ELK GROVE, CA (MPG) - The eventual NorCal champions in Division II and No. 1 seed Cardinal Newman Cardinals ended the No. 5 seed Elk Grove Thundering Herd’s season in the semifinals by a score of 5-3 on May 30.

After losing the section championship to the Granite Bay Grizzlies in 11 innings, the Herd bounced back with a win over the Kingsburg Vikings as they traveled to their home diamond by a score of 5-0 in the first round of the tournament on May 28.  

Colton Lincoln and Tristen Bartlett were on the mound for the Herd where they combined to allow eight hits and seven strikeouts along with the shutout. 

The offense came courtesy of Evan Gentil, who went 2-4 with a double and single for two RBIs, as well as runs driven in by Ned Frutchey, Chase Groves and Julian Arguello. 

The Herd traveled once again two days later to Santa Rosa to face the Cardinals. 

The Herd jumped on the Cardinals to take a 3-0 lead by the fourth inning courtesy of RBIs from Anthony Bascherini and Chase Groves. 

Frutchey took the mound for the Herd and shut out the Cardinals for four innings. In the fifth, he came back out but didn’t record an out and was tagged with two earned runs for a total of four runs allowed. 

Russell Pettis came into the ballgame in relief and allowed an earned run in two innings of work. 

This fifth-inning rally along with an extra insurance run in the sixth for the Cardinals put the Herd’s season to rest as they came up short of reaching the NorCal championship. 

The Herd were able to reach the section championship game this season with head coach Joe Bellotti at the helm for the first time since 2017 when they were coached by Jeff Carlson. 

The Herd end their season with a 22-14 overall record, as runners-up in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section and semifinalists in the 2024 CIF NorCal Regional tournament.