Athlete of the Week : Coach’s Call Led to Serna’s Lone Mistake

Ask any grade-schooler how to conjugate the verb think--and after they ask what conjugate means--the answer probably will be something like, “Think, thank, thunk.”

In a manner of speaking, San Fernando High pitcher Frank Serna and Coach Steve Marden went through those three stages in rapid succession during a 5-1 victory over La Canada in the first round of the recent La Canada tournament.

Serna, a senior right-hander, was pitching with a 5-0 lead and one out in the bottom of the seventh inning when La Canada’s Scott Gleason stepped up to bat. Gleason had ended Serna’s no-hit bid with a double to left-center in the third.

Serna’s first pitch was a curveball that missed inside, and he followed with a curve that missed low. Marden, who calls the pitches from the bench, reasoned that it was a perfectly reasonable time to order up a fastball.

Think.

“We knew he was a fastball hitter, but what the heck, it was 2-and-0 and they were down by five. He has to be taking, right?” Marden said.

Thank.

As in thanks, coach. Serna delivered right down the pipe, and his shutout went right down the tubes a moment later when . . .

Thunk!

This approximates the sound of the ball hitting Gleason’s bat, which redirected Serna’s fastball over the fence to make it 5-1.

“The guy’s down 5-0 and he swings at a 2-0 pitch,” Marden said. “I think I’d kill one of our players if he ever did that. I made sure Frank knew that one was on me.”

So if that run is scored E-10, Serna had a near-perfect week. Against La Canada--his first start of the season--Serna struck out five, walked two and finished with a five-hitter. Yet in an 11-4 win over St. Francis in the tournament final last Wednesday, he was even better.

In five innings, Serna surrendered no runs on two hits, struck out five and walked one. He threw only 51 pitches before leaving the game with a 10-0 lead as the Tigers won their first tournament title in Marden’s 13-year tenure. Serna, an All-City Section selection after going 8-1 as a sophomore, faced just 16 batters.

Serna says that he approached his senior season determined to avoid a repeat performance of 1988, when he was academically ineligible for the first half of the season. He finished 5-1.

“I can’t really explain it, but I feel a lot more confident out there now,” Serna said. “Last year, when I was ineligible, I felt pressure, like I had something to prove when I came back.”

Serna, who had a 3.0 grade-point average in the fall semester, made a comeback of another sort against St. Francis. After a fourth-inning altercation delayed the game for 15 minutes, Serna immediately struck out Golden Knight catcher and clean-up hitter Gregg Zaun to end the inning. Zaun, a first-team All-Del Rey League selection last season who has orally committed to Texas, twice was retired on called third strikes.

“That’s Serna, he’s at his best when he’s challenged,” Marden said. “He is super competitive, he pumps up when it’s vital to the team.”