LIVERMORE — When pitcher A.J. Hattaway retired the final batter in Granada’s 6-4 win over St. Mary’s-Stockton, the packed crowd at the school’s home field rejoiced.
In what ended up being a dogfight until the last out, Granada, capping off its magical season, hoisted the CIF NorCal Division I championship trophy on Saturday. With Saturday’s victory, Granada became the first public school to win a Division I regional championship in its three-year history.
“It was a great way to end the season, for sure,” said Granada senior and East Bay Athletic League MVP Parker Warner. “I wouldn’t want to do it with any other group of guys. I’ve been playing with these guys since I was seven years old. It’s a great feeling.”
Warner’s RBI double scored two runs in the win, and Tommy Brown and Nate Brown each had an RBI single.
In his 16th year as Granada’s head coach, Corrigan Willis has reached the mountain top.
This year, Willis led Granada to an EBAL championship, a North Coast Section Division I title, and a win in the NorCal D-I regional final in what will be remembered as one of the greatest seasons by a Bay Area high school baseball team.
“We had talent,” Willis said. “This team had great senior leadership. Guys accepted lesser roles than they were used to. When you put all those things together, good things are going to happen.”
Early on, Granada looked like it would run away with the game.
The Matadors capitalized on three St. Mary’s errors in the second inning.
With two outs and the bases loaded, Nate Brown brought home Riley Winchell on an RBI single to center field. A.J. Martinez was stopped at third, but after a throw got past the St. Mary’s catcher, Willis signaled the second baseman home to give Granada a 2-0 lead.
In the next at-bat, Peyton Richards scored on a throwing error by the St. Mary’s third baseman, pushing the Granada lead to three.
Warner capped off the inning by doubling down the right-field line to score Nate Brown and Tommy Brown, making it 5-0 heading to the third inning.
At that point, the Granada crowd broke out the “this game’s over” chants while the Matadors celebrated in their dugout.
But St. Mary’s wasn’t going to lay down.
The Rams scored their first run the top of the fourth when Alex Escalante’s single drove in Dax Hardcastle. In the next at-bat, Tanner Grove’s RBI single scored Escalante and catcher Tyson Reis to cut the Granada lead to 5-3.
Things didn’t get better for the Matadors in the fifth.
St. Mary’s shortstop Brady Errecart hit a single that put Rolen Reyes on third base with no outs.
Willis then replaced starter Jake Sekany with left-hander Luke Palma, who recorded an out on one pitch. Then, Willis inserted Hattaway to finish the game.
Hardcastle’s sacrifice fly brought home Reyes to cut the deficit to 5-4, but it would not get any closer.
In St. Mary’s two previous NorCal playoff games during the week, the Rams withstood deficits, halted comeback attempts, and made late rallies against Valley Christian and Archbishop Mitty.
But Granada was determined not to let that happen Saturday.
“We knew we had to come together as a team,” Tommy Brown said. “We just had to stick together if we were going to win this game.”
After Hattaway retired three straight batters in the sixth, the Matadors found a way to score one last time in their half of the inning.
Tommy Brown found a gap in center field to drive in Tyler Kardy from third, giving Granada a 6-4 advantage going to the seventh.
Needing three outs to seal the win for his school, Hattaway started to feel the pressure of the moment.
“I was nervous,” the senior reliever said about entering the seventh inning. “But me and pitching coach Jason Sekany talked about the batters before I got out there. We just did what we needed to do.”
Hattaway made the final inning look easy. He retired the first two batters he faced and recorded his final out when St. Mary’s lined out to Warner in left field.
When Warner caught the final out of the game, the Matadors rejoiced. Granada finished the season with a 32-1 record with its only loss coming to Amador Valley in April.
In what will go down as one of the most dominant high school teams in the Bay Area, Granada beat the likes of De La Salle, Clovis-West, Acalanes, James Logan, Pittsburg, College Park, San Ramon Valley, Cardinal Newman and Liberty — all of which made the section or regional playoffs.
“There’s no better feeling than right now,” Winchell said. “We grinded through every single part of the season and we just worked our tails off all the time.”
