The Minton brothers combined to go 7 for 8 at the plate, older brother Davis Minton fired a no-hitter, and Serra clinched the West Catholic Athletic League championship outright as the Padres rolled to a 13-0 victory Tuesday at Riordan.
Davis Minton recorded the second no-hitter of the year for the Padres, and the first solo no-no, with a complete-game effort. The senior right-hander allowed just one baserunners on a fifth-inning walk, and struck out 11, including a swinging strikeout on a slider to record the final out of the day.
“That was a cool way to clinch a title, where we had a no-hitter,” Padres manager Mat Keplinger said.
Cooler yet was the offensive support Davis Minton got from his younger brother, as sophomore Aaron Minton enjoyed a monster day, going 4 for 4 with a home run and six RBIs. The home run was a grand slam in the Padres’ five-run third inning.
Serra sophomore Aaron Minton connects for a grand slam in the third inning Tuesday in San Francisco.
Lee Harrison
Through Serra’s 5-1 win over Sacred Heart Cathedral last Friday, Aaron Minton was batting just .167 (7 for 42) on the year. Over his last two games — including the Padres’ 17-5 win Saturday over SHC — he has gone a perfect 7 for 7 with two home runs and 10 RBIs. His batting average is now sitting at .264.
“He’s really a talented player,” Keplinger said. “I think he was just going through normal struggles as a sophomore playing at the varsity level. But his demeanor was really calm and collected. His practices were great. The results weren’t affecting him. We just kept sticking with it.”
Davis Minton augmented his no-hitter by going 3 for 4 with two runs scored.
The senior was in fine form from the outset, inducing three groundouts to retire the side in order in the first. Serra got on the board in the second on an Ian Josephson RBI single. Davis Minton went on to coax another groundout to open the bottom of the second, before finishing the frame with back-to-back strikeouts.
Serra (11-2 WCAL, 21-5 overall) exploded for five runs in the third, including an RBI fielder’s choice off the bat of Nate Hui. In the third, Tyler Harrison singled home a run, and an Aaron Minton two-run single made it 9-0. The Padres added four in the sixth, with an RBI walk from Jack Wessell, RBI singles from Josephson and Aaron Maier, and a Wessell score on a double play.
All the while, Davis Minton allowed just one ball to leave the infield on a routine fly ball to Wessell in right to end the fourth inning. Otherwise, the senior recorded nine groundouts, including the Crusaders (2-11, 8-16-1) grounding seven times to Josephson at short.
“Every inning [Josephson] was getting one or two ground balls hit at him, which is always a very comforting feeling,” Keplinger said.
The no-hitter is the 23rd in program history, and marks the fifth time Serra has thrown multiple no-hitters in a single season. On Feb. 27, Riley Lim, Hui and Danny Dinelli combined on a no-hitter in a 6-0 win over Sacred Heart Prep.
“They were really excited for him,” Keplinger said. “They met him on the mound, and he ended up getting a nice Gatorade bath at the end of the day.”
The Padres entered the day leading the WCAL standings by one game. Tuesday’s win clinched no less than a co-league championship with second-place St. Francis. Later Tuesday evening, St. Francis fell 11-1 to Serra’s rival St. Ignatius to clinch the WCAL title outright for the Padres.
“A rare occasion where we were rooting for S.I. a little bit,” Keplinger said.
The original content of this article has been corrected. The Minton brother’s combined batting line was incorrect. They were a combined 7 for 8.