Baseball-SJS DI Playoffs
St. Mary’s 4, Central Valley 2
The Hawks made the trip to Stockton and went toe-to-toe with the top ranked team in Northern California. The #1 seeded Rams came into this matchup as the heavy favorite as they were the Northern California Boras Classic Champions this year and ranked #1 in all of Nor CA with 6 Division I commits on their varsity roster. The Hawks rolled into town with 21 wins under their belt and a WAC Championship. St. Mary’s was able to take a 1-0 lead in the 3rd inning, but CV hurler, Nick Dominguez was ready for the moment. The 2-time 1st team pitcher showed his savvy and composure all afternoon as he battled to the tune of 4 1/3 inning pitched, 3 runs (1 earned), 3 K’s, and 4 hits allowed against the dangerous Ram offense. In the 4th inning, the Hawks put the Rams on upset alert as a rally was brewing against the St. Mary’s pitcher, Nico Bavarro (committed to UCLA). The Hawks only mustered up 2 hits on the day, but Ezekiel Vercuzco’s double of the wall in the 4th put the Hawks on the board and tied things up at 1. CV would then continue the rally, taking advantage of a couple of walks and a timely squeeze bunt call by Coach Bussard. The successful squeeze bunt gave the Hawks a 2-1 lead in the 4th and CV had the bases loaded with no outs. Unfortunately, the Rams were able to escape the jam with no further damage and the Hawks would give up a run in the bottom of the inning to lock things up at 2-2 going into the 5th inning. Ezekiel Verduzco would relieve Nick Dominguez and the Rams were able to put together enough offense in the later innings, picking up single runs in both the 5th and 6th to take the 4-2 lead. The Hawks would eventually fall to this talented St. Mary’s team by the score of 4-2, but not before giving them all they could handle. The St. Mary’s coaching staff and players let Coach Bussard know that the Hawks were for real and a very formidable opponent. We are very proud of the effort that the boys gave with their backs against the wall. Even in defeat, they showed a valiant grit and can hold their heads up high knowing they left it all on the field. Congrats to Coach Bussard and the CV Varsity Baseball team on their memorable record-breaking season as they are your 2025 WAC Champions and stacked up a school record 21 wins!