Amador, Foothill Championship One of Biggest Games in Pleasanton History — With Live Blog Coverage

Click here for live coverage of the NCS championship game between No. 1 Amador Valley and No. 2 Foothill beginning around 3:45 p.m.

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If the Amador Valley and Foothill baseball teams were to play sandlot baseball against each other, it'd be an intense game.

That's just the nature of the rivalry.

It is also why today's North Coast Section baseball championship at Dougherty Valley High between the top-seeded Dons (24-3) and second-seeded Falcons (20-7) may be the biggest game in history for both schools, neither of which has ever won an NCS baseball title.

"It's probably first or second," Amador coach Lou Cesario said. "The league championship game could easily be first or second for obvious reason. Any time Foothill and Amador play, in any sport, it's a big deal."

For Foothill coach Angelo Scavone, who was on the last Foothill baseball team to hang a banner — the EBAL title in 1988 — the success of the two programs in largely in part to the support from the community.

"To have two Pleasanton schools playing for the NCS title talks a lot about what has happened in the past ten years in Pleasanton," he said. "Not just our two programs, but the little leagues, the feeder programs and the summer ball teams. The instruction that goes on in Pleasanton keeps getting better and better."

Several players on both teams grew up playing with and against each other and many of them will become teammates again for the summer as soon as the NCS championship game is decided.

The Dons have won five-straight games against Foothill, including a pair of close games this year, but have not seen Foothill's starting pitcher, Cal-bound lefty Michael Theofanopolous (6-2, 2.98 era), in a high school game over the past three years.

"(Theofanopolous) is a competitive kid and a good player," Cesario said. "The obvious challenges are going to be there. He doesn't wanted to lose, but we've faced a lot of lefties this year and these guys do play summer ball together so there shouldn't be any surprises. "

Amador will send Michael Mallory (8-0, 1.34) to the mound, but Cesario likened his team's pitching philosophy to that of a relay race.

"Mallory has done a great job, but we're also confident in going to Osterholt, Gibbons and Keck to close it out," he said. "Last year, everyone told us it was tough to beat a team three time in one year and we did it (against Foothill). I think because we don't bunch them up and we take a one-game-at-a-time approach it makes it easier. We're not going to go in there cocky."

Theofanopolous and Amador captain Tommy Pluschkell both said they were hoping to see their rivals in the championship game.

"There is nothing better than playing Foothill," Pluschkell said. "It's already as big a game as possible, but playing them raises the stakes even more and makes you want to win that much more. They are the best team we've played all year."

The Dons, who have won 13-straight games, edged Foothill in the regular-season finale in a game that also served as the East Bay Athletic League championship.

Cesario admitted his team has a chance to go down as the best Amador Valley team of all time — quite the statement considering the school opened in 1923 — but said that's not what they'll be playing for.

"We've been working since August," he said. "They practice hard every day, they're teammates and they love and support each other like a family would. We're playing to finish what we started and our approach won't be any different."

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No. 1 Amador Valley

Record: 24-3

Streak: Won 13

Cal-Hi Sports state ranking: 6

Cal-Hi Sports NCS ranking: 1

MaxPreps.com state ranking: 7

MaxPreps.com NCS ranking: 1

*East Bay Athletic League champions

No. 2 Foothill

Record: 20-7

Streak: Won 3

MaxPreps.com state ranking: 38

MaxPreps.com NCS ranking: 3

*Unranked by Cal-Hi Sports, finished second in the EBAL with San Ramon Valley

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Foothill 

1. Matt Owen, CF — Hitting .366 with 17 RBI's, 8 extra-base hits and leads the team with 10 stolen bases

2. Jake Jefferies, 3B — Switch-hitter ranks first on the team with 25 runs, second with 31 hits and is hitting .356.

3. Brandon Defazio, SS — Oregon State-bound senior is hitting .373, has 31 hits, leads the team in doubles (13) and home runs (3).

4. Michael Theofanopolous, P — Cal-bound senior is hitting .395, leads the team with 32 hits, is second with 20 RBIs and has hit 3 home runs.

5. Brandon Viceral, DH — Sophomore lefty is hitting .378, leads the team with 22 RBIs and is second with 11 extra-base hits.

6. Cameron Rowland, RF — Standout football player is hitting .355 with 18 RBIs and a pair of homers.

7. Will Anderson, 1B — Known more for his pitching, but the Fresno State-bound senior leads the Falcons with a .417 batting average and has collected 7 extra base hits.

8. Garrett Moore, LF — Speedy left fielder is sixth on the team with 16 runs, while hitting .276.

9. David Camarena, 2B — Hitting .323 with 14 RBI's, has shown flashes of power with a home run and a triple.

Catching: Andrew Brazil — Foothill backstop has not made an error all year.

Amador Valley

1. Brian Hamm, 2B — Hitting .361 with a team-high 32 runs, has a .491 OBP.

2. Joey Moroney, CF — Hitting .350 with 14 RBI and 29 runs

3. Chris Keck, SS — EBAL's most dangerous hitter is hitting .453 with 4 home runs, 3 triples and 24 RBIs; has been walked 30 times (.604 OPB) and struck out just 6 times.

4. Tommy Pluschkell, 3B — Captain and clutch hitter is hitting .298 with a team-high 24 RBI's.

5. David Johnson, DH — Hitting .423 with 6 doubles and one home run.

6. Devin Finn, LF — Finn is hitting .297 with 4 doubles and a triple.

7. Tony Olguin, C —Carrying a .355 batting average with a pair of homers and 15 RBI's.

8. Greg Dillon, 1B — A good defensive player, Dillon is hitting .174 in 14 games.

9. Michael Lam, RF — Hit a walk-off single to beat Foothill in the regular-season finale, hitting .382 with 3 doubles.

Pitching: Michael Mallory

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Foothill

Michael Theofanopolous

Record: 6-2

Era: 2.98

IP: 51.2

K/BB: 58/36

Note — Has not pitched against Amador Valley in his three-year varsity career.

Amador Valley

Michael Mallory

Record: 8-0

Era: 1.34

IP: 62.2

K/BB: 50/24

Note — In 3 1/3 innings against Foothill this year, Mallory has allowed 7 hits and 2 earned runs.

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• Neither school has ever advanced to the NCS championships game in baseball, let alone win it
• Game will be at Dougherty Valley High in San Ramon, where former Foothill coach Brian Freitas is the baseball coach and athletic director 
• Just one No. 1 seed has won the NCS baseball title at the highest level since 2001, (De La Salle, 2007) 
• Winner will be the first East Bay Athletic League team since San Ramon Valley in 2004 to win the NCS title 
• Winner will become the third EBAL school to win an NCS title in history (SRV has won 3, Monte Vista 1, DLS's titles came before it entered the league)
• Foothill seniors Brandon Defazio (Oregon State), Will Anderson (Fresno State) and Michael Theofanopolous (California) are set to play Division I baseball ... Amador junior Chris Keck is committed to UCLA, but cannot sign a letter of intent until later this year.
• Amador Valley has won 5-straight games against Foothill, including in the NCS playoffs in 2009
• Several players on opposing teams grew up playing with and against each other, including Foothill's Garrett Moore and Amador' Tommy Pluschkell, who began playing together around age 9, Pluschkell said.

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