Pilots Postseason Run Ends in Semifinal

What had become an admirable run in the tail end of the BSAL slate and into the NCS playoffs, ended with a difficult 5-4 loss to Redwood Christian.  After building a 4-1 lead courtesy of of a Christopher Livingston two-RBI triple in the top of the third, the Pilots were unable to add on, and the visiting Eagles caught them in the later innings.

The team managed only three hits over than Livingston’s–an RBI double by Jon Dyer and an RBI single by Robert Hansen in the second and a single by Sean Harding in the seventh.  Despite the difficult performance with the bats, the Pilots had numerous opportunities to add to the early lead but were unable to cash in on eight free passes (seven walks and one hit batter) issues by Redwood Christian pitchers.

Senior starter Garrett Rich and relievers Nick Hassel and Matt Hermann put in quality work but a couple defensive lapses extended Redwood Christian innings and led to runs. 

The 2011 St. Joseph Notre Dame Pilots finished the season with a 17-12 overall record, which included a 10-6 mark in BSAL play, a runner-up finish in the BSAL tournament and, of course, a semifinal appearance in CIF-North Coast Section playoffs.

While it’s difficult to write this update knowing what could have been and that this season has come to a close, this blogger sincerely hopes that when the dust clears, these young men are able to recognize the work that they put in and the successes that they earned over the course of the spring.  To the seniors, we will certainly miss you but will always consider you a part of this program and encourage you to come back and see us as often as possible.  To the underclassmen who are returning, this group has set the bar high.  Expectations are no longer moderate in this program.  Come back hungry and ready to answer the challenge.  This is your opportunity to rise to the occasion.  To the families and fans of SJND baseball (wherever y’all may be logging in from), thank you for your support of this team and these young men.  Go Pilots! 

NCS Update – to the Semis

After a couple early exits from the NCS playoffs in recent years, the Pilots needed to make a strong run this season, and it started with taking care of business in the first round.

Senior Garrett Rich answered the call, stifling Fremont Christian, going complete game while holding them to one run on one hit and striking out 10 in the process.  Billy Johnson led off the game with a solo home run, and Justin Oilar chipped in with an RBI double, as the Pilots prevailed 4-1.

Round two saw the team hitting the road to take on fourth-seeded Valley Christian of Dublin.  The cold and rainy weather did nothing to put out the Pilot bats, as the team jumped on the VC starter for three in the first and continued to pile on every inning en route to a 13-2 victory.  In total, the team banged out nine hits, making the most of the numerous extra opportunities afforded it via walks and hit batters.  The middle of the order did most of the damage, as 3-6 hitters, Sean Harding, Christopher Livingston, Jon Dyer and Nikko DeGrano combined for six hits, and each finished with a pair of runs batted in.

On the defensive side, starter Matt Hermann picked up the win, cruising through 5 1/3 and benefiting from flawless defense in picking up the win.  Hermann scattered four hits and six walks, but punched out five in giving up only the two runs.  Nick Hassel finished up with the last 2/3 inning of the mercy rule-shortened game.

With Redwood Christian upsetting top-seeded St. Vincent, the Pilots now play them at home Wednesday afternoon at 5 p.m.  The two teams met in the first game of the season, with the Pilots pulling out hard fought a 4-2 win.  Hope to see you out at the yard!

Pilots Finish Strong, Sweeping Final Regular Season Week

In the wake of a disappointing split last week, the Pilots (14-10, 10-6) bounced back strong with a couple of huge wins to close out the end of the regular season.  Wednesday’s showdown with Kennedy was tight through a few innings, but the Pilots were able to pull away by swinging the sticks.

Christopher Livingston, Sean Harding, Ollie Cunningham and Nikko DeGrano all finished with multi-hit games, and Billy Johnson chipped in with a double to key the 10-hit attack.  DeGrano also picked up the win in relief of starter Garrett Rich, who threw well but was removed to conserve pitch count.  The Pilots walked away with a 14-3 win on Senior Day.

Friday’s 9-7 road win over Salesian was a wild see-saw battle that saw multiple lead changes, extra base hits, an elastic strike zone and the Pilots closing the season with a come-from-behind W against a BSAL Catholic school rival.  Rich picked up the win with four plus innings of quality relief, and the Pilots banged out 11 hits and took advantage of numerous extra chances given by sloppy defense and pitching by host Salesian.

Johnson, Harding, Alex Alvarez and Justin Oilar all finished with two hits each, and the Pilots simply played more mistake-free baseball than the opponent.

The focus now shifts fully to playoffs, as the Pilots have clinched the four slot in the BSAL and will face 1-seed Albany on the road on Wednesday.  Gametime is TBD.  Winner of that game will get the winner of Encinal-St. Mary’s on Friday.  A strong showing equates to a higher ranking in NCS.  Hope to see you at the park!

Pilots Split Week Eight of BSAL Play

The final push into the playoffs is in full swing, as the Pilots (12-10, 8-6) bounced back nicely from a tough loss to Lick-Wilmerding last Saturday to split the week.  Wednesday’s game saw a dominant pitching performance from Matt Hermann, who tossed a complete game to finish the season sweep of Piedmont.  The 1-0 Pilot win took less than an hour and a half to play.  Hermann was economical and benefitted from sound defense, as he needed only 91 pitches to toss the complete game.

At the complete opposite end of the spectrum, Friday’s game saw an offensive output that will not likely be duplicated.  Unfortunately, a furious comeback effort fell just short, as the Pilots droped a 9-8 decision at the launching pad known as Albany.  Seniors took center stage, as Garrett Rich threw well, working out of a number of jams with quality pitches but took the loss. 

Christopher Livingston finished the day 3-5 with a mammoth three-run homerun.  Billy Johnson and Sean Harding also jumped the yard in the top of the 7th, to bring the score to 9-8, but that’s as close as the Pilots would get. 

The team finishes out the regular season with Senior Day, the last regularly scheduled home game, against Kennedy on Wednesday.  The regular season comes to a close on the road at Salesian Friday.  As it stands now, the team is in contention to make the BSAL playoffs as the 4-seed, which makes the next two games critical.  A strong showing could have major implications on position in the NCS playoffs.

Pilots Jump Out Early, Bury Encinal

What a difference a few weeks makes.  After taking an absolute beating in the first game of the series, the Pilots (8-4, 6-3) brought the sticks out and answered back, picking off their crosstown rival Encinal 20-6.  Every starter had at least one of the team’s 17 hits, and the blue and orange scored at least one run in every inning.

The Pilots struck first with a leadoff double from Billy Johnson and capitalized on an error and a free pass before Nikko DeGrano struck the big blow with a two-run home run to push the lead to 4-0.  Encinal answered with one in the bottom of the frame, courtesy of a leadoff walk but would get nothing else until the game was out of reach.

After going a few games without the benefit of an extra base hit, the Pilots strung them together in bunches today, as Sean Harding went 2-4 with a double and a triple, and Christopher Livingston and Ollie Cunningham both finished 3-4 with a double.  DeGrano finished the day 3-6 with three RBI, and Johnson finished 2-3 with a double. 

Starter Matt Hermann, who also had a double, quietly put together an outstanding start, scattering seven hits and three walks over six innings to pick up the win.  He finished with three earned runs allowed and two strikeouts.

The win concludes a string of seven games in two weeks, which saw the Pilots finish 6-1 but a perfect 5-0 in BSAL contests.  The team gets a bit of a breather, as the program celebrates its history with the alumni game tomorrow morning at 11:30 a.m. at Upper Washington Park before it returns to BSAL action with St. Mary’s and St. Pat’s next week.

Pilots Overcome Shaky First to Get by Fort Bragg

The fourth game of the week looked little like the first three but ended up with a similar result, as the Pilots (6-3, 4-3) needed every one of their nine hits to come from behind and pick up the 8-3 Saturday win against visiting Fort Bragg.

After spotting their visitors a five-run lead in the top of the the first, the Pilots answered with two in the bottom half of the frame and continued to chip away over the course of the game.  Sean Harding, Christopher Livingston and Freddy Ramirez all finished with two-hit games.  Coincidentally, the Pilots did all their damage without the benefit of an extra-base hit.

Shaking off a sloppy first in which he gave up a walk, a single and made one of two Pilot errors, starter Nick Hassel locked in and went the distance for the win.  Pitching to contact and letting his defense work, Hassel finished the day with a pair of strikeouts, a pair of hits, six walks and three hit batters.

The victory put the Pilots at 4-0 on the week–a trend the team looks to carry into another week with another makeup game (Tuesday, vs. Berean Christian at Diablo Valley College).

Pilots Blank Piedmont, Square Record

The Pilots (3-3, 2-3) picked up their second straight win against a BSAL opponent, blanking Piedmont 5-0 on the road. Starter Nick Hassel continued to pitch well and finally got some run support, so he could notch the win. He went 4 2/3, scattering four hits and striking out five before giving way to Matt Hermann, who closed out the game, nailing down his first save of the season.

Offensively, the Pilots wasted no time jumping all over the Piedmont starter with three runs in the first, powered by doubles from Billy Johnson and Christopher Livingston and singles from Jon Dyer and Sean Harding. Johnson finished the day 3-4 with two doubles and a two-run dinger, while Harding chipped in with a single and a double.

With a Wednesday date at Kennedy, the blue and orange now has a chance to get the record up over .500 for the first time since after game one. Garrett Rich will be rushing the hill for the first time this season.

Lucky Sixes for Pilots in BSAL Win Over St. Pat’s

After an early season marked by inconsistency and inability to put together a complete game with the bats and the gloves, the Pilots (2-3, 1-3) took a major step forward, earning a hard-fought win against defending NCS-champion St. Patrick/St. Vincent and now have a chance to square their record in game six.

Originally scheduled for last Wednesday but moved because of rain, the BSAL home game got off to a less than auspicious start, as St. Pat’s jumped out to a 2-0 lead, taking advantage of an error.

Starter Matt Hermann put a stop to it with two K’s to end the first inning and never looked back, finishing the game by tossing six scoreless. On the game, Hermann scattered four hits and dodged five errors, finishing with only one walk and 10 Ks.

On the offensive side, the blue and orange cut the lead in half early but exploded for six runs in the sixth inning. Hermann helped himself drawing a walk to get it going. Billy Johnson followed with a ringing opposite field double off the wall to put runners at second and third. After Justin Oiler was hit by a pitch, Christopher Livingston roped a fastball into the left center gap for a 3-run double in front of Jon Dyer plating two more with his first home run of the year.

Weather permitting, the Pilots return to action tomorrow at Piedmont at 3:45. Great win today, boys…let’s be able to stand prosperity and keep it going.

Pilots Drop Home Opener to Jets

While the slumbering offense finally showed some signs of life, the deficit was already too deep, as the Pilots (1-2, 0-2) got shelled 18-4 by Encinal (1-2, 1-0).

Extra opportunities via walks, errors and misplays of all sorts plagued SJND, as the team was already chasing nine before it put together a four-run third inning keyed by back-to-back singles by Christopher Livingston and Jon Dyer, followed by Nikko DeGrano plating two with an RBI double.  An RBI walk from Alex Alvarez cut the deficit to 9-4, but that would be as close as the Pilots got.

The team continues the BSAL slate Friday, hitting the road for a date with St. Mary’s.  Game time is 3:30.

Pilots Bats go Dark in 5-3 Loss to Swett

Well…learned something else today.  We ain’t gonna win ’em all.  In a game shortened by a disputed call of darkness after 5 1/2 innings, the Pilots were unable to dig out of the hole caused by Swett’s 5-run fifth inning.

Behind a gritty performance on the mound from Nick Hassel, the blue and orange went into the 5th inning with a 2-0 lead, even threatening to add to it in the top half of the frame before a caught stealing short-circuited a rally.  Swett broke through in the bottom half of the inning with five, as Hassel ran out of gas and gave way to Freddy Ramirez.

The Pilots answered back in the top half of the sixth with a ringing leadoff double from Christopher Livingston who was pushed around on a right side ground ball from Jon Dyer and a single from Ramirez.  Dyer finished the day 1-3 with a 2B.

As you might have guessed…practice tomorrow morning! See you before 10, boys.  Five minutes early is five minutes late.