Pride’s Hilke rakes, Lions toss no-hitter

By Nick Pellegrino
Updated: April 22, 2022

2022 EAST COUNTY PREP BASEBALL

ECS staff report

SPRING VALLEY — Monte Vista senior captain Isaiah Hilke posted a perfect day in his five trips to the plate batting 3-for-3 with a pair of walks to fuel the Monarchs to an 8-2 decision over host Mount Miguel in Thursday’s (Apr. 21) Grossmont Valley League ballgame.

Hilke, the East County runaway leader in triples, also scored twice, as all nine Monte Vista starters collected at least one basehit.

With his three singles, Hilke raised his batting average to a GVL-leading .500.

The Monarchs scored in five of their seven trips to the plate, slowly expanding the lead throughout.

Mount Miguel scored twice in the second inning to secure a brief lead on Jr. Ettleman’s 2-run double by . The drive to right field by Ellerman scored both Sreve Gulley and Julian Lopez, after the pair opened the frame with consecutive leadoff singles.

However, Monte Vista immediately got the runs back, then add on with three bonus runs in the sixth.

With the bases loaded in the third, Hilke singled in the game-tying run then the go-ahead run came home on a double ply grounder.

Other Monarchs RBI hits were by Oscar Ortega (4th inning), Niko Heidt (double in 5th), then in the sixth by Gavinn Daley, Davis Rodriguez and a run on a passed ball.

For Monte Vista (8-14 overall, 2-2 GVL), pitcher senior Justyn Stone went five innings to gain the victory. Stone struck out five Matadors batters over five innings, then sophomore fired two shutout innings of relief on one hit.

Mount Miguel (4-17, 0-4 GVL) saw Lopez and Ettleman get two hits each.

West Hills 17, ECVHS 1(6 inn.)

EL CAJON — West Hills pitchers Eron Drake and (not named on its roster) were within one ground ball of a shutout, but the ball was booted. Still, the Wolf Pacj maintained first place in the Grossmont Valley League followed Thursday’s (Apr. 21) verdict over host El Cajon Valley.

Drake pitched five innings of 2-hut ball, striking out three Braves without issuing a walk. His teammate yielded just one hit on three strike outs over his two frames, as both scorekeepers agreed on the ruling to make the late run unearned.

West Hills (14-7-1, 4-0 GVL) received two hits each from leadoff batter Bryce Smith, Owen Rodgers and (player No. 3).

ECVHS (3-11-1, 0-4 GVL) saw center fielder Chris Cosio also collect two hits, moving his season batting average back over the .300 mark. His brother, second baseman Ruben Cosio also stole another base.

Valhalla 15, El Capitan 4

RANCHO SAN DIEGO — The Valhalla Norsemen rebounded from a dreadful first inning on defense by scoring 15 unanswered runs, more than enough to corral El Capitan, 15-4, in Grossmont Valley League action on Thursday (Apr. 21).

The woeful top-of-the-first saw the Vaqueros get out the gate with four quick runs, all unearned. However, the Norsemen quickly moved to with 4-3, then tallied five times in the fourth then seven more markers in the sixth in the runaway.

El Capitan first baseman Ethan Curo slugged an early 2-run double. The rest of the afternoon belonged to Orange Nation.

While Norsemen pitcher David Gordon settling in to throw five innings of 5-hit ball, striking out nine Vaqueros batters, Valhalla posted seven hits to match El Cap’s errors total to score in double figures.

Seven different players registered singles, but several players scored twice because of errors, walks and seven hit batsmen. Included were shortstop Colin Scriber, left fielder Nick Medrano, first baseman Julian Jeejees, relief pitcher Riley Hughes and Gordon.

Valhalla (9-13, 3-1 FVL) remains in second place, one game behind West Hills.

El Capitan 12-9, 3-1 GVL) received two hits from junior center fielder Wyatt Carrillo, the leadoff batter.

Liberty Charter 14, NC-High Tech 0
LEMON GROVE — Liberty Charter freshmen pitchers Andruw Godinez and Brody Harris combined on a no-hitter, pacing the Lions to an easy dismantling of NC-High Tech of San Marcos, 14-0, in Patriot League action on Thursday.

Godinez was awarded the vivctory following three innings of work, striking out six Raptor batters. Meanwhile, Harris did even better in his four frames, striking out 10 Dinos batters.

The Lions offense also featured Godinez, who drove in four truns, while senior Keawe Pelekai-Librea added three RBI. Both had run-scoring triples.

Many of the run batted in came in the third inning, when Liberty Charter roared for seven runs to push the advantage to 9-0.

In addition, Jaxon Adrain slugged a home run, while Harris posted a double.

Liberty Charter 9-5 overall, 2-1 league) now owns a 6-game winning streak, out-scoring its last two opponents by a 26-1 margin.

The Lions are now tied for second place with Gompers Prep. just 1.5 games behind Ocean View Christian (9-4, 4-0 league).

Earlier in the week, the Raptors of High Tech-NC fell to 1-10 (0-3 league).fell to Ocean View Christian, 12-5.

In other league action, Gompers Prep fell at home to Bonsall, 8-7, on Tuesday.