In what is believed to be the first no-hitter recorded by the Gaels since the year 2000, Jack Maggiora and Brendan Moddelmog combined to record the milestone in the Baseball team’s most important game of the year, leading Dublin to a 1-0 victory over Livermore on May 4th. The victory ensures that the Gaels will qualify for the East Bay Athletic League playoffs which begin next week. It was also Dublin’s 6th 1-run victory of the season to continue a streak that has seen the squad win 8 of its past 11 games.
TJ Costello helped provide the game’s only RBI when he knocked in Anthony Wang in the bottom of the 5th inning to break a scoreless tie. Maggiora pitched the first six innings of no-hit ball until giving way to Moddelmog who retired the side in the 7th inning to record the save.
Dublin is now 14-8-1 overall and 6-6 in EBAL. If Dublin defeats Dougherty Valley on Senior Day (Friday, May 6th at 4:00) and Granada loses to Livermore, the Gaels will clinch 2nd place in the Valley Division and host an EBAL playoff game on May 10th against the 3rd place finisher in the Mountain Division. If the Gaels lose or the Matadors win, Dublin will be on the road for its playoff matchup against the 2nd place finisher from the Mountain. Either way, Friday’s game between the Gaels and Wildcats has huge implications for whether they will qualify for the North Coast Section playoffs. Currently, Dublin is ranked #15 for the 16-team bracket by Maxpreps for NCS Division 1, while Dougherty Valley is #14, making a win critical for both squads.
Dublin and Dougherty Valley may also be battling for the final spot in the NCS Division 1 Softball playoffs as well. The Gaels are currently clinging to the #16 ranking according to Maxpreps, which would be good enough for the final spot in the tournament. Meanwhile, the Wildcats are ranked #18, but could be rewarded by the NCS Seeding Committee if they defeat the Gaels in TODAY’S Senior Day matchup at 4:00 since they also have a previous victory this season over #17 Bishop O’Dowd.
Looking ahead, there are three other sports with upcoming EBAL events this Saturday, May 7th. Dublin High School will be the host site for the Track and Field Championships, with the action beginning at Gaels Stadium at 9:00 a.m. It is expected that both the Boys and Girls teams will be in contention to claim league titles at this weekend’s Meet. After finishing in 2nd place during the regular season, the Badminton team will also be competing in the EBAL Championships at San Ramon Valley High School in an event that also begins at 9:00 a.m. Finally, the Hockey team will be fighting for a playoff spot as they take on Monte Vista for their Senior Night at Dublin Iceland (7:15 p.m.)
Two other sports recently completed their EBAL Championship events with both the Golf and Swim teams having great success.
The Boys Golf team had its tournament at Stonebrae on May 2nd, and both Aditya Das and Alexander Suen qualified for the NCS Golf Tournament. They will both be competing in the Division 2 Tournament next Monday, May 9th at Valley of the Moon in Santa Rosa.
The Swim team also had great individual performances, with over 60% season-best times at the EBAL Championships. The following swimmers qualified for this weekend’s NCS Meet at the Concord Community Pool (May 6-7, starting at 9:00 a.m. both days):
NCS Individual Qualifiers
Kaitlin Lee – 200 Free & 500 Free
Emmy Loftus – 500 Free
Hannah Nguyen – 50 Free & 100 Free
Piper Sticker – 200 Free & 500 Free
Max Cory – 50 Free & 100 Free
Logan Borrelli – 100 Back
Benjamin Ohrr – 100 Back
Joey Huang – 100 Breast
