Special to the Town Crier
What the St. Francis High baseball team has accomplished so far this season can be described as a test of resiliency. However, the Lancers still have some work to do.
After starting the season 11-9, St. Francis has ripped off 11 wins in a row and enters this week's Central Coast Section Division I playoffs as the second seed.
The Lancers (22-9-1) battle No. 15 Overfelt at 3 p.m., today at West Valley College in Saratoga.
"We've won 11 straight and got a co-championship," said St. Francis coach Chris Bradford, who surpassed the 500 career win mark earlier in the year, his 26th season at the helm. "These are special kids and did it all themselves."
The Lancers earned the No. 2 seed after whipping rival Bellarmine 8-4 last Thursday in the West Catholic Athletic League tournament title game at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara.
St. Francis beat the WCAL regular season champs four-out-of-five meetings this season.
Senior Mike Sloan (7-3) earned the win and belted a pair of doubles and two RBI in three hits. Fellow senior Garrett Cook, the league MVP, added three RBI and three hits.
Gunn (17-6) grabbed the No. 5 seed in the CCS Division II playoffs and take on No. 12 Sacred Heat Cathedral (11-11) at 4 p.m., tomorrow at Washington Park in Santa Clara.
The Titans ended the regular season last Thursday by beating host Los Altos 9-6 in SCVAL El Camino Division action.
Sophomore Kyle Jaros picked up the win and was assisted by juniors Anthony Rea and Doug Govan. Rea ripped a homer and had three RBI in three hits, while Govan produced a homer in two hits.
Senior Kris Mims led Los Altos with a homer and three RBI. The Eagles finished 3-15 in league play, 7-18 overall.
Mountain View (8-10, 11-3) wrapped up its El Camino Division season with a four-game win streak.
The Spartans defeated Lynbrook 6-5 in a suspended game from March, then blasted the Vikings 8-3 as senior John Eddington (2-3) earned the win. Senior Robbie Parfett paced the Spartans with a triple and two RBI in a pair of hits.
Homestead finished the SCVAL De Anza Division slate at 5-l3 following a 5-3 setback to visiting Milpitas last Friday. The Trojans tallied a pair of runs in the top of the seventh to seal the win over Homestead (8-19 overall).