By Richard Paolinelli
MaxPreps.com
Fresh off securing its coach's 500th career win, the Serra High baseball team has its eyes set on capturing the West Catholic Athletic League for the longtime coach.
The Padres roughed up Valley Christian's ace, Kevin Miller, with a 10-run second inning on the way to a 14-1 victory Friday that thrust Serra into a three-way tie for first in the WCAL with Valley Christian and Bellarmine going into Saturday's games.
The Padres rapped out hits in the key inning, including three singles, five doubles and a grand slam home run by catcher Brad Stirling that closed out the inning.
The Padres, who have won two of their three games against Valley Christian this season to secure the tiebreaker against the Warriors, put themselves into prime position to secure the league title Saturday with a 10-7 victory over Bellarmine in a slugfest that featured 24 combined base hits.
It was the 12th-consecutive win for the Padres (10-2 WCAL, 20-4) who remained tied for first with Valley Christian and are now one-game ahead of Bellarmine with two regular season games remaining.
If Serra can win out on the road against Sacred Heart Cathedral Tuesday and Archbishop Mitty Thursday they will claim the league title.
In other Central Coast Section baseball action, San Benito pitcher Zach Canez slid his team past Salinas, 3-0, in a battle of Tri-County Athletic League baseball leaders.
Canez discovered his slider just in time last week and needed just 73 pitches to twirl a two-hit shutout over the Cowboys.
Salinas, San Benito, Gilroy and Palma all began the week in a logjam in first-place with matching 5-2 records in the TCAL.
Gilroy kept pace with a 10-8 victory at Palma and Saturday's win by Canez and his Haybalers team leaves San Benito and Gilroy tied for first at 6-2, with Salinas and Palma nipping at their heels at 5-3. Gilroy hosts San Benito on Tuesday while Salinas will host both Gilroy and Palma.
Santa Cruz High climbed back into the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League title hunt on Friday, holding off visiting Aptos 4-2 to take sole possession of second place over the Mariners with three games left in the regular season.
Aptos (6-2 SCCAL, 17-9-1) will host first-place Scotts Valley (9-0, 19-4-1) on Tuesday. Santa Cruz gets its crack at the league leaders on Friday.
Softball
For the second time this season, Carlmont High's Ashley Chinn twirled a perfect five-inning gem, this time claiming Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division rival Hillsdale as her latest victim.
Chinn stuck out 14 of the 15 Knights' batters she faced Thursday as the Scots rumbled to a 10-0 win and improved to 10-0 in PAL Bay action, 24-1-1 overall.
Burlingame's 2-0 win over Capuchino kept the Panthers right on the Scots' heels in the race for the league title. Caitlin Breen struck out nine and allowed only two hits for Burlingame (9-1 PAL Bay, 21-4).
