West Valley sent 12 batters to the plate in a wild seven-run third to elevate the Vikings to a 10-1 game-two win and a CCCAA NorCal playoff sweep over visiting College of the Sequoias. The 3rd-seeded Vikings (30-8) advance to this week's second round against Coast Conference rival #11 San Jose City (24-16), which rallied past #6 Sacramento City 2-1 in their opening-round series.
Rhiannon Underhill's complete-game three-hitter highlighted WVC's 4-1 win over the #14 Giants (24-13) in Friday afternoon's opener. Kassady Alcazar was 2-2 with two runs and and RBI, but it was Abigail Desa who really rolled. Desa drove in Alcazar for the game's first run with a blazing single up the middle. She knocked in Alcazar again in the 5th with what would prove to be the gamer winner on a double to center. Sydney Heming's sacrifice fly drove in Emma Courtney for a 3-0 Viking 5th-inning lead.
Kaylee Ramirez walked to open the 6th and came home three batters later on Alcazar's single down the 3rd-base line to make it 4-0. The Giants mounted a bases-loaded threat in the top of the seventh, but could only push a single run across.
In Saturday's game, the Giants took a 1-0 lead into the 3rd, where the Viking explosion would put the game away. A Dezmyre Cruz walk, an Alcazar E3 and a Bella Sweet single loaded the bases for Desa, who singled to left, driving in Cruz and Alcazar. Larissa Higgins singled to load the bases again. Both Ramirez and Reyna Cruz drew RBI walks and, with the bases still full of Vikings, D. Cruz blasted a shot to left center that scored Higgins and Ramirez and would have brought home R. Cruz if the ball hadn't gotten stuck under the fence. The D. Cruz ground-rule double made it 6-1 and Alcazar made it 7-1 on an RBI-single that scored R. Cruz.
The Viking lead expanded to 8-1 in the 4th on Desa's single to center that resulted in a three-base error that brought Sweet across. WVC added two more in the 5th on singles from R. Cruz and Alcazar and Sweet's RBI-double down the right field line that was bobbled by the COS rightfielder.
Sweet finished 3-4 with a double and an RBI, while Desa was 2-3 with three RBI. Alcazar went 2-2 with an RBI. Shelby White picked up the win in the circle, while Miranda Torres earned the save.
The best-of-three second-round series between WVC and SJCC opens Friday (5/12) at 2:00pm at Viking Field. Game two is at noon Saturday, followed by an if-necessary game at 2:00pm. Tickets are available (debit/credit cards only) at the gate or through the tickets tab on the WVC Athletics website. The series will be livestreamed on the WVC Athletics YouTube channel.