Sports briefs: San Rafael softball wins league title outright

Thomara Drummer limited Tam to three hits and struck out 17 batters as the San Rafael High softball team won its 14th consecutive game on Wednesday and wrapped up the MCAL regular season title outright with a 7-0 victory.

The Bulldogs (18-2, 14-2 MCAL) hadn’t won a league title since Erin Downing led the way in 2004. San Rafael opens next week’s MCAL playoffs as the top seed and hosts No. 4 San Marin at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

San Rafael was led by the usual suspects on Wednesday with Drummer and Sophia Everett getting two hits apiece. Angel Amesa had two RBIs. Everett scored three runs and Cassidy Kaplan scored twice.

Tam (4-16, 1-13) was led by Ava Lee, who allowed seven hits but only three earned runs while striking out eight in seven innings of work.

• Stella Belluomini limited San Marin to one run over six innings as Redwood wrapped up the No. 2 seed in the MCAL playoffs following a 2-1 win against San Marin. Addy Dunn had two hits and drove in a run for Redwood, which hosts Archie Williams in a semifinal at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Kait Christensen had the other RBI for the Giants (16-6, 11-3). Leah Cronin drove in the run for San Marin (11-10, 9-5). Taylor Testa scattered 10 hits over six innings.
• Paige Murphy tossed a complete-game two-hitter as Archie Williams closed out the regular season with a 4-0 win against Terra Linda (5-11, 4-10). Murphy struck out eight hitters for the Peregrine Falcons (15-6, 10-4). Murphy also had two hits and scored three runs while hitting leadoff. Kennedy Dunsing had three hits and drove in two runs.
• Bella Ferrity had three hits and drove in three runs as Marin Catholic rolled to a 16-1 win in five innings against Novato (4-21, 1-13). Pitcher Selena Peña allowed one hit and struck out 11 hitters. Peña and Morgan Carlson had three hits apiece for MC while Vivian Partain had four RBIs. Carlson hit two triples for MC (10-7-1, 8-6).

Prep swimming

Redwood’s Lera Bondarenko placed fifth in girls diving at the North Coast Section championship meet on Wednesday. Bondarenko posted a score of 401.05 to take fifth after placing second in the event with a 446.50 last year.

Boys lacrosse

Logan Chapman scored four goals as No. 5 Marin Academy blanked No. 12 Clayton Valley Charter, 15-0, at San Rafael High’s Miller Field in Tuesday’s NCS D-I opening round. Marin Academy will travel to Danville to play No. 4 Monte Vista on Thursday.

Nate Felsenthal broke through with three goals and two assists, and Henry Wooster and Fischer Burke each had two goals and two assists. Fineas DeGooyer, Thomas Winship, Blake Weaver and Ben Dutro rounded out the scoring. The Wildcats defense kept Clayton Valley at bay in front of goalkeeper Hayden Walz, who needed to make just two saves for the shutout.

• San Rafael’s breakthrough campaign came to an end Tuesday night in the first round of the NCS D-II playoffs following a 16-4 loss to No. 2 seed Livermore. The Bulldogs qualified for NCS thanks to a 9-8 overtime win against Archbishop Riordan with Ben Maloney scoring the game winner. Maloney scored twice on Tuesday with Jackson Garcia and Max Moran also finding the back of the net. The Bulldogs’ NCS bid was their first in 18 seasons and came on the heels of a cancelled season in 2021, a winless season in 2022, and a two-win season in 2023.
• No. 7 Tam has a playoff rematch with No. 2 Redwood on Thursday in the NCS D-I quarterfinals. The Red-tailed Hawks advanced with a first-round 8-1 victory over No. 10 Berkeley on Tuesday. Redwood, which had a first-round bye Tuesday, beat Tam, 16-9, in the MCAL semifinals, and 13-3 in the regular season.
• No. 10 Novato upset No. 7 Cardinal Newman, 14-4, in Tuesday’s NCS D-II first round. The Hornets advance to Thursday’s quarterfinals against No. 2 Livermore.

Girls lacrosse

No. 11 Archie Williams, making its first NCS D-II appearance since 2014, lost in Napa against No. 6 Justin-Siena, 21-10, Tuesday.

• No. 12 Novato fell to No. 5 Amador Valley, 15-5, in a NCS D-I matchup on Tuesday.

Boys volleyball

Redwood rallied twice for a dramatic five-set win in the opening round of the NCS D-II playoffs on Tuesday — 21-25, 25-20, 22-25, 25-14, 15-13 against No. 11 Arroyo.

The No. 6 Giants (18-5) move on to the quarterfinals with a road game against No. 3 De La Salle (28-10) at 7 p.m. Thursday.

• Tam’s season came to an end following a 25-12, 25-19, 25-12 loss on the road against No. 7 seed Las Lomas in the D-II playoffs on Tuesday. The Red-tailed Hawks (16-18) were seeded 10th.
• Archie Williams kept its season alive with a five-set home win in the D-III playoffs against No. 11 Cardinal Newman on Tuesday — 25-18, 25-20, 23-25, 22-25, 15-13. The No. 6 Peregrine Falcons (17-8) hit the road for a quarterfinal against No. 3 Albany (23-12) at 7 p.m. Thursday.
• Terra Linda (8-13) put up a fight as the No. 13 seed in D-III, eventually falling in five sets at No. 4 Acalanes on Tuesday — 18-25, 25-18, 25-15, 19-25, 15-9.
• Branson (11-17) also put up a fight as a No. 13 seed, before falling 23-25, 22-25, 25-20, 25-10, 15-13 against No. 4 College Prep in the D-IV playoffs on Tuesday.

Prep baseball

San Domenico improved its BCL West postseason chances by pushing two runs across the plate in the top of the seventh for an 8-6 win against Marin Academy at Albert Park on Tuesday.

Alex Tavano stole home to make it 7-6 before Sam Tavano added an RBI single for the final margin. Will Rothstein pitched four solid innings and had two hits and two RBIs at the plate. Alex Tavano hit a triple and walked twice.

Marin Academy sophomore Brady Stewart banged out three hits. Freshman Danny Puente pitched six strong innings, allowing three earned runs.

The Panthers (6-8, 4-4) were third in the standings, one game ahead of Urban and Stuart Hall in the loss column entering Wednesday’s games.