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For the second year in a row, the East Bay Athletic League sent a team to the CIF State Division I boys’ basketball championship game, as San Ramon Valley squared off with St. John Bosco in Sacramento at the Golden 1 Center last Friday (March 8).
Unfortunately, for the second year in a row the EBAL did not bring home the state title as the Wolves fell 78-62.
It ended a great run for the EBAL as the Wolves earned their spot in the title game with a thrilling 58-56 NorCal title game win over EBAL rival Granada.
It was the second year in a row for the Mats to make the NorCal finals. Last year Granada beat Salesian to win the NorCal title but fell in the state championship to Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks.
And like the Matadors last year, the Wolves ended this season as the D-I “public school” champs, as both Granada and San Ramon Valley were the last non-private school teams standing.
In fact, in the Open and D-I tournaments the four finalists included three private schools and San Ramon Valley.
Congrats to SRV coach Brian Botteen, his staff and players for an amazing run, and for winning the unofficial D-I Public School crown!
In the girls’ D-I playoffs, Carondelet fell 48-47 to Bishop O’Dowd in the NorCal finals. O’Dowd fell to Bishop Montgomery 52-40 in the state title game. All four semifinalists are private schools.
Baseball
Consistently one of the strongest sports in the EBAL, the league looks strong and deep.
Sources around the league feel like De La Salle is the team to beat, and with good reason. The defending NCS chams just reload every year.
The schedule has been tough early on, and the Spartans have started 3-1, losing only at St. Mary’s of Stockton, a team that has started 5-1.
It is no secret that Granada can hit, as the Mats have scored in double digits in all five games. The concern is with the depth of the pitching staff.
It’s been good through the first five games and if the arms keep up with the bats, look for Granada to contend for the title.
I like what I see from Amador Valley at this point. The Dons lost two of their first three but have put together three straight wins, allowing one run in those wins.
Livermore has been interesting thus far, jumping out to a 5-1 mark. The schedule has not been the toughest but when you keep winning, confidence builds, and that often breeds success.
Monte Vista is a tough read at this point as the Mustangs sit 2-1. They knocked off Alhambra and Irvington but then fell to College Park.
San Ramon Valley will be better than their 2-3 record indicates but it’s been an inconsistent ride early. Some days everything clicks — on others — not so much.
Foothill could be an interesting team. Four sophomores and 11 juniors are on the team which means this team should get stronger as the season goes on. They have been all over the place with their 2-3 start.
California is 3-3 and I’m not sure about the Grizzlies yet. There is talent so could be a factor as the EBAL season progresses.
Dublin started 2-1, but the Gaels have dropped two straight, falling at Arroyo and Liberty.
Dougherty Valley has stumbled out to a 1-4, but the Wildcats have played a good non-league schedule that will help in the brutally tough EBAL.
Softball
Like baseball, the EBAL is always good and deep.
Take a look at last season when California beat San Ramon Valley in the NCS finals, and the league had the top-three seeded teams.
Right now, Livermore is young but it’s young talent as the Cowboys have jumped out to a 3-0 start. The offense has scored 18 runs in the three games, but they have also allowed two runs in each game.
Don’t sleep on Amador Valley this year as the Dons dropped their first game but came back with two impressive wins over San Ramon Valley and Clayton Valley.
California is the defending NCS champs and does bring back a solid core of players. The Grizzlies are 2-1, with a tough 7-2 loss to Alameda being their latest game.
Foothill has shown early promise, starting 5-1 and showing some offensive firepower. The Falcons scored in double figures their first four games but have given up nine runs in one game and six in another.
Granada has been one of the top programs in the league but is searching to find their ace as the Mats top pitcher graduated. Opened with a win over a very good Freedom team but dropped two after that and enters league 1-2.
San Ramon Valley was the top seed in NCS last year, but the Wolves were hit hard by graduation. Been inconsistent in going 2-2 but will get better as the season goes on.
Carondelet welcomes a new coach who has already shown improvement from last year. The Cougars figure to catch up to the rest of the league quickly.
Monte Vista has played once, losing to Liberty 7-4. The Mustangs lost some talented players to graduation and have to find answers.
Dougherty Valley came out with two wins but then got hammered 14-2 by Liberty. The two wins saw the Wildcats put 29 runs on the board, but the offense went to sleep against Liberty.
Boys’ volleyball
Last year Amador Valley and Foothill battled throughout the season, with the Falcons winning the EBAL title and the Dons turning the trick in the NCS finals beating the Falcons.
Both teams advanced to the CIF NorCal tournament, with both losing in the first round.
The two teams combined for a 58-15 record in their impressive runs.
We are only one week into EBAL play this year, but the two teams may be the top two teams again this year.
Amador is out to a 10-3 overall record and the Dons took their first two EBAL games, beating Dublin and Livermore.
Foothill has started 8-2 overall and 2-0 in league with wins over San Ramon Valley and Dublin.
Also, once again the two teams are in a league that has some solid depth. De La Salle figures the main challenger to both as the Spartans have started out with a 9-5 overall mark, with two of the losses coming to Central Valley Powerhouse Sanger, a team that also has a win over Foothill this year.
De La Salle lost to Campolindo 2-1 in tournament play, with Foothill posting a 3-1 win over Campo in non-league play.
Livermore and Granada are a pair of teams capable of turning in big matches.
The Cowboys are 6-1 overall and 1-1 in league with their lone loss coming to Amador Valley by a 3-1 final.
Granada is 7-2 overall and 2-0 in the league.
The rest of the league is a combined 7-27, but there are some perplexing teams.
San Ramon Valley is 4-9 but beat Granada 2-1 in tournament play. On the other hand, they were swept by both De La Salle and Foothill, the first week of league.
Dublin is 1-6 overall but did take Amador to the limit in the first league game, losing 3-2. The Gaels were then swept 3-0 by Foothill.
Finally, Dougherty Valley did not play a non-league game but stands 1-1 in league after losing 3-0 to Granada, then beating California 3-1.
Editor’s note: Dennis Miller is a contributing sports writer for the Pleasanton Weekly. This column originally appeared in Tri-Valley Preps Playbook, a weekly sports e-newsletter published by Embarcadero Media Foundation.
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