Players from state No. 1 De La Salle of Concord gather around pennant and plaque that they won on Saturday after CIF North Coast Section D1 title game. Photo: Mark Tennis.
We still have to announce the 2019 State Team of the Year, but No. 1 Spartans put themselves in prime position to be named for that honor in the next two days after defeating Heritage of Brentwood on Saturday in CIF North Coast Section Division I championship. Go inside this post to also check out updated all-time state record for consecutive wins within one season and for the longest win streaks in NCS history.
Note: We hope you enjoy this free post on CalHiSports.com. All final state rankings plus some of our upcoming all-state teams also will be for our Gold Club members only. To become a member of our Gold Club so you can check out all of our baseball content, please CLICK HERE.
The numbers really are starting to add up for the De La Salle of Concord baseball team much like they were for the Spartans’ legendary football program in the late 1990s.
There were no CIF state football playoffs in those days and there are still none for baseball, but as the wins, championships and state record achievements pile up it gets harder and harder to brush aside what head coach David Jeans’ squad has been doing that it’s being done against so-called inferior competition.
Junior UCLA commit Kyle Harrison struck out 10 on the mound and drove in three runs at the plate to lead the way in De La Salle’s NCS D1 title game triumph. Photo: Mark Tennis.
De La Salle capped its best season yet with a 10-1 victory over Heritage of Brentwood on Saturday in the CIF North Coast Section Division 1 championship at Diablo Valley College.
It was the program’s fourth straight section title, which came after a mercy-rule win in the final game last season. The Spartans, who were No. 1 in the Cal-Hi Sports State Top 25 coming into the day, also capped a 29-1 season and won their 28th straight game. See the sidebar lists below where the team’s 28-game in-season win streak ranks in state history and where that streak stands on the all-time NCS list.
“We’ve been calm, cool and collected all season long and today was no different after we got down early,” Jeans said. “We didn’t have the power hitting that we had last season, but we hit the ball hard up the middle and they were not chasing pitches.”
Heritage, which had advanced to the title game earlier last week with a win over No. 2 seed and state No. 11 Amador Valley of Pleasanton, actually took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning on an RBI triple by junior standout and Bay Valley Athletic League Player of the Year Ryan Jackson.
The Spartans answered right back in the bottom of the third with four singles — and an error sandwiched in between — and took the lead 2-1 on an RBI single by starting pitcher Kyle Harrison. A sacrifice fly by Jared Amigh made it 3-1, a bases-loaded walk made it 4-1 and a run scoring on a grounder in which the Patriots were trying to turn a double play made it 5-1.
De La Salle broke it open in the fourth when Harrison smashed a two-run double and another run scored on a squeeze bunt by Vince Bianchina. A possible fourth run of the inning and ninth of the game didn’t happen when Harrison was thrown out at the plate trying to score from second base on that same squeeze play.
Chris Santiago ended the scoring for the Spartans by hammering a two-run homer in the sixth inning.
In addition to the two-run double and RBI single, Harrison pitched 5 ⅓ innings as the starter and ended with 10 strikeouts and a three-hitter. Cole Silva and Dylan White also pitched for De La Salle and didn’t allow any runs in the sixth and seventh innings.
“It felt great today to win and nice for the seniors to go out this way,” said Harrison, who has committed to UCLA. “All the hard work does pay off.”
It was not the first time during the NCS playoffs that the Spartans had to win after being behind in the early innings. They also did it in a quarterfinal victory over Monte Vista of Danville in which they won 7-3 after being down 3-1.
“After I gave up that run, I’ve got to have faith that the offense is going to come alive,” Harrison said. “Then when we came back right away that was huge. Anytime the offense can put up a crooked number that gives the pitcher a great boost.”
Most Consecutive Baseball Wins
Within A Season (Cal-Hi Sports State Records)
35 – Chatsworth, 2004 (35-0)
31 – Pacific Grove, 2013 (31-0)
31 – San Dimas, 2015 (31-1, won first 31)
30 – Maxwell, 2011 (30-0)
29 – Santa Maria St. Joseph, 1997 (29-0)
28 – Merced, 1978 (29-1, won first 28)
28 – Concord De La Salle, 2019 (29-1)
27 – Lompoc, 1970 (27-1, won last 27)
27 – Oxnard Rio Mesa, 1980 (28-0-1, won last 27)
27 – Sacramento Grant, 1984 (35-4, won first 27)
27 – Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, 1984 (27-1, won first 27)
27 – La Puente Bishop Amat, 1993 (27-1, won first 27)
27 – Sonoma Sonoma Valley, 1999 (27-1, won first 27)
27 – Carlsbad La Costa Canyon, 2003 (32-1, won last 27)
27 – Napa Justin-Siena, 2005 (27-0)
Longest Baseball Winning Streaks
In CIF North Coast Section (Cal-Hi Sports State Records)
42 – Napa Justin Siena, 2004-2006
30 – Concord De La Salle, 1985-86
28 – Concord De La Salle, 2019 (current)
27 – Sonoma Sonoma Valley, 1999 (27-1, won first 27)
26 – Lakeport Clear Lake, 2015 (lost last game)
26 – Orinda Miramonte, 2017 (lost last game)
Mark Tennis is the editor and publisher of Cal-Hi Sports. He can be reached at markjtennis@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow Mark on the Cal-Hi Sports Twitter handle: @CalHiSports
