Henry, Christian, Foothills all mash

By Nick Pellegrino
Updated: May 27, 2021

Braeden Ross (24), head coach Mike Mitchell, and the rest of the Patriots celebrate the win on Wednesday.

2021 EAST COUNTY PREP BASEBALL

ECS staff report

MIRA MESA —- Patrick Henry pitcher Dylan Dyresen fired six innings of 1-hit ball, as the Patriots captured their sixth straight contest Wednesday (May 26) by whipping Mira Mesa, 11-1, to reduce their magic number to an Eastern League championship down to three.

The Patriots are averaging nearly 10 runs per outing during the hot streak, posting 58 runs to run their record to 17-9 overall (9-3 league), but this triumph belonged to the pitchers.

Dyerssen struck out eight Marauders batters, carrying a no-hitter through three innings,. However, Mira Mesa pitcher Jackson Betancourt was also tossing shut-out ball.

The decisive fourth inning saw Patrick Henry break loose for three runs, as the first six Patriots posted quality at-bats to be the first to hit the scoreboard.

After loading the bases on an Andrew Guana double, a single by Ryan Ellis, then Max Shabestari accepting a walk, the Patriots scored on consecutive sacrifice flies by Jeremiah Vargas and Jake Lowery.

Mira Mesa answered with its lone hit. A walk and an Eric Beans double placed runners in scoring position, followed by a ground ball out from Aiden Nguyen to produce the run.

However, the Patriots countered with an 8-run explosion in the fifth to seal the triumph. Big hits included a series of three RBI doubles by Guana, Nolan Kluge, then Brady Hull completed the hat trick of two-base hits.

After Dyersen exited, Kyle Wilsie came out of the bullpen to pitch a 1-2-3 in the seventh giving the Patriots their first 3-game, season-series sweep of Mira Mesa since 2015.

Mira Mesa (11-15, 3-9 league) remains a half-game above Serra for fifth place in league play.

Patrick Henry caps the regular season with a three-game set with Serra. For the Conquistadors, those games could be the school’s final outings before changing its name to “Canyon Hills” for the 2021-22 academic year. The nickname will switch to “Rattlesnakes” (or “Rattlers” for short).

Christian 17, SD-High Tech 2

CLAIREMONT —- After the City League-leading Christian Patriots found themselves trailing 1-0 after one inning, they did something about it – and quickly.

The Patriots pounded out 10 hits for eight runs in the second inning, quelling the host Storm, 17-2, Wednesday (May 26) at East Clairemont Athletic Park.

It was tenth-ranked Christian High’s ninth-straight victory.

San Diego County player of the year candidate Braeden Ross had four hits, including a grand slam in the second inning for Christian High, driving in five runs on the afternoon.

“Today was fun for sure,” Ross said. “Grand slams don’t come around very often so I was pretty excited to run the bases today.”

Ross, singled in the third, singled in the fifth and singled in the seventh. The homer was his eighth of the season.

“We’re doing a very good job of being aggressive at the plate as a team,” said Ross, a Cal State Northridge commit. “We’re all hitting the ball hard and good things happen when you do that.”

Ross also got the win, going four innings, while allowing two hits and one run while striking out six and walking one.

Shane Bailey, Aaron Shebloski, and Ashton McCurty each pitched one inning of relief.

Christian’s Eric Markowicz homered in the second inning as part of an 18-hit attack for the game.

Vaughn Major and McCurty both drove in a pair of runs, as well, for Christian.

Xavier Farnum had three hits and scored twice, while teammate Will Carlock had a single and a double, scoring a run for the Pats.

Andrew Carlock singled, drove in a run, and scored for Christian High in his next-to-last high school game.

Andrew Carlock is expected to get the ball in Thursday’s Senior Day series finale in his last prep appearance before leaving for military training on Saturday.

“I’ve loved my time as a Patriot from Friday Night Lights to the baseball field,” Andrew Carlock said. “Our team chemistry is one of the best that I’ve ever experienced as a player and I’ve played with a few very different Christian teams over the past few years. We had a team that had to scrap and fight to win and another that had the potential but never got the chance to show it. This team seems to have it all.”

The Patriots will miss Andrew Carlock – he’s 3-1 with a 1.00 ERA this season, but are more proud of their teammate.

“I’ve been blessed with great coaches that have really raised me to be a better man than an athlete,” Carlock said.

Foothills Christian 14, Orange Glen 4

SPRING VALLEY —- Another standout effort by Foothills Christian senior Taylor Casey saw the pitcher yield just one run over five solid innings, and shared the team lead with a pair of RBI to allow the Knights to squeeze visiting Orange Glen, `4-4, in Summit League action at Mount Miguel.

On the mound, Casey allowed just two hits and a run, striking out five batters from the Patriots.

“It was a great game both offensively and defensively,” Casey said. “The curveball was working for me today and I was able to spot the fastball. And our team hit well.”

With the bat, Casey matched teammates Kip Famolaro and Matthew Jones with two RBI each.

“I could see the ball really well at the plate following a lot of extra practice,” Jones said. “Timing had been a problem in the past but it’s gotten easier for me to track the ball. This win was great. I knew we had it in us to succeed. We can go as far as we want, as long as we give it our all.”

Famolaro drove in his first run a second-inning triple, lifting the Knights to a 4-0 advantage.

“Orange Glen’s pitcher was leaving it high in the zone,” Famolaro said. “We figured this out early and made adjustments to get on top of the baseball. After capitalizing on some walks, we knocked their starter out of the game.

“Taylor had a great pitching performance with quick innings. And I’m really proud of Matt. He has been barrelling the ball lately.

The lead went to 6-2, then the Knights ignited for eight runs in the fourth to clinch the triumph.

Foothills Christian (14-10 overall, 4-1 league) will meet Orange Glen (6-13, 1-3 league) in southern Escondido on Friday

“We are dialed in against Orange Glen and are ready for our game against them on Friday,” Famolaro said

The Knights figure to be no less than a top-eight seed in the upcoming Division 4 playoffs.

In other small-school division action, High Tech of Chula Vista blanked Liberty Charter, 29-0.