Bearcats are now an Ocean threat

It's time to start taking San Mateo seriously. The Bearcats are a serious threat to win the PAL-Ocean Division and, after Thursday's 5-1 victory over visiting Half Moon Bay, are becoming more and more deserving of a place in next month's Central Coast Section tournament.

Jesus Olivas went the distance, allowing just a run and four hits as the Bearcats swept the series from Half Moon Bay.

In the two games, Olivas and Christian Louie, Tuesday's winning pitcher, combined to allow just two runs on five hits, while striking out 22 batters in 14 innings.

That should open the eyes of everyone else in the Ocean Division.

Olivas and Wilson Morales had two hits each, while senior Alan Su drove in a couple of runs with a double.

The Cougars tied the game at one with a run in the third inning, but San Mateo score two in the bottom of the third and two more in the fourth to pull away. That was plenty of support for Olivas, who struck out seven.

The Bearcats will host Lowell on Saturday before entertaining South San Francisco on Tuesday in the start of a series with the Warriors.

W: Olivas | L: Johnson | 2 hits- Olivas (SM), Morales (SM). 2 RBI- Su (SM). 2B- Su (SM).

St. Ignatius Prep 5, Soquel 4

The Wildcats jumped to a lead, gave it up and then scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh to walk off a solid Soquel squad.

Jack Callen doubled, tripled and drove in two runs for St. Ignatius Prep, while Jason Balmy added a double.

Connor Law came out of the bullpen to pick up the decision.

The Wildcats host Whitney on Saturday at Fairmont Park before traveling to Mountain View on Tuesday to begin a crucial WCAL series with top-ranked Saint Francis.

W: Law | L: Hull | 2 hits- Callen (SI), Santee (S). 3 RBI- Moran (S). 2 RBI- Callen (SI). 3B- Callen (SI). 2B- Callen (SI), Balmy (SI), Skinner (S), Moran (S).

Valley Christian (AZ) 4, Valley Christian (CA) 3

The Warriors dropped their second straight game on the Arizona trip despite getting home runs from Colton Hadfield and Nathan Miller.

Christian Nevarez added a double for Valley, which returns to WCAL play on Tuesday at Sacred Heart Cathedral.

W: Maxey | L: Patel | 2 RBI- Miller (VCC). HR- Hadfield (VCC), Miller (VCC), Jackson (VCA), Arold (VCA). 2B- Nevarez (VCC)

Mitty 20, Santa Cruz 3

The Monarchs continued to roll through their out-of-conference schedule by collecting a season-high 22 hits, including four from first baseman Elijah Kroenung, who had a home run, a double and six RBI.

In all, 12 different Mitty players registered hits in the box score. Andre Lopez-Monsivais and Austin Mak had three each, while Noah Fishman, Felix Chang and Jisung Hwang had two hits each.

The Monarchs travel to Willow Glen on Saturday before beginning a series with Riordan on Tuesday.

W: Kim | L: Losing Pitcher | 4 hits- Kroenung (M). 3 hits- Lopez-Monsivais (M), Mak (M). 2 hits- Fishman (M), Chang (M), Hwang (M). 6 RBI- Kroenung (M). 2 RBI- Lopez-Monsivais (M), Mak (M), Hwang (M). HR- Kroenung (M). 2B- Kroenung (M), Chang (M), Mak (M), Hwang (M).

Bellarmine 14, Hollister 4

Nathan Chew had three hits and four RBI, while Vincent Kim added a home run as Bellarmine made short work of the Haybalers, the defending CCS-Division II champions.

Arleigh Souza drove in three runs, while Jack Danna had two RBI for the Bells, who won their sixth straight game.

That was more than enough offensive support for sophomore Emmet Arnott, who pitched three innings to pick up the win.

Second-ranked Bellarmine will be back in action Tuesday when it hosts Serra to start a crucial WCAL series.

W: Arnott | L: Trevino | 3 hits- Chew (B). 4 RBI- Chew (B). 3 RBI- Souza (B). 2 RBI- Danna (B). HR- Kim (B).

Los Gatos 11, Friendship Christian 0

Blake Mordaunt had three hits and drove in two runs, while Brady Simon added two hits, including a home run, and four RBI as the Wildcats beat the Tennessee school in five innings.

Jackson Fitzpatrick, and Beau Musser, who has committed to play at Hawaii, had two hits each.

Ethan Williams allowed just one hit in five innings. He struck out 11.

W: Williams | L: Farrar | 3 hits- Mordaunt (LG). 2 hits- Simon (LG), Musser (LG), Fitzpatrick (LG). 4 RBI- Simon (LG). 2 RBI- Mordaunt (LG), Fitzpatrick (LG). HR- Simon (LG). 2B- Mordaunt (LG), Frolich (LG).

Arroyo Grande 5, Terra Nova 0

The Eagles improved to 14-4 by holding the Tigers to two hits and handing them their third loss this week at the Central Coast Spring Classic in San Luis Obispo.

The Tigers will have one more chance to salvage a victory on this road trip when they face Cathedral on Friday.

Ethan Wilson and Jesse Martinez had the Tigers only hits.

W: James | L: Winterberg | 2 hits- Ralph (AG), Bourmont (AG). 2 RBI- Bourmont (AG). HR- Paz (AG), Bourmont (AG). 2B- Bourmont (AG), Ralph (AG).

Sacred Heart Prep 7, Mills 0

Kyle Sweeney allowed two hits in six innings while striking out 12 as the Gators completed the sweep of the Vikings with their second straight shutout.

In two games against Mills, the combination of Rallin Covey and Sweeney combined to allow just four hits while striking out 27 in 13 innings of work.

It's that two-headed pitching monster that makes the Gators the team to beat in the PAL-Ocean Division, but upcoming series with Terra Nova, San Mateo, Woodside and Aragon could make things interesting.

Colin Beim had two hits and three RBI, while Nico Pollioni had two hits and scored two runs. Dan Bochnowski added two hits.

Mills got two hits each from Nick Lafon and Hagan Chan but still fell to their seventh loss in the last eight games.

Mills faces Mission on Saturday before beginning a series with visiting Woodside on Tuesday.

W: Sweeney | L: Chan | 2 hits- Lafon (M), Chan (M), Pollioni (SHP), Baim (SHP), Bochnowski (SHP). 3 RBI- Beim. 2B- Chan (M), Durrett (SHP), Pollioni (SHP).

Aragon 11, South San Francisco 8

The Dons showed Thursday they can win a shootout, too. On Tuesday, they went 10 innings before eking out a 2-1 victory over the Warriors. Two days later, they pounded out 14 hits in another win.

The six defensive errors are disturbing, but it wasn't fatal for the Dons on Thursday.

Alex Gosselin went five innings and was tagged with seven runs, but only two of them were earned. He walked one and struck out one while giving up 10 hits to pick up the win.

Gosselin added three hits and scored three runs, while Saxon Lucia had two hits and drove in three runs. Nick Mazzola, James Wright and Brandon Potter had two hits each, while Xavier Ruiz drove in two runs.

Vince Bernal had four hits and two RBI for the Warriors, who suffered their eighth straight loss. Dylan Munsayac and Diego Carnaza had two hits each.

South City will host El Camino on Saturday before traveling to San Mateo on Tuesday to start a series. Aragon travels to Terra Nova on Tuesday for the first game of a two-game series.

W: Gosselin | L: Munsayac| S: Wright | 4 hits- V.Bernal (SSF). 3 hits- Gosselin (A). 2 hits- Lucia (A), Mazzola (A), Wright (A), Potter (A), Munsayac (SSF), Caranza (SSF). 3 RBI- Lucia (A). 2 RBI- Mazzola (A), Ruiz (A), Munsayac (SSF), V.Bernal (SSF). 3B- Lucia (A). 2B- Gosselin (A).

Homestead 7, Pioneer 2

Drew Hamburger and Jayden Duong had two hits and two RBI each, while Ivan Hwang homered in the Mustangs' seventh win in their last 10 games.

Homestead will take next week off for spring break before returning to action on April 18 against The King's Academy.

W: Cheng | L: Mahan | 2 hits- Hamburger (H), Duong (H), Bright (P). 2 RBI- Hamburger (H), Duong (H). HR- Hwaang (H), Bright (P). 2B- Hamburger (H), Duong (H), Cho (H).