Baseball (2022)
NCS Champions!!
Noah Zirkle's No-Hitter Leads Panthers to First NCS Title Since 2013
May 29th, 2022
Berkeley, CA - Behind a stellar pitching performance from Fresno State bound senior Noah Zirkle, the Saint Mary's Panthers baseball team edged Saint Joe's (Alameda) 1-0 on Saturday to claim their first North Coast Section Championship since 2013. Senior Tristan Huerta scored in the bottom of the 5th on a JR Bedford single to post the game's only run. Solid defense and Zirkle's dominance (no hits, 9 strikeouts) on the mound provided the rest for the Division 4 Champs.
Next up for the Panthers is the inaugural CIF Nor Cal Baseball Tournament. The Panthers first round opponent will be St. Francis (Watsonville). The Sharks are 23-6 on the season and ranked #3 in the Division 4 bracket. The Panthers are ranked #6. The game is on Tuesday, May 31st in Watsonville. First pitch is at 4:00 pm.
Panthers Pitching, Hitting Too Much For Fort Bragg in Round 1 of NCS Playoffs
May 18th, 2022
Berkeley, CA - Buoyed by solid defense and discipline hitting, the Saint Mary's baseball team tallied a convincing 7-0 win against the Fort Bragg Wolverines in the first round of the North Coast Section playoffs on Wednesday at Brady Field. Senior EJ McGrew pitched 6 scoreless innings and had 2 RBI to lead the Panthers offensive and defensive attack. Junior Nico Laub-Sabater pitched a perfect final inning to complete the shut out.
Juniors JR Bedford and Caven Croom both scored twice, while senior catcher Kazu Akiyama-Tahara drove in two runs to all but seal the victory. Senior Elijah James also had two hits for the victors.
Next up for the 3rd seeded Panthers is a home game against 11th seeded Fortuna. The Huskies were a 12-5 winner against St. Helena on Wednesday. The game is on Saturday, May 21st at Saint Mary's. First pitch is at 1:00 pm.
Offensive Explosion Lead Panthers Past SPSV In TCAL Playoff
May 5th, 2022
Berkeley, CA - After dropping a pair of one run games to Saint Patrick-Saint Vincent last week in their final two TCAL regular season games, the Panther baseball team avenged both of those losses with a 10 run win over the same Bruin team in the 1st round of the TCAL Rock Division playoffs. With 3 runs in the first inning, 4 in the second, and 3 in the third, the Panthers would eventually tally 13 runs altogether to post their second highest output of the season. Fresno State bound starting pitcher Noah Zirkle surrendered 2 runs in the 2nd inning, but settled down after that to limit the Bruins to a scant 3 runs overall.
The Panthers continue their trek through the league playoffs on Tuesday, May 10th when they face off against the rival Albany Cougars. The 4:00 pm game is at Albany High School.
Video Profile: EJ McGrew & Evan Kleinhans
by Noah Zirkle
April 27th, 2022
Never Say Never! Panthers Stage Wild Late Game Rally, Beat SJND 10-9!
March 28th, 2022
Berkeley, CA - Down 6-0 after 3 innings on their way to what seemed like a third consecutive loss, the Panthers rode the clutch hitting of juniors JR Bedford and Caven Croom as well as the game winning hit of senior Noah Zirkle to steal an improbable 10-9 win from the Saint Joe's Pilots on Monday afternoon at Brady Park.
JR Bedford's 3 run home to deep left center field in the bottom of the 5th sparked a seven run 5th inning that briefly got the lead for the Panthers. After St. Joe's scored 3 more times in the top of the 6th, Saint Mary's - bolstered by a run scoring double from Caven Croom - scored twice more in the bottom of the 6th to tie the game. The Pilots were unable to score in the top of the 7th which set up the winning dramatics off the bat of senior Noah Zirkle.
Next up for the Panthers varsity is a non-league road game against Deer Valley High School (Antioch) on Tuesday. First pitch is at 4:00 pm.
Complete Game Shutout, 11 Strikeouts Lead Panthers Past Albany
March 23rd, 2022
Berkeley, CA - After falling behind 5-0 to El Cerrito last Friday before clawing back to a 7-7 nine inning tie, the Saint Mary's baseball team seemed intent on getting out to a fast start against cross town rival Albany on Wednesday at Brady Field. And, led by a strong outing from starting pitcher Noah Zirkle, the Panthers did just that. After an errant ground rule double call on what was a home run off the bat of junior Max Barnett-Abrams, the Panthers pushed across the only run they would need. Nevertheless, seniors Evan Kleinhans and Tristan Huerta provided timely hitting that scored 3 more runs to finish the Cougars. The 4-0 win was the Panthers first shut out of the season and came at a very good time for the upstart Panthers.
"I was in the zone from the first pitch," said the Fresno State bound Zirkle. "We have a lot of games coming up so I knew I had to be efficient and go the distance to save our arms. My command was very good all game on all 3 pitches and I had flashes of high velocity when I needed a big pitch. It was a very encouraging outing."
The 11 strikeouts were a season high for the Panthers... as was the 7 shutout innings.
Next up for the Panthers is a Friday rematch of today's game against these same Albany Cougars, this time at Albany. First pitch is at 4:00 pm.
Player Profile: Noah Zirkle
March 21st, 2022
Resilient Panthers Fight Back To Tie El Cerrito
March 18th, 2022
Berkeley, CA - Down 5-0 to TCAL rival El Cerrito after 3 innings, the Saint Mary's baseball team staged a gutsy comeback on Friday - tying the game in regulation before settling for a nine inning, 7-7 tie. Starting pitcher Evan Kleinhans pitched the first three innings before giving way to juniors Ty Hickling and EJ McGrew. Up next for the Panthers is another TCAL matchup - this time against cross town rival Albany. Varsity plays at Brady Field while the JV travel to Albany. First pitch for both games is at 4:00 pm.
Panthers Too Much for Gauchos, Win 10-4
March 16th, 2022
El Cerrito, CA - The Saint Mary's Panthers baseball team ran it's season record to 4-1 with an overwhelming 10-4 road victory against the El Cerrito Gauchos on Wednesday. Starting pitcher Noah Zirkle pitched 5 strong innings, giving up 2 earned runs, to notch the victory. Junior Nico Laub-Sabater pitched a scoreless final 2 innings to pick up the save.
Offensively, junior shortstop J.R. Bedford led a balanced Panthers attack, collecting 2 hits, 2 RBI's and scoring once. Senior Evan Kleinhans, one of the Panthers top pitchers, also showed his mettle at the plate with 2 hits and 2 RBI's. Junior outfielder Eli Barnett-Abrams also drove in two runs.
Meanwhile, the Saint Mary's JV team mounted a big comeback win at home, overcoming a 5 run deficit to finally post an 11-10 win against El Cerrito. Sophomore Marley Filson, among many others, starred for the Panthers.
Next up for the Panthers is a rematch against those same El Cerrito Gauchos on Friday, March 18th. This time, however, the varsity play at home and the JV are away. Both games start at 4:00 pm.
Lots of Hitting, Solid Pitching Earn Panthers Win In Season Opener
February 23rd, 2022
Berkeley, CA - Behind solid pitching from senior starter Noah Zirkle and plenty of hitting from up and down the line-up, the Panthers opened the 2022 season with a dominant 15-4 win over visiting Arroyo High School (San Lorenzo). The game was called after 5 innings due to the disparity in score as well as the looming darkness. Next up for the Panthers is a road game against Newark Memorial (Newark) on Saturday. The Junior Varsity game starts at 10:00 am, with the Varsity scheduled for 1:00 pm.