A disappointing season came to a disappointing end Wednesday for the St. Patrick-St. Vincent High varsity baseball team.

The Bruins, who went 7-13 during the regular season and finished tied for last place in the Tri-County Athletic League, fell 11-4 to the host Justin-Siena Braves in the opening round of the North Coast Section Division IV playoffs. While No. 3 seed Justin-Siena (13-13-1) advances to a quarterfinal game against No. 6 seed McKinleyville on Saturday, the Bruins had to pack up their stuff for the summer.

SPSV got off to a good start when a botched pickoff attempt at third base by the Braves sailed away for an error and a Bruins run in the top of the first inning. Justin-Siena pitcher Sean McElroy, however, stranded Bruin runners at second and third to get out of a jam.

The Braves – the defending NCS champions – took the lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second, but SPSV went right back in front an inning later. A single by Tavion Henderson scored Kailon Johnson-Loud to tie the score, and Aiden Garcia added a RBI single to left to give the Bruins a 3-2 lead.

Everything went downhill for SPSV after that. The Braves took command with five runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, added another run in the fifth and broke the game open with three runs in the sixth inning.

McElroy pitched the first five innings for Justin-Siena, allowing six hits and four runs (three earned), striking out four and walking two. Sean Prasad closed things out, pitching two shutout innings and giving up one hit, striking out two and walking one.

Justin-Siena got excellent offensive production from the bottom of its lineup. Matt Baker, the No. 8 hitter, was 3-for-4 and scored four runs. Nik Dodson, the No. 9 hitter, was 2-for-3 with a triple, two runs and a RBI.

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