Best-start Stars sweep Dovetail for division title

By ECS Staff
Updated: June 24, 2018

2018 SAN DIEGO STARS BASEBALL

Sunday, at Mount Miguel HS…
Game 1 – Final: STARS (16-0) 9, Dovetail Bats 2; WP-J.Wylie (2-0)
Game 2 – Final: STARS (17-0) 13, Dovetail Bats 8; WP-Krug (2-0), HR-Pineda (Slam)

East County Sports staff report

SPRING VALLEY (6-25-2918) – Kyle Pineda unlocked a tied contest with a seventh-inning grand slam Sunday (June 34), leading the San Diego Stars over the Dovetail Bats to complete a sweep of a Western Baseball Association doubleheader.

The Stars captured the opener, 9-2, then Pineda’s third homer in six outings keyed a 13-8 decision to lift the Stars record to a perfect 17-0 mark. The record includes a 10-0 ledger in the WBA National Division, clinching the crown as the summer circuit approached the midway point this week.

It’s the greatest start and earliest division-title in the 38-year history of the Stars.

“I believe in the mid-180s we opened like 12- or 13-0,” said Mickey Deutschman, who has owned and has been the field manager of the Stars since 1984. “Otherwise, yes, this is definitely our best start.”

The sweep also gives San Diego a perfect 2-0 record on the road. Although they were the designated visiting ballclub for a few contests, the previous 15 games were all held at West Hills High School.

“Dovetail won all three games against us last summer,” added Mickey D. “So it’s not like we beat a bad ballclub – not at all.”

In fact, Dovetail held leads in both contests, only to watch the Stars roar back.

Game 1
The Bats scored in the fifth and carried that 1-0 lead into the eighth, but the Stars answered with fours runs to take the lead, then posted five more in the ninth to make the scores seem one-sided.

After Bats pitchers limited San Diego to just four hits through seven frames, pinch-hitter Alex Golembiewski opened the eighth with a line single to right, followed by a pair of resounding, run-scoring triples by Brady Joslyn (to tie) and Alekzander DeLaCurz (to grab the lead). Both shots went to center field, with DeLaCruz later scoring on a wild pitch to make it 4-2.

Later, Robert Culp laid down a squeeze bunt to score Hunter Markle (two-out walk), In the ninth, San Diego parlayed five base hits, two walks and an error into five additional runs.

Jeremiah Wylie gained the pitching yielding just three hits over 7.1 innings. Michael Horton survived two walks in throwing no-hit ball over the final 1.2 frames to garner the save.

Game 2
Both clubs exchanged runs in the sixth to remain level at 7-all, but that all changed in the seventh.

With one out, Ty Andrews walked, Jo Jo Jacobo singled to the hole at shortstop, then Markle was plucked by a pitch to load the bases. Tyler Salinas followed with a hard ground ball to shortstop, scoring Andrews with the go-ahead run.

Moments later, Pineda recording the game-deciding blast, going to center field with his grand slam, the Stars’ first this summer.

Pineda finished with five RBI by batting 3-for-5 plus a walk. Salinas batted 3-for-5 with a double, a triple, three RBI and three runs scored, while Jacobo went 4-for-4, helping make a winner of relief pitcher Joey Krug (2-0).