Padres, Lancers get home draws

Hours after winning its first baseball championship in 16 years with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Valley Christian on Saturday at San Jose's Excite Park, Serra drew the No. 3 seed in the NorCal Division I baseball finals.

The Padres (26-6) will open the eight-team single-elimination tournament on Tuesday against visiting College Park, a Pleasant Hill school that has compiled a 17-11 record this year.

College Park (17-11) was in Sacramento at the Boras Foundation tournament in April, but "we didn't cross paths," said Serra coach Mat Keplinger. "We know they are fundamentally sound, and they play hard."

Their top pitcher, James Voorhies, brings a 6-1 record with a 1.10 earned-run average with 80 strikeouts in 76 innings into the NorCal tourney. In early April, he threw a no-hitter against Burlingame and had 12 strikeouts in the contest.

The Padres have seen strong pitching all season, none better than the Valley Christian staff they took two of three from this season, including Saturday's CCS title game.

A day later, Keplinger was still basking in the afterglow of Saturday's victory.

"I'm really proud," he said, pointing out the contributions of his assistants, Tyler Villaroman and Mickey McDonald. "I'm so fortunate to work with them every day. We pushed the team hard all year and they were up for the challenge.

"It's really special when it comes together like that."

Valley Christion (25-7-1) is the No. 5 seed and will travel to Stockton to face No. 4 St. Mary's. No 7 Los Gatos will take on No. 2 Franklin, while top-seeded De La Salle will play against No. 8 Del Oro.

Saint Francis, which dropped a 7-4 decision to Serra in the CCS semifinals on Wednesday, drew the No. 2 seed in the NorCal Division II tournament. The Lancers (20-10) will host No. 7 Central Catholic of Modesto.

"It's an honor to get to play baseball into June and represent our school and more," said Saint Francis coach Erik Wagle. "We have a great group of guys, and I love being around them."

Wagle was hoping the Lancers would find their way into the Division I bracket. He said Saint Francis' resume might have been stronger than some of the other teams seeded in the Division I.

"We like competing at the highest level," he said.

Still, with Nick Chow on the mound on Tuesday, Saint Francis stands a good chance of winning its opener, which would put them at home against for Thursday's semifinal round.

Menlo School, which won the CCS-Division V crown on Thursday – its second straight CCS title after taking home the Division VI championship in 2024 – is the No. 5 seed in the NorCal Division IV bracket.

The Knights (21-8), winners of 18 of their last 19 games, including a CCS-clinching victory over Monterey on Thursday, will travel to Walnut Creek to face Las Lomas (16-11-1) on Tuesday.

The quarterfinal games will be played on Tuesday. The semifinals will take place on Thursday, and the finals will be on Saturday. All games will be hosted by the lower seed.