Serra rallies to beat Bells

After Stoloski had tied things up in the sixth with his slide into home, Edwin Lindo came in to run for Armanino at second. Drew Pederson came to bat and, on a 0-1 pitch, smacked the ball deep for his team's third double of the day. At the same time, Lindo crossed home plate to put his team on top to stay.

Bellarmine, facing a sudden turn in events, found itself with only half an inning to try pull out a victory. After having their first batter hit by a Jon Finley pitch, who relieved Brian Belli in the third, Jimmy Parque jogged in from centerfield to take the mound. He struck out the first batter he faced, getting the following two to hit into outs.

Finley got the win as he struck out two while giving up one run and one hit over four innings. Parque was credited with the save.

Bellarmine starting pitcher Greg Shannon held the Padres scoreless over the first three innings, giving up only two hits. As he held Serra to no runs, his teammates put themselves on the scoreboard first in the top of the second. Nate Garcia, who had gotten on first with a single, advanced a base on the next batter via a Belli wild pitch. He was driven home on a single to put the Bells up 1-0.

The Bells came knocking again in the third, quickly putting their first two batters on first and third. After Belli walked the next batter to load the bases, Serra manager Pete Jensen went to Finley. Garcia, the first batter Finley faced, hit immediately into a double play as the runner on third came home to score. Finley struck out the next hitter he faced to end the inning.

With the tide of pitching now changed toward the direction of the Padres, they began to light up their bats as well. In the bottom of the fourth, designated hitter Doug Hansen led off with a double and was followed in rapid succession by a Stoloski single. With runners on the corners, Armanino came to bat and on a 1-2 count hit to the shortstop, who turned over a double play. Hansen scored on the play, cutting the Bells lead in half.

As the Padres turned on their offense, they also stepped up with their gloves. With one out and two runners on base in the fifth, second baseman Drew Pedersen helped to turn two to end a potential Bells threat as he made a magnificent dig to scoop a ball from the dirt before tagging his bag and quickly relaying to first.

Jensen was proud of the turnaround his guys showed in the game, especially with how Finley was able to nail down the Bells in the middle innings.

"The kids really compete," said Jensen. "They try to find a way to win. This was definitely an exciting win … they came through in the clutch."

Jensen added that he felt Pedersen's dig to turn two in the fifth was a key to the Padres holding the line.

Serra will play today at 4 p.m. in the championship game of the tournament.