St. Francis and Bellarmine have had a number of great battles over the years in many sports.
The annual football game, long a cherished classic, was a disappointment this season, as the Lancers routed the Bells 48-7 in Mountain View.
The baseball version was a little bit better. Facing off for the second time this week on Friday in Mountain View, the two South Bay schools required extra innings — five of them — to settle their latest grudge match.
And in the 12th frame, it was Bellarmine that emerged victorious in the latest rendition of the Holy War, plating two runs to win 3-1.
It was Bellarmine’s first win of the season in West Catholic Athletic League play. The Bells are now 7-7 overall and 1-5 in the WCAL this year.
Outfielder Luke McNeil drove in the game-winning run for Bellarmine, scoring DJ Dunne with a single to right field and putting the Bells up 2-1. Evan Tavarez gave Bellarmine as insurance run with a sacrifice bunt to St. Francis pitcher Ian McMahon, scoring McNeil to double the Bells’ lead.
Emmet Arnott closed out the game for Bellarmine in the bottom of the 12th, retiring three of four St. Francis batters to clinch victory for the Bells. Only a hit batsman reached base in the Lancers’ half of the inning.
St. Francis, the No. 2 team in the Bay Area News Group rankings, dropped to 10-4 this season and 4-2 among WCAL competition.
Both teams received strong pitching performances. Apolo Lapiz started the game for Bellarmine and went eight innings, allowing just one run on four hits with seven strikeouts.
Arnott relieved him and pitched four shutout frames to pick up the win. He allowed three hits, did not walk anyone and struck out two Lancers.
Nick Chow toed the rubber first for St. Francis and pitched the full regulation outlay of seven innings, allowing one run on five hits with seven strikeouts. Brody Larocque covered 3 2/3 extra innings for the Lancers without conceding a run.
Bellarmine will look to build upon its big win with a date against Sacred Heart Cathedral at noon on Saturday in San Francisco. St. Francis will look to rebound with a home game against Archbishop Riordan at noon Saturday in Mountain View.
College Park 5, Burlingame 0
There were some good pitching performances during the St. Francis/Bellarmine classic in Mountain View, but none as good as what College Park senior James Voorhies turned in on Friday night in Burlingame.
Voorhies, according to baseball advisor Josh Nashed, has only been pitching for six months. Those must have been some productive months, because Voorhies no-hit the Panthers Friday night, striking out 14 Burlingame batters and walking just two as the Falcons won 5-0.
Voorhies faced just two batters over the minimum despite College Park committing two errors in the field. The Cal State Northridge commit also went 1 for 3 at the plate, out-hitting the entire Burlingame team himself.
Not bad for half a year of practice. Connor Berkowitz, TJ Reinhart, Davin Koepp and Vincent Vasell had run-scoring hits for College Park, which improved to 4-4 overall this season. Burlingame dropped to 6-6.
No. 5 De La Salle 22, Monte Vista 3
This one was over early yet did not end until the seventh inning. Amid the protests of some fans in attendance, De La Salle and Monte Vista played a full regulation game despite the Spartans leading by 19 runs after 4 1/2 innings in Concord.
According to East Bay Athletic League bylaws, the mercy rule is invoked by mutual agreement of both coaches.
De La Salle (8-2, 4-1 EBAL) poured the offense on in the early innings. The Spartans scored twice in the first inning, a whopping 14 times in the second and five more in the third, adding one final tally in the fourth.
Tyler Spangler drove in six runs for De La Salle. Alec Blair, Antonio Castro and Niko Baumgartner each plated three. John Salter drove in two, while Brandon Vargas and Jacob Gray each batted in one.
Mathew Sardelich (two RBI) and Tony Keeling drove in the runs for Monte Vista, which fell to 2-11 and 0-1 in the EBAL.
No. 6 Valley Christian 10, No. 1 Serra 4
St. Francis wasn’t the only top-two team to take a loss on Friday in the Bay Area.
Valley Christian, a strong team in its own right, knocked off No. 1 Serra in San Mateo, taking down the Padres on the strength of four-run fourth and sixth innings.
VC improved to 9-4 this season and 3-3 in WCAL action. Serra fell to 12-2 overall and 4-2 in league play.
No. 7 St. Ignatius 5, No. 15 Archbishop Mitty 2
SI (8-2-2) picked up a key WCAL win over Mitty on Friday in San Jose, completing a series sweep this week. The Wildcats are now 4-1-1 in WCAL action this season.
Mitty dropped to 8-5 and 3-3 in WCAL games.
Archer Horn had two runs batted in for SI, as did Ryan Rosenthal. DJ Delaney picked up the other RBI for the Cats.
Brayden Cristobal and Ethan Chase each drove in a run for Mitty.
SOFTBALL
Norco 5, No. 1 St. Francis 1
The Lancers, the top-ranked team in the Bay Area, suffered their first loss this season to Southern California-based Norco on Friday at the Michelle Carew Classic invitational tournament in Anaheim.
Norco (16-1) scored once in the third inning, once again in the fourth and three times in the fifth to take control of the game. St. Francis (9-1) scored its only run on an RBI single by senior Maya Yumiba in the bottom of the fifth.
The Lancers will next face Mater Dei-Chula Vista at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
Sacred Heart Cathedral 9, No. 3 St. Ignatius 7
SHC (7-5, 1-1 WCAL) picked up a big upset of SI at home on Friday in the City. The Irish scored in four of six innings at the plate and plated two runs in the sixth to break a tie and seal the victory.
Arden Walsh drove in two runs for SHC. Sasha Vassar and Gianna Galarza each had two RBIs for SI.
The Wildcats, who started the season 9-0, are now 9-2 after dropping their first two contests in WCAL play. They next face Hillsdale in a nonleague matchup on Monday in San Francisco.
SHC will pick back up against El Camino on Monday in South San Francisco.
No. 18 Valley Christian 2, No. 4 Archbishop Mitty 1
SI wasn’t the only top-five team to fall on Friday in the Bay Area. Valley Christian traveled across San Jose and knocked the Monarchs off in a tight contest.
VC (12-3, 2-0 WCAL) scored both of its runs in the fourth inning, and that was all the Warriors needed to defeat Mitty (7-2, 1-1 WCAL). Charlotte Coney drove in both runs for VC with a two-run homer.
Olivia Anderson had the RBI hit for Mitty, which will next face SI on Wednesday in San Francisco. Valley faces Presentation at home on Tuesday in San Jose.