Hillsborough resident Matt Krook had an extra long commute from school Tuesday, and he probably loved every minute of it.
Andre Mercurio and Chris Lewis each had two hits, but Serra High had trouble dealing with St. Ignatius junior pitcher Collin Monsour and fell to the visiting Wildcats, 3-2, in the first round of the West Catholic Athletic League baseball playoffs.
Krook, a sophomore designated hitter for St. Ignatius, had a hit, drove in a run and drew a walk in the game.
Even though he lives just a few miles away from Danny Frisella Field, he made the return trip to San Francisco on the bus with his teammates. It was just a little more time to savor the victory after losing twice to Serra during the regular season.
“We wanted to beat Serra,” said Krook, who only knows a few Padres. “This was kind of a big deal.”
Padres’ left-hander Barry Timko pitched a solid game, giving up three runs, two earned, on six hits in five-plus innings. He walked one and struck out two.
“We’ll try to learn from this game and take that into CCS,” Timko said. “We faced a little bit of adversity here. I didn’t pitch as well as I thought I should have and let the team down. Now I’m going to pitch my rear end off in CCS. That’s my concern.”
Serra (17-11) is off until next Wednesday, when the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs open.
Timko (1-2) pitched in the first round of the league playoffs last year, helping the Padres reach the championship game, where they lost.
“That’s what makes it so painful,” Timko said of Tuesday’s game.
Monsour (3-4) was a little shaky in the first inning, when Serra scored twice to negate SI’s early two-run advantage.
Timko doubled home a run in the first, and Michael McEntee drove in the second run. Afterward Monsour never let a Serra runner past second base and retired 11 of the final 13 batters he faced.
“He’s pitched amazing all year,” Krook said. “He’s been great.”
A member of Matt Stecher’s coaching staff went so far as to call Monsour “the best 3-4 pitcher around.”
Monsour pitched the complete-game six-hitter, walking two and striking out nine. Krook helped get him the early lead with a sharp RBI single in the first.
“That was great,” he said. “I loved that one.”
Krook is one of 13 sophomores and juniors who play for SI (13-15), which finished fifth in the WCAL, a game behind the Padres.
“I want to win now,” Krook said. “Not just get ready for next year.”
St. Ignatius plays No. 1 seed St. Francis on Wednesday at Santa Clara University at 4 p.m. in the WCAL semifinals.
The Wildcats had runners on first and second with none out and a run home in the sixth. Orlando Razo squelched the threat with a pair of strikeouts and an infield pop-up. Matt Michellini also pitched a perfect inning, allowing Serra a chance to rally.
Softball
Notre Dame 9, Presentation 0: Jiana Bowie pitched a two-hit shutout and struck out 11 for Notre Dame (16-11-1) in the first round of the WCAL playoffs. Bowie also hit a three-run home run in the sixth inning. Izzy Geronimo had a double and a triple. Beth Holden and Aimee Miller also had two hits apiece.
Notre Dame plays at Valley Christian Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. in the WCAL semifinals.
Carlmont 4, Capuchino 2: Megan Hansen hit a two-run single in the sixth inning to break up a 2-2 tie and give Carlmont the win. Capuchino had a 2-0 lead after three innings. Carlmont tied it in the fourth. Shannon Chang tripled and scored on a groundout by Amelia Gerolimatos.
Shawna McDonough scored the tying run on a throwing error on a steal of second. Carlmont (18-6, 10-3) clinched no worse than a tie for second place in the PAL Bay. The Scots host first-place Hillsdale on Thursday.
