St. Francis boys stop Leigh St. Francis boys stop Leigh (May 27, 2005)

Lancers close in on title with 2nd round CCS win

By Scott Campbell

St. Francis pitcher Chris Coleman made sure to finish what he started.

The senior took the hill with his team's season on the line and tossed a two-hit shutout, a commanding performance that steered the No. 6 Lancers to a 5-0 victory over No. 3 Leigh on May 21.

"Second round of CCS and he pitched his tail off for us," St. Francis coach Chris Volta said of Coleman. "He's the type of kid who will do whatever it takes to win, whatever it takes for the team, actually."

In addition to being the No. 2 pitcher behind ace Jared Lansford, Coleman has played third base, first base, catcher and right field this season. With Lansford playing third base after having started the team's 7-0 opening-round victory over No. 11 San Benito three days earlier, Coleman got the call in this Division I quarterfinal game at Milpitas.

The Lancers (23-9) made sure to back him with ample run support, putting the pressure on the Longhorns with their aggressive play from the start. After a scoreless first inning, designated hitter Adam Ramirez got St. Francis started with a one-out walk in the second. Left fielder Robert Sedin followed with a hit-and-run single, advancing Ramirez to third.

Sedin broke for second base in an attempted steal, but appeared to be caught by Leigh pitcher Zach Samuels in an easy pickoff. But Samuels threw wide to second baseman Andy Holloway, allowing Ramirez to score.

Before the damage was done, St. Francis pushed its lead to 3-0 on a pair of two-out RBI hits. Center fielder Chris Viegas placed a perfect drag bunt down the third-base line, scoring Sedin, and then Lansford knocked in Viegas with a double high off the left-field wall.

"Once we scored those three runs ... our energy went up over here and their energy went down over there," said Lansford, who filled up the stat sheet by finishing 3-3 with a home run, a walk, two RBIs and two stolen bases. "Whoever gets ahead, you've totally got the momentum on your side and momentum is a huge aspect in CCS."

Leigh coach Noe Ochoa had the same reading from the opposite dugout.

"That was the momentum," said Ochoa. "They kept it going and we just couldn't pick it up after that."

After surviving a bases-loaded jam in the first inning, Coleman knew he had to approach Leigh's lineup as if he had no margin for error.

"You've got to pretend like it's 0-0," said Coleman. "If you go out there thinking it's 3-0, you might back down a little bit, but these guys have taught me to always pitch (as if it's a) 0-0 ballgame and always try to win that inning."

After a second-inning single by Holloway, Coleman held the Longhorns hitless the rest of the way. The San Jose City College-bound senior needed just 91 pitches to complete the game, striking out six while walking three.

St. Francis also benefited from an error-free defense that featured solid plays by shortstop Brady Fuerst, Viegas and Lansford.

"Earlier in the season, every ball bounced away from us and we were kicking the ball around the field, but now we're finally pulling it together," said Fuerst.

Meanwhile, Lansford continued his dominant afternoon at the plate. He welcomed Leigh reliever Tyler Derby with a one-out home run in the fifth and singled and scored on a double by catcher Alex Dreyfuss in the seventh to provide the final 5-0 margin.

Following his home run, Lansford warmed up in the bullpen in case Leigh (21-7) mounted a rally, but Coleman needed no help in shutting down the Longhorns, who had won 16 of their last 17 games.

The victory gave St. Francis a semifinal date with tournament Cinderella Santa Clara on May 25. The No. 15 Bruins advanced on the strength of upsets of two WCAL powers, No. 2 Serra and No. 7 Valley Christian.

The game between St. Francis and Santa Clara was to occur after the Voice went to press.

A victory would send the Lancers to the championship game, where they would meet a familiar foe, No. 1 Bellarmine or No. 4 Mitty in an all-WCAL final. While voicing the singular focus of defeating Santa Clara, Volta made his team's mission clear.

"We want to keep this going," said Volta. "We wouldn't be satisfied unless we win CCS ... that's why you're here. We want to win it."

E-mail Scott Campbell at sports@mv-voice.com

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