Soquel, Santa Cruz dealt tough losses in NorCal Regional playoffs | High school baseball
It hard to say which was more heartbreaking. The answer is both.
The Soquel High and Santa Cruz baseball teams both traveled four-plus hours, round trip, to play in the CIF NorCal Regional playoffs in the Greater Sacramento area on Tuesday, and both saw their seasons come to a close in tough-to-swallow losses.
No. 6 seed Soquel suffered a 9-8 loss at No. 3 Elk Grove in the Division I quarterfinals after the Knights saw their 8-0 lead evaporate over the final two frames. And No. 8 Santa Cruz was held to two hits in its 5-0 loss at No. 1 Roseville in the D-III quarterfinals.
Elk Grove 9, Soquel 8
ELK GROVE - Soquel finished with eight hits, drew six walks, and took advantage of five Elk Grove errors.
The Knights (23-6 overall), the repeat Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League champion and Central Coast Section D-I runner-up, led 1-0 after the first inning, 3-0 through five, and 8-0 entering the bottom of the sixth.
"Coming off an emotional loss with only two days rest, I'm very pleased with how they competed," Knights coach T.J. Moran said. "We had a eight-run lead going into the bottom of the sixth and failed to finish. It's a brutal game at times, but I love my guys and would do it all over again if I could. We can go toe to toe with the best teams in the state, on the road, and we will battle. That's what we do, no shame in that."
Knights senior Jake Escalante, who exited the Central Coast Section D-I championship with an apparent injury after one inning on the mound, not only suited up for Soquel, the Cal State Fullerton commit batted leadoff and had two hits, one walk, one RBI, and scored three runs.
Senior Trey Sousa had two hits and scored twice for the Knights. Seniors Brady Downs and Sam Whelan each had a hit and two RBI. Senior catcher Cash Moran had a hit, one walk, one RBI, a stolen base, and a run scored. Whelan also stole a base.
Fresno State committed senior Hudson Summerrill had a hit and one RBI for Soquel, and sophomore Anthony Skinner had a hit and run scored. Junior Luke Santee also scored a run.
Senior Dylan Hull started for Soquel and threw five scoreless innings. He gave up one hit, three walks, and struck out four batters. Senior Connor Corlett, who is committed to Whitman College, threw the final 1 2/3 innings. The Knights committed two errors behind him and only five of the runs were earned.
Senior Brayden Ford's three-run triple won it for the Thundering Herd (28-6), the Sac-Joaquin Section D-II champion. Junior Chase Dyer had a hit and two RBI. Junior Antonio Cuevas had a hit, one RBI, and scored twice, and senior Hudson Hall and sophomore Hudson Hall each had a hit and scored twice. Senior Landon Johnson drove in a run and scored twice.
Junior pitcher Cooper Gannon gave up three unearned runs over two innings and picked up the win.
In Thursday's 4 p.m. semifinals, Elk Grove hosts No. 7 Granada (20-9) of Livermore, and No. 1 De La Salle (23-4) of Concord hosts No. 4 Valley Christian (21-9) of San Jose.
Roseville 5, Santa Cruz 0
ROSEVILLE - The Cardinals (18-12), the newly crowned CCS D-IV champion, had seven batters reach base, but were held scoreless in their loss.
Roseville (28-4), the Sac-Joaquin Section D-IV champion, led 3-0 after the first inning, 4-0 through two, and capped scoring with a run in the sixth.
The youth-laden Cardinals featured just three seniors in their lineup: Cameron Fusari, Caleb Cmaylo and Matteo Caltabiano.
"I think this whole playoff run will pay big dividends for our young guys," Cardinals coach Bubba Trumbull said. "They have already played in some high-pressure, high-reward situations."
Fusari had a hit and walk. Junior AJ Dacosta also had a hit, and Caltabiano, and sophomores Adam Fowler and Kruize Godsy drew walks. Freshman Merrick Dacosta was hit by a pitch.
Winning pitcher Tyler Ritter (11-0), a senior right-hander who is committed to UC Davis, lowered his stellar season ERA to 0.63. He gave up one hit, three walks, and beaned a batter over six shutout innings. He struck out seven batters.
"The pitcher today was good, but that's what you need to face to get better," Trumbull said.
Tigers reliever Dustin Holcomb, a senior, struck out two batters and walked one in the final frame.
Senior Colton Wolfe and junior Preston Cubbler each had a hit and one RBI for the Tigers. Seniors Justin Fischer and Jacob Welch, and sophomore Benjamin Jordan each had a hit and run scored. Seniors Alexander Lozano and Devin Johnson also scored a run.
The Cardinals committed three errors. Fusari, the starting pitcher, was tagged for three runs in his inning of work, but only one run was earned. Junior Merrick Miller gave up an unearned run over three innings, and junior Ethan Reineke gave up a run in two innings of work.
Santa Cruz gave up five hits and eight walks, and struck out eight batters.
In Thursday's 4 p.m. semifinals, Roseville hosts No. 5 Wheatland (25-8), and No. 2 Menlo (21-10) hosts No. 3 Alameda (18-13) in Atherton.
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This story was originally published June 3, 2026 at 2:22 AM.