Watch: De La Salle baseball defeat Franklin-Elk Grove 6-5 in NorCal D1 semifinal instant classic
CONCORD, Calif. — De La Salle had Franklin on the ropes more than once in Thursday's CIF Northern California Division I semifinals.
The Wildcats from Elk Grove kept battling back, giving the defending champions and hosts all they could muster.
In the end, St. Mary's College-bound Tanner Griffith delivered a game-ending RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning, giving second-seed De La Salle a 6-5 victory, vaulting the Spartans into Saturday's 4 p.m. championship at top seed Valley Christian-San Jose.
De La Salle led 2-0 in the first, third-seed Franklin (30-5) took a 3-2 lead in the third. The Spartans countered with a two-run rally in the bottom half to go up 4-3. The Wildcats tied it 4-4 in the fourth. A 390-foot home run to left by Connor Harrison gave De La Salle a 5-4 lead in the sixth. Nolan Stevens countered with a 375-foot solo homer to left with one out in the seventh to tie it 5-5.
This was an instant CIF classic.
Read more on all the details later. Watch above for most of the big moments and postseason quotes from key players and De La Salle manager David Jeans.
