BELMONT — The race for the Peninsula Athletic League's Ocean Division baseball championship had been a dogfight all season.

Carlmont, Half Moon Bay and Terra Nova all held first place at various junctures, so it seemed fitting that the stars aligned on the final day of the regular season to leave the programs knotted in a tri-championship.

Carlmont, which faced a two-game deficit with three to play, was Wednesday's biggest winner. Junior Devin Bradley (7-3) hit a game-winning, two-run homer in the fifth and threw a complete-game, eight-hitter to lead the Scots to a 4-1 victory over visiting Half Moon Bay.

Carlmont's fourth straight win wrapped up a share of the league title for the Scots for the first time since 2000.

And with an assist from Terra Nova, which prevailed 10-0 at Woodside, Carlmont also won the tiebreaker to clinch the Ocean's lone automatic bid to the Central Coast Section playoffs.

"Our philosophy is always to win the league first," said Carlmont coach Rich Vallero, whose team's late charge included Bradley's three-hit shutout at Terra Nova last week. "Going to CCS is just gravy."

Carlmont (19-11, 10-5 PAL Ocean) knew it could forge at least a co-championship by beating Half Moon Bay, which had already earned a share of its first PAL title in four years.

But in a two-way tie, Carlmont would have lost the CCS tiebreaker to Half Moon Bay (17-10, 10-5) because the Scots lost the season series, 2-1.

In order to

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hold the CCS tiebreaker, Carlmont needed Terra Nova (18-12, 10-5) to win to forge a tri-championship. And the Tigers cooperated, with Chris Broadway throwing his second shutout in three starts.

Befitting of the thrilling Ocean race, Carlmont, Half Moon Bay and Terra Nova landed in a dead heat for the CCS bid through the first four tiebreakers. The tri-champions each went 3-3 against each other, 2-1 against both fourth-place El Camino and fifth-place Woodside, and 3-0 against last-place Sequoia.

But Half Moon Bay was edged in the fifth tiebreaker — record against common non-league opponents — because it lost to Burlingame while Carlmont and Terra Nova beat the Panthers. Finally, Carlmont broke the tie with Terra Nova because it won the teams' season series, 2-1.

"Everything lined up," Vallero said.

Aiming for the outright Ocean championship, Half Moon Bay tied Carlmont, 1-1, in the fifth as pitcher Ryan Grennan hit an RBI single down the right-field line. But despite generating three multihit innings and receiving a stellar day from senior Sam Wilkins (3-for-4), the Cougars missed opportunities, as Bradley picked off two runners and induced two inning-ending double plays.

"(The title) was there for the taking, and we didn't do it," said Half Moon Bay coach Tony Magagnini, who remains hopeful his team has enough power points to earn an at-large CCS berth. "I told them we'll be back at practice on Friday. You're 17-10. You've got to go someplace."

Carlmont's Michael Ching (2-for-3) tripled and scored on an RBI single by Garrett Treadwell (2-for-3) in the second. Ching added an RBI double in the sixth. Bradley — "our money man," Vallero said — put the Scots up 3-1 with a first-pitch homer to left off Grennan (4-4) with two outs in the fifth.

-Bolstered by Broadway's third straight stellar outing, Terra Nova earned a share of its first PAL title since 2002. On the heels of a one-hit shutout at Sequoia and a two-hitter in a 1-0 loss to Carlmont, Broadway (10-2) limited Woodside (9-21, 6-9) to two hits in a five-strikeout, no-walk performance.

"His last three games have been (just) short of miraculous," Terra Nova coach Mike Diaz said of Broadway, who equaled Woodside's output with two hits of his own.

Terra Nova jumped ahead to stay as Jeremy Brenner blasted a three-run homer in the first. Tommy Luhrs doubled twice, and Danny Salgado went 3-for-4 as the Tigers broke a three-game losing streak.

Diaz said he was "absolutely positive" Terra Nova would garner an at-large CCS bid.

-Powered by Kevin Gresh's three-run first-inning homer, El Camino (17-12, 8-7) took an 11-0 lead by the third in a 16-8 rout of Sequoia (9-17, 1-14). Rustin Mayorga went 3-for-4 with five RBIs, and Jared Freitas and Devin Kelly also had three hits for the Colts. Sequoia's Tim Rivera hit a grand slam in the seventh.

PAL Bay

PAL Bay champion Menlo School (21-8, 13-2) wrapped up its regular season in dominant fashion, winning 9-1 at Capuchino (12-17, 8-7). Menlo, which outscored its opponents 132-61 en route to its first Bay title, had five doubles among its 13 hits.

Trevor Williams doubled twice and had three RBIs to lead Menlo's attack.

Capuchino, which already earned one of the Bay's four CCS bids, heads to the playoffs on a three-game losing streak and has lost five of seven.

-Menlo-Atherton (20-11, 8-7) streaks into CCS behind an offense that appears to have recovered from its late-season lull. The Bears pounded out 17 hits in a 12-3 win over visiting Aragon (14-15, 8-6), M-A's third straight victory.

Catcher Scott Kalush homered for Aragon, as did Nick Franquez, his sixth.

-Senior right-hander David Gregory hurled a three-hit shutout to lead Mills (6-19, 3-12) to a 3-0 win at Burlingame (6-23, 4-10).