First round upset pits No. 14 Windsor versus No. 11 Alameda
The varsity baseball Jaguars played their best game of the season when it counted most on May 15, shocking No. 3 Tamalpais, 6-0 in the opening round of the North Coast Section Division 2 playoffs.
The Jags benefited from timely hitting and a Herculean effort from senior ace Tyler Hellums, who fired six innings of three-hit ball while fanning a season-high 14 batters. Closer Cameron Hayman fanned a pair of hitters in a perfect seventh inning to preserve the shutout.
“We played our best game of the year,” Jag’s coach Dave Avila said. “Hellums was the best he’s been all year and our hitters had some of the best at bats we’ve had all season too.”
The dominant victory propelled the No. 14 seeded Jaguars into the NCS quarterfinals at the No. 11 Alameda Hornets, a game postponed until May 20 (after press time) due to wet weather. Should the Jags beat the Hornets, they’ll advance to face the winner of No. 2 Washington versus No. 10 Benicia on May 22 (location TBD). All NCS playoff games start at 5 p.m.
The defending NCS Division 2 champions, Alameda is a familiar foe, with Windsor owning a dramatic, 8-7 win in an earlier meeting on April 27. In that game, the Jags trailed 7-3 in the seventh, but staged a wild five-run comeback to walk off with the victory.
“They’re a really good team with a lot of playoff experience,” Avila said about Windsor’s next opponent. “They swing the bats well one through nine in the line-up and have quality pitching. We’re in for a dog fight no matter who we play at this part of the season,” he added.
Jags blank Hawks
The Jaguars ventured south to Mill Valley for the NCS playoff opener at Marin County Athletic League champion Tamalpais, sending Hellums to the mound opposite Red-Tailed Hawks’ ace Bennett Flynn. Windsor took control with a four-run rally in the second inning, adding solo insurance runs in the sixth and seventh frames in coasting to a 6-0 shutout.
“Their (Tamalpais) pitching was good but we worked counts, drew walks and had some clutch hits that led to the runs we scored,” Avila said. “Our team is playing with a ‘leave it all out on the field’ attitude this postseason and it showed on Friday. We hope to keep it going in Alameda.”
Leading hitters for the Jaguars included senior Ian McGee (2 for 4, RBI), Trent Matthews (1 for 4, 2B, run, 2 RBIs), Hayman (1 for 2, 2B, run) and Joseph Soltanizadeh (1 for 4, 2B, RBI).
