Teammates roared out of the dugout, the roar deafening as all of the Serra Padres congregated near the mound.
This was just what they longed for entering the prestigious Boras Classic. They felt things should have gone better recently, once off to an 8-1 start but dropping each of the past three games – one to Sacred Heart Cathedral and the other two to Valley Christian of San Jose, both tough matchups in the powerful West Catholic Athletic League.
The Boras Classic presented a fresh slate. A chance to return to the Serra Padres of old as they faced another gauntlet of top teams from NorCal.
Mission accomplished Monday.
Serra took each of its first two games, topped with a gritty 2-1 victory over Franklin-Elk Grove to cap a perfect 2-0 day at the Boras and to advance to the semifinals of the tournament at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
“It’s a big stage, really good competition and a lot of eyeballs on it,” said Serra head coach Mat Keplinger. “We’re going to find out who we are in this tournament before we head into the second half of league. Really good start. The group responded well. We found ways to win two baseball games and got two quality starts. Our did a pretty good job.”
And the mindset University of the Pacific-bound senior pitcher Riley Lim was right at the forefront.
The ace who helped pave Serra’s path to the regional final in 2025, Lim showcased just why against a potent Franklin lineup that features two Power Five signees and another who is surely on that trajectory.
Lim struck out eight batters in four hitless frames. Franklin threatened in the fourth as it got the bases loaded on walks drawn by sophomore Brandon Williams and seniors Kyle Timmons and Andrew Flores, but Lim had the perfect answer.
Back to back strikeouts. The dugout stampeding with energy as Lim put the cherry on top to his own marvelous outing.
“I think it was 100% mentality,” Lim said. “I had to go in there thinking I was the man.”
“He’s thrown in pretty much every big game that we’ve had going back to the NorCal championship, CCS championship, league title games,” said Serra head coach Mat Keplinger. “He loves these moments. He did a wonderful job with the three-pitch mix and came out and set the tone.”
Cal Poly-bound senior Kelley Crawford and senior Austin Sekelj answered the call the final three innings.
Crawford worked out of a fifth-inning hame where Franklin threatened again on Williams’ second walk and LSU signee Dylan Minnate’s own walk. Again, though, Crawford got strike three as he placed a zero on the board.
Franklin’s lone run arrived in the sixth, yet Serra was already ahead at that point courtesy of freshman Michael Ohman’s RBI single and Pomona-bound senior Natu Hui’s RBI ground that put the Padres ahead 2-0 back in the fourth.
Franklin loaded the bases after its run from junior Easton Fernald, who roped an RBI single down the left field line. However, Serra turned to Sekelj at that point, and he delivered.
Strikeout No. 12 for the game from Serra, as Sekelj limited the damage to one run before he tossed a 1-2-3 seventh. His offspeed, in particular, was lauded by Franklin.
“I never have a doubt that they’re going to get us out of it,” Hui said. “That’s the kind of trust I have in Riley, Kelley and Tony. That’s one of our strengths is we have, top to bottom, amazing pitchers in our rotation.”
Serra’s defense was a spectacle of its own, too.
Especially Hui at the shortstop position, where he made a slew of game-changing plays. One was a leaping grab on a line drive in the fourth. Later, he threw out a runner hoping to advance to third on a grounder.
“It was a lefty hitting and I saw him hit up the middle,” Hui said. “Especially with the way the wind’s been playing, it’s been keeping balls up a little longer than you might normally think. I think I just got a really good job. I saw it. I was blacked out. I just dove for the ball and it fell into my glove.
“And then the same thing (on the play to third). A ground ball to my right. I think the batter kind of hesitated because I was eyeing. Brody (Crudeli) obviously showed up for me at third. I just throw it to him and let him to the rest.”
Left fielder Aaron Minton, a senior bound for Duke, made a spectacular grab of his own in the seventh.
“I know my defense has my back,” Lim said.
