What. A. Game: Grand slam in seventh, three-run HR in eighth lift Los Gatos over Bellarmine

Los Gatos could have folded when Bellarmine opened a five-run lead in the fifth inning.

The Wildcats could have packed it in two innings later when they were two outs from playoff elimination, and still trailing by four.

If that wasn't enough to put away a team, then certainly Los Gatos looked done in the eighth when Bellarmine scored two runs to reclaim the advantage.

But on this day, in this game, nothing was going to stop Los Gatos.

Brady Simon hit a three-run homer in the home half of the eighth on Saturday to complete a stunning — with a capital “S” — comeback to beat sixth-seeded Bellarmine 10-9 in the first round of the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs.

The third-seeded Wildcats (25-3) will play second-seeded Valley Christian (18-9) in the semifinals on Wednesday at Excite Ballpark in San Jose.

Bellarmine finished 20-8.

"It was insane," Simon said of the comeback. "I have so much confidence in our team and we've done it so many times before that I wasn't surprised. The energy in the dugout was, ‘We've been here before, and we can do it again.' "

Simon's heroics wouldn't have been possible if it weren't for Chase Frolich.

With one out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh, Frolich hit a grand slam over the center-field fence to tie the score 7-7, the first homer of the season for the junior, who is hitting .432.

“The best part about a lot of these guys is they compartmentalize their at-bats,” said Los Gatos coach Mike Minkel. “Chase went hitless the last day of the season, but still had very productive at-bats. Was hitless going into this at-bat. It’s just only a matter of time. He always stays in the moment. Just trusting his ability and working the count, getting into a favorable count, and putting a good swing on it.”

Los Gatos threatened to end the game after Frolich’s home run, but Bellarmine held on.

Then the Bells came to life again in their half of the eighth.

Arleigh Souza's sacrifice brought in a run to give Bellarmine an 8-7 lead. Nathan Chew's double knocked in Elijah Vu to make it 9-7.

But momentum for the Bells was fleeting.

Sam Petke began the bottom of the eighth with a pinch-hit double to left. Max Thomas followed with a single to left to move Petke to third.

After a strikeout, up stepped Simon, the leadoff hitter in Los Gatos' powerful lineup.

The senior took a ball, then came a strike. Two more balls made the count 3-1. Simon had no doubt what he’d see next.

“I knew a fastball was coming,” he said, “and I didn’t miss it.”

Simon sent the fastball sailing over the right-field fence to ignite a wild celebration while handing Bellarmine a gut-punch of a season-ending defeat.

"Right when he hit it, we knew it was gone," Minkel said. "It was just a matter if it was going to go into the net or clear the net."

For Los Gatos, the comeback was nothing new.

At the Boras Classic in the Sacramento area in early April, the Wildcats trailed Whitney-Rocklin 7-2 before roaring back to win 8-7.

The offensive fireworks weren't new, either.

Los Gatos' 10 runs Saturday matched the team’s season per game average.

"I told them at the end that I'd like to say that I was surprised, but I'm really not," Minkel said. "It's such a resilient group. They've proved it through the course of the year. For people who haven't been able to watch us much, this is essentially our identity of who we are – just so much fight until the very, very end."

Bellarmine led 2-0 after two innings and scored four in the fifth to stretch the advantage to 6-1.

Los Gatos scored two in the home half of the fifth to cut the deficit in half, but Bellarmine added an insurance run in the top of the seventh.

The insurance wasn't enough.

Not on this day, when the wind was blowing out and elimination was on the line for both teams.

By reaching the CCS Division I semifinals, Los Gatos is guaranteed a spot in the NorCal regionals after the sectionals.

Ollie McNamara had a home run and three RBIs for Bellarmine. Beau Musser hit a home run and Thomas had three hits for Los Gatos, which extended its winning streak to eight.

“My hat’s off to Bellarmine,” Minkel said. “That’s a really, really good ballclub over there. We had a couple of missteps with the wind. They had a couple of missteps with the wind. But just fighting tooth and nail, every pitch, every at-bat, that’s just the identity of this team.”

Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.

This story was originally published May 23, 2026 at 8:34 PM.