CCS baseball
In every sport there is a certainelement that ignites the offense. In football it all starts withthe quarterback, and no offense in basketball would be productivewithout the talents of a point guard. In baseball, the offensestarts with the No. 1 and 2 hitters, pure and simple.
St. Francis displayed this in its surprisingly easy waxing ofWilcox, 12-2, last Thursday night in the Central Coast SectionDivision I semifinals at San Jose Municipal Stadium. It was theproductivity of leadoff hitter Andrew Watt and No. 2 sluggerEliot Wheeler that did in the top-seeded Chargers (20-5) and vaultedthe No. 5 Lancers (26-7) into the championship game against Leland.
Due to the Town Crier’s early deadlines, last Saturday’s finalwill be featured in the June 5 issue.
Watt and Wheeler performed their respective roles to near perfectionon Thursday by reaching base a combined seven times, went 5 for6, scored six runs and drove in two. By setting the table forthe Lancers’ potent offensive lineup, St. Francis parlayed timelyhitting (only two of its 13 hits went for extra bases) with aggressivebase running in their biggest game of the year.
Defensively, St. Francis was flawless with the leather, committingno errors and receiving another outstanding performance from right-handedhurler, Jason Luker. Luker, coming off four days rest after disposingof Salinas in the quarterfinals, gave up only one run (unearned)and scattered five hits in six innings pitched against the highlytouted Charger offense.
There was a sense that it would be the Lancers’ night in thevery first inning. St. Francis tallied four hits in its firstfive at-bats as Watt and Wheeler both singled and scored on aJohn Gall sacrifice fly and an RBI-single from Luker. Leading2-1 in the top of the second, St. Francis put the game away withthree more runs that not only rattled the Chargers, but sent amessage to Wilcox that the CCS title must go through the defendingchampion Lancers.
Wheeler banged out three hits for the Lancers, including andRBI-triple, and Watt and Bryan Osorio fueled the offensive attackwith two hits apiece. St. Francis scored in every inning but thesixth, as Coach Chris Bradford cleared his bench and gave hisreserves every opportunity to get an at-bat or play the field.
In the other semifinal, Leland (19-7) defeated Monta Vista, 7-4. After the Wilcox win, St. Francis ran its CCS win streak toa remarkable seven games.
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