CIF NorCal roundup: Santa Clara baseball, Liberty softball win semifinals

This time, there was no need for a comeback.

Having traveled nearly 250 miles for this CIF Northern California Division IV baseball semifinal, third-seeded Santa Clara took command with three runs in the first and senior pitcher Drew Diffenderfer did the rest.

Two days after overcoming a five-run deficit to edge Oakland Tech in walk-off fashion, Santa Clara rolled past second-seeded West Valley of Cottonwood 6-0 to advance to the final on Saturday.

Diffenderfer needed 81 pitches to finish a complete-game gem.