Melanie Del Carlo scored the winning run in the sixth inning on a passed ball at third base to end a back-and-forth affair with San Lorenzo Valley and lift the Soquel High softball team to a 9-8 Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League victory Tuesday.
Del Carlo advanced from second on an Ashlee Erbe bunt and raced home when the throw from first to third went errant. An inning earlier, Kacey Sugimoto smacked a two-run home run that pulled the Knights (12-8, 8-3) into an 8-8 tie with SLV. Sugimoto also hit a double and finished 2-for-3 with three RBIs. Natalie Davis hit 2-for-2 with a double, two RBIs and two runs and Alissa Rezendes hit 2-for-3 with a double and two runs.
Melissa Provancha took the complete-game win, striking out seven and allowing 12 hits.
SLV’s leadoff hitter Maddy Johnson accounted for many of those hits, going 4-for-4 with an RBI and three runs. Alli Poore added two RBIs and a run and Annie Stivala was 2-for-2 with two runs for the Cougars (12-7, 4-4).
Soquel plays at Aptos on Thursday at 4 p.m. SLV hosts Scotts Valley on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. in its league finale.
Santa Cruz 9, at St. Francis 4 >> Santa Cruz scored four runs with two outs in the top of the sixth to close out SCCAL play with a win.
Quinlynn Barry got the action started for the Cardinals (7-14, 4-8) with a double. She finished 2-for-4 at the plate with two runs and an RBI and took the win on the mound, striking out 10 while giving up three runs on seven hits.
Mali King-Jones hit a home run and scored four runs and an RBI. Maddy Chavez and Marina Crawford each had a double and an RBI.
At Aptos 11, harbor 1, 5 inn. >> Camille Harper and Ashley Del Coletti each drove in two RBIs in the Mariners’ short SCCAL win.
Del Coletti also scored a run and Harlow Sayers scored two runs and an RBI for Aptos (14-2, 9-2). Lindsey Fierro took the complete-game win with five strikeouts while giving up four hits.
Victoria Lopez hit 2-for-3 with a run for the Pirates (0-11).
High school track & field
Watsonville dominates 1,600 at league trials >> Watsonville High’s Stephanie Villa and Anthony Ramirez easily qualified for the Monterey Bay League Pacific Division finals by winning their respective league trials in the 1,600 meters at Watsonville High.
Villa won the girls race in 5 minutes, 39.18 seconds, while Yareli Lopez (eighth, 5:58.85) and Gema Collazo-Munoz (11th, 6:20.13) also advanced. Ramirez won the boys race in 4:42:54 and will be joined by teammate Issac Ruiz (10th, 4:55.60) as well as Monte Vista Christian’s Evan Richardson (sixth, 4:50.72) and Ivan Luna-Romo (ninth, 4:53.41).
Other Watsonville event winners included Daniela Salazar (1:00.10) in the 400 and T.J. Trout-Lacy in the long jump (20 feet, 9 inches) and triple jump (40-08.5), just beating out teammate Jose Villanueva (40-04.5).
Pajaro Valley’s Jose Sedano (11.50) beat out runner-up Trout-Lacy (11.63) in the boys 100 trial and the two tied for first in the high jump trial (5-6).
Kylie Dillon (2:33.63) brought home a win for Monte Vista Christian in the girls 800, beating out runner-up Villa (2:37.06) and third-place Salazar (2:37.41). Watsonville’s Pedro Alcantara qualified second in the discus (120-11) and the shot put (41-03.5).
The MBL-P finals are scheduled for Friday at Gilroy High. Top placers from that meet will advance to the MBL Masters meet on May 13 at Gilroy with the chance to qualify for the Central Coast Section trials.
High school lacrosse
Aptos 19, at PCS 11 >> Jack Hagerle had five goals and assist as the Mariners’ offense exploded in their Mission Trail Athletic League North Division win.
Noah Wolfe had three goals and three assists for Aptos (9-2). Miles Beaudoin and Drew Arroyo each scored three goals and Jackson Carver had three assists.
Galen Sloss scored six goals and Connor Rode had three for the Pumas (6-5).
Sage Kaplan and Connor Woolard also scored for the Pumas, who play at Santa Cruz on Thursday at 6 p.m. PCS goalie Alec Theys made 14 saves.
Boys volleyball
AT Harbor 3, Scotts Valley 0 >> Chayton Clark hit 12 kills and served four aces as No. 3 Harbor advanced out of the second round of the SCCAL Tournament with a 25-17, 25-9, 25-7 win.
Alec Tomhave served six aces for the Pirates (15-8), who will host No. 2 Mount Madonna in the semifinals on Thursday at 6 p.m.
The championship will be Friday at 7 p.m. at Harbor.
Senior Tanner Simonovich had three kills in his final game for the sixth-seeded Falcons (6-10).
AT Pajaro Valley 3, MVC 0 >> The Grizzlies sewed up second place in the MBL-P with a 25-16, 25-11, 25-5 senior-night victory. The team will say goodbye to Marco Lopez, Robert Grajeda, Tony Ornelas, Miguel Jara, and Luis Banuelos.
Rafael Bettancourt led P.V. (20-9, 10-2) with 10 kills, followed by six with two aces for Banuelos. Ruben Garcia recorded 19 assists and Geovanny Barajas served nine aces.
The Grizzlies will apply for an at-large berth to what would be the program’s first Central Coast Section playoffs at Saturday’s seeding meeting.
High school baseball
SLV 4, at Santa Cruz 3 >> Dylan Bounds pitched a complete game, allowing six hits and two earned runs, as SLV (12-8, 8-1) remained tied for the SCCAL lead with St. Francis.
Bounds was 2-for-3 with a run. Jonah Shabry was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and Ian Blair was 2-for-4 with a run.
Tony Medina was 2-for-4 with an RBI and run for the Cardinals. Mekhi Murkett was 2-for-3 with a run. Pitcher Nathaniel Brezner-Mendoza threw a complete game and took the loss.
At St. Francis 14, Scotts Valley 12 >> Andrew Ciandro earned the SCCAL win in relief and Javier Felix took the loss.
St. Francis’ Sahid Valenzuela was 3-for-5 with two stolen bases and two runs scored. Chase Watkins was 3-for-4 with a double, two runs and three RBIs, David Talavera was 2-for-3 with two doubles and three RBIs. Ciandro was 3-for-4 with two doubles and three RBIs for the Sharks (14-9, 8-1), who play at Soquel on Thursday at 4 p.m.
Ryan Gallegos was 3-for-4 with two RBIs for the Falcons (10-11, 3-6). Nick Carli was 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs. Jack Palmer was 2-for-4 with an RBI and Tanner Spence was 2-for-4 with four RBIs.
Soquel 10, at Harbor 1 >> Winning pitcher Jordan Lowe scattered three hits over five innings in shutting down the Pirates in SCCAL play.
Jordan Mass was 3-for-4 with a stolen base, double, two RBIs and three runs scored for the Knights. Leo Ramirez was 2-for-3 with two walks, two runs and a stolen base. Lowe was 2-for-3 with a double and walk.
Skyler Smet was 2-for-3 with a run and Bryce Hankins was 2-for-3 with an RBI for Harbor (11-13, 2-8), which hosts Fremont on Saturday at noon.
Palma 8, at MVC 3 >> Dylan McPhillips, Schlyer Sicoli and Landen Alexander scored runs for the Mustangs in their MBL Gabilan Division loss.
Evan Dean had two hits for the Mustangs (11-13, 7-8). McPhillips went five innings and took the loss.
Branham 9, at Aptos 5 >> Jackson O’Boy and Jeff Zuniga both hit RBI doubles in Aptos’ nonleague loss.
Pitcher Matt Perko took the loss after allowing a run and striking out five in three innings.
Timmy Harris hit 2-for-3 with a run for the Mariners (12-10), who play at SLV on Friday at 4 p.m.
Boys golf
MBL Championships >> Watsonville’s Maxx Ramirez and Bobby Silva qualified on Monday for the upcoming Central Coast Section Regionals.
Ramirez shot 76 to lead Wildcatz at the MBL Championships at The Club at Crazy Horse Ranch in Salinas. Silva followed with 78. MVC’s Conner Tran shot 80 and will earn the third individual qualifying spot to CCS if San Benito, the MBL-G runner-up, beats out MBL-P champion Alisal in a neutral-site playoff to represent the league as a team at CCS. If the Haybalers lose, Brad Sparrer and Grant Bernosky will take two of the individual spots.
Tran’s season-long showing helped him earn Gabilan Division all-league first-team honors.
Ramirez was named the Pacific Division MVP and Silva also garnered all-league first-team honors.
Palma’s Joey Burlison shot 68 for medalist honors. Teammate Dominick Hoover followed at 71.
The Wildcatz shot 501. Other scorers include Brian Zamora (94), Derick Zaragoza (109) and Isaias Caledon (144).
Other scorers for MVC (475) were Jordan Nelson (85), Dennis Yang (86), Blake Cardoza (109) and Anthony Carpene (115).