Sports
Baseball: Falcons Open Playoffs With Blowout Win of Washington
Every player on the Foothill roster got into the game as the Falcons cruised 16-3
North Coast Section Division I Playoffs — First Round
No. 2 Foothill 16, No. 15 Washington 3
Records: Foothill 18-7; Washington 14-12.
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The Star: Foothill's Sean Mannion was a home run shy of hitting for the cycle in a 3 for 4 day at the plate off the bench. He also threw a scoreless inning of relief.
The Turning Point: Washington scored a pair of runs in the first inning, but as soon as Foothill answered with six runs it was over.
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The Quote: "We hit the ball hard and they had problems picking it up," Foothill coach Angelo Scavone said. "That's all there was to it."
Who's Next? Foothill will travel to No. 7 Heritage on Friday for a 5 p.m. game. The Bay Valley Athletic League champion Patriots will host because the North Coast Section grants home field to any league champion playing a team which did not wins its league. However, the Falcons will bat second and be the designated home team at Heritage.
The Bottom Line: Washington would have had trouble winning a single game in the East Bay Athletic League. Even when Scavone emptied the Foothill bench, the Falcons added to their lead.
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Who said playoff games had to be close?
Foothill High batted around in each of the first three innings and had most of its starters out by the end of the third, while opening the North Coast Section Division I playoffs with a 16-3 win against Washington.
"We hit the ball hard and they had problems picking it up," Foothill coach Angelo Scavone said. "That's all there was to it."
Or at least the gist of it.
Washington scored a pair of runs in the top of the first, but the upset-bid was short-lived as the first six Foothill hitters scored in the bottom of the inning taking away any momentum Washington might have built.
"Coach Scavone has been saying we still haven't hit our stride," senior Sean Mannion said. "But we came out in the first inning and hit really well."
Mannion started the game on the bench, but drove in the second-seeded Falcons' seventh and eighth runs of the game with a pinch-hit triple in the second. He fell a home run shy of the cycle after adding a double and a single later in the game.
He was one of seven Falcons who made a pinch-hitting appearance and one of 12 to register a hit in the game.
"Everyone got in and everyone got multiple innings," Scavone said.
The early lead also allowed Scavone to pull starting pitcher Michael Theofanopolous after three innings, which will make Cal-bound lefty available on Friday against No. 7 Heritage if projected starter Will Anderson were to falter.
"You have to be pretty good to win (the Bay Valley Athletic League)," Scavone said. "We're expecting a battle (from Heritage)."
Leadoff hitter Matt Owen was 3 for 3 with 4 RBI's and a pair of runs.
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No. 2 Foothill 16, No. 15 Washington 3
Washington 200 010 0 — 3 7 5
Foothill 645 001 x — 16 17 1
Foothill (ab-r-h)— Owen 3-2-3, VIceral 3-1-1, Hisaka 2-0-1, Jefferies 2-2-1, Theofanopolous 3-3-1, Rowland 2-1-1, Slifer 3-2-1, Killian 1-1-0, Mannion 4-1-3, Anderson 2-1-1, Graham 2-0-0, Moore 1-0-0, Yamada 2-1-1, Camarena 2-0-1, Blades 3-1-2.
Pitching
Washington — Veronin, Knight, Nevin, Lang, Yagi.
Foothill — Theofanopolous 3 IP, 2 r, 1 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 4 K; Slifer 3 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 3 K; Mannion 1 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K.
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Other NCS baseball results
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