The 2026 North Coasts Section division playoffs got underway this week, and with the announcement of the schedules both of Healdsburg’s “diamond teams,” for first softball and boys baseball, show up seeded #2 in their respective divisions.
For the Division 5 baseball team, that meant a Tuesday afternoon game against Fremont’s Kennedy High, ranked last among the 15 participating teams. True to form, Greyhounds senior ace Alex Mauro-Manos shut down the Titans, making only 75 pitches over the seven innings played. He did allow seven hits over the course of the game, but kept the lid on the runners with pick-off threats to keep them from scoring.
Meanwhile the Healdsburg batters held their fire for much of the game, after scoring only one run in the first inning. That led to false hopes in Kennedy’s dugout, which held on to visions of a walk-off upset as the game progressed.
Unfortunately for them, the Greyhound lineup exploded for 8 runs in the bottom of the sixth. Isaiah Robles led the attack with a total of three hits, Hayden Mariani, Xander Harms and Mauro-Manos had two each, and the pitcher added three RBIs to his game-winning effort.
The 9-0 final score was enough to send Healdsburg to the quarterfinals of the Division 5 championship tournament. On Friday this week, they will face the always-tough Sonoma Valley Dragons. Since the baseball field at Rec Park is currently being used for livestock, the supposed “home game” for the Greyhounds will probably be held at Arnold Field in Sonoma, at 7pm.
Softball showdown
For the girls, they were able to take the first round off earlier this week with their #2 ranking—a somewhat unexpected seed for a team with a 12-12 record. On the other hand the #1 team is the Warriors of John Swett in Crockett, Contra Costa County, which has a 11-9-1 record. They too had a first-round bye, and meet Point Arena on Friday.
Friday the Lady Hounds can show their game to St. Patrick-St. Vincent of Vallejo, who defeated Credo 18-16. They advance to the quarterfinals when they come to Healdsburg High on Friday for the quarterfinal game, set to begin at 7pm.
