ROUNDUP: Sultans can be proud of Begg

SANTEE —- Santana High left fielder Tyler Begg belted a 2-run, go-ahead double in the fifth inning, helping the Sultans open their Grossmont Valley League slate with an 11-2 triumph over visiting El Capitan.

Don’t be misled by the final score; Santana only led 2-1 entering the fifth. However, Cole Contreras and Ethan Wright registered consecutive base hits to lead off the frame. Begg then sent a drive down the left-field line to plate both runners for a 4-1 advantage.

Begg came home on an RBI double by Caleb Harris, then an error allowed another run to score and the rally turned into an unfortunate snowball for El Capitan. In the frame, the Vaqueros were charged with two of their five errors, plus a passed ball.

Harris and Jason Gonzalez posted two RBI each for the Sultans. Winning pitcher Dean Landers was charged for just one earned run over six innings of work, lowering his GVL leading ERA to 1.14.

Despite their sixth straight victory, Santana (13-4 overall, 1-0 GVL) sits a half-game behind idle Monte Vista.

For El Capitan (5-11, 1-2 GVL), center fielder Connor Crist recorded two hits, while pinch-hitter Cole Winsor stroked a double.

Mount Miguel 24, ECVHS 0

EL CAJON —- A half-dozen Mount Miguel pitchers combined on a 1-hit shutout to take Wednesday’s (May 5) GVL contest. The Matadors posted 14 runs in the seventh inning, despite playing station-to-station baseball on the basepaths.

A trio of Matadors — Jeremiah Castillo, David Keller, and Josh Hollis — each collected three base hits.

“It feels great again being back on the field playing the sport I love,” said Hollis, a potential starting quarterback candidate for the Matador football team next fall. “It felt great to get the win.”

For Keller, the starting catcher before moving to shortstop, one of his hits went for a 2-run triple to drive in five runs on the day, his first RBI of the season.

“It felt great to have that breakout performance and be able to get out of the slump that I was in,” Keller said. “Just being out on the field, in general, was amazing with my teammates behind me and helping me get back into my baseball form was great.”

There was no bias in the scorekeeping; Mount Miguel registered a season-best 20 hits, yet ECVHS was still charged with 14 errors.

The lone Braves hit came early when their No. 2 hitter, third baseman Diego Robles, reached base in the first. Robles blooped a base hit over the head of the first baseman, as the ball landed despite a diving effort by Hollis in right field.

Robles eventually matriculated to third base on a pair of two-out walks, but a strikeout ended the threat by ECVHS (1-11 overall, 0-3 GVL).

Mount Miguel (7-11, 2-1 GVL) moved to within a half-game of league-leading Monte Vista (2-0), which was idle.

Clairemont 5, Patrick Henry 3

CLAIREMONT —- Moments after Patrick Henry broke a 1-1 deadlock with two runs in the sixth inning, Clairemont responded with a 4-run rally to take down the Patriots, 5-3, in Eastern League baseball action Wednesday (May 5).

The setback not only dropped the Patriots out of their share of first place, they actually stand in a tie for last place in the early going of the league slate.

All four runs by the Chieftains were unearned, as Patrick Henry committed three of its five errors in the decisive frame.

After Clairemont knotted the contest at 1-1 in the fourth, Brady Hull stroked a two-out double, then scored when Max Shabestari drilled a 3-run homer to left field.

However, an error and a pair of hit batsmen set up by Henry Connell with a go-ahead, 2-run single. Connell (2-for-3, three RBI) was also the winning pitcher with a complete game.

For the Patriots (9-8 overall, 1-2 league), Ash Bibbes went 2-for-3 with an RBI single in the second.