D1: Serra, Valley win; Chow shines

PACIFICA – Nick Chow awakened on Saturday – perhaps the most consequential day of his young life – at 6:30 a.m. He showered, ate breakfast, put on his cap and gown and was at Saint Francis well in time for graduation ceremony.

He sat through the ceremony – sweating on the football field with the rest of his graduating class, he said – and then had time for a quick bite before boarding a bus for Pacifica, where – a couple of hours later – he accomplished something he's never done before.

He pitched six strong innings in beating St. Ignatius Prep, 2-1, in a CCS quarterfinal game at Fairmont Park.

"I was definitely in graduation mode, taking pictures with my friends, congratulating everyone," said Chow, who threw 110 pitches, allowing one run on two hits, while walking two, hitting two and striking out seven. "And once I got off the bus, you know, I kind of flipped the switch and locked in on the game."

The victory snapped a five-game losing streak to St. Ignatius and a skid that saw Saint Francis end the season with three straight losses and four of their last five.

"We ran into a good arm today," said St. Ignatius Prep coach Brian Pollzzie. "Nick Chow was great today."

The win vaulted the Lancers (20-9) into the Wednesday's semifinal round against top-seeded Serra at San Jose Excite Park.

"There has been a little bit of a disconnect," said junior catcher Gino Cappellazza, who cut down one would-be base stealer and picked a runner off second base for the third out of the fourth inning after the Wildcats had put two runners on. "I mean, it's nothing we couldn't deal with, but this game is going to set us back on the right track."

Saint Francis scored a run against Chase Gordon in the first inning when Jack Leeper singled to left, stole second base and scored on Tanner Wall's triple to the gap in right-center field.

"That was huge for us," Chow said. "We haven't been ahead like that in a while and gave us momentum that just kind of stayed throughout the game."

Freshman third baseman Sione Tulua made it 2-0 with a solo home run in the fourth inning.

"That felt great," he said. "It means we get to play more baseball."

St. Ignatius (17-10-2) scored in the sixth when Archer Horn led off with a walk, stole second and was balked to third. He scored on Beau Schaffer's double off the fence in left field, but Chow retired A.J. Wineinger on an infield popup to end the threat as well as his day.

Landom Kim tossed a self-described "much needed" seventh inning by setting the Wildcats down 1-2-3 to pick up the save.

W: Chow. L: Gordon. S: Kim. 2 hits- Leeper (SF), Wall (SF). HR- Sione Tulua (SF). 3B- Wall (SF). 2B- Schaffer (SI).

Serra 8, Palma 3

The big three – Ian Josephson, Evan Bradshaw and Davis Minton – accounted for all eight RBI as the top-seeded Padres pounded out 12 hits in a Division I quarterfinal victory over Palma.

The Padres, who will face Saint Francis in a semifinal game on Wednesday at Excite Ballpark, jumped to a 3-0 lead after two innings and broke it open with four runs in the fourth.

Aaron Meier led the hit parade with three hits, while Bradshaw, Minton and Nate Hui had two hits each.

Junior right-hander Riley Lim went six innings for the victory. He allowed just three hits and two runs. He struck out five and threw just 74 pitches.

W: Lim. L: Gonzales. 3 hits- Meier (S). 2 hits- Bradshaw (S), D.Minton (S), Hui (S). 3 RBI- Josephson (S), Bradshaw (B). 2 RBI- D. Minton, Carnazzo (P). HR- Carnazzo (P). 2B- Josephson (S).

Valley Christian 3, Soquel 2

The Warriors scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth to record the come-from-behind victory and advance into Wednesday's CCS-Division I semifinal against Los Gatos.

Trailing 2-1, Brock Ketelsen walked and Christian Navarez was hit by a pitch. A Quinten Marsh single scored Ketelsen and tied the game at 2.

Navarez scored on a Jordan Ortiz bunt.

Rohan Kasanagottu came out of the bullpen to pick up the victory. He pitched 2 1/3 innings and struck out four without allowing a hit.

Ketelsen, the WCAL pitcher of the year, allowed two runs and four hits. He struck out six but walked four in 4 2/3 innings.

W: Kosanagottu. L: Shoemaker.

Los Gatos 3, Bellarmine 0

The Wildcats made certain that the semifinal round wasn't exclusively a WCAL affair by dispatching Bellarmine.

Ethan Williams tossed a four-hit shutout, striking out five on 82 pitches to pick up the win.

He outdueled Bells right-hander Apolo Lapiz, who scattered five hits and three runs over five innings.

Los Gatos (24-4) scored two runs in the first inning. Beau Musser doubled. He moved to third on a Lucas Carlisle grounder. Brady Simon got to first on an infield error. And a Brayden Smith sacrifice fly chased home two runs.

W: Williams. L: Lapiz. 2 RBI- B.Smith. 2B- Musser.