Wildcats win in grand fashion

PACIFICA – In a game that had an unmistakable playoff vibe, all AJ Wineinger needed was a fly ball in the seventh inning with the bases loaded, one out and the score tied at 3.

The St. Ignatius Prep junior catcher got that. And more. Off the bat, there was little doubt he had hit it deep enough for Emmett Johnson to tag up and score the winning run.

But the ball kept sailing – way over the head of Saint Francis left fielder Tanner Wall, who could only turn and watch as the ball sailed over the fence for a walk-off grand slam that gave the Wildcats a 7-3 victory and a sweep of their series with the Lancers.

"I knew I had the sac fly," Wineinger said. "I didn't know it was out until the umpire told me it was. It feels great."

St. Ignatius Prep locked up the third seed in next week's WCAL tournament. The Wildcats will host Mitty on Tuesday in an opening-round game, while No. 4 Saint Francis will host No. 5 Bellarmine.

Serra and Valley Christian, the top two seeds, have first-round byes.

St. Ignatius Prep is turning seventh-inning magic at Fairmont Park into an art form. In their last three games there, they've trailed going into their last at bat only to tie the game and win in the seventh. This time, they didn't bother to go into extra innings. Seven innings was enough, thanks.

Archer Horn led off the inning with a walk. Johnson then singled to put runners on first and second. DJ Delaney followed with a line drive up the middle that freshman second baseman Landon King dived for. The ball squirted into centerfield, but Horn, thinking the ball might be caught, scampered back to second. He was forced out at third base on a rare 4-8-5 putout.

Beau Schaffer walked to load the bases and Weininger unloaded them in walk-off fashion.

Three Things We Liked

• Archer Horn out of the pen. He came on with a runner on first and no outs in the sixth inning. He got two strikeouts and a fly ball to get out of the inning and then worked out of a two-on one-out jam in the seventh with an infield grounder and by catching cleanup hitter Gino Cappellazzo looking. On the day, he finished with four strikeouts in two innings and touched 94 mph on the radar gun.
• Landon King and Jack Leeper. King, the freshman second baseman has stepped into the leadoff spot seamlessly. He led off the game with a double and eventually scored the game's first run on a Henry Dommer sacrifice fly. He finished the game with two hits. His presence lengthens the Saint Francis lineup. Leeper moved to the No. 2 spot and had four hits, stole two bases, scored two runs, and hit a fifth-inning home run that tied the game at 3.
• Nick Chow. Reports that Chow is suffering late season fatigue are exaggerated. Sure, he's thrown more innings this year than ever, but he said he still feels strong. He hit 90 mph on Friday and pitched five strong innings. Lancers coach Eric Wagle said Landon Kim, who has had two straight rough outings, is fine, too. "He needs a little adjustment," Wagle said. "I'd be worried if his velocity had dropped, but it hasn't. It's up."

He Said It

"Today felt like a playoff game. This was fun. This is a game we might not have won earlier in the season." – Brian Pollzzie, St. Ignatius Prep coach.

W: Horn. L: McMahon. 4 hits- Leeper (SF). 2 hits- King (SF), Wall (SF), Johnson (SI). 4 RBI- Wineinger (SI). HR- Leeper (SF), Wineinger (SI). 2B- King (SF), Wall (SF), Delaney (SI).

Valley Christian 17, Sacred Heart Cathedral 1

Brock Ketelsen struck out eight batters in three innings of work and Valley Christian wrapped up the No. 2 seed in the WCAL tournament with a lopsided victory.

The Warriors (21-5-1) scored six runs in the third inning to take command of the contest. Quinten Marsh singled, Christian Navarez doubled, and Colton Hadfield walked to load the bases.

A Logan Mull grounder plated the game's first run. Jordan Ortiz followed with a two-run single to make it 3-0. Kelan Cunningham single to put runners on first and second and Nathan Choi followed with a two-run double.

Ketelsen tripled in the sixth run of the inning.

Valley pitching allowed just two hits and a run while striking out 14.

W: Ketelsen. L: Bray. 2 hits- Ortiz (VC), Mull (VC), Ketelsen (VC). 4 RBI- Ortiz (VC). 3 RBI- Mull (VC). 2 RBI- Cunningham (VC), Choi (VC). 3B- Ketelsen (VC). 2B- Ketelsen (VC), Navarez (VC), Choi (VC).

Carlmont 4, Sacred Heart Prep 2

Sophomore Nate Werbinski came out of the bullpen with one out in the first inning and proceeded to go 6 2/3 innings for his second victory of the year.

He allowed four hits and two runs, while striking out four. He threw 72 pitches.

Carlmont scored two runs in the bottom of the first to stake him to a lead he'd never relinquish.

Tyler Webster walked, Jason Tofigh tripled, and Grant Goetz hit a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0.

Carlmont (12-12) closes the season with two games with Sequoia. The Scots' hopes of a CCS tourney bid land in the balance.

W: Werbinski. L: Sweeney. 3B- J.Tofigh (C).

Sequoia 14, Capuchino 2

Morgan Winfield needed just 65 pitches to go the distance for the Ravens.

The junior allowed five hits, an earned run and struck out seven in his seven innings of work. Imagine how many pitches he could have thrown if the Ravens did not extend a couple of innings with three fielding errors.

It didn't matter on Friday.

Sequoia (14-10) had perhaps its most convincing victory of the year, thanks to a four-run first inning. Dylan Karmin singled, Logan Mathias and Winfield followed with consecutive doubles to make it 2-0. Drew Ostrander singled in another run and Cameron Abrams closed out the scoring with a run-scoring hit.

Mathias and Mario Fausto had home runs for the Ravens, while Will Hafer had a home run for Capuchino, which had its winning streak snapped at six games.

Mathias finished the game with three hits, while Abrams drove in four. Mathias and Winfield had three RBI each.

W: Winfield. L: B.Gomez. 3 hits- Mathias (S). 2 hits- Karmin (S), Winfield (S), D.Ostrander (S), Abrams (S), L.Ostrander (S), A.Gomez (C). 4 RBI- Abrams (S). 3 RBI- Mathias (S), Winfield (S). HR- Hafer (C), Mathias (S), Fausto (S). 2B- Winfield (S) 2, D.Ostrander (S), Mathias (S).

Menlo-Atherton 7, Burlingame 2

Jack Molise went five innings to pick up the victory. The senior right-hander struck out four, while allowing just two runs and a hit on 76 pitches.

The Bears (18-7) scored three runs in the first. Merrick Lee led off the game with a single. Ryder Kelly followed with a base hit and, one out later, Will Roberts singled to load the bases.

MJ Ellazar unloaded the bases with a three-run double down the line in right field.

Lee, Kelly and Roberts had three hits each, while Ellazar had two hit.

W: Molise. L: Vorrises. 3 hits- Lee (MA), Kelly (MA), Roberts (MA). 2 hits- Ellazar (MA). 3 RBI- Ellazar (MA). 2 RBI- Olivero (MA). 2B- Zaharias (MA), Ellazar (MA), Kelly (MA).

Hillsdale 5, The King’s Academy 4

Jake Belloni had four hits, including a three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth that helped to keep the Knights' CCS playoff hopes alive.

Trailing, 4-2, Curtis Lee led off the sixth with a single. Parker Jessup then walked and Belloni followed with a long home run that put Hillsdale (12-11) in the lead.

The King's Academy (11-10) took a 4-2 lead in the top of the fifth on a Dominic Myung grand-slam homer.

That was the only mistake Robby Gilbert threw all day. He went six innings and gave up five hits. He walked one and struck out five in 96 pitches

W: Gilbert. L: Peterson. S: Guzman. 4 hits- Belloni (H). 3 hits- Minahhan (H). 2 hits- Lee (H). 4 RBI- Belloni (H), Myung (TKA). HR- Belloni (H), Myung (TKA). 2B- Belloni (H).

Serra 12, Riordan 0

The Padres completed the sweep of Riordan in convincing fashion. In two games, they outscored the Crusaders, 25-0 and allowed just three hits.

Tyler Harrison was the offensive hero for Serra in this one, collecting three hits, including his fourth home run – a second-inning grand-slam – and six RBI.

That second inning was big for Serra (22-5). Ian Josephson led off with his Peninsula-leading seventh home run. Evan Bradshaw followed with a walk and Davis Minton, who had three hits for the second straight game, doubled. Jack Armstrong's walk loaded the bases for Harrison and the junior centerfield took advantage of the opportunity.

Riley Lim struck out five in three innings of work to pick up the win. He didn't allow a hit.

W: Lim. L: Williams. 3 hits- D. Minton (S), Harrison (S). 2 hits- Josephson (S). 6 RBI- Harrison (S). 2 RBI- Josephson (S). HR- Josephson (S), Harrison (S). 3B- Matthews (S). 2B- D.Minton (S) 2, Hinsdale (S), Bradshaw (S), Harrison (S).

Mitty 5, Bellarmine 2

The Monarchs absolutely needed a win to qualify for the WCAL tournament and Justin Humbert delivered.

Humbert threw a complete game, scattering six hits and two runs, while striking out six on a 96-pitch effort.

Meanwhile, Grayson Munoz hit his sixth home run of the season – a two-run shot – in the first inning to stake Mitty (12-14) to a 2-0 lead.

Bellarmine tied the game with a Drew McClelland double, a run-scoring single by Nate Bateman and an RBI hit by DJ Dunne.

The Monarchs took charge of the game with three runs in the bottom of the sixth. Derek Allen walked, Luke Newman singled and Ethan Chase was hit by a pitch to load the bases.

Austin Mak singled in one run. Another scored on a wild pitch and a Cooper Salter sacrifice bunt chased home the fifth run.

W: Hummbert. L: Stout. 2 hits- Newman (M), Bateman (B). 2 RBI- Dunne (B), Munoz (M). HR- Munoz (M). 3B- McNeil (B). 2B- McClelland (B).