information Group)
“This is a big turning point for us,” stated senior Fresno State signee Mikey Boyd, who drove in 4 runs and hit the game-winning two-run double within the third inning. “We beat them early in the year, and we played well. But I feel like today, we played way better. We came out with energy. Pitching was dialed. Hitting, we just drove guys in. Two outs, no outs, one out, didn’t matter. We were gonna drive them in.”
The 2 East Bay powerhouses have confronted off twice this 12 months. Granada gained the primary assembly 6-2 in Harmony on March 13.
This time round, the circumstances appeared primed for a distinct consequence. The Spartans had not misplaced since April 15 and had made a behavior of blowing groups out of the water with rating strains like 22-0 and 14-0.
But it surely was Granada pitcher Tyler Kennedy who managed Thursday’s contest. In 91 pitches, the senior Ohlone Faculty commit posted six good innings, scattering simply 4 hits, one stroll and one earned run. He struck out seven De La Salle batters.
Granada beginning pitcher Tyler Kennedy (8) delivers towards De La Salle in the course of the sixth inning of their East Bay Athletic League highschool baseball event championship sport, Thursday, Might 15, 2025, in Livermore, Calif. Kennedy was the successful pitcher in Granada’s 5-1 victory. (D. Ross Cameron for the Bay Space Information Group)
“I liked my two-seam a lot,” Kennedy stated. “I was throwing that a lot to lefties. I was working changeups too.”
Pitching has been the hallmark of Granada’s current success towards the Spartans. In 2024, the Matadors constructed a 21-inning playoff scoreless streak towards De La Salle because of a 14-inning 1-0 win over the Spartans within the NCS championship and a 5-0 victory of their NorCal semifinal rematch.
The previous snapped De La Salle’s eight-season undefeated playoff streak, a sign {that a} altering of the guard was underway. It’s doable the guard might flip again to inexperienced and white within the weeks to come back.
However for now, it’s nonetheless adorned in black and gold. The Mats tacked on 5 extra shutout innings on Thursday earlier than De La Salle broke via with an RBI double by Alec Blair within the high of the sixth.
De La Salle’s Jacob Grey (25) narrowly will get again to first safely forward of the pickoff throw to Granada first baseman Chase Nadeau (5) in the course of the third inning of their East Bay Athletic League highschool baseball event championship sport, Thursday, Might 15, 2025, in Livermore, Calif. (D. Ross Cameron for the Bay Space Information Group)
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“Their pitcher was really good,” De La Salle coach David Denims stated. “He’s got a cutter, he’s got a curveball, he threw a change to Blair a couple times. He spotted his fastball away. So he was really good on the mound, and pitching is 90% of the game.”
Profitable the EBAL title was essential to Granada. The Matadors set off a boisterous celebration after the ultimate out, one which appeared maybe overly enthusiastic for a workforce that achieved Northern California highschool baseball’s loftiest purpose final season.
However for this workforce, which knew how difficult it could be to win NorCal once more, this win proved the Matadors have what it takes to get it performed.
“Winning the EBAL is a big deal,” Granada coach Corrigan Willis stated. “It always has been, and it always will be. It’s a great league. These guys put a lot of time and effort into their preparation and practice and all that. And so in a game like this, they absolutely want to come out and win. It’s prestigious to win an EBAL title, for sure.”
Granada’s Mikey Boyd (23) follows via on his two-RBI double towards De La Salle in the course of the third inning of their East Bay Athletic League highschool baseball event championship sport, Thursday, Might 15, 2025, in Livermore, Calif. (D. Ross Cameron for the Bay Space Information Group)
Granada pitcher Mason Ravera (28) celebrates the ultimate out towards De La Salle in the course of the seventh inning of their East Bay Athletic League highschool baseball event championship sport, Thursday, Might 15, 2025, in Livermore, Calif. Granada gained 5-1. (D. Ross Cameron for the Bay Space Information Group)
Granada proper fielder Peyton Richards (11) slides safely house previous De La Salle catcher Zach Tchejeyan (5) in the course of the third inning of their East Bay Athletic League highschool baseball event championship sport, Thursday, Might 15, 2025, in Livermore, Calif. (D. Ross Cameron for the Bay Space Information Group)
De La Salle left fielder Ethan Sullivan (8) makes a operating catch of a deep fly ball in the course of the third inning of their East Bay Athletic League highschool baseball event championship sport towards Granada, Thursday, Might 15, 2025, in Livermore, Calif. (D. Ross Cameron for the Bay Space Information Group)
De La Salle beginning pitcher Roman Bartosh (23) delivers towards Granada in the course of the second inning of their East Bay Athletic League highschool baseball event championship sport, Thursday, Might 15, 2025, in Livermore, Calif. (D. Ross Cameron for the Bay Space Information Group)
The De La Salle dugout can solely watch as their workforce flails towards Granada beginning pitcher Tyler Kennedy in the course of the sixth inning of their East Bay Athletic League highschool baseball event championship sport, Thursday, Might 15, 2025, in Livermore, Calif. (D. Ross Cameron for the Bay Space Information Group)
Granada’s Jack Badger (12) poses with the championship banner following his workforce’s 5-1 victory over De La Salle within the East Bay Athletic League highschool baseball event championship sport, Thursday, Might 15, 2025, in Livermore, Calif. (D. Ross Cameron for the Bay Space Information Group)
Granada beginning pitcher Tyler Kennedy (8) delivers towards De La Salle in the course of the second inning of their East Bay Athletic League highschool baseball event championship sport, Thursday, Might 15, 2025, in Livermore, Calif. (D. Ross Cameron for the Bay Space Information Group)
De La Salle middle fielder Alec Blair (4) walks again to the dugout after placing out towards Granada in the course of the fourth inning of their East Bay Athletic League highschool baseball event championship sport, Thursday, Might 15, 2025, in Livermore, Calif. (D. Ross Cameron for the Bay Space Information Group)
De La Salle first baseman John Salter (7) can’t make a clear choose of a low throw on a floor ball by Granada designated hitter Estevan Duarte in the course of the third inning of their East Bay Athletic League highschool baseball event championship sport, Thursday, Might 15, 2025, in Livermore, Calif. Fortunately for Salter, the play was negated by an interference name after an errant tennis ball on the sphere interfered with play. (D. Ross Cameron for the Bay Space Information Group)
