ROUNDUP: Peyton’s walk-off lifts El Cap

By Ramon Scott
Updated: May 10, 2017

2017 EAST COUNTY PREP BASEBALL

By Bill Dickens
© EastCountySports.com

LAKESIDE (5-10-17) — In arguably the biggest upset in the Grossmont Conference this season, El Capitan upended perennial Top 10 power Helix 5-4 in Tuesday’s (May 9) Grossmont Hills League contest. It took the Vaqueros 8 innings to register the knockout.

In the bottom of the 8^thwith the game tied at 4-apiece BLAKE PEYTON slugged a walk-off home run to stun the Highlanders amid cheers from the Vaqueros and their deserved faithful.

The Vaqueros zoomed to a 4-1 lead over Helix after two innings.

“Finally we played a game,” commented Vaqueros coach CLAYTON CURO. “Helix hit a home run in the 1^st inning and we answered with 3 runs in the 1^st. I think it put pressure on them.”

AUSTIN BELL led off with a single in the 1^st and stole second, TYLER LINDSAY singled and both runners moved up on a wild pitch, which scored Bell. TANNER DONAHUE walked and stole second and ANTHONY BENEDETTO hit a 2-RBI single.

In the 2^nd inning, SHAYNE CUNNINGHAM walked and eventually scored on a passed ball to make the score 4-1.

Helix scored one run in the 4^th inning when HUNTER ISBELL walked and scored on ROMAN PADILLA’S sacrifice fly to make the score 4-2 in favor of El Capitan.

The Highlanders punched across two more in the 6^th to tie the score at 4-all. Isbell led off with a home run to left field and ZACK OWENS doubled to right. He eventually scored on ERICK SMELKO’s single.

In the bottom of the 8^th inning, Peyton wowed the crowd with his walk-off home run.

The shot proved a devastating blow to Helix’s title chances in the Grossmont Valley League, knocking them now two games behind first-place Santana.

STEELE CANYON 12, MOUNT MIGUEL 2 – Steele Canyon came out swinging at Mount Miguel Tuesday (May 9) as the Cougars produced 12 runs and 14 hits in a lop-sided Grossmont Valley League victory in Spring Valley.

JOSH ESQUIBEL carried the torch for the Cougars with a 3-for-5 effort which included 4 RBI and 2 runs, one of them a homer in 7^th inning with a man aboard. RILEY McCARTHY pitched in with a 2-for-2 performance that included a run scored. BRANDON NAVARRO was 1-for-2 with 2 runs scored and an RBI, while RICHARD PEDRIN was 1-for-1 with a run and an RBI. Cougars leadoff man AARON TAYLOR was 1-for-2 with a run and an RBI.

TREVOR BACK pitched a complete game for the Cougars, allowing 6 hits, 2 earned runs, one walk and 9 strikeouts to even his record at 1-1.

ANDREW MONTIJO hit his 2^nd home run in the 6^th inning with a man aboard for Mount Miguel, and ANGELO ZERTUCHE was 1-for-4 with a run scored. That would be all the scoring the Matadors could muster in the contest.

The Cougars remained alive for the GVL title, trailing first-place Valhalla by two games with four games remaining, including the season finale at the Norsemen.

SANTANA 10, GROSSMONT 6 – Santana turned back the upset bid of the Grossmont Foothillers in Tuesday’s (May 9) Grossmont Hills League encounter.

On Tuesday, the Sultans closed ever closer to their league championship goal by knocking off Grossmont. The Sultans lead Helix by two games with three remaining. Santana travels to play the Highlanders on Friday.

AIDAN RASMUSSON was 3-for-4 with 2 runs to lead Santana and TC SIMMONS also muscled up 3 runs as the Sultans finished with a 10 hit attack. COLTON CALVERT was 1-for-4 with 2 runs scored and 3 RBI, while ANDERS TOLHURST was 2-for-3 with 3 RBI. NOAH NUNEZ was 2-for-4 with 2 runs scored for the Sultans.

Grossmont’s JESSE GARCIA slammed his 3^rd home run of the season in the 7^th inning with one on. He was 3-for-3 with a run scored and 3 RBI. JACKSON HULETT was 2-for-4 with 2 RBI and MAX FORD was 1-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI.

MONTE VISTA 6, WEST HILLS 5 – Monte Vista pulled a late escape over Grossmont Valley League rival West Hills in a Tuesday (May 9) GVL encounter in Spring Valley and likely pulled the plug on the Wolf Pack’s title chances.

West Hills jumped in front 4-0 in the 3^rd inning, but an inning later Monte Vista battled back to take a 6-4 lead they would hold for the remainder of the game. West Hills made a comeback bid with a run in the 7^th but it was too little, too late to take the game from the Monarchs.

In the 7^th CHRIS SCHROEDER led off for West Hills with a single to center, and BRADEN SANFORD hit into a fielder’s choice, catching Schroeder out at second. NOAH QUINTANA walked and DYLAN CRAFT singled to third base. TREVOR COMMERFORD hit into a fielder’s choice to score Sanford for the only run of the inning.

In the 3^rd inning JOSE ALVAREZ walked and FRANCISCO GUTIERREZ slammed a single to center field. KRYSTIAN CAMACHO reached on an error, scoring Alvarez. ANDREW GONZALES singled to center to score Gutierrez. DIEGO SANDOVAL walked and ABRAHAM SANCHEZ singled to right, scoring Camacho. IVAN PLAZOLA hit into a fielder’s choice to score Gonzales and during the play Diego stole home.

JONATHAN MAAT pitched a complete game six innings, allowing 5 hits and 6 runs – 4 earned – 2 walks and 4 strikeouts to bring his record to 2-4 in the losing effort.

Maat, a senior, has a 2.71 earned-run average this season

Monte Vista looked to JUSTIN SCHWEIZER to log the win, and Gutierrez got the save.

The setback all-but-mathematically eliminated third-place West Hills (11-13 overall, 7-4 league) from the Grossmont Valley league pennant race, trailing Valhalla by three games with four remaining.

Sanford extended his hitting streak to 14 games. Craft raised his batting average to .364.

SCRIPPS RANCH 2, CHRISTIAN 0 – The Christian High Patriots suffered a rare shutout at the hands of Scripps Ranch on Tuesday (May 9) in a Western League contest.

Some might say it was too much coffee for the Patriots. Others might say it was a lack of coffee.

Bottom line is though, the Patriots could not generate any offense. They lost in a ground out affair.

Matt Meyer went the distance to throw a shutout against Christian. Matt Rudick and Graiden Kreger each drove in runs, and Reece Hill went 3-for-3 in the victory for the Falcons.

The Patriots will face the Falcons again on Thursday (May 11) at Scripps Ranch at 4 p.m.

The loss to the first-place Falcons set notice to the Patriots that their title shot has likely passed. The jumble at the top of the Western League gives Christian no other option but to win the final three games, including a home-and-home with second-place Madison.

The jumble at the top of the Western League gives Christian no other option but to win the final three games, including a home-and-home with second-place Madison.

VALHALLA 11, EL CAJON VALLEY 0 – Valhalla emptied their bench in Tuesday’s (May 9) Grossmont Valley League encounter with El Cajon Valley and came away with a lop-sided victory over the Braves.

LEWIS DIRKES was 2-for-2 with a run and a RBI for Valhalla, TRAVIS THORNTON was 1-for-3 with 2 RBI.

RILEY O’SULLIVAN was 2-for-3 with a run and a RBI. He also earned the win for the Norsemen, improving his record to 3-0.

Four Norsemen hit doubles in the game – Dirkes, MAX HAGEMAN, JOSH HEIDER and JOSEPH INGRASSIA.

Three Braves got hits for El Cajon Valley, including HECTOR CARREON, JONATHAN MORENO, and JOSHUA CEBREROS, but the Braves were unable to put any runs on the board.

While Valhalla made another final stride to the GVL title, the story here was also the Braves, who were able to field a team against the Norsemen on Tuesday after a series of forfeits, as some players had other school-year-end commitments, leaving the already short El Cajon Valley roster without enough players to take the field.

Tue., May 9, 2017
Grossmont Hills League
VAQUEROS 5, HIGHLANDERS 4 (8 inn.)
Helix         ab r h bi El Capitan         ab r h bi
Smelko cf      4 0 2 1  Bell c              4 1 3 0
Peterson 2b    3 1 2 1  Montejano 3b        3 0 0 0
Richardson ss  4 0 1 0  Lindsay ss-1b-lf    2 1 2 0
Konishi lf     3 0 0 0  Donahue dh          3 1 0 0
Isbell c       3 2 1 1  Barker cf           3 0 0 0
Owens dh       4 1 2 0  Benedetto rf        3 0 2 2
Padilla rf     2 0 0 1  Coker lf-rf         0 0 0 0
Oquita 1b      2 0 0 0  Markle 2b-lf-ss     3 0 0 0
Babbitt ss-1b  0 0 0 0  Olivieri 2b         1 0 0 0
Kretzschmar 3b 4 0 1 0  Peyton 1b           4 1 1 1
Kovalcheck rf  - - - -  Cunningham lf-1b-ss 2 1 0 0
TOTALS        29 4 9 4  TOTALS             28 5 8 3

 Helix      (16-10, 6-3) 100 102 00 – 4 9 0
 El Capitan  (6-18, 1-8) 310 000 01 - 5 8 0

E-None.
DP-EC 5.
LOB-Hel 8, EC 8.
2B-Owens, Bell. 
HR-Peterson (3) 1^st, solo; Isbell (2) 6^th, solo; 
Peyton (1) 8^th, solo. 
SB-Lindsay, Cunningham, Bell 2. 
Sac-Montejano, Barker. CS-Richardson, Benedetto.

PITCHING SUMMARY
Helix            ip  h  r er  bb so
 Chase  L(3-1)  7.0  7  4  3   5  5
 Zamora         0.1  1  1  1   0  0
El Capitan
 Roberson       6.0  9  4  4  4  5
 Lindsay W(1-1) 2.0  0  0  0  2  0
WP-Chase.

SULTANS 10, FOOTHILLERS 6
Santana          ab r h bi Grossmont       ab r h bi
Salinas cf-2b-p   5 0 0 0  Ford cf          4 1 1 1
Rasmusson ss      4 2 3 0  Odom dh          4 1 2 0
NNunez lf-2b-rf   4 2 2 0  Lombardo rf-ss-c 3 2 0 0
Simmons dh        2 3 1 0  JGarcia 1b       3 1 3 3
Calvert rf-2b-cf  4 2 1 3  Hulett lf        4 0 2 2
Allen-Fox c       3 0 1 2  Giovengo ss      3 0 1 0
Tolhurst 2b       3 0 2 3  Levin 2b         3 1 2 0
Alesi 1b          4 0 1 0  Parent 3b        3 0 0 0
Ellis p-2b-lf     1 0 0 1  Giganti c        2 0 1 0
NJackson 3b-lf-cf 1 1 1 0  Keagy ss-rf      1 0 0 0
Oedewaldt         - - - -
TOTALS         31 10 12 9  TOTALS         30 6 12 6

 Santana    (18-7, 8-1) 024 101 2 – 10 12 1
 Grossmont (13-13, 5-4) 102 100 2 -  6 12 2

E-Oedewaldt, Giovengo, Levin.
DP-Gro 1. 
LOB-Sant 11, Gro 5.
2B-NJackson, JGarcia, Hulett. HR-JGarcia (3) 7^th, one on. 
SB-Calvert. CS-Giganti, Keagy. Sac-Allen-Fox, Ellis. 
SF-JGarcia. 

PITCHING SUMMARY
Santana           ip  h  r er bb so
 Ellis           3.1  8  4  4  0  0
 Salinas W(2-2)  3.2  4  2  2  1  2
Grossmont
 Williams L(3-1) 2.0  4  4  3  2  2
 Romero          3.0  5  3  1  2  2
 Ennis           2.0  3  3  3  4  2

Grossmont Valley League
COUGARS 12, MATADORS 2
Steele Canyon    ab r h bi Mount Miguel       ab r h bi
Taylor dh         2 1 1 1  Beauzec             3 0 1 0
YSmith ss         4 0 1 1  NCamacho 2b         3 0 0 0
Esquibel lf       5 2 3 4  Conwright cf        3 0 0 0
Arias c           3 0 0 0  Preciado rf-ss-p    3 0 2 0
Tellous 1b        4 1 2 0  Ortiz ss            3 0 0 0
Navarro 3b        2 2 1 1  Montijo c           3 1 2 2
Brinkmeier cf     1 3 1 0  Mendoza p-ss-rf     2 0 0 0
McCarthy ss-dh    2 1 2 2  Zertuche 3b         4 1 1 0
Dickey rf         4 1 1 1  Solis lf-p          - - - -
Pedrin ss-cf      1 1 1 2  Harris lf           3 0 0 0
Blethen 2b        4 0 1 0
Back              - - - -
#34 ss-c          1 0 0 0
TOTALS        33 12 14 12  TOTALS             27 2 6 2

 Steele Canyon (16-8, 8-3) 002 031 6 – 12 14 1
 Mount Miguel (5-20, 2-10) 000 002 0 -  2  6 2

E-Navarro, Preciado, Mendoza.
DP-MM 1. 
LOB-SC 7, MM 5.
2B-Tellous, McCarthy. 3B-Pedrin. 
HR-Esquibel (2) 7^th, one on; Montijo (2) 6^th, one on. 
SB-Taylor, YSmit, Navarro, Brinkmeier 2, Conwright. 
CS-Navarro, Mendoza. SF-YSmith.

PITCHING SUMMARY
Steele Canyon    ip  h  r er bb so
 Back W(1-1)    7.0  6  2  2  1  9
Mount Miguel  
 Preciado       1.0  1  1  1  1  1
 Mendoza L      5.0  7  5  5  4  3
 Solis          1.0  6  6  6  0  0
HBP-Mendoza.

MONARCHS 6, WOLF PACK 5
West Hills     ab r h bi Monte Vista      ab r h bi
Schroeder cf    4 0 2 1  Gutierrez 1b-p    3 1 1 0
Sanford dh      4 1 1 0  KCamacho 2b       3 1 0 0
Quintana rf     2 0 1 1  DGarcia ss        3 0 0 0
DCraft 3b       4 1 3 0  Gonzalez          3 2 2 1
Commerford lf   4 1 2 1  DSandoval         2 1 1 0
Kondyra 1b      2 0 0 0  Sanchez           3 0 1 2
Hughes 1b       1 0 0 0  Plazola           3 0 0 1
Maat p          3 1 1 2  Gulley dh-lf      3 0 0 0
Travoli ss      3 0 1 0  Alvarez           1 1 0 0
Gagliano 2b     3 1 0 0
TOTALS        32 5 11 5  TOTALS           24 6 5 4

 West Hills  (11-14, 7-4)040 000 1 – 5 11 2
 Monte Vista (16-11, 5-5)015 000 X - 6  5 1

GWRBI-Plazola.
E-Wittmeier, Gagliano, Sanchez.
DP-MV 2.
LOB-WH 7, MV 2.
SB-Maat, Plazola, DSandoval. Sac-Kondyra.

PITCHING SUMMARY
West Hills       ip  h  r er bb so
 Maat  L(2-4)   6.0  5  6  4  2  4 
Monte Vista
 Schweizer W    4.1  9  4  4  1  3
 Gutierrez      2.2  1  1  1  1  1
WP-Maat, Schweizer.

NORSEMEN 11, BRAVES 0
El Cajon Valley ab r h bi Valhalla         ab r h bi
Sanchez ss-p     2 0 0 0  Barba 3b          1 1 1 0
Bova 1b          3 0 0 0  Wilkinson 3b-2b   1 1 0 0
Carreon 3b       2 0 1 0  Dirkes 2b         2 1 2 1
Moreno p-ss      3 0 1 0  JSt.Clair 2b-3b   2 1 1 0
Michel c         2 0 0 0  RO’Sullivan p     3 1 2 1
Verdugo cf       3 0 0 0  Applebaum ss-p    1 1 0 1
Cebrereos lf     3 0 1 0  Casper cf         1 1 0 1
Romero 2b        3 0 0 0  Ingrassia lf-p    3 1 2 1
Alvarez rf       3 0 0 0  Heider c          2 0 1 1
                          Dunnam 2b-c       2 0 1 0
                          Howard rf         2 0 1 0
                          Thornton 2b-rf    3 0 1 2
                          TSmith ss         2 1 1 1
                          CO’Sullivan 3b-ss 0 0 0 0
                          Zamudio dh        1 0 0 0
                          CSt.Clair 3b      1 0 0 0
                          Perot lf          0 1 0 1
                          Hageman 2b-lf     2 1 1 0
TOTALS          24 0 3 0  TOTALS        29 11 14 10
 
 El Cajon Valley (4-16, 0-11) 000 000 0 -  0  3 2
 Valhalla       (14-11, 10-1) 311 222 x – 11 14 2

E-Moreno 2, Wilkinson, Dunnam.
LOB-ECV 6, Val 13.
2B-Dirkes, Hageman, Heider, Ingrassia 2. 
SB-Dirkes, Casper 2, Dunnam. Sac-Perot. 
SF-TSmith.

PITCHING SUMMARY
El Cajon Valley      ip  h  r er bb so
 Moreno L(0-1)      5.0 12  9  8  3  3
 Sanchez            1.0  2  2  2  1  2
Valhalla
 RO’Sullivan W(3-0) 4.0  2  0  0  1  8
 Applebaum          2.0  1  0  0  1  4
 Ingrassia          1.0  0  0  0  0  2
HBP-Sanchez, Moreno 6.

Western League
FALCONS 2, PATRIOTS 0
Scripps Ranch    ab r h bi Christian      ab r h bi
Garcia ss         4 1 1 0  Wehsener 1b     3 0 0 0
White 2b          3 1 1 0  Hogueisson cf   3 0 0 0
Rudick cf         4 0 0 1  Nielsen lf      3 0 0 0
Kreger 3b         2 0 0 1  Ledgerwood 3b   3 0 0 0
Beaver dh         2 0 0 0  Contreras rf    3 0 2 0
Davis rf          3 0 0 0  Beck 2b-ss      3 0 1 0
Hill 1b           3 0 3 0  Richardson ss-p 3 0 0 0
Bolitho lf        3 0 1 0  Matthews dh-2b  3 0 2 0
Colmbara c        3 0 1 0  Josephson 2     2 0 0 0
                           Jeremiah ph     1 0 1 0
TOTALS           29 2 7 2  TOTALS         27 0 6 0

 Scripps Ranch (17-9, 6-2) 002 000 0 – 2 7 0
 Christian     (20-6, 4-3) 000 000 0 – 0 6 2

E-Richardson, Beck. 
DP-Chr 1.
LOB-SR 7, Chr 6.
SB-White. SF-Kreger.

PITCHING SUMMARY
Scripps Ranch     ip  h  r er bb so
 Meyer  W        7.0  6  0  0  0  4
Christian
 JMarkowicz L    4.0  5  2  0  2  1
 Richardson      3.0  2  0  0  0  0
WP-JMarkowicz 5.