Padres outlast College Park

SAN MATEO – On a long day – 12 innings long, in fact – when clutch hits were as uncommon as a solar eclipse, Serra got the job done with strong pitching, stronger defense and a bases-loaded walk by Tyler Harrison that walked off visiting College Park, 2-1, in a marathon three-hour game at Dan Frisella Field.

The 12-inning victory – the longest game Serra coach Mat Keplinger has managed – propelled the Padres (27-6) into Thursday's semifinal round of the NorCal tourney, where they'll host Los Gatos, a team that it beat in way back in February in the championship game of the Battle for Atherton.

But they'll go into Thursday's encounter with a few questions. Ian Josephson, who has been nursing a balky hamstring for more than half the season but still had three hits on Tuesday, reaggravated the injury while grounding out in the seventh inning. He remained in the game, but his limp was noticeable at times, and he admitted it was hurting him after the game.

Still, he says there's no way he's missing Thursday's game.

"I'm definitely playing," said the senior shortstop and leadoff hitter.

The bigger question might be who takes the ball on Thursday. On Tuesday, the Padres used the trio of Kelley Crawford, Aiden Waters and Davis Minton to navigate 12 innings. They allowed just five hits, while striking out eight and surrendering just a run in the fifth inning.

Crawford, who hadn't pitched in a game in three weeks, was perfect through three innings – nine up and nine down. He walked a batter in the fourth but lost his no-hitter in the fifth when Davin Koepp singled and would score College Park's only run after a Desmond Cobb double and a sacrifice fly. By that time, Crawford had been replaced by Waters.

Minton threw five solid innings of relief – or 83 pitches, which relegates him to third base on Thursday. Riley Lim, who pitched five innings in Saturday's CCS championship win over Valley Christian, probably won't be ready – and would likely be held out and saved in the event the Padres find their way into Saturday's NorCal championship game.

That leaves them in a quandary for the semifinals. It could be a combination of Richie Calderon, Danny Dinelli, Nate Hui and, depending on the hammy, Josephson.

"We'll figure that out," Keplinger said. "We, we have a few guys in mind. I haven't processed that at the moment after just getting through this. ... We're not going to do anything to jeopardize anybody at this stage."

Serra had its chances to beat the Falcons in regulation. The Padres had base runners in 11 of their 12 innings. They had hits in nine different innings but had just one run to show for it through the first 11 innings.

"I guess that's why we love the game of baseball, and that's why it's sometimes a little frustrating," said Davis Minton, who got the pitching decision and had a walk in Serra's decisive 12th-inning rally. "We had a bunch of opportunities, a bunch of hard-hit balls. We took a bunch of good swings. I know the 2-1 score isn't going to reflect that but were hitting the ball hard all day. We just kind of got unlucky."

And then luck shined on them in the 12th.

With one out, Evan Bradshaw singled. Minton walked, and catcher Jack Armstrong loaded the bases with a solid single to right field. The Falcons brought in sophomore Nathan Gleiden to face Harrison.

After throwing a ball and a strike, Gleiden wasn't close to the plate on the next three pitches. The bases-loaded walk wasn't the most dramatic way for this one to end, but it was a game that featured plenty of drama throughout.

Each team thrived in making big defensive plays when they were absolutely necessary. College Park's outfield made no fewer than four knee-high grabs of line-drives to take away singles – many of them would-be run-scoring singled.

And if the Falcons were strong on defense, the Padres were better. The middle infield combination of Josephson and Bradshaw made every play, ranging into both holes and shutting down the middle of the field.

Meanwhile, left fielder Aaron Maier made three big plays to end innings, while right fielder Aaron Minton, the offensive hero of Saturday's win over Valley, made a diving catch in the 10th inning to steal a single from Cobb, who had three hits for the Falcons (17-12).

"The defense showed up today, which helped for sure," Bradshaw said.

W: D.Minton. L: Lowery. 3 hit- Cobb (CP), Josephson (S). 2 hits- Bradshaw (S), Harrison (S). 2B- Cobb (CP), Bradshaw (S), Harrison (S).

Division I: St. Mary's 4, Valley Christian 3

In the span of three days, the Warriors saw their season come to an end with two straight losses.

No. 4 St. Mary's, which opened some eyes in April by winning the Boras Baseball Classic in Sacramento, got a big game from lefty Tanner Grove, who limited Valley to two hits, and added a home run and three RBI for the Rams.

The Rams won the game in the bottom of the seventh on a walk-off home run by 6-foot-4 third baseman Dax Hardcastle, who will play in the fall at Mississippi State University.

St. Mary's (26-8) will travel to top-seeded De La Salle on Thursday.

Christian Navarez had a home run for the Warriors (25-8-1).

W: Grove. L: Buck. 2 hits- Hardcastle (SM), Silva (SM), Errecart (SM). 3 RBI- Grove (SM). HR- Navarez (VC), Hardcastle (SM), Grove (SM). 2B- Errecart (SM).

Division II: Saint Francis 5, Central Catholic 0

Nick Chow threw a four-hit shutout as Saint Francis advanced to the Division II semifials with a 5-0 victory over Central Catholic.

Chow threw 92 pitches in the game and finished with five strikeouts in what could have been his final start for Saint Francis.

The Lancers (21-10) scored three runs, courtesy of four Central Catholic errors, in the first inning to give Chow all the cushion he would need.

Henry Doomer had a solo home run in the fifth for Saint Francis, which will host No. 6 Acalanes on Thursday.

W: Chow. L: McHenry. 2 hits- Doomer (SF), Perino (CC). HR- Doomer (SF). 2B- Doomer (SF), Pignati (SF), McHenry (CC).

Division IV: Menlo School 2, Las Lomas 0

Jackson Flanagan, the pitcher of the year in the PAL Ocean Division, was at it again on Tuesday.

The right-handed junior was his usual self – not a hard thrower, but capable of pounding the strike zone – in limiting Las Lomas to five hits in six innings of work.

Flanagan struck out six, walked one and threw 65 pitches before giving way to freshman Reid Plamondon, who pitched a perfect seventh inning to secure the victory – the Knight's 19th in their last 20 games.

The Knights will face top-seeded Woodland Christian in a Division IV semifinal on Thursday. Woodland beat Durham, 10-0 on Tuesday.

Menlo (22-8) scored its only runs in the first inning. After Jack Freehill and Liam Widner singled, Zach Roeder doubled home both runs to give Flanagan a 2-0 lead before he threw a pitch.

KC Chavinson had two hits for Menlo.

W: Flanagan. L: Williams. S: Plamondon. 2 hits- Chavinson (S), Lopez (LL). 2 RBI- Roeder (MS). 2B- Roeder (MS), Lopez (LL).