CONCORD – Jamie Mullin stretched and used every bit of his 6-foot-3 frame as he dove toward the third base line and snagged a sharply hit College Park ground ball. The De La Salle fielder then popped up and rifled a bullet over the first base to end the top of the fifth inning.
Not only did the spectacular play at the hot corner save a run and prevent the visiting Falcons from building upon their two-run lead, but it was the emotional catalyst of De La Salle’s 7-3 come-from-behind victory in the North Coast Section Division I semifinals.
“That play got us emotionally back into the game,” De la Salle coach David Jeans said after his team improved to 20-6.
“I just laid out and gave it everything I had on that ball,” Mullin said. “It worked out and I made the throw, thank God, and definitely got the energy up and rolling after that one.”
De La Salle closer Tommy Curran (6) begins to celebrate their 7-3 win after the last out against College Prep in the seventh inning of a NCS Division I playoff game at De La Salle High School in Concord , Calif., on Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Brandon Vargas, who went 2 for 3, continued that momentum with a leadoff walk in the bottom of the fifth inning. Alec Blair drove him in on a sacrifice fly, and then Tyler Spangler later scored on a wild pitch to tie the game at 3-3.
The Spartans broke things open in the sixth inning, when Vargas drove in two with a single and Joe McGee got another runner across on a grounder. Spangler finished the scoring with a single to make it a four-run lead with one inning left to play.
“Our team has talent all the way through it,” said Vargas, the No. 9 hitter in the order. “This was a big team win.”
De La Salle’s Brandon Vargas (44) follows his two-run single against College Prep in the sixth inning of a NCS Division I playoff game at De La Salle High School in Concord , Calif., on Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
De La Salle’s mind-boggling playoff win streak, which started in 2016, went to 33 after the gutsy victory.
But the Spartans will have their work cut out for them if they want to see that number improve to 34.
De La Salle will play No. 1 seed Granada. The Matadors defeated Acalanes 6-0 in the other semifinal, and the Livermore program took down DLS 5-4 in the regular season.
“That’s going to be another grind, for sure,” Mullin said.
The second-seeded Spartans reached the semifinals in donating fashion after run-ruling both No. 15 Liberty and No. 7 Heritage. Meanwhile, College Park blanked Berkeley 2-0 in the first round, and then slipped past a feisty Castro Valley team 3-2 to set up the game against the Concord powerhouse.
College Park struck first when junior leadoff hitter Connor Berkowitz went from first to home on Vincent ‘Tino’ Vassel’s double into center field. De La Salle answered in the second with Mullin’s sacrifice fly, which was deep enough to score Tripaldi.
De La Salle’s Hank Tripaldi (1) high-fives Brandon Vargas (44) after scoring against College Prep in the fifth inning of a NCS Division I playoff game at De La Salle High School in Concord , Calif., on Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Once the Falcons got back to the top of the order, Berkowitz got on base on a hit by pitch, moved over to third with a Vassel single, and then came home when ace pitcher Nathan Leffel hit a sac fly.
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Berkowitz, as he did all four times he came up to the plate, got on base in the fifth inning and then scored via a Leffel single into right field to give College Park a 3-1 lead.
But after Mullin’s web gem stranded runners on the corners to end the inning, the game turned in De La Salle’s favor.
“They did what they do, which is putting the ball in play and putting the pressure on,” Berkowitz said before adding. “I’ll be working my butt off this summer.”
After Graham Schlicht went 4 ⅓ innings, reliever Jack Karst and closer Tommy Curran combined to pitch 2 ⅔ scoreless innings to propel DLS into the title game and give the team a chance to win a seventh consecutive North Coast Section title.
“I’ll enjoy this one tonight, and then tomorrow I’ll worry about Granada,” Jeans said.
De La Salle’s Tyler Spangler, center, celebrates with teammates in the dugout after he scored on a wild pitch against College Prep in the fifth inning of a NCS Division I playoff game at De La Salle High School in Concord , Calif., on Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
