With aid of early error, Bellarmine edges St. Ignatius in tight WCAL pitchers’ duel in San Jose

SAN JOSE In baseball one mistake can be the difference in a tournament So it was on Friday at Bellarmine College Prep The home Bells were hosting St Ignatius in a West Catholic Athletic League showdown in San Jose In the bottom of the second inning Bellarmine had Nate Bateman on first when Dash Knight chopped a ground ball up the middle The ball was misplayed in the middle infield and the Bells suddenly had two runners on and no outs They took advantage with two more hits and a run-scoring double play and that was all she wrote Those two runs were all Bellarmine needed on a day of excellent pitching and defense and the Bells beat SI - Bellarmine s Preston Pera strikes out the last batter in against St Ignatius in the seventh inning Bellarmine College Prep in San Jose Calif on Friday April Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Whoever blinks first or makes the first mistake in these types of games usually ends up losing the championship Bellarmine coach Nate Sutton reported Especially in our league It seems like the pitching is pretty dominant as a whole It certainly was on Friday afternoon Bellarmine combined for a shutout as starter Apolo Lapiz pitched scoreless innings before giving way to Preston Pera who shut the door with frames of scoreless relief SI starter Chase Gordon was just as good pitching a complete competition with six innings of work and just one earned run allowed It s doable that he wouldn t have allowed any without the error behind him in the field It was just that kind of afternoon All it took was a little daylight in a championship decided by a sliver St Ignatius s Chase Gordon pitches against Bellarmine in the second inning at Bellarmine College Prep in San Jose Calif on Friday April Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group I thought our pitcher did a great job SI coach Brian Pollzzie disclosed Chase was really efficient They hit a couple balls a couple bunts and we didn t make a play or two I thought their pitcher did a great job They re a tough unit Gordon was SI s best hope for a run-producing opportunity as well He came to the plate in the top of the third with the bases loaded and roped a line drive to deep right-center field but Bellarmine s Luke McNeil put it away to end the threat Gordon came up with the bases loaded again in the fifth and lined out to Bells center fielder Evan Tavarez It was that kind of night for SI and another validating win for a Bellarmine gang that has racked up selected impressive results the past sparse weeks The Bells - - WCAL started WCAL play - this year but have since won their last four against WCAL schools including a -inning win over St Francis and a sweep of Sacred Heart Cathedral Bellarmine s Nate Bateman celebrates scoring against St Ignatius in the second inning at Bellarmine College Prep in San Jose Calif on Friday April Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group As long as we take the mistakes that we ve made and learn from them then we re getting better Sutton explained Those losses aren t necessarily losses if we can get something out of it Our goal is at the end of the year to be playing our best baseball That was the messaging the whole time Getting the first one out of the way learning how to win Especially last year we didn t have a great season We re learning how to win games this year St Francis was the turning point of our season because they evidenced a little grit a little fight more than we have They learned how to not back out All is not lost for SI - - - WCAL The Wildcats will now get ready to advance to Sacramento for the Boras Classic a prestigious tournament named for MLB super agent Scott Boras that pits chosen of the best prep teams in Northern California against each other You re gonna see good pitching and we ll definitely learn a lot about our squad over the next week Pollizzie disclosed We re excited We re happy we got invited to that and now we re just trying to play as well as achievable Bellarmine s Apolo Lapiz pitches against St Ignatius in the second inning at Bellarmine College Prep in San Jose Calif on Friday April Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Bellarmine s Drew McClelland dives for the ball against St Ignatius during the seventh inning at Bellarmine College Prep in San Jose Calif on Friday April Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Bellarmine s Isaiah Beyah bunts the ball against St Ignatius in the second inning at Bellarmine College Prep in San Jose Calif on Friday April Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Bellarmine s Preston Pera pitches against St Ignatius in the sixth inning at Bellarmine College Prep in San Jose Calif on Friday April Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Bellarmine s Ollie McNamara tosses the ball towards first base against St Ignatius in the seventh inning at Bellarmine College Prep in San Jose Calif on Friday April Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Bellarmine s Drew McClelland throws the ball to first base against St Ignatius in the sixth inning at Bellarmine College Prep in San Jose Calif on Friday April Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Bellarmine s D J Dunne bats against St Ignatius in the fourth inning at Bellarmine College Prep in San Jose Calif on Friday April Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Bellarmine s Drew McClelland throws the ball to first base against St Ignatius in the second inning at Bellarmine College Prep in San Jose Calif on Friday April Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Bellarmine s Vincent Kim hits a double against St Ignatius in the sixth inning at Bellarmine College Prep in San Jose Calif on Friday April Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group