SARATOGA — Alanna Clincy is a cheat code for Willow Glen.
When she’s on the mound, the Rams win. So it’s a luxury this time of year when the Rams can turn to her over and over again.
Willow Glen did it one more time on Tuesday at West Valley College, calling upon its junior superstar to start the top-seeded Rams’ Central Coast Section Open Division semifinal game against No. 4 Capuchino.
And once again, Clincy came through. She pitched a complete game, allowing one unearned run, and drove in the winning run with a two-run double in the fourth inning.
Willow Glen starting pitcher Alanna Clincy (89) hits a two-run double against Capuchino in the fourth inning of their semifinal Central Coast Section Open Division playoff game at West Valley College in Saratoga, Calif., on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)Willow Glen won 5-1, and the Rams will now await the winner of No. 2 St. Francis and No. 6 Salinas on Wednesday. Willow Glen is now 28-0 this year, and Clincy has picked up the win in 22 of those contests.
“Having a star pitcher, Division I athlete is extremely huge,” Willow Glen coach Don Spingola said. “Especially when she’s on the mound. We go into every game, the girls go into every game confident, because she’s probably given up a total of 15 runs, not even that many, this year. Most of our runs given up were with other pitchers.
“She’s had shutouts over the last like five or six games. That’s tough to beat, right? Our goal has always been three runs, and we should be good with her on the mound. And not a lot of teams can say that. So we are very fortunate to have her.”
For the record, Clincy has given up five earned runs this year, according to statistics on MaxPreps. She has a 0.29 ERA.
Willow Glen starting pitcher Alanna Clincy (89) throws against Capuchino in the second inning of their semifinal Central Coast Section Open Division playoff game at West Valley College in Saratoga, Calif., on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)Needless to say, teams don’t really score on her. So when she comes up to the plate and bashes a two-run double to left-center, there’s not much you can do.
“I was very much relieved that I could pitch without some sort of lead,” Clincy said. “It gives me more confidence to go right at the batter and not have to be afraid that they’re gonna hit a home run and they’re ahead.”
Clincy was stellar, giving up just three hits, but Capuchino starter Lola Sierra was even better in the early going. Sierra had a perfect game going into the fourth inning, but Willow Glen was able to get the bats going late.
Clincy broke the ice with her extra-base hit in the fourth, and Maia Mendoza added on with a two-run homer to left in the fifth.
Willow Glen's Maia Mendoza (2) celebrates as she heads to home plate after hitting a two-run home run against Capuchino in the fifth inning of their semifinal Central Coast Section Open Division playoff game at West Valley College in Saratoga, Calif., on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)“They were as good as everyone says,” Capuchino coach Tanya Borghello said. “They’re 28-0. So we knew that they were gonna be good, and they proved it.”
Willow Glen has won 100 games in the past four seasons, but the biggest prize in the CCS has eluded them. The Rams have not even reached a CCS title game since 1981.
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“It would cement that our senior class is the best class that Willow Glen has seen these past few years,” Clincy said. “It would mean a lot for the school, to put Willow Glen on the map as a public school and that we can compete with these other big-name schools.”
Willow Glen starting pitcher Alanna Clincy (89) throws against Capuchino in the second inning of their semifinal Central Coast Section Open Division playoff game at West Valley College in Saratoga, Calif., on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)Clincy is already a big name. She has a scholarship waiting for her at Cal, and she’s only getting better.
But winning the CCS championship would give all the Rams a new degree of notoriety, and she’s hungry to make that a reality alongside her teammates.
“That was our goal all season, and they’ve strived for that goal,” Spingola said. “I didn’t expect them to go undefeated. I don’t think any of us did. That’s not what we were looking for. This is what we were looking for. This was our mindset. This was our goal, and that was our milestone. So now we have one more to take care of.”
Willow Glen starting pitcher Alanna Clincy (89) is congratulated on the final out for their 5-1 win over Capuchino for their semifinal Central Coast Section Open Division playoff game at West Valley College in Saratoga, Calif., on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) Capuchino's Nadia Keishk (11) makes a catch for an out on a fly ball hit by Willow Glen starting pitcher Alanna Clincy (89) in the fifth inning of their semifinal Central Coast Section Open Division playoff game at West Valley College in Saratoga, Calif., on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) Willow Glen starting pitcher Alanna Clincy (89) is congratulated on the final out for their 5-1 win over Capuchino for their semifinal Central Coast Section Open Division playoff game at West Valley College in Saratoga, Calif., on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) Willow Glen's Catalina Medina (16) hits a double against Capuchino in the fourth inning of their semifinal Central Coast Section Open Division playoff game at West Valley College in Saratoga, Calif., on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) Capuchino's Star Gutierrez (4) is congratulated by Capuchino's Dana Motroni (5) after she scored a run off of a hit by Capuchino's Avery Motroni (1) against Willow Glen in the sixth inning of their semifinal Central Coast Section Open Division playoff game at West Valley College in Saratoga, Calif., on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) Willow Glen's Haley Ocumen (10) bats against Capuchino in the second inning of their semifinal Central Coast Section Open Division playoff game at West Valley College in Saratoga, Calif., on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) Willow Glen's Maia Mendoza (2) makes a catch for an our in foul territory on a ball hit by Capuchino's Nadia Keishk (11) in the sixth inning of their semifinal Central Coast Section Open Division playoff game at West Valley College in Saratoga, Calif., on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) Capuchino starting pitcher Lola Sierra (10) throws against Willow Glen in the second inning of their semifinal Central Coast Section Open Division playoff game at West Valley College in Saratoga, Calif., on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) Willow Glen's Haley Ocumen (10) hits a single against Capuchino in the sixth inning of their semifinal Central Coast Section Open Division playoff game at West Valley College in Saratoga, Calif., on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) Willow Glen's Haley Ocumen (10) scores a run off of a double hit by Willow Glen's Lea Crawford (35) against Capuchino in the sixth inning of their semifinal Central Coast Section Open Division playoff game at West Valley College in Saratoga, Calif., on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) Willow Glen's Lea Crawford (35) celebrates her RBI double against Capuchino in the sixth inning of their semifinal Central Coast Section Open Division playoff game at West Valley College in Saratoga, Calif., on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) Willow Glen's Cianna Miranda (24) is walked against Capuchino in the fourth inning of their semifinal Central Coast Section Open Division playoff game at West Valley College in Saratoga, Calif., on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) Willow Glen starting pitcher Alanna Clincy (89) hits a two-run double against Capuchino in the fourth inning of their semifinal Central Coast Section Open Division playoff game at West Valley College in Saratoga, Calif., on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) Willow Glen's Catalina Medina (16) heads to home plate to score a run off of a two-run double hit by Willow Glen starting pitcher Alanna Clincy (89) against Capuchino in the fourth inning of their semifinal Central Coast Section Open Division playoff game at West Valley College in Saratoga, Calif., on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) Willow Glen's Maia Mendoza (2) hits a two-run home run against Capuchino in the fifth inning of their semifinal Central Coast Section Open Division playoff game at West Valley College in Saratoga, Calif., on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) Willow Glen's Catalina Medina (16) celebrates her double against Capuchino in the fourth inning of their semifinal Central Coast Section Open Division playoff game at West Valley College in Saratoga, Calif., on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) Read More Details
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