De La Salle earns gritty win over St. Mary’s-Stockton to advance to NorCal D1 finals

CONCORD There was no shortage of competitive moments during Thursday s NorCal Division I semifinal championship between De La Salle and St Mary s-Stockton There were intense moments and at various points even heated ones But in a championship that featured two of the largest part storied baseball programs in Northern California De La Salle determined a way to come out on top De La Salle the bracket s top seed defeated No St Mary s-Stockton - at home to advance to the NorCal finals The Spartans will play No Serra which defeated Los Gatos in its semifinal championship on Saturday at home De La Salle starting pitcher Graham Schlicht celebrates the last out of their - win against St Mary's High of Stockton during their NorCal Division I semifinal battle at De La Salle High School in Concord Calif on Thursday June Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Stanford-bound pitcher Graham Schlicht pitched a complete-game shutout and struck out nine in the process Cal Poly commit Antonio Castro went for and knocked in two runs in the win It was definitely getting chippy We knew each other We played each other at the beginning of the season and they got the best of us Castro revealed But we just needed it more this contest and when you want it more all the other things like the chippiness in the stands and the chippiness on the field doesn t matter The Spartans are looking for redemption after falling to Granada in last year s North Coast Section Division I championship as well as the NorCal Division I semifinals De La Salle captured this year s NCS Division I title last weekend and are looking to hoist its third NorCal title in four years Not winning last year was one of the worst feelings Castro declared We got our NCS back but we re right there for a NorCal so I want to bring this one home While the runs were limited and far between De La Salle made the greater part of its opportunities when it counted Castro got the Spartans on the board when he knocked in senior Ethan Sullivan from third base on an infield single in the first inning Ethan Silva from St Mary's High of Stockton is out at second by De La Salle s Antonio Castro during the fifth inning of their NorCal Division I semifinal match at De La Salle High School in Concord Calif on Thursday June Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group De La Salle didn t put another run on the board until the bottom of the fifth and it was Castro who came up clutch again With two outs and runners on first and second Castro hit a line drive double to center field that scored Sam Lakey Meanwhile Schlicht and De La Salle s rangy defense kept the high-powered St Mary s offense at bay The first four batters of St Mary s lineup went a combined for and reached base just twice St Mary s best chance to points came in the top of the fifth when the Rams put runners on first and third with no outs to open the inning De La Salle discovered a way to retire St Mary s next two batters but exposed itself in a bases-loaded jam later in the inning Schlicht got the Spartans out of the inning when he struck out St Mary s final batter to get the Spartans out of the inning without giving up a run I think our entire infield was great Schlicht explained For me I was trying to turn particular balls and give them a chance at double plays De La Salle starting pitcher Graham Schlicht pitches against St Mary's High of Stockton during the second inning of their NorCal Division I semifinal challenge at De La Salle High School in Concord Calif on Thursday June Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group De La Salle scored its final run in the sixth inning after Niko Baumgartner scored from third on a wild pitch Schlicht then retired the side in the bottom of the seventh to push De La Salle into the NorCal finals The Spartans indicated composure throughout all seven innings of Thursday s tournament The tournament had its fair share of gamesmanship and heated moments but De La Salle wasn t thrown off Related Articles CIF NorCal roundup Santa Clara baseball Liberty softball win semifinals CIF NorCal baseball softball Thursday s scores updated schedule You guys are freakin cockroaches Santa Clara continues dream season with five-run comeback walk-off win De La Salle surges into NorCal D semifinals with win over Del Oro CIF NorCal baseball roundup Serra edges College Park in -inning thriller They played hard and they played the way they played but we re different and that s baseball De La Salle coach David Jeans reported You can t fall for that trap and you gotta play your battle De La Salle necessities just one more win to reach the NorCal mountain top The Spartans played Serra at the Scott Boras Classic in April and came out with a - win behind a four-run seventh inning Serra swings the bat really well They have speed and they steal bases like no other Jeans mentioned The coach over there is doing a great job with those guys and they re senior heavy The match plan is I don t know I m gonna enjoy this one tonight and I ll make plans the day after morning Ethan Silva from St Mary's High of Stockton is tagged out at second by De La Salle s Antonio Castro during the fifth inning of their NorCal Division I semifinal challenge at De La Salle High School in Concord Calif on Thursday June Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Adam Stockman from St Mary's High of Stockton is out at second by De La Salle s Tyler Spangler during the fifth inning of their NorCal Division I semifinal event at De La Salle High School in Concord Calif on Thursday June Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group De La Salle s Niko Baumgartner scores on a wild pitch against St Mary's High of Stockton during the sixth inning of their NorCal Division I semifinal championship at De La Salle High School in Concord Calif on Thursday June Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group De La Salle starting pitcher Graham Schlicht throws out Marcus Mickle from St Mary's High of Stockton during the seventh inning of their NorCal Division I semifinal competition at De La Salle High School in Concord Calif on Thursday June Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group De La Salle starting pitcher Graham Schlicht reacts after the last out of the sixth inning of their NorCal Division I semifinal battle against St Mary's High of Stockton at De La Salle High School in Concord Calif on Thursday June Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group De La Salle starting pitcher Graham Schlicht exhales after striking out a batter from St Mary's High of Stockton during the second inning of their NorCal Division I semifinal match at De La Salle High School in Concord Calif on Thursday June Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group