Defense and small ball lifts San Mateo past Yuba

SARATOGA, Calif – San Mateo remains perfect in the 2025 3C2A State Championships with a 5-2 win over Yuba to advance to tomorrow's championship game behind some heads-up defense and well-executed small ball.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Bulldogs have held opponents to two runs per game at the championships and six total runs. Nohemi Livingston's 1.36 ERA at the tournament is the lowest among all pitchers. 

After going down one-two-three in the top of the first, San Mateo got a rally going in the second inning. The small-ball Bulldogs bunted home two-straight runs. Yuba decided to go home with it on back-to-back squeeze attempts, but to no avail as each time San Mateo scored.

Those runs gave CSM a 2-1 lead at the time, erasing a Yuba first inning run off a Danni Farris RBI double. 

Two innings later, the Bulldogs broke it open with a three-run top of the fourth. Ale Phillips – one of the bunters in the second inning the other was Cici Kim – drove in her second run of the game with a seeing-eye single up the middle. Then with two away and the bases loaded, Livingston got back at Niner pitcher Farris with a big hit of her own – a two-run single to cap off the big inning.

Yuba closed the gap in the bottom of the inning with a run then threatened again in the fifth. Jerzie Brown led off the inning with a single then Farris forced a 10-pitch at-bat, fouling off multiple tough offerings from Livingston. She squared one up deep into the left field corner, but Lily Williams made a spectacular sliding catch to save extra bases.

Later in the inning, the Niners loaded the bases with a walk and hit by pitch. The catcher Love Cabanas made a heads up play, firing a back pick to third, throwing out the runner to end the threat. That was the second time in the game Yuba stranded three runners, the first came back in the third inning – the Niners left seven on base.

Both pitchers settled in the final three innings, blanking opponents on the board and limiting each team to just three base runners in that span.

DAWGS ARE MOVING ON! San Mateo heads to the 'ship with a 5-2 win over Yuba behind great defense and small ball execution! pic.twitter.com/8bPiUVgwnj

— 3CFCA (@3CFCA) May 17, 2025

UP NEXT

The 2022 Champion San Mateo Bulldogs are looking for the second title in the program's history. They move on to the title game scheduled for Sunday, May 18 at 12 p.m.

Yuba moves into the loser's bracket to face the winner of Palomar and El Camino at 3 p.m. The Niners are once again a win away from the program's first state championship.