D5: Kung outduels Louie in title game

Senior Kai Kung, who was considered the third wheel when PAL-Ocean Division coaches met earlier this month to choose their all-league team, was the last man standing on Friday night in San Jose.

Half Moon Bay's southpaw outdueled San Mateo's Christian Louie as Half Moon Bay won its school-record 12th straight game and captured the CCS-Division V crown – the first sectional baseball crown in school history – with a 1-0 victory in eight innings over the Bearcats at Excite Ballpark.

Kung has now won 12 games this year – that's tied for the most in California with Los Gatos senior Ethan Williams – but could only watch as Louie and Sacred Heart Prep senior Rallin Covey shared the Ocean Division's Pitcher of the Year award.

Half Moon Bay coach Brian Anderson said Kung was "super motivated," for this one because his only loss of the season was to Louie and the Bearcats back in early April.

"He wanted to beat San Mateo," Anderson said. "He was dialed in and we've seen what he can do over a long stretch. He was so good tonight."

On Friday, he could be considered the Ocean Division's king of the hill by going the distance and allowing just two hits and a walk. His seven strikeouts brought his season total to 100.

"He had everything going for him," Anderson said. "He located his fastball in and out, low and high, anywhere he wanted."

Louie was pretty solid himself, giving up just eight hits, while striking out four and throwing seven scoreless innings before the Cougars finally broke through in the top of the eighth inning.

Half Moon Bay, which last made it to the CCS finals in 1988, put together a torrid last month of the season to earn a rare third Ocean bid in the CCS tournament. The 12-game winning streak began April 28 at Woodside and included three CCS victories, a do-or-die sweep of Terra Nova in the final week of the regular season and a walk-off win over Sequoia in nine innings at Oracle Park on May 1.

The Cougars were nearly automatic on days when Kung pitched. That was especially true in the postseason. Both of Kung's CCS victories – Friday's as well as a quarterfinal win over Homestead – were 1-0 contests.

Half Moon Bay scored the game's only run in the top of the eighth inning when Lane Giannini led off with a triple to centerfield. Louie intentionally waked junior shortstop Riley Jackson for the second time, bringing Ian Ehrhardt to the plate.

Ehrhardt lined a single up the middle, scoring Giannini. Jackson was thrown out at the plate on the play, but the Cougars had broken the scoreless deadlock.

"You can't look past Ehrhardt," Anderson said. "They pitched around Riley to get to him and look what he did."

Kung pitched a perfect eighth inning to close out the contest. Fittingly, the final out came on a one-hop comebacker. He ran toward first base before lobbing to first to complete the putout, which caused the Half Moon Bay dugout to empty onto the field in celebration.

It was also a magical year or the Bearcats, who finished seventh in the Ocean Division standings last year, but put it all together to win 21 games this year, while tying for second with Half Moon Bay in the league standings and garnering the top seed in the CCS-Division V bracket.

W: Kung | L: Louie | 2 hits- Olivas (SM), Holden (HMB). 3B- L.Giannini (HMB). 2B- C.Giannini (HMB).