Lancers get revenge

The St. Francis Lancers avenged their only loss of the year by dominating Serra by a score of 13-3. The win solidified the Lancers position on top of the WCAL and brings them one win away from clinching the top spot in the league.

On the revenge over Serra St. Francis head coach Mike Oakland commented, "It was never about revenge. We had a weird game up there the first time. We were up 9-1 and blew the lead. We just tried to forget about it and play a good baseball game today."

The Padres got off to a great start in the top of the first inning when senior Jordan Paroubeck hit a solo homerun. This lead would be short lived as the Lancers would score 13 unanswered runs.

Kort Peterson and Michael Strem reached base in the first on an single and walk before advancing on a sacrifice bunt. Peterson then scored on an error by Serra, which tied the game at one. St. Francis added three runs in the second inning. Tyler Deason homered to give the Lancers the lead, and later in the inning Utah commit Hunter Simmons plated two more runners with an opposite field single.

Strem took the mound for the Lancers and made the early runs for his team count. He threw another complete game while allowing three runs and only six hits. This was his sixth complete game of the year.

"Strem pitched well and threw a lot of strikes," Oakland added. He used his defense well and pitched efficiently. He does this all the time and this was just another good outing by him."

A key play in the game came from left fielder Austin Guibor who ran down a long line drive and made a diving catch. The bases were loaded and if the ball had dropped three runs could have possibly scored. This catch preserved the 4-1 lead.

The Lancers continued to add to their lead. They scored one run in the fourth and added six runs in the fifth inning. The duo of Peterson and Strem reached base nine times combined on the day and set the table for the middle of the lineup. Simmons converted on his opportunities by driving in six runs on the day.

The loss drops Serra's league record to 9-3 and their overall record to 19-5. The Padres will try to rebound against Evergreen Valley on Saturday before returning to WCAL play for their last two league games of the year.

St. Francis is one game closer to another WCAL title and look to clinch first place with a win over Bellarmine on Tuesday.