ROUNDUP: Helix digs the long ball

By Bill Dickens
Updated: May 3, 2017

Padilla

2017 EAST COUNTY PREP BASEBALL

By Bill Dickens
© EastCountySports.com

LA MESA (5-3-17) — Helix teed off on Granite Hills with four home runs as the Highlanders barged in front in Tuesday’s (May 2) Grossmont Hills League contest, blasting the Eagles 10-2 after three innings, and finishing up 12-4 for the victory.

MATTHEW RICHARDSON slugged his first homer in the 2^nd inning on a solo shot, ZACK OWENS slammed a solo home run in the 3^rd (his first), CARLOS OQUITA also hit his first homer in the 3^rd with a man aboard, and ROMAN PADILLA hit his first homer in the 1^st inning with two men aboard.

Granite Hills had a home run as well, as DARIEN COSSIO slashed his 2^nd home run of the season in the 5^th inning with one on.

The Eagles got on the scoreboard first as SEAN ROSS doubled in the 1^st inning and JOSH VERDON knocked him home on a line drive to center field.

Helix was quick to boost the score with 6 runs in the 1^st inning as ERICK SMELKO and BRANDON PETERSON both singled. CONNOR KONISHI reached on an error, scoring Smelko. HUNTER ISBELL reached on an error, scoring Peterson. Owens singled to score Konishi and Padilla blasted a homer to left, scoring both Isbell and Owens.

KEATON CHASE did 4 1/3 innings work on the mound to earn the win for Helix, while JAKE FENN took the loss for Granite Hills.

Helix (6-2, 16-8 overall) moved into a first-place tie with Santana (5-1) atop the Grossmont Hills League standings.

GROSSMONT 3, EL CAPITAN 1 – If the Foothillers could find a consistent offense, they certainly would be a challenger for the Grossmont Hills League title.

But once again they scrambled to beat El Capitan 3-1 in Tuesday’s (May 2) encounter.

The pitching is there, as proven by JOE WILLIAMS, who spun a complete game victory of seven innings, allowing only 5 hits, 1 run, none earned, 4 strikeouts and 2 walks.

On the offensive side, the Foothillers’ leadoff man MAX FORD drove in a run as did JESSE GARCIA, who was 2-for-4 with a solo homer in the 3^rd inning, his second of the season.

CHRIS GIOVENGO was 2-for-4 with a run scored and GIOVANNI GIGANTI was 2-for-3 with a RBI for Grossmont (3-3 GHL, 11-12)

For El Capitan, SHAYNE CUNNINGHAM was 1-for-3 with a RBI, scoring BAILEY ROBERSON.

VALHALLA 3, STEELE CANYON 2 – The two top teams in the Grossmont Valley League, the Steele Canyon Cougars (13-9, 5-3 GVL) and the Valhalla Norsemen (13-11, 9-1 GVL), squared off at Eric Turgeon Field Tuesday (May 2) with Valhalla prevailing.

Strong pitching dictated this game but it was Valhalla’s ace CASEY O’SULLIVAN taking center stage as he went the distance, allowing 2 runs on 2 hits, walking 2 and striking out 10. He retired the first 17 Cougars he faced.

Offensively Valhalla drew first blood in the 3rd inning. RYAN PEROT walked and then scored on a JACOB BARBA double. Barba would score on a RILEY O’SULLIVAN single.

The Cougars tied the game in the 6th as AARON TAYLOR walked with 2 out. YUSUF SMITH then collected SteeleCanyon’s 1st hit of the game with a line drive up the middle. JOSH ESQUIBEL was hit by a pitch to load the bases. LUKE ARIAS then singled on a swinging bunt to score Taylor. A wild pitch plated Smith and the game was tied.

In the home half of the 6th, COLE HOWARD was hit by a pitch. A walk to TANNER SMITH and a fielder’s choice set up the winning play. The Cougars attempt for an inning-ending double play failed and Howard scored.

Casey O’Sullivan struck out the side in the 7th to seal the win for the Norsemen, who have a three-game lead in the standings.

MONTE VISTA 11, MOUNT MIGUEL 7 – A 7-run third inning established Monte Vista in command of the Grossmont Valley League encounter Tuesday (May 2) against Mount Miguel. Monte Vista finished off the Matadors 11-7.

FRANCISCO GUTIERREZ slashed a double for the Monarchs in the third.

JUSTIN SCHWEIZER pitched a complete game victory for Monte Vista (4-5 GVL, 13-10), despite getting rocked for 12 hits.

ANDREW MONTIJO took the loss for the Matadors.

DIEGO SANDOVAL was 3-for-5 with 2 runs scored and 3 RBI for Monte Vista. IVAN PLAZOLA was 2-for-4 with a double and 4 RBI.

On the flip side ANGELO ZERTUCHE was 2-for-2, AUSTIN ORTIZ was also 2-for-2 with 2 runs scored and 2 RBI. Montijo was 3-for-4 with 2 RBI and NICO CAMACHO was also 3-for-4 with 2 RBI for Mount Miguel.

CHRISTIAN 5, LA JOLLA 4 – The visiting Patriots made the most out of three hits as they clipped La Jolla on Tuesday(May 2) in a key Western League encounter.

Three Christian pitchers shared the hurling load as the Patriots (18-5, 3-2) moved into third place in the Western League standings.

JOE MARKOWICZ (4-2) got the win and JESSE MATTHEWS earned his 7^th save.

The two teams will face off again on Thursday (May 4) on the Patriots’ diamond.

WEST HILLS 7, EL CAJON VALLEY 0 (forfeit) – West Hills received a forfeit win from El Cajon Valley on Tuesday (May 2) as the Braves did not have enough players to field a team.

Tue., May 2
Grossmont Hills League
HIGHLANDERS 12, EAGLES 4
Granite Hills   ab r h bi Helix           ab r h bi
Ross             4 1 2 0  Smelko           3 1 2 0
Verdon           2 1 1 1  Kovalcheck       0 1 0 0
Cossio           4 1 1 2  Peterson         4 1 3 1
Hazelhurst       3 0 0 0  Richardson       4 1 1 1
Fenn             1 0 0 0  Konishi          4 1 1 2
King             1 0 0 0  Isbell           4 1 0 1
Joslyn           3 0 0 0  Owens            3 2 2 2
McGrew           2 0 0 0  Padilla          3 2 2 3
Omahen           2 0 1 0  Oquita           3 1 1 2
Anderson         3 1 1 0  Kretzchmar       3 1 1 0
                          Estrada          - - - -
TOTAL           26 4 6 3  TOTALS       31 12 12 12

 Granite Hills (11-11, 2-4) 101 020 0 -  4  6 2
 Helix          (16-8, 6-2) 613 002 x - 12 11 0 

E-Omahen, Anderson.
DP-Hel 5.
LOB-GH 5, Hel 2.
2B-Ross, Konishi, Peterson. HR-Cossio (2) 5^th, one on; Richardson (1) 2^nd, solo; (1) Owens 3^rd, solo; Padilla (1) 1^st, two on.  

PITCHING SUMMARY

Granite Hills      ip  h  r er bb so
 Fenn  L          3.0  8 10  4  0  0
 King             3.0  3  2  2  0  0
Helix
 Chase W          4.1  6  4  4  2  5
 Zamora           2.2  0  0  0  1  2
HBP-King, Chase 2.

FOOTHILLERS 3, VAQUEROS 1
Grossmont     ab r h bi El Capitan      ab r h bi
Ford cf        3 0 0 1  Bell c           4 0 0 0
Odom rf        4 0 0 0  Lindsay ss       4 0 1 0
Lombardo dh    4 0 1 0  Shenefield 3b    3 0 0 0
JGarcia 1b     4 1 2 1  Zamora cf        3 0 1 0
Hulett lf      4 0 1 0  Olivieri eh-c-dh 3 0 0 0
Giovengo ss    4 1 2 0  Roberson p       3 1 0 0
Levin 2b       2 1 1 0  Peyton 1b        2 0 1 0
Parent 3b      2 0 1 0  Barker lf        3 0 1 0
Giganti c      3 0 2 1  Cunningham rf    3 0 1 1
                        Montejano        - - - -
TOTALS       30 3 10 3  TOTALS          28 1 5 1

 Grossmont  (10-13, 3-4) 021 000 0 – 3 10 3
 El Capitan  (5-16, 0-6) 010 000 0 – 1  5 1

E-Odom, Parent, Barker.
LOB-Gro 9, EC 8.
2B-Lindsay, Barker. SB-Giganti. SF-Ford.

PITCHING SUMMARY
Grossmont        ip  h  r er bb so
 Williams  W    7.0  5  1  0  3  4
El Capitan
 Roberson  L    7.0 10  3  3  2  1

Grossmont Valley League
MONARCHS 11, MATADORS 7
Monte Vista    ab r h bi Mount Miguel    ab r h bi
Gutierrez lf    1 1 2 1  Zertuche ss      2 0 2 0
KCamacho 3b     5 1 1 0  UNunez lf-ss     2 0 0 0
DGarcia  ss     4 1 0 0  Ortiz 3b-lf-ss   4 2 2 2
Gonzales 2b     1 3 1 1  Montijo p-2b-rf  4 1 3 2
Sandoval c      5 2 3 3  Preciado lf      4 0 1 0
Sanchez 1b      1 0 0 0  Conwright cf     2 0 0 0
Manuel ss-1b    2 0 0 0  Beas lf-cf       1 0 0 0
Plazola cf      4 1 2 4  Beauzec 1b-2b-p  1 0 0 0
Gulley dh       3 1 0 0  Solis 3b-p       2 1 0 0
Wiley ss-dh     2 0 1 0  Mendoza rf-2b-1b 3 0 1 0
Alvarez rf      0 1 0 0  NCamacho c       3 2 2 1
Harlow ss-rf    1 0 0 1  Harris 2b        2 0 0 0
                         Kelley lf-2b     1 1 1 0
TOTALS       32 11 9 11  TOTALS         31 7 12 5

 Monte Vista  (4-11, 0-6) 007 001 3 – 11  9 3
 Mount Miguel (5-17, 2-8) 000 003 4 -  7 12 5

E-Schweizer, Manuel, Gutierrez, Ortiz, 
NCamacho 2, Harris, Kelley.
DP-MV 3, MM 2.
LOB-MV 12, MM 3.
2B-Plazola, Ortiz, Montijo. SB-Zertuche, Preciado.

PITCHING SUMMARY
Monte Vista      ip  h  r er bb so
 Schweizer  W   7.0 12  7  3  0  3
Mount Miguel
 Montijo    L   3.0  4  7  0  1  4
 Beauzec        1.1  0  0  0  2  0
 Solis          2.2  5  4  2  1  0
HBP-Beauzec 3, Solis, Montijo 3.

NORSEMEN 3, COUGARS 2
Steele Canyon  ab r h bi Valhalla      ab r h bi
Taylor dh       2 1 0 0  Barba 3b       4 1 1 1
YSmith rf       3 1 1 0  Dirkes 2b      3 0 2 0
Esquibel lf     1 0 0 0  RO’Sullivan 1b 3 0 1 1
Arias c         3 0 1 1  Casper cf      2 0 0 0
Tellous 1b      3 0 0 0  Heider c       3 0 0 0
Yanez 2b        2 0 0 0  Howard rf      2 1 1 0
Mata ss         3 0 0 0  Zamudio dh     3 0 0 0
Navarro 3b      1 0 0 0  TSmith ss      1 0 0 0
Pedrin 3b       1 0 0 0  Perot lf       2 1 0 0
Dickey 3b       1 0 0 0
Brinkmeier cf   2 0 0 0
TOTALS         22 2 2 1  TOTALS        23 3 5 2

 Steele Canyon (13-7, 5-2) 000 002 0 – 2 2 3
 Valhalla     (12-11, 8-1) 002 001 x - 3 5 0

E-Mata 2, Brinkmeier.
DP-SC 1, Val 1.
LOB-SC 3, Val 6.
2B-Barba. SB-Esquibel, Dirkes, TSmith. CS-Howard.

PITCHING SUMMARY
Steele Canyon      ip  h  r er bb so
 Nadeau           3.2  5  2  2  2  2
 Back             1.1  0  0  0  0  0
 Schirer    L     1.0  0  1  0  1  0
Valhalla       
 CO’Sullivan W    7.0  2  2  2  2 10
 Perot            0.0  0  0  0  0  0
HBP-Back, Schirer, CO’Sullivan 2. WP-CO’Sullivan.

WOLF PACK 7, BRAVES 0 (forfeit)
 West Hills      (10-13, 6-3) 7
 El Cajon Valley  (4-11, 0-6) 0

Western League
PATRIOTS 5, VIKINGS 4
Christian      ab r h bi La Jolla      ab r h bi
Wehsener 1b     2 2 1 0  Sehgal ss      3 2 0 0
Hogueisson cf   3 0 0 1  Serznezy 2b    3 1 0 0
Nielsen lf      3 1 1 0  GBrown c       2 0 1 0
Keltner lf      0 0 0 0  Jimich cf      3 0 0 1
Ledgerwood 3b   3 0 0 0  Hansen 1b-p    2 0 0 0
Contreras 3b    3 0 1 0  Gimber lf      3 0 0 1
MRichardson ss  6 0 0 1  Hammel rf      4 0 1 0
Matthews 2b     3 0 0 1  Partida dh     3 1 2 0
Jeremiah dh     2 0 0 0  NBrown 3b      2 0 0 1
Mazza dh        1 1 0 0
Josephson c     2 1 0 0
TOTALS         27 5 3 3  TOTALS        25 4 4 3

 Christian (18-5, 3-2)  100 040 0 – 5 3 3
 La Jolla  (12-13, 1-4) 100 021 0 – 4 4 3

GWRBI-Hogueison.
E-Nielsen, MRichardson, Matthews.
DP-Chr 1, LJ 1.

LOB-Chr 8, LJ 9.

2B-Nielsen, Sehgal. 3B-Partida. 
SB-Sehgal, Ledgerwood, Contreras, Mazza. 
SF-Hogueisson, Gimber.

PITCHING SUMMARY
Christian           ip  h  r er bb so
 JMarkowicz W(4-2) 4.0  3  3  2  4  6
 AMarkowicz        2.0  1  1  1  1  0
 Matthews  Sv(7)   1.0  0  0  0  1  1
La Jolla
 Monell    L       4+   2  3  2  6  3
 Stewart           1.0  0  2  0  2  0
 Hansen            2.0  1  0  0  1  2
Monell faced 2 batters in the 5^th.
WP-JMarkowicz, Monell. Balk-JMarkowicz.