Several locals made the list for the recent North Coast Section golf qualifier, but none were able to advance to the NCS Tournament of Champions for the chance to join Deer Valley.

Two Heritage athletes – Carney Hocking and Justin Barnes – each shot 79 at the par-71 Monarch Bay Golf Club in San Leandro to lead Bay Valley Athletic League golfers that day.

The low score of 70 was shared by four golfers: Will Brueckner of Acalanes, Sam Richardson of Amador Valley, Justin Paglia of De La Salle and Henry Cassriel of Miramonte. Amador Valley posted the lowest team score of the day.

The next lowest BVAL score was the 80 shot by Ryan Bell of Heritage. Liberty’s Jacob Hernandez, a freshman, put forth an impressive effort, shooting 81. Ryan Volta, from Heritage, carded an 84; Patriot Tyler Connell shot an 87 and teammate Gilbert Tarin finished with 90. Liberty’s Conner Vis shot a 93 and Brandon Lee of Antioch rounded out the BVAL finishers with 101.

The NCS Tournament of Champions starts Monday at Castlewood Country Club in Pleasanton. By virtue of winning the BVAL season and tournament titles, Deer Valley has earned a spot.

TENNIS

It was also a rough week for BVAL tennis teams, which took their lumps in the NCS Championship.

The league’s lone singles entry – Heritage freshman Trevor Samuda – was felled in the first round 6-1, 6-0 by Jensen Pawid of Castro Valley.

Deer Valley sent two doubles teams to the NCS tournament. Jeremy Rotman and Michael Djaja defeated Max Bass and Austin Schmalz from Eureka, 6-4, 6-4. However, Rotman and Djaja lost 6-0, 6-1 in the second round to the No. 2 seeded team from Monte Vista: Anthony Lim and Michael Feldman.

Wolverines Cameron Yee and Jeremy Gonzalez also made it to NCS, but were downed in the first round by Logan Boersma and Andrew Tan of Miramonte.

In the team tournament, which began Tuesday, Deer Valley lost in the first round to Dougherty Valley.

SOFTBALL

Deer Valley 8, Antioch 1

Deer Valley jumped out to an early lead on Tuesday and never looked back, defeating the crosstown rival Antioch Panthers 8-1.

Wolverines senior pitcher Dulce Galaviz earned the victory, giving up just two hits, fanning four Panthers and driving in three runs. Senior outfielder Davianna Burney finished with two RBIs.

Heritage 2, Freedom 0

Heritage took a huge step in claiming the outright BVAL softball title Tuesday in a 2-0 win over Freedom. The two schools shared last season’s top spot.

The Patriots continued their unblemished BVAL campaign thanks to timely hitting plus solid pitching from New Mexico-bound senior Lisa Rodrigues, who posted her 11th shutout of the season and struck out four Falcons. Senior second baseman Marissa Ortiz and junior first baseman Ali Ramirez each drove in a run.

Pittsburg 3, Liberty 0

Liberty took a tough loss Tuesday against Pittsburg, dropping a 3-0 league contest. Jocelyn Rector, Kortney Jones, Marissa Davidson, Ashely Griffin and Ashlyn Frits each contributed a hit. Frits, the freshman pitcher, scattered four hits throughout the day and struck out six Pirates.

BASEBALL

Heritage 3, Freedom 2

An extra-innings rally by the Patriots propelled them to a 3-2 victory over the Falcons.

Heritage broke a 1-1 tie in the eighth inning, scoring two runs. Freedom responded with one run in its half of the inning, but was unable to tie the game.

Heritage senior pitcher Paul Blackburn went the distance, striking out eight Freedom batsmen in eight innings, earning the win. Freedom’s pitching, led by junior Miguel Carvajal, also excelled – recording nine punchouts. Carvajal pitched the first seven innings, giving up one unearned run.

Blackburn, Wyatt Foreman and Steele Eich each drove in a run for the Patriots.

Blackburn, who tossed a no-hitter last week, was also honored as the ESPNHS/Cal-Hi Sports State Athlete of the Week.

Liberty 8, Pittsburg 3

Liberty’s baseball program has shown signs of improvement this year, and the Lions took another step forward in an 8-3 victory over Pittsburg on Tuesday. Liberty jumped out to an early lead and kept the pressure on Pittsburg. Junior first baseman Tristan Prybylinski drove home three runs. He and Mitchell Zamora each went 3-for-4 at the plate.

Zamora earned the win, pitching in relief of starter Johnny Hemenes. The two pitchers combined for nine strikeouts that day – six in four innings by Hemenes.

Deer Valley 7, Antioch 0

A six-run third inning boosted Deer Valley to a 7-0 win over Antioch on Tuesday.

Wolverines senior third baseman Josh Manci was stellar at the plate, batting 3-for-3, notching an RBI and swiping two bases. Junior pitcher Tyler Vistally fanned eight Panthers in a complete-game shutout requiring only 76 pitches.

Deer Valley squares off against Heritage in the BVAL finale on Wednesday, as two of the best pitchers in the league – Wolverine Ricky Delgado and Patriot Paul Blackburn – will likely take the hill.

– Compiled by Justin Lafferty