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It’s no secret how competitive the East Bay Athletic League boys’ volleyball is each year.
This year it is more a top-heavy league as we head into the final two weeks (three matches) of the regular season with three teams in the running for the regular season title.
Foothill (10-0), De La Salle (9-1) and Granada (8-2) are the only three with a shot at the regular season crown, with Amador Valley (6-4) is a big threat in the postseason, starting with the EBAL playoffs possibly and then the North Coast Section championships.
The Falcons are the team to beat right now, and they have wins over De La Salle, Granada and Amador Valley.
The upcoming week is a huge one for the Matadors as they play at Foothill on Tuesday (April 16) and then host De La Salle. The first time Foothill played Granada it was a 3-1 win for the Falcons. Granada has yet to play De La Salle this year.
Foothill did sweep De La Salle 3-0 when they met earlier this year and rallied from a first set loss to Amador Valley to win 3-1.
Amador is a bit of an enigma this year as the Dons have shown multiple times that on any given day, they can play with any team.
They have split matches with Granada, losing 3-1 earlier in the season but then coming back to win 3-1 in their second match. The Dons fell 3-1 to De La Salle in their lone EBAL match.
This is a big last two weeks for the Dons as they stand in third place in the Valley Division of the EBAL, sitting behind Foothill and Granada.
Only the top two teams in each the Mountain and the Valley divisions make the EBAL playoffs.
Amador cannot catch Foothill, as the Dons are four back of the Falcons with three games to play. They are two back of the Matadors and have a much easier three games left, facing Dougherty Valley and California this week, before closing with Foothill on April 23.
EBAL baseball
Amador Valley was able to do something no other EBAL team had been able to do so far this year, and that was beating Granada.
Last Wednesday (April 10), the Dons got a great pitching performance from Matthew Foley as they beat Granada 5-2.
Foley went the distance, allowing just six hits and two earned runs. On offense, the Dons got two-hit performances from Kyle Barbera and Aaron Solomon. Solomon drove in a pair of wins with Barbera sporting a double and drove in a run.
For Granada, Riley Winchell and Mikey Boyd each homered.
Two days later Granada got a bit of revenge, as the Mats beat the Dons 8-2.
Parker Warner continued his big year for the Matadors. Warner went five innings without allowing an earned run, then added three hits at the plate, scoring twice.
Winchell added another home run, driving in two, with Boyd also driving in a pair.
The Matadors and San Ramon Valley each have one loss on the EBAL season and met in the finals of the prestigious Bishop Gorman Classic during spring break.
One game back of the two schools is De La Salle with the Spartans on an insane offensive explosion streak.
As I wrote about last week, De La Salle hung 24 runs on Freedom and followed with 17 on a strong Granite Bay team.
Back in their lone EBAL game last week, the Spartans beat Foothill 28-2. That’s an incredible 69 runs scored in their last three games.
I have never seen such a streak in my 35-plus years covering high school sports. That’s as much as some teams in the EBAL have scored in the entire season.
This is a monster week for both De La Salle and San Ramon Valley, as the Spartans and the Wolves will square off in a home-and-home on Wednesday and Friday.
EBAL softball
Livermore stands on top of the standings with a 6-1 mark, one clear of San Ramon Valley and Amador Valley. Foothill and California are two back.
Livermore gets Carondelet and California this week, with Amador getting Monte Vista and Dougherty Valley.
San Ramon Valley gets Dublin and Foothill this week, and Foothill also has Dougherty Valley on the docket.
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.