Photo Credit: Wes Hagman

M-A baseball defeated St. Francis in a shocking upset.

Baseball shocked high school baseball fans with a win against powerhouse St. Francis lancers on Wednesday.

“Everyone went into the game relaxed and we just had the game of our lives,” said Chace Warren. “This was the best game any of us have ever been a part of.”

Warren was a key factor in the game with four RBI’s. With St. Francis already down five runs, the Lancers drew in the infield to prevent Wally Hansen and Jeff Keller from scoring. Warren’s blazing line drive managed to escape the center fielder’s glove to deal a crushing blow to the Lancers, a third seed in CCS.

Nils Gilbertson came through with the best pitching performance of his career, shutting down one of the most explosive offensive teams in the country. He used pinpoint control to shut out the lancers in six innings. Saint Francis capitalized on all three of Gilberton’s mistakes as Chris Hoo belted a homer, and Kyle Macey and Dennis Duran hit back-to-back homeruns in the following inning. Patrick Moriarty replaced a tired Nils Gilbertson and sealed the shocking upset over the Lancers. Menlo-Atherton’s head coach said “Nils Gilbertson threw the game of his life. We scratched and clawed to get those nine runs in what is our only win against a WCAL team.”

The Bears notched 16 hits from 10 different players. Wally Hansen went four for four and had two RBI’s. Chace Warren led the team with four RBI’s.

The Lancers, who were ranked in the top seven in the state prior to the Bears’ shocking win, were left distraught following the game. Their record is now 22-6, while M-A stands at 16-11.

Although M-A was unable to keep its Cinderella season alive after losing 10-2 against the Bellarmine Bells on Saturday, their shocking upset over the powerhouse Lancers will never be forgotten. As Keller put it, “In both baseball and basketball, I’ve played St. Francis in CCS games. Nothing compares to the intensity of those games, and winning this baseball game shows that M-A has the talent to compete with St. Francis in a number of sports.”