SAN MATEO, CA - Visiting De La Salle staved off defeat on Tuesday with a key two-out rally in the top of the seventh inning, and rallied to beat Serra 6-2 in extra innings.
After Nick Cirelli lined into a double play in the seventh inning, erasing De La Salle's only baserunner, the Spartans began their comeback. Austin Elder's two-out single was followed by a walk to Mike Quinn, and another walk to Khalid Johnson. That brought Nick Santiago to the plate.
Santiago singled to left on the first pitch he saw, bringing in Wesley Katz with the game-tying run, after Katz was sent in to run for Elder. Quinn tried to score and take the lead, but Noah Marcelo's throw to the plate was in time, preserving the tie.
"(Nick) Santiago is a senior who has been through a lot with us," said De La Salle coach David Jeans. "The moment isn't too big for him. He has been crushing the ball all year."
With the game tied at two, Oregon commit Cullen Kafka entered the game on the mound for the Spartans, and set the Padres down in order in the bottom of the seventh, sending the game to extra innings.
Gio Mijares' one-out single got things going for De La Salle (3-0) in the top of the eighth, and that was followed by a walk to Trace Tammaro. After Jack Damelio came on and induced a pop-up for the second out, Kafka reached on an infield error, allowing Elder to bat. Elder drove a 2-1 pitch to right field for a grand slam, giving the Spartans an insurmountable four-run lead.
"(Elder) has major upside, and just needs to stay within himself," Jeans said. "He did that today in a big situation. That's huge for a junior who is just getting his feet wet."
Kafka made things a bit interesting in the bottom of the eighth, walking the first two batters, but he responded with a pair of strikeouts and a ground ball to Michael Curran at short to end the game.
De La Salle took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the third, on a RBI single from Gabe Giosso, but the Padres (2-3) responded with two runs in the bottom of the third inning. Damelio's ground ball to third with two outs was misplayed, allowing Cameron Barstad to score the tying run, and Patrick Caulfield then gave Serra the lead with a run-scoring single.
De La Salle now hosts St. Mary's-Stockton on Saturday, March 11 at 1 pm. The game will feature the first pitch being thrown by the parents of the late Ryan Abele. Serra plays at Burlingame on Friday night.
