Foothillers play pepper against Madison pitchers

By Bill Dickens
Updated: April 5, 2016

2016 EAST COUNTY PREP BASEBALL

By Bill Dickens
© East County Sports.com

EL CAJON (4-5-16) — The Grossmont Foothillers continued to stroke it rich on the offensive side in Monday’s (Apr. 4) Bill Dickens-City East Classic 11-5 romp over Madison at Joe Gizoni Field.

In a boxing sense, the 8th ranked Foothillers (8-4) knocked out the Warhawks with a left and then a right, scoring 6 runs in the first and 5 in the sixth.

“Our seniors have really stepped up to lead from the front,” said Grossmont coach JORDAN ABRUZZO. “When they can do that it really helps lend confidence to the younger kids.”

The Foothillers peppered Madison pitching for 7 hits in the opening frame. EVAN McCARTHY provided the spark with a leadoff single. JAIME ARREOLA followed with a base hit to center and ADAM LOPEZ, who was 3-for-4 in the contest, drilled an RBI double to cut Madison’s early lead to 2-1. JESSE GARCIA followed with a game-tying single and CALVIN FARRIS gave Grossmont a 3-2 lead with an RBI double.

After JAYDEN LOMBARDO was hit by a pitch, JACKSON HULETT hoisted a sacrifice fly to make it 4-2. A base hit by JONAS BUCHANAN coupled with a pair of Madison errors scored Farris to make it 5-2. McCarthy then got his second hit of the inning to drive in Buchanan.

“We’ve really had breakout games with the bats the last two games,” said Abruzzo (scoring 21 runs).

Grossmont erupted for another big inning in the sixth, capitalizing on five walks, RBI singles by Lopez, Garcia and STEVEN OUELLETTE. Lombardo also picked up an RBI in the free pass parade.

“Our pitching has carried us most of the season, so it’s nice to see our offense come alive,” Abruzzo added.

Relievers JAKE ENNIS and KYLE PINEDA blanked the Warhawks over the final four innings on 3 hits. Ennis was awarded the win.

“I’m happy where we are at this point,” Abruzzo said.

Grossmont Alumni

Hard-throwing right-hander JOE MUSGROVE is on the horizon of breaking into the Major Leagues under the Houston Astros’ moniker.

The 6-foot-5, 255-pounder was a first round pick of the Toronto Blue Jays. The Astros added Musgrove to the 40-man roster on November 20, 2015. Musgrove has blossomed since the trade and was named the Astros’ 2015 Minor League Pitcher of the Year. Over 100.2 IP in 2015, Musgrove struck out 99 and surrendered only eight walks. Let that sink in for awhile. His incredible 23.2% K-BB ratio is indicative of his excellent control.

He was 12-1 with a 1.88 ERA last season as he climbed up the ranks of the Houston minor league system. The Astros proved how much they value Musgrove as they turned down a deal that would have brought them Craig Kimbrel. That transaction was never consummated as Kimbrel signed with the Boston Red Sox and Musgrove is on the verge of spending the summer in the great state of Texas.

STEVEN BRAULT, a surprise hurler out of Grossmont High, is making his move up the Pittsburgh organizational ladder. Originally an 11^th round draft pick in 2011 by the Baltimore Orioles, Brault spent two seasons in the Orioles organization before being traded to the Pirates in 2015.

A year ago playing for the Double A Altoona Curve, Brault posted a 9-3 record with a 2.00 ERA. Those are eye-catching stats.

<pre>
Mon., April 4, 2016
Bill Dickens-City East Classic
FOOTHILLERS 11, WARHAWKS 5
Madison (6-5-1) 203 000 0 –  5  8 2
Grossmont (8-4) 600 005 x – 11 12 0
Enright, Shima (5), Bovee (6) and Rainaldi. 
Romero, Ennis (4), Pineda (4) and Lombardo. 
WP-Ennis (1-0). LP-Enright.

EL CAJON VALLEY 16, CV COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTER 2