Sacred Heart Cathedral baseball on the rise in tough WCAL
By
Mitch Stephens
April 11, 2016 Updated: April 11, 2016 6:23pmIt claims two of the most famous baseball alums in Bay Area history, Hall of Famers
Joe Croninand
Harry Heilmann.
But succeeding at America’s pastime in the West Catholic Athletic League, regarded as one of the best leagues in the state, has long been a big challenge for Sacred Heart Cathedral.
For the first time since the late 1990s, the Irish (12-3) have climbed into the Metro rankings following twoWCAL wins last week, 2-1 over then-No. 2 Bellarmine on Tuesday and a 3-1 win at No. 3 Serra on Friday.
The eighth-ranked Irish (12-3) play games at Mitty (10-6) and Riordan (5-9) this week.
“It’s a good week for us for sure, but it’s a good week for anyone,” SHC coach
Brian Morgan said. “Playing, let alone beating, Bellarmine and Serra back-to-back, is no picnic.”
It sure tasted sweet over the weekend for Morgan, who has coached the Irish the past 16 seasons and coached at St. Ignatius, his alma mater, for 10 years before that.
“I’ve been in the WCAL as a coach and player a long, long time,” he said. “It’s definitely a challenge. You can be a very good team and lose a bunch of games.”
The Irish lost eight seniors off last year’s team and have five sophomores playing major roles, so this wasn’t supposed to be a breakout season.
But with superb pitching (0.50 ERA), good defense, timely hitting and “doing all the little things,” SHC has surprised even its coach.
In the win over Bellarmine,
Diego Gonzalez fired a four-hitter with seven strikeouts and sophomores
Martin Chavarria and
Eric Casillas had RBI singles.
Against Serra, winner
Justin Choy got relief help from Chavarria and
Marty Cole, another sophomore, to limit the Padres to five hits. Junior outfielder
Aedan Leary-Vallejo had three hits and drove in two runs for the Irish, who are hitting just .238 as a team.
Gonzalez (5-1, 0.58), a 6-foot-3, 200-pounder, and Cole (3-1, 2.14) lead the way. Leary-Vallejo (.342) and
Erik Ochoa (.333) are the only .300 hitters.
The Irish are trying to win their second Central Coast Section crown, the other in 1998 with a Division II title. They also placed second in 2001.
“I don’t know how this will all shake out, but right now we’re on a roll and it feels great,” Morgan said. “I heard from a lot of former players and Irish supporters over the weekend. We hope to keep it up.”
.....now if they put money in Kezar with the pub across the street, is a win win!
