At the Alameda Elks Lodge No. 1015 monthly facility breakfast Sunday, May 8, the Elks will honor the state champion Pilots' basketball team from St. Joseph Notre Dame High School (SJND). The Pilots took the Division V title for the sixth time in school history on March 24 (“SJND Pilots Take State Championship Title” March 31).
The Elks will also honor champion SJND basketball coach Don Lippi who led the Pilots to his 800th career win this season. According to local sources, Lippi is one of just four coaches in California history to record that many victories.
St. Joseph Notre Dame junior Cooper Teare won the 3200-meter Invitational Division race at the Mt. SAC Relays on Saturday, April 16, with an outstanding time of 8 minutes, 55.33 seconds. Only three other high school runners in the state this season have faster times in the event, according to PrepCalTrack.com.
Teare won the Div. V state cross country individual title back in November 2015.
The St. Joseph Notre Dame (SJND) baseball team continued its winning ways with a 12-2 victory over Salesian of Richmond.
The Pilots combined for 10 hits and were walked nine times. Two SJND players (juniors Vincent Republicano and Patrick Yajko) each had two hits in the contest. The Pilots scored in five of the seven innings on offense, including a 4-run fourth inning.
With the dust settled on the spring sports season, in which, the St. Joseph Notre Dame men’s team was crowned a state champion, the attention of the Alameda sports scene has now moved to the diamond.
All six Alameda high school baseball/softball teams are underway in their 2016 season.
Baseball
The Alameda baseball team is picking up where they left off in 2015. The reigning West Alameda County Conference (WACC) Foothill League champions are 8-4 in the season so far including an impressive 3-0 showing at the Willie Stargell Easter Classic.
The St. Joseph Notre Dame (SJND) men’s basketball team advanced to the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Div. V championship after a pair of victories last week. It was the Pilots’ 11th NorCal Championship.
The Pilots will face St. Bernard of Playa Del Rey today at 12 p.m. at the Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento.
SJND Men’s
The St. Joseph Notre Dame (SJND) men’s basketball team overcame an early deficit to gain a 65-61 victory over University High of San Francisco last Saturday, March 5, to win the North Coast Section (NCS) Div. V crown.
The number-one-seed Pilots won the hard fought contest with a late push in the final period. The Red Devils tied the game up at 59 late in the fourth quarter. The Pilots proceeded to end the game on an 8-4 run to finish the game.
All six Alameda high school basketball teams are competing in the North Coast Section (NCS) playoffs in their respective divisions.
Men’s playoffs
The Alameda men’s team (11-18) has been slotted in the 11th seed — out of 15 teams — in the Div. II playoffs. They faced six-seed Las Lomas of Walnut Creek on Feb. 23. The winner plays the winner of El Cerrito and Acalanes of Lafayette tomorrow.
The St. Joseph Notre Dame (SJND) Pilots’ men’s basketball team went a perfect 3-0 to win the Damian Lillard Oakland Shootout tournament last week from Dec. 9 through 12, at Oakland High.
