Serra scores walk-off in regular-season finale

The stage was set perfectly, with it being Serra’s Senior Day. Fittingly, a senior proved the hero Friday at Frisella Field as Christian Falk provided the game-winning hit in the bottom of the ninth to send the Padres home with a 3-2 win over Bellarmine (8-6, 13-12).

“I think it means a lot for the guys to win this way, especially on Senior Day,” Serra manager Chris Houle said. “These are guys that have worked hard for four years and are getting to the end of the line for them. To be able to win a game like that, I think it’s pretty special.”

With the win, Serra wrapped up sole possession of second place in the West Catholic Athletic League. A loss would have seen the Padres share second place with Bellarmine behind first-place Valley Christian. Serra is now 6-2 in one-run games this season.

Falk — who also earned the win with one inning of scoreless relief — was swarmed in the middle of the diamond after delivering his second RBI single of the day. The senior was up against it, batting with the bases loaded and two outs, with a two-strike count. But Bellarmine reliever Sam Kim caught too much of the plate with an outside fastball, and Falk made him pay by scorching a single back through the middle to score Jeremy Villar with the game-winning run.

“I’m just looking for a ball to barrel up and see if he can make a mistake, and do something with it,” Falk said. “I wasn’t expecting a strike but I got it, and I did something with it.”

Serra was looking for clutch hits all day but couldn’t find them, stranding 10 runners on base through the first eight innings.

But it was the three runners Bellarmine stranded in the top of the eighth that loomed largest.

With Serra right-hander Benito Valle-Jhanda in his fourth inning of relief, the Bells had runners at first and second when Joey Cerrito lined a single to center. As Padres center fielder Kannon Clayton gathered to throw home, the Bells base runner from second was being waived home by third-base coach Nate Sutton.

The runner, halfway between third and home, turned back as Clayton’s throw short-hopped Serra catcher Omar Barraza and bounced away.

“Like always, we’re sending a guy two outs and a runner on second,” Bellarmine manager Mike Rodriguez said. “And for whatever reason, the runner — I don’t know, I can’t really describe what happened because he just said he didn’t think he was going to score, so he stopped. It is what it is.”

Valle-Jhanda struck out the next batter for his third punch-out of the day to walk off the mound with the bases full of Bells. Valle-Jhanja allowed one run through four innings in relief of starting pitcher Timmy Ghiorso.

“[Valle-Jhanda] really did a great job,” Houle said. “He pitches to contact, he gets groundballs. And as long as we play good defense behind him, then he always keeps us in the game. And he’s a competitor too.”

Valle-Jhanda induced just such a groundball on the one run he surrendered. In the top of the sixth, with Serra clinging to a 2-1 lead since the first inning, Bellarmine had runners at first and third and one out when Valle-Jhanda got a would-be double-play ball. Serra had the twin-killing in front of them but, after getting the out at second, second baseman Marek Pallandino threw high to first, allowing for Bellarmine junior Garrett Arnold to score from third with the tying run.

The game had its fair share of weird plays.

Perhaps the most controversial play led to Serra’s Tyler Shaw being ejected from the game in the fourth inning. Shaw was batting with two on and one out when he hit an infield pop-up hugging the first-base line. As Bellarmine first baseman Gio Saso set himself and gloved the pop-up, Shaw ran right through him, with Saso somehow holding on to the ball.

Even had Saso dropped it, Shaw would have been called out for failing to avoid a fielder making a routine play. Shaw was also ejected, costing Serra its starting shortstop.

Shaw’s replacement seized on the opportunity, though, as junior shortstop Matty Fung stepped into the No. 9 spot in the batting order and launched the small-ball assault that sparked the comeback rally in the ninth.

Leading off the ninth, Fung executed a picturesque bunt single past the pitcher to the right side of the diamond.

“That’s on his own,” Houle said. “And he’s really good at playing the small ball.”

Clayton followed with sacrifice bunt to move Fung to second. Bellarmine then intentionally walked Villar. After a single by Thomas Gould to load the bases, Dominic Meza topped a grounder to third with Cerrito throwing home to force out Fung at the plate for the second out.

Falk followed with the first walk-off knock of his varsity career though, setting off a wild celebration to propel Serra into the postseason on a high note.

“It felt so good,” Falk said. “It was crazy, just the team running out there after me, just yelling and screaming.”

The Padres now advance to the upcoming WCAL tournament starting Tuesday, with Serra hosting for a 4 p.m. start.