Saints avoid Patriots’ sweep of third leg

By Ramon Scott
Updated: April 21, 2018

2018 EAST COUNTY PREP BASEBALL

EastCountySports.com staff report

EL CAJON – The Christian Patriots waited until it was just a little too late to break through against St. Augustine High junior pitcher Giancarlo Cortez and the Saints.

The result was the Patriots second Western League loss of the season, a 4-3 loss to the Saints, as Christian High still won the three-game, week-long series against their third-place rival.

“Their pitcher did a great job keeping us off balance,” Christian High head coach MIKE MITCHELL said. “We were in chase-mode the entire game.

“We did not make the necessary adjustments early in the game so we just ran out of outs.”

St. Augustine picked up single markers in the second and third innings, then added two more in the top of the sixth.

The Patriots offense put together a serious rally in the bottom of the seventh, as sophomore TRACE RAMOS singled to left, scoring sophomore CONNOR OHTON (double) for the first run, then three batters later, senior JAKOB BECK drew a bases-loaded walk to make it a 4-2 game.

Senior GARRET NIELSEN got an infield hit, scoring Ramos, but a baserunner was thrown out at third trying to take an extra bag.

“I know we give opposing coaches ulcers because we don’t ever give up and we have multiple players that can clear the bases with one swing of the bat,” Mitchell said.

Christian senior LUKE RYNKOFS pitched two innings, allowing just one hit.

The Patriots (3-2 Western, 11-9) have a home-and-home set with Scripps Ranch (0-2, Western, 9-10) next Wednesday and Friday.