SAN JOSE — Serra trailed St. Francis by three runs in the third inning at Excite Ballpark in San Jose, and for all intents and purposes, the Lancers were in control of the teams’ Central Coast Section Division I semifinal matchup.

Until they weren’t.

Top-seeded Serra wrested the lead away from fifth-seeded St. Francis on Wednesday with an epic two-out, six-run rally, flipping the Lancers’ advantage to secure their own three-run edge.

The teams traded runs in the fifth, but the damage had already been done. Serra won 7-4 and will play second-seeded Valley Christian for the championship Saturday night at Excite Ballpark.

“We didn’t quite get off to the start that we were hoping for there,” Serra coach Mat Keplinger said. “But it was early in the game. We talk about breaking the game down into thirds and playing pitch by pitch, so there’s no panic. We settled into the game.”

Did they ever. The Padres (25-6) were gifted an extra out in the third when the Lancers (20-9) made an error to extend the inning, and they made St. Francis pay in full.

Jack Wessell, who led off with a hit-by-pitch, scored on the error. Then after Jack Armstrong drew a walk, Tyler Harrison singled up the middle to score Davis Minton.

It just kept going. Aaron Minton drew a walk, then Aaron Maier singled to center, scoring Harrison and Armstrong and giving Serra its first lead of the game.

“We’ve been really good at avoiding that situation and being able to take a couple punches,” St. Francis coach Erik Wagle said. “That’s the difference in the game, if we can take a punch there and make that a three-run inning instead of a six-run inning. We handle ourselves a little bit better, it’s a different game. We have different opportunities.”

The Padres still weren’t finished in the third. After Aaron Minton scored on a mid-at-bat throwing error by the catcher, Nate Hui delivered the backbreaker, ripping a triple to left-center field to score Maier and give Serra a 6-3 lead.

“One thing that this team has done extremely well all year is respond,” Keplinger said. “That was just what we did. We didn’t try to do too much. We had a good offensive game plan going in, and we settled in. I thought our pitch selection at the plate was really good today, and that’s what allowed us to put the ball in play in some big moments there.”

This isn’t the end of either team’s season. Both Serra and St. Francis qualified for the CIF NorCal regional tournament by advancing to the Division I semifinals.

But only one team will be playing for a section title on Saturday. The Padres earned those bragging rights by coming through when the chips were down in the third.

“They’re an old, physical team,” Wagle said. “We gave them more opportunities to drive in runs and make something happen, and they did. It’s pretty simple. If we can manage that a heck of a lot better, we’re in better shape.”