Serra baseball walks off for 10th straight ‘W’

Nate Hui was the target of the celebration in the middle of the infield after delivering the game-winning hit. With two outs, the right-handed hitting junior scorched a line-drive to center that carried all the way to the wall for a double. Pinch-runner Will Murray sprinted all the way from first base, racing home to score standing up without a throw.

“That was an auto send,” Padres manager Mat Keplinger said. “Will is a really good runner and it got to the deep part of the yard and it rattled around, and there was no play at the plate. It was a no-doubt send.”

Serra has now won 10 straight to start the season. It is the program’s best start since 2010, when the Padres — a team that included Chicago Cubs pitcher Julian Merryweather and Sacred Heart Prep Gators manager Sean McMillan — opened the year with 17 straight wins, the longest in-season winning streak in school history. The overall program record is 27 straight wins, amassed over two seasons during the Gregg Jeffries years from 1984 to ’85.

Hui has proven a versatile weapon in his first varsity season. On the mound, he has made five appearances, tossing 9 2/3 shutout innings. His longest outing of the year came Tuesday, when he worked 2 2/3 scoreless, allowing one hit and one walk, while striking out four, earning the save in relief of winning reliever Richie Calderon.

At the plate, Hui started the year in a 1-for-15 rut. Since he entered Friday, March 14 in a 10-1 win over Burlingame, he has caught fire. He was used as a pinch-runner in the bottom of the fifth that game, but Serra batted around to bring Hui to the plate later in the inning. He scorched a two-run double up the right-field gap. With that double, he is now 4 for his last 8 with two doubles and four RBIs, including 3 for 7 in the Bellarmine series.

“He’s had a good week,” Keplinger said.

The Padres and Bells took a 1-1 tie into extras Friday with Serra right-hander Riley Lim locking horns with Bellarmine senior right-hander Apolo Lapiz. Serra got on the board in the fourth inning when senior Davis Minton connected for a towering solo home run to left, his second of the year. Bellarmine answered back in the top of the fifth with Evan Arnott getting hit by a pitch, Dash Knight doubling off the wall in center to put runners at second and third, and DJ Dunne driving home a run with a groundout to second.

Lapiz worked into the bottom of the fifth before giving way to Arnott with two runners on. The Padres went on to load the bases, but left them full when Minton grounded out to short to retire the side.

Lim worked six innings to take a no-decision for Serra, allowing one run on two hits, three walks and a hit batsman while striking out two.

“He threw very well,” Keplinger said. “Riley has been very consistent all spring so far. That’s the deepest he’s gone into a game ... so it was really good to see him pitch deep into a game. And again it was a close game from the start.”

Senior right-hander Ian Josephson earned the win, working three innings of relief, allowing three hits while striking out three.

Keplinger said he is content with Serra’s pitching depth, even looking ahead to the first week of April when the Padres play three WCAL games in five days.

“I feel very good,” Keplinger said. “It was nice, I thought, on Tuesday. We matched up, our middle relief is good. ... It’s been nice and there’s plenty of guys, they’re ready, they’re game ready ... once we shift over to the three-game league weeks. I think we used five guys this week, and there’s a handful of others, they’re very capable, they’re ready, and I’m excited to see them get their opportunities. Again, I’m excited about our pitching staff.”

In the bottom of the ninth, sophomore William Walbridge sparked the game-winning rally by drawing a two-out walk. Murray entered in place of Walbridge as a pinch-runner. Hui then won it with his RBI double.

“Everybody rushed out of the dugout and they all jumped on Nate Hui,” Keplinger said. “And, yeah, it was a cool moment for him and the team.”