Serra baseball sweeps rival St. Ignatius

With the win, the Padres now move into a first-place tie in the West Catholic Athletic League standings in a dogfight atop the standings. Serra and St. Francis (6-2, 12-4) are tied for first, with third-place St. Ignatius (5-2, 8-4-2) trailing by a half game, and fourth-place Valley Christian (5-3, 11-4) one game back of the leaders.

“It’s one of those things where sweeps in league, no matter who you’re playing, is so huge,” Padres manager Mat Keplinger said. “The league is so competitive and so deep, no matter who the opponent is, when you have an opportunity to sweep, it’s a big swing in the standings. And S.I. is a good ball club. They’re as good as anybody in the league. ... It’s always good to sweep any series, but that one always has a little extra to it, given the rivalry.”

Senior leadoff hitter Ian Josephson opened Monday by connecting with the game’s first pitch for a solo home run to center field. It was all the offense the Padres would need, as two senior right-handers, Richie Calderon and Davis Minton, combined to record a three-hit shutout.

Each of the Wildcats’ three hits were infield singles. The only St. Ignatius runner to reach scoring position was on an outfield error, a dropped fly ball allowing the runner to advance to second base.

Calderon — announced as Serra’s starting pitcher at the end of Monday’s practice — worked a career-high four innings, allowing two hits and a walk with two strikeouts. His record improves to 3-0 with a 2.25 ERA.

“That is a really, really tough place to hit,” Keplinger said. “It’s definitely a pitcher’s park and Richie does a really good job of filling up the strike zone. So, it all just kind of lined up with Richie coming in.”

Serra had a run-scoring opportunity go by the wayside in the third inning. Facing St. Ignatius starting pitcher Finn Demuth, the Padres had runners at the corners with two outs and Josephson at the plate. After stealing a program-record 10 bases Saturday, the Padres kept up the aggression on the base paths and attempted a wheel steal, only for St. Ignatius to quash it for the third out of the inning.

Against the Wildcats bullpen in the fifth, senior Noah Greenspan led off the inning with a single. Minton bunted him to second, and Nate Hui followed with two outs with a hard grounder over the middle that looked ticketed for center field. But St. Ignatius shortstop Archer Horn made a diving play to corral it, and a low throw across the diamond was picked clean by first baseman Chase Gordon to retire the side.

Serra turned in two defensive gems of its own in the seventh. With Minton working into the third inning, center fielder Tyler Harrison opened the frame with a diving catch ranging in toward left-center field to lay out with full extension to make the grab. Then right fielder Aaron Maier joined the party, tracking down a deep fly by running up against the temporary outfield wall to haul it in for the second out of the inning.

“Those two plays in the seventh were unbelievable from Harrison and Maier,” Keplinger said.

Minton then struck out the last batter on three pitches to earn his first save of the year. Returning from injury, Minton was making just his second pitching appearance of the season. He allowed one hit while striking out two.

“He was very sharp today,” Keplinger said.

Minton made his season pitching debut April 1 at Valley Christian. It was his first since May 18, 2024, when he pitched two innings of relief in Serra’s CCS Division I elimination loss to St. Ignatius, in which the Wildcats fired a three-hit shutout. The Valley Christian game was a roller coaster because of the weather, with two rain delays. The senior allowed one run on two hits and two walks in one inning of work.

Keplinger said he was originally planning on turning the ball over to Hui in the seventh inning Monday, but decided to ride it out with Minton.

“That was his moment and he’s earned that in his career,” Keplinger said.