Stringer had allowed just a couple of baserunners through three innings, and Gamboa was perfect with two outs in the third.

But things unraveled in a hurry for Gamboa, thanks in no small part to a couple of errors behind him and a big mental error in the fifth.

The result was a couple of one-run innings for the Vikings in the third and a fourth, and a devastating six-run rally in the fifth that knocked the Bells right out of the CCS race.

"They just outplayed us tonight," said Bellarmine coach Gary Cunningham after the game. "Tonight they were better than us."

The Vikes scored on a double, an infield hit and a throwing error in the third, then scored on a couple of singles, and intentional walk and another error in the fourth.

Bellarmine fought back with three in the top of the fifth to take a 3-2 lead, but it was short-lived. Paly loaded the bags on a couple of hits and an intentional walk in the fifth, then a ground ball to the infield resulted in no outs after the shortstop looked to second, looked to home, then ate the baseball as a run scored.

A fly ball that would have been the final out of the inning turned into a sacrifice fly to drive in another run. A walk and a two-run single gave Paly a 5-3 lead and marked the end of the night for Gamboa.

Palo Alto went on to scored two more in the frame to take a commanding lead.

Bellarmine fans only had a couple of reasons to cheer on the night. The Bells rallied for three runs in the fifth to overtake a 2-0 Paly lead to move in front 3-2, and Eric Thames launched an impressive solo homer in the seventh that turned out to be too little, too late.

The Bells came to life offensively when senior Matt Saldivar ripped a double down the left-field line. After Tommy Renda came on as a pinch runner, Peter Healy was hit by a pitch.

An out later, Bryan Hewitt walked to load the bases, and sophomore catcher Tommy Medica unloaded them in a hurry with a double to left. Two runs scored on the double and Hewitt raced around to score when the left fielder mishandled the baseball.

A strikeout ended the inning, but the Bells handed Gamboa a 3-2 lead to take to the bottom of the fifth. He couldn't hold it, though, and the Vikings took an 8-3 lead. Paly made it 9-3 with a run in the sixth, but Bellarmine got one back in the seventh.

Thames ripped the final pitch he'd see as a high school baseball player high over the fence in right-center for a one-out, solo homer to cut the lead to 9-4. But a fly ball and a ground out ended the game and the season for the Bells.

Rich Gorman had two hits to lead the six-hit attack for the Bells. Thames homered, Medica doubled and Saldivar and Brian Chase each singled.

Gamboa was the tough-luck mound loser. He retired the first eight batters in a row, dispatching them on just 24 pitches, and was touched for unearned runs in the third and fourth innings.

Seniors Gamboa, Thames, Saldivar, Healy, Hewitt, Jordan Ruiz, Steve Connolly, Dan Camozzi, James McCoy and Jim Casey were all playing their final game for the Bells.

Bellarmine finished the season with a solid 24-13 record and defeated Westmont and Serra in the early rounds of the CCS Division I tournament to reach the semifinals.