Branson’s baseball team, seeded third in the NCS Division 5 Tournament, decisively defeated Clear Lake High School by a score of 12 - 6 in an offensive display on Tuesday, May 17 at Branson’s home field at the College of Marin.

The Bulls leapt to a 9 - 1 lead in the first inning off the strength of their bats.  The rally started with a single by lead-off batter Noam Au-Yeung. Will Ashley followed up with a triple (which led to Ashley reaching home on a Clear Lake error). Doubles by Luke Shane and Jaiden Arcuri followed, and then Au-Yeung hit a triple on his second trip to the plate in the first inning. Ashley got another hit, and Brayden Mathews also singled before the inning ended.

The Bulls had another offensive spurt in the third inning, scoring two runs off hits from Mathews, Ashley and Mo Jacoby.  

The Bulls’ defense held strong throughout the game. The team rotated through pitchers Au-Yeung, Mathews, Arcuri, Cooper Hoffman, George Gale and Ashley, allowing 6 runs total. Ashley closed out the game in the top of the 7th inning, securing outs on all three batters he faced.

The Bulls enter the next round of the NCS Tournament, facing The Athenian School on Friday, May 19 at College of Marin.