Mitty topples Serra, will play for CCS Division II crown
SANTA CLARA >> In what resembled a classic West Catholic Athletic League contest, top-seeded Archbishop Mitty advanced to the Central Coast Section Division II baseball championship game after a fast-paced 2-0 victory over No. 4 Serra.
“Expected nothing less coming in,” Serra coach Chris Houle said. “That's typical of how it would be.”
The opening game of Thursday's semifinals doubleheader at Washington Park took less than two hours to complete as runs proved hard to come by.
Mitty left-hander Luka Pintar was a big reason why. The sophomore used a mix of his fastball, changeup and slider to toss a three-hit shutout with one strikeout and three walks.
“I was able to throw everything in the zone and trust my defense,” Pintar said.
Run support for the Monarchs (20-10) came courtesy of a two-out RBI double from junior Danny Scudero in the bottom of the second and when Alijah Ramos was plunked with the bases juiced in the fourth inning.
But the biggest play came in the top of the sixth after Serra loaded the bases with two outs.
Scudero, a centerfielder, got a great jump on a line drive into the gap in left-center and fully stretched out for the game-saving catch.
“I just wanted to have Luka's back,” Scudero said. “To catch that and see it hit my glove, you can't explain it. It's just an unreal feeling.”
Pintar hinted as if all of it was on purpose.
“He's always asking me for a ball in the gap he can dive for,” Pintar joked.
Serra sophomore Lucas Schumaker reached base all three times on an infield single, an error, then a hit-by-pitch to lead off the top of the seventh.
But with the tying run at the plate and three shots to pull even, the Padres closed out the season with a 14-15 overall record.
“I told them we had an upand-down year,” Houle said. “And I was proud of the way that they fought all year-long.”
The Monarchs moved on to face No. 7 Branham (21-8) in Saturday's title game at Excite Ballpark in San Jose.
“We didn't play exactly the way we wanted this season,” Pintar said. “So it feels good to give ourselves a couple more days with all these seniors and this group as a whole.”
CCS DIVISION V FINAL >> No. 6 Sacred Heart Prep fell behind early after a bases-clearing triple in the second inning, then surrendered five runs in the fourth inning of an 8-1 loss to eightseeded Christopher during the nightcap of a doubleheader at Excite Ballpark. The lone RBI for SHP (16-14) came in the bottom of the seventh off a single by Luke Renert. Christopher (1113) relied on Will Anderson's five RBIs and Nick Valentine's standout performance on the mound. CCS DIVISION VI FINAL >> No. 2 Gunn trailed the entire way in a 5-3 loss to top-seeded Monte Vista Christian. After falling behind 3-0 in the first inning, the Titans (1911) rallied for a pair of runs in the second frame on a groundout by Ryan Barahona and RBI single by Charlie Deggeller. But MVC (218-1) padded its advantage with a pair of runs in the fourth inning and never relinquished the lead.