Central Catholic shut out in D-III baseball section final by No. 1 Oakmont

The only thing harder than winning a championship once is winning it again a year later.

Both teams in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division III baseball championship were looking to make school history.

No. 3 Central Catholic entered Thursday’s contest at Islanders Park the reigning D-III champion after beating Pioneer last season with a walk off. They were looking to repeat for the first time in Division III. No. 1 Oakmont was the 2023 Division IV champion, playing up in D-III this season. The Vikings were looking to repeat for the first time in school history.

At the end of seven innings, one team was going to make history.

Oakmont did everything to make sure Thursday was their day. They consistently put the ball in play on offense and junior pitcher Trevor Wilson pitched the complete game with 11 strikeouts to hand the Raiders a 3-0 loss.

The game was a rematch of the 2023 Division III Northern California Regional Championship, which Central Catholic won 5-2.

The Raiders struggled to figure Wilson out all night. His three-pitch mix kept the Raiders off balance, holding them to just two hits — one by TP Wentworth in the top of the fourth and another by Seth Van Dyk in the top of the seventh. Five Raiders reached base safely.

“The pitcher did a good job. He was throwing strikes and he had good enough stuff,” Central Catholic coach Danny Ayala said. “They have a good pitching staff … our job is to be more aggressive in fastball counts and two-strike approach. Something we’ve done well all year, and today wasn’t our best day.”

Oakmont scored once in the first, third and fourth innings, but consistently put the ball in play all game. Wentworth, who earned the start on the mound for the Raiders, attacked the zone and the Vikings consistently put the ball in play, forcing the Raiders defense to make quick decisions. They struggled with three errors, two of which led directly to runs for Oakmont.

Wentworth battled on the mound, pitching the complete game and striking out nine batters while giving up seven hits. Of the Vikings’ three runs, one was earned.

“TP threw the ball very well,” Ayala said. “Any team, we have to play defense, we have to play offense. We didn’t score any runs, we didn’t play enough defense. TP did everything he could today pitch to pitch.”

With their backs against the wall, Central Catholic attempted to rally in the top of the seventh inning. Van Dyk started things off with a lead-off single and two batters later, catcher Fernando Alaniz was hit by a pitch, putting runners on first and second. Tate Silveria entered to run and with Kayden McHenry at bat, Silveria moved to second and Van Dyk advanced to third on a wild pitch.

The Raiders couldn’t get the runners across, stranding two men to end the game.

“The playoff runs are just so intense and it’s good for our boys in life,” Ayala said. “The growth, the toughness and being able to handle a day like today represents a lot. We’ve been on the other side, won a lot of ball games. We tip our hat to Oakmont.”

The Raiders don’t have much time before they have to get back to work.

In the section’s top three divisions, the section champion and the runner-up advance to the CIF Northern California regional playoffs next week.

Though they could not repeat as section champions, they have one final chance at a repeat title if they win on May 28, 30 and June 1.

They can be confident because they are battle-tested. They played tough competition during their regular season in tournaments and against Valley Oak League foes. In the postseason, they won a three-game series against Oakdale and saw a top 10 ranked team in the section Thursday in the Vikings.

They find out their fate Sunday when the brackets are released on the CIF website.

As the D-III champion in 2023, they played three home games as the No. 2 team in the bracket. As the runner-up this year their seeding is uncertain.

“I just told my guys we made some mistakes and we took some innings off that we haven’t done since early in the year. The luxury of today is that we know we still have more baseball,” Ayala said. “Our job is to learn from our mistakes and get ready for a state title run.”