Padres bounce back

MOUNTAIN VIEW – Serra passed its first real mental challenge of the season by bouncing back from its first loss of the season on Friday with a 5-3 victory over Saint Francis.

The Padres (11-1) split their season series with the Lancers, but more important, Friday's victory allowed them to show their mettle.

"We continue to learn about this team," said Serra coach Mat Keplinger. "We hadn't received that first loss, so we were looking forward to the opportunity to see how they would respond to it. ... It was kind of what we expected from them."

The Padres responded to Tuesday's 4-0 loss to the Lancers by putting two runs on the scoreboard in the top of the first inning. Ian Josephson was hit by a two-strike pitch to lead off the game. Nate Hui, batting in the No. 2 hole for the first time all year, singled after Josephson stole second.

He scored on Jack Armstrong's infield grounder. Hui would eventually score on Evan Bradshaw's nubber up the third-base line to make it 2-0.

Saint Francis scored a run in the third on a two-out rally that featured back-to-back singles by Jack Leeper and Kyle McMillan.

Serra took charge of the game on a single by Davis Minton, a triple into the right-centerfield gap by Bradshaw and a single to right by Aaron Maier that gave the Padres a 4-1 lead.

"I got a little jumpy the first at bat, but I stuck with the same approach the second at bat, got the heater I liked and did something special with it," Bradshaw said.

Riley Lim made the most of the lead to notch the victory. The right-hander pitched into the sixth inning before giving way to Hui. Lim ran into trouble in the sixth when Saint Francis scored two runs, but the junior proved himself once again to be Serra's most consistent start this year.

Three Things We Liked

• Saint Francis. If you would have told coach Erik Wagle he would open the WCAL season with series against both Valley Christian and Serra and come out of it 3-1, he would have taken it without asking twice. That's a nice start. And it's made better by the reality that the young Lancers have yet to find their collective hitting stroke. With Chow and Landon Kim at the top of the rotation and Antonio Madrigal, a hard-throwing lefty who pitched two innings Friday, the pitching is solid.
• Serra's running game. The Padres stole seven bases – three each by Josephson and Hui – on Friday. It's a big part of their attack and something opponents are difficult to defend.
• John Noce, the former College of San Mateo coaching legend, was in the stands taking in a game between two of the best teams on the Peninsula. He looks good.

He Said It

"A big goal of ours is no back-to-back losses. So, after losing that game on Tuesday it was, I think, a good thing for us to show how we could bounce back." – Evan Bradshaw, Serra second baseman.

W: Lim L: Chow. S: Hui. 2 hits- Braadshaw (S), Cappellazzo (SF). 2 RBI- Bradshaw (S). 3B- Bradshaw. 2B- Cappellazzo (SF).

Burlingame 5, Sequoia 4

Dionisios Vorrises went the distance scattering eight hits to pick up the win, but the big story in this one was Sequoia's defensive implosion in the top of the sixth inning that allowed the Panthers to come from two runs behind to win.

The three-run inning came on a walk, two fielding errors and three hit batters. Sequoia entered the sixth inning with a 4-2 lead.

Liam Philibosian and Jean-Luc Uharriet had two hits each for the Panthers, while Logan Mathias, Morgan Winfield and Cameron Abrams had two hits each for the Ravens.

W: Vorrises. L: Karmin. 2 hits- Mathias (S), Winfield (S), Abrams (S), Uharriet (B), Philbosian (B). 2 RBI- Mathias (S), Philibosian (B). 2B- Fausto (S).

Hillsdale 3, Carlmont 2

The Knights salvaged a series split with Carlmont (5-6), thanks to the pitching of Robby Gilbert and their long-ball prowess.

Gilbert allowed two runs on five hits over six innings and struck out four, before giving way to Hugo Guzman, who picked up the save.

Hillsdale (5-3) tied the game in the fourth inning on a home run by Tommy Schultz. An inning later, Jake Belloni gave the Knights the lead for good with another homer.

W: Gilbert. L: Fong. S: Guzman. 2 hits- Massey (C). HR- Belloni (H), Schulltz (H). 2B- J.Tofigh (C), Young (H).

St. Ignatius Prep 11, Riordan 0

The Wildcats recorded the lopsided victory by hitting three home runs and limiting the Crusaders to four hits. In sweeping the series from Riordan, St. Ignatius allowed just a run on five hits.

Chase Gordon went the first four innings to pick up the victory. He allowed two hits, while striking out six.

The Wildcats (6-2-2) got home runs from Archer Horn, Luke Miller and Ryan Rosenthal. Horn, Gordon and DJ Delaney, who had two hits, each drove in two runs.

W: Gordon. L: Parenti. 2 hits- Delaney (SI). 2 RBI- Horn (SI), Delaney (SI), Gordon (SI). HR- Horn (SI), Miller (SI), Rosenthal (SI). 2B- Montenegro (R).

Sacred Heart Cathedral 4, Mitty 0

Jacob Vines allowed just three hits over five innings, while striking out seven in Sacred Heart's shutout victory over fifth-ranked Mitty at West Sunset Park in San Francisco.

The Irish scored all four of its runs in the first inning – the big hit being a two-run double by Rohan Kahns.

Santino Baisman had two hits, including a double, while Chasin Deninger and Evan Liu added doubles.

The victory snapped a four-game skid by Sacred Heart Cathedral and put them back above the .500 mark at 6-5.

W: Vines. L: Sunderland. S: Vigo. 2 hits- Baisman (SHC). 2 RBI- Kahns (SHC). 2B- Deninger (SHC), Kahns (SHC), Baisman (SHC), Liu (SHC).

Valley Christian 4, Bellarmine 0

The Warriors broke a scoreless tie in the sixth and added three more in the seventh on a three-run homer by Quinten Marsh to complete the sweep of Bellarmine.

Kole Laubach went the first four innings to pick up the victory. He allowed five hits, while striking out two. Brock Ketelsen pitched the final three innings facing the minimum nine batters and striking out six of them.

W: Laubach. L: Lapiz. S: Ketelsen. 2 hits- Marsh (VC). 3 RBI- Marsh (VC). HR- Marsh. 2B- Marsh (VC), Ketelsen (VC). Kim (B).

Menlo-Atherton 9, Sacred Heart Prep 0

Junior Wes Peterson made the most of his Sunken Diamond debut by throwing five no-hit innings in a 9-0 victory over Sacred Heart Prep.

The Duke University commit struck out seven. In two wins over the Gators this week, Menlo-Atherton allowed just two hits in sweeping the season series.

Senior shortstop Will Roberts had two hits and drove in three runs for the Bears (9-4). Jack Molsie drove in two runs, while Ryder Kelly had a double.

Daniel Gee had Sacred Heart's lone hit – a double.

W: Peterson. L: Covey. 2 hits- Roberts (MA). 3 RBI- Roberts (MA). 2 RBI- Molsie (MA). 2B- Kelly (MA), Gee (SHP).