CCS baseball: Valley Christian makes history with fourth straight championship
SAN JOSE — When Easton Kreshell crushed his third homer in as many games over the left-center field wall, it was the culmination of a rapid week of work on his swing. Kreshel’s two-run blast broke open a tied game, and Valley Christian never relinquished its lead on its way to a fourth straight CCS baseball championship, 6-5, over Archbishop Mitty.
Two innings later, coach John Diatte was fighting back tears after sophomore reliever Alec Belardes survived a final rally by Archbishop Mitty and was swarmed by his teammates. The championship was Diatte’s 10th in 32 seasons as a coach. Diatte, who has worn No. 10 since he played at Valley Christian before it was a baseball power, said it holds a special place in his heart.
“My nickname’s ‘Ten.’ My own kids make fun of me because I have this obsession with the number 10,” Diatte said, after celebrating the win with a kiss with his wife, Kelly. “For us to get our 10th (CCS championship) is pretty cool.”
Kreshel’s long ball was the biggest blow of a three-run fifth inning that put Valley ahead for good.
Archbishop Mitty right-hander Tristan Fox recorded the first two outs of the fourth, but he didn’t make it out of the frame.
After Kreshel brought home senior Jonathan Cymrot on his home run, sophomore Michael Casteneda singled and came home on the next batter when Griffin Allen ripped a double to put Valley ahead 5-2.
Jacob Schlesselman scored on a wild pitch the following inning for an insurance run that would prove critical after Mitty answered with one of its own in the bottom of the sixth.
The Monarchs trailed by three and were down to their final three outs. It was a position they had been in before, though, having advanced into the title game by rallying for a walk-off win in their final trip to the plate in the semifinal against Los Gatos.
Zach Yorke and Matthew Halbach reached to begin the inning and eventually came around to score, bringing the Monarchs within one. Once again, Mitty loaded the bases.
This time, instead of a walk-off walk for the Monarchs, Belardes got Mitty leadoff man Jarren Advincula swinging for the 27th out.
When the dog pile cleared, the Warriors claimed their fourth straight CCS trophy in the highest division (there was no Open Division this season). It’s the only the second time the feat has been accomplished, and the first time it has been done under a single coach. (Bellarmine won four in a row from 1985-88 under coaches Don Ardissone and Gary Cunningham.)
Diatte took over the program 32 seasons ago and didn’t inherit much from his predecessor, he said, “I was left 10 pairs of pants and five jerseys, which we weren’t going to get very far with. We’re in a much better place now,” he said.
Valley entered CCS play after falling to Archbishop Mitty in the WCAL title game.
As the tournament’s third seed Valley Christian forged its path to the championship by taking out higher-seeded Palo Alto in the semifinals, then the tournament’s top seed in the final.
Kreshell left the yard in both games, as well as the Warriors’ quarterfinal win over Aptos to open the CCS tournament.
With a week in between the WCAL and CCS tournament’s, Kreshel said he used the time off to rework his swing. He spent every day working at Cymrot’s house, trying to improve on staying back on the ball.
“I just went in thinking, ‘See a fastball, line it up the middle,’ and it worked,” Kreshel said.
Diatte’s 11th championship may not be as predestined as the 10th for the man whose license plate is customized with 10s on it.
But next season, Valley Christian returns Kreshel and a host of other underclassmen, including rising juniors Jacob Hudson and MIchael Casteneda, who each scored runs and tossed innings on the mound in the championship game.
No team has ever won five CCS titles in a row.
“I’m not even gonna think about,” Diatte said. “I’m gonna enjoy 10 right now.”