Ohlone report: Baseball, softball have spring in their steps

The dedicated and pitching-rich Ohlone baseball and softball teams have entered April with picturesque views atop their respective conferences.

Here’s a look at last week’s action (plus a swimming report):

SOFTBALL
The Renegades (23-7, 6-1), who share first place in the Coast-North with College of San Mateo (26-4, 6-1), have been marching with textbook precision. They have won seven straight games, outscoring opponents 46-7 over the stretch.
On March 26, Ohlone rode the Karen Didio Express to a 5-2 win over Cabrillo in a makeup game.
Didio, a Foothill High graduate, fired a three-hitter with eight strikeouts and no walks, and also was 3 for 4 with a double. Malory Ussery doubled and had three RBI. Ohlone coach Julie Marshall praised the Renegades’ “great base running and team at-bats.”
Next, on March 27, Ana Maria Beard fired a four-hit shutout with five strikeouts in a 2-0 win over San Jose, and Arrianna Whitlock made a stellar defensive play. Meida Tautalatasi was 3 for 3 with two stolen bases. Didio and Alyssa Montoya, who doubled, had RBIs.
The Renegades capped off a productive week with a 9-1 thumping of Hartnell in five innings on March 29, riding the pitching of Holly Gonsalez. Brooke Niewoehner did the raking from the plate with two doubles and four RBI.

BASEBALL
The Renegades (22-6, 6-0 Coast-Pacific) lead the second-place duo of Monterey Peninsula (14-14, 5-4) and Hartnell (15-15, 5-4) each by comfortable margins.
Ohlone will start a three-game series against Cabrillo (10-16, 3-3) at home on Tuesday, and the teams will meet in Aptos on Thursday before returning to Fremont on Saturday. The Seahawks are coming off a 7-1 win over City College of San Francisco, the same Rams who edged the Renegades 4-3 in 11 innings on Saturday.
Ohlone outfielder Ryan Probst had a solid game against CCSF and a scintillating week. He was 3 for 4 with two RBI against the Rams and second baseman Ryan Walstad tripled and scored.
The Renegades opened the week with a 5-0 loss to host Mission on March 27 and took a thrilling 5-4 win over West Valley in 11 innings on March 29.
Probst doubled home Walstad with the winning run against the Vikings. Probst also forced extra innings by scoring on a Matt Benavidez single in the bottom of the ninth.
Gritty Ohlone also scored twice in the seventh to tie it 3-3 as Dalton Vanhille had an RBI triple and Justin Clark smacked an RBI single. A deserving Stirling Strong (3-0) got the pitching win by allowing one hit and striking out five over four strong innings.

SWIMMING
The Renegades had a fun time during an intra-squad meet on March 30 as they prepare for the big meets ahead. They will compete in the Last Chance Invitational at Chabot on Saturday, April 7. The goal is to earn a top-17 time in the state and earn a spot in the CCCAA Championships May 3-5 at De Anza in Cupertino.
The three-day Coast Conference Championships are April 19-21 at West Valley in Saratoga.
Craig Harkey paces the Renegades with the No. 16 time in the men’s 100 breaststroke of 1 minute and 51 seconds. He also is also trying to nail down a CCCAA qualifying mark in the 200 breaststroke.
Photo by Don Jedlovec