Granada caps storybook season with Northern California high school baseball championship
Story originally published June 1, 2024
LIVERMORE, CALIFORNIA — Like a glass slipper on the foot of a princess or a Rawlings Pro Preferred glove on the left hand of a middle infielder, everything fit perfectly in Granada’s storybook 2024 season.
Right down to the last out.
A.J. Hattaway, an under-used but highly appreciated reliever, retired No. 3 St. Mary’s-Stockton hitter Michael Quedens on a laser to left field grabbed by Parker Warner for the final out of the Matadors’ 6-4 CIF Northern California Division I high school championship victory on June 1 over St. Mary’s of Stockton, setting off a wild celebration in Livermore.
The win capped an absolutely improbable 32-1 season that started with 16 straight wins and ended with 16 consecutive triumphs, with a national tournament title at Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas to go along with East Bay Athletic League, North Coast Section and final NorCal championships.
“At the beginning of the season we set goals that we want to win everything we play in,” he said. “We won at Gorman, we won at EBALs, we won at NCS and now NorCals. We went 4-for-4 and it’s an amazing feeling for sure.”
To have Warner grab the final out was poetic. The leader of a senior dominated group, the Stanford-bound pitcher and outfielder had a monster season on the mound (13-0, 0.93 ERA) and plate (.383, 29 RBIs, 36 hits, 14 for extra bases).
His coaches and teammates gush about him as a competitor, athlete and human being. “As good a player as (Warner) is, he’s an even better person,” longtime assistant coach Tim Rankin said.
It made sense then, when Warner spent much of the postgame building up Hattaway, the selfless warrior, who personified a hometown squad that naturally, organically displayed an one-for-all, all-for-one attitude.
While Warner and junior Jake Sekany (9-1, 2.05 ERA) dominated the wins and innings, Hattaway quietly threw nearly 18 scoreless innings, including the final 2.2 of the season, coming in with the bases loaded and one out in the fifth.
“He’s a special player,” Warner said. “He didn’t get a whole lot of innings this year, but he never complained, never pouted. He’s the greatest team player I’ve ever played with, always cheering guys on. When he got out there, he was lights out. He pounds the zone, he throws strikes. He’s a competitor out there. He’s super confident. I wouldn’t want to have anyone else out there.”
So when he came in with the entire season on the line and St. Mary’s — a big, free-swinging, tough battle-tested confident group — threatening, Warner still had supreme confidence in Hattaway. More important so did coach Corrigan Willis
“When I saw (Hattaway) going in there, I was like, ‘this game is over,’ “ Warner said.
This one looked over in the second when the Matadors put up five runs on three St. Mary’s errors, a two-run single by Nate Brown and a Warner two-run double.
The way Sekany was pitching — he struck out the side in the first had seven whiffs through three scoreless innings — the Rams looked cooked. Afterall, the Mats entered with a team 1.25 ERA.
But this St. Mary’s squad had won 19 straight, many fighting from behind, twice late in wins over Bay Area powers Valley Christian (4-3) and Archbishop Mitty (7-6). Before that, they beat up on a tough Sac-Joaquin Section Division 1 field, outscoring four opponents 44-7 in five games.
The Rams started making very loud contact in the fourth while striking for three runs. A walk and Tyson Reis’ second double put runners at second and third. Alex Escalante singled sharply for one run and Tanner Grove singled in a pair, making it 5-3.
“We knew those guys weren’t going away,” Warner said.
In the fifth, an error and Brady Errecart put runners on the corners when Willis brought in lefty Luke Palma, another unsung reliever who hadn’t allowed a run in 12 innings, to face Quedens, a powerful left-handed bat, hitting .459 with five homers, 33 RBI, 51 hits and 10 doubles.
On one pitch, Palma got Quedens to foul out. Willis then went to Hattaway.
“Luke and I have been coming into difficult situations all season and getting out of it,” Hattaway said. “He’s a clutch player and a clutch out. We really needed that.”
Hattaway said he’s pitched with a chip on his shoulder all season and determined to take advantage of every situation.
But this situation was clearly different.
With upwards of 1,000 fans jammed around Granada’s facility, Hattaway said he soaked in his surroundings for a second. “But I had a job to do so I locked in,” he said.
Dax Hardcastle, matching his Super Hero name and build, lofted a long sacrifice fly to Warner to cut the lead to 5-4. But Hattaway locked down from there, retiring six straight before a two-out single in the seventh by Errecart.
On the second pitch to Quedens, this one was over. His liner got to Warner in about a second.
Off the bat, Hattaway said: “I knew it was game right there. I have all my trust in my team and Parker.”
Said Warner about catching the last out: “I just had to make the play. If I had to lay out, I would have laid out. I was able to catch it.”
Warner closed his eyes for a moment and kept shaking his head and smiling, as if replaying the last out in his noggin, a memory he’ll no doubt store deep to draw upon during less memorable days, which frankly, will likely be most.
“So many emotions are going through me right now,” he said, continuing to smile.
In a couple of hours, he and the rest of the Matadors would be able to release all of them at, yes, the school’s Senior Ball, scheduled at 7 p.m., the ultimate coronation of a storybook day and season.
If the shoe, and glove, fit. …
“After getting this win. … ” Warner said. “Yes, the Senior Ball will be a lot more fun.”
GAME UPDATES:
7TH INNING
Final: Granada 6, St. Mary's 4: A.J. Hattaway closes door. Lineout ends it. Granada wins 6-4.
6TH INNING
Granada 6, SM 4: Two -out RBI single by Tommy Brown gives Matadors a two-run cushion.
5TH INNING
B5: Granada loads the bases with two out on two walks and hit batsman but a fly out to deep center ends threat 5-4 after 5.
T5: Granada 5, St. Mary’s 4: Drew Smith led off with a hard grounder that went off SS Nate Brown’s glove for an error. Smith hustled to second base just under the tag of Sekany, who alertly covered. After another hard hit single from Brady Errecart, Sekany was relieved by Luke Palma, who threw just one pitch to get Michael Quedens to foul out. Willis went to AJ Hattaway, who restored order. Dax Hardcastle hit a sacrifice fly to close to 5-4 and Reis hit a comebacker to end the threat.
4TH INNING
T4: Granada 5, St Mary’s 3: Rams will not go away - second double by Tyson Reis after walk, Alex Escalante hard RBI single, Tanner Grove sharp two-run single but close play at plate. SM right back in it. Lot of hard contact now of Sekany.
2ND INNING
Granada 5, St. Mary’s 0: Matadors strike for 5, on two-run single from Nate Brown, two run double by Parker Warner and three St. Mary’s errors. Granada starter Jake Sekany already has five strikeouts.
MITCH STEPHENS