St. Francis wins the WCAL postseason tournament title
MOUNTAIN VIEW >> The final out is never easy against Valley Christian. It's been that way for years.
Thursday on its home field in Mountain View, St. Francis got the final out and then celebrated in the middle of its diamond for the second consecutive week.
Seven days after clinching the West Catholic Athletic League regular-season championship, St. Francis captured the league's postseason tournament, too.
There will be no co-champions in the WCAL this season.
St. Francis has the crown all to itself. The Lancers edged Valley Christian 2-1 as Baylor commit Blake Rogers struck out 12 and Elias Duncan knocked in both St. Francis runs with a single up the middle in the second.
It's the first time since 2015 that St. Francis swept the league's regular-season and postseason championships.
Back then, St. Francis was the Central Coast Section's top program.
Now, Valley has the proverbial target on its back after winning the top division in each of the past four CCS playoffs.
This season, St. Francis, ranked No. 1 in the latest Bay Area News Group Top 20, has won two of the three games between the teams.
“We just compete,” Duncan said. “That's all we do. This was our goal at the beginning of the year, to win both and keep on going at CCS and keep working hard.”
Valley, ranked No. 2, reached Thursday's final earlier in the day when it completed a marathon 12-6, 12-inning semifinal victory over fourth-ranked Bellarmine.
The game was suspended Wednesday on Bellarmine's home field because of darkness and resumed at St. Francis on Thursday with Valley leading 9-6 and the bases loaded with nobody out in the top of the 12th.
Valley added three more runs and then retired Bellarmine quickly to advance.
The title game started about 45 minutes after the last out.
“I can't give them enough credit,” St. Francis coach Matt Maguire said, “for playing that long game yesterday and coming out here today and getting that thing done (against Bellarmine) and having to sit around here for 45 minutes and then coming out and competing. That's what they do.”
Longtime Valley coach John Diatte won his 700th and 701st games in the first two rounds.
Rogers prevented No. 702 with a masterful performance.
The senior allowed three hits and walked three, including a free pass to open the seventh. He calmly struck out the next two and then got a dribbler up the middle that Duncan, the shortstop, scooped up and stepped on second to finish the game and ignite a celebration.