EBAL swimmers make a splash during CIF state championships

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Welcome to the Tri-Valley Preps Playbook!

It’s time for another week of the Tri-Valley Prep Playbook, your inside source for all things sports when it comes to the East Bay Athletic League!

I’ve been covering the EBAL since 1985 and know the coaches, players, parents, and athletic staff at all the schools, giving me the inside scoop on what is happening behind the scenes!

Join me each week for some honest feelings about the good, the bad, and the ugly side of high school athletics!

The Big Picture is front and center with the results from the CIF State swimming and diving championships! The EBAL is bringing home a pair of state titles! Also, which EBAL boys’ volleyball team claimed an NCS title last week. We also will look at the NCS Tri-Valley track and field championships, as well as the NCS team tennis.

The EBAL Power Rankings gives you the final volleyball rankings, as well as baseball and softball as we head into the NCS playoffs.

What to Watch gives you the schedule for the NCS baseball and softball playoffs, as well as the NorCal volleyball playoffs. Finally, where does the NCS Meet of Champions track place as our athletes vie for berths in the CIF State meet.

That’s it for another week of the 2023-24 Tri-Valley Prep Playbook! Got a great story idea? Let me know at acesmag@aol.com! Have a great year and I look forward once again to seeing how our local athletes compete!

EBAL swimmers make a splash during CIF state championships

Winning a boys’ individual league title in swimming as a freshman would be an amazing accomplishment as the East Bay Athletic League is a highly regarded swimming league. To go on and capture a North Coast Section title is almost hard to believe it could happen…

Power Rankings as of May 13

EBAL BASEBALL
1) Granada (25-1): The Matadors enter the NCS D-I playoffs as the deserving No. 1 seed after winning the EBAL regular season and EBAL playoffs.
2) De La Salle (17-6): The Spartans are seeded No. 2 in D-I and look towards a spot in the title game against Granada. They did lose 8-2 in the EBAL playoffs to San Ramon Valley.
3) San Ramon Valley (16-10): Beat Livermore and De La Salle in the EBAL playoffs and dropped a tough 6-4 game to Granada in the league finals. Seed No. 6 and will host Castro Valley (11) in the first round.
4) Foothill (13-12): Had a big comeback in the EBAL playoffs but just fell short, losing 14-13 to Monte Vista. Seeded No. 12 in the playoffs and opens at No. 5 Casa Grande.
5) Livermore (13-12): Lost 8-4 to San Ramon Valley in the EBAL playoffs. Seeded No. 6 in the D-II playoffs and will host American Canyon in the first round.
Others: Amador Valley (10-14), Dublin (10-13), Monte Vista (15-11), California (11-13), Dougherty Valley (7-16).

EBAL SOFTBALL
1) Livermore (21-5): The Cowboys finished the EBAL sweep, winning the regular season then taking the EBAL playoffs with wins over San Ramon Valley and California.
2) California (16-8): The Grizzlies took out Amador in the EBAL semifinals, but then fell 6-5 to EBAL champ Livermore.
3) Amador Valley (12-11): The Dons got into the EBAL playoffs but fell in the first game to California.
4) Granada (12-9): Did not make the EBAL playoffs but this is a team to watch in NCS as the Mats are playing very solid softball right now, winning seven in a row.
5) San Ramon Valley (12-11): The Wolves made the EBAL playoffs but were beaten in the semifinals, 9-0 by Livermore.
Others: Dublin (13-7-1), Foothill (12-9), Carondelet (9-10), Monte Vista (5-13), Dougherty Valley (4-16).

EBAL BOYS’ VOLLEYBALL
1) Foothill (29-6): Your NCS D-I champions, beating Berkeley, Heritage, and Castro Valley 3-1 in the finals to finish out No. 1 in the power rankings.
2) Granada (23-10): Beat American 3-1 in the D-I opener but fell 3-1 to Liberty in the second round. The Mats had a great season, second to Foothill overall.
3) De La Salle (29-11): The Spartans fell in the semifinals of the NCS D-II playoffs by a 3-1 final.
4) Amador Valley (21-11): Falling in the second round of the playoffs was a disappointment for the Dons who had the ability to beat anyone, but this season the Dons could lose to almost anyone as well.
5) Livermore (19-15): Season was over but the Cowboys turned in a solid season.
On the bubble: Dougherty Valley (5-8), Monte Vista (11-20), Dublin (7-17), San Ramon Valley (7-18), California (6-15).

Tuesday, May 14
CIF NorCal Boys’ Volleyball Playoffs
D-I (seeds in parenthesis). All games 6 p.m.
Archbishop Mitty (8) at Clovis (1)
Foothill (5) at Santa Cruz (4)
Bishop O’Dowd (6) at Valley Christian (3)
Saint Francis (7) at Sanger (2)

North Coast Section Baseball Playoffs
First round (seeds in parenthesis)
D-I
Dublin (16) at Granada (1), 5 p.m.
Monte Vista (8) at James Logan (9), 7 p.m.
Freedom (13) at Acalanes (4), 5 p.m.
Foothill (12) at Casa Grande (5), 5 p.m.
Liberty (15) at De La Salle (2), 5 p.m.
Heritage (7) at Pittsburg (10), 5 p.m.
Berkeley (14) at College Park (3), 5 p.m.
Castro Valley (11) at San Ramon Valley (6), 5 p.m.

D-II
American Canyon (11) at Livermore (6), 5 p.m.
Newark Memorial (14) at Ukiah (3), 7 p.m.

North Coast Section Softball Playoffs
First round (seedings in parenthesis)
D-I
Mt. Eden (12) at Vintage (2) 5 p.m.
Dublin (10) at Liberty (7), 5 p.m.

D-II
Casa Grande (1) vs. bye
Windsor (9) at Carondelet (8), 7 p.m.
Marin Catholic (14) at Bishop O’Dowd, 7 p.m.
Rancho Cotate (12) at Alameda (5), 5 p.m.
Ukiah (15) vs. Livermore (2), at Junction Middle School, 5 p.m.
Alhambra (10) at Redwood (7), 5 p.m.
Newark Memorial (14) at Benicia (3), 5 p.m.
American Canyon (6) at Northgate (11), 5 p.m.

Wednesday, May 15
North Coast Section Softball Playoffs
First round (seeds parenthesis)
D-I
Berkeley (16) at California (1), 5 p.m.
Freedom (9) at San Ramon Valley, 5 p.m.
Heritage (13) at Amador Valley (4), 5 p.m.
Clayton Valley (12) at James Logan (5), 7 p.m.
Arroyo (14) at College Park (3), 5 p.m.
Foothill (11) at Granada (6), 5 p.m.

Thursday, May 16
CIF NorCal Boys’ Volleyball Playoffs
Regional Semifinals (both games at 6 p.m.)
Clovis-Mitty winner vs. Foothill-Santa Cruz winner
Valley Christian-O’Dowd winner vs. Sanger-Saint Francis winner

Friday, May 17
North Coast Section Baseball Playoffs
Second round
Granada-Dublin winner vs. Monte Vista-James Logan winner, TBD
Acalanes-Freedom winner vs. Casa Grande-Foothill winner, TBD
De La Salle-Liberty winner vs. Heritage-Pittsburg winner, TBD.
College Park-Berkeley winner vs. San Ramon Valley-Castro Valley winner, TBD.

North Coast Section Softball Playoffs
Second round
D-I
TBD

D-II
Casa Grande vs. Carondelet-Windsor winner, 5 p.m.
Bishop O’Dowd-Marin Catholic winner vs. Alameda-Rancho Cotate winner, TBD.
Livermore-Ukiah winner vs. Redwood-Alhambra winner, TBD
Benicia-Newark winner vs. American Canyon-Northgate winner, TBD.

North Coast Section Track and Field
Meet of Champions
At Dublin High, all day

Saturday, May 18
CIF NorCal Boys’ Volleyball Playoffs
Semifinal winners, 6 p.m. TBD

North Coast Section Softball Playoffs
Second round
TBD
North Coast Section Track and Field
Meet of Champions
At Dublin High, all day

Pleasanton Preps: Recapping Amador’s solid showing at NCS swimming meet

The Amador Valley swim and diving teams had a solid number of swims in the North Coast Section meet. Also see highlights from the NCS boys’ volleyball tournament…

Be a Sport!

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Send photos of your athlete! to sports@pleasantonweekly.com and get a $10 Amazon gift card.

Post game scores, highlights and photos to acknowledge the hard work of your team and athletes here.

When and where will games, meets and matches be? Tell interested community members here.

Have questions? Email sports@pleasantonweekly.com.

Dennis Miller is a veteran sports writer and editor, covering sports in the Tri-Valley for over 35 years. In addition to being the editor of Tri-Valley Preps Playbook, he has written a weekly column for Pleasanton Weekly and PleasantonWeekly.com, “Pleasanton Preps,” since 2011. Email him at sports@pleasantonweekly.com.

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