MacArthur: ruler on All-East County ’22

By Nick Pellegrino
Updated: June 3, 2022

2022 EAST COUNTY PREP BASEBALL
THE ALL-EAST COUNTY TEAM

By Nick Pellegrino
ECS staff writer

EL CAJON — Respect comes to mind when mentioning standout baseball players. This season, some of East County’s best hitters often were handed intentional walks, maybe at a record pace (if such a record were kept).

And no one gained a free pass more often than Granite Hills slugger Grant MacArthur. The Eagles senior not only led the Grossmont Hills League in home runs, he also led in both batting average and slugging percentage.

Now, MacArthur never received a free pass with the bases loaded — in the Majors, it’s occurred just twice since World War II: San Francisco’s Barry Bonds (1998) and Texas’ Josh Hamilton (2017). But when you’re arguably the best player for the top-ranked ballclub in the CIF San Diego Section, Mac Arthur was been named the 2022 All-East County baseball team as the Player of the Year.

MacArthur edged teammate Spencer Davis in consideration for the award, along with Ethan Wright (Santana), Tommy Molina (Steele Canyon) and Barron Zamora (Grossmont).

Also in the mix was Santana’s Koda Alto, was tabbed Pitcher of the Year, sporting a 7-3 overall record, plus a pair of saves, as the Sultans held first place in the Grossmont Hills League until the final two weeks of the season.

In a rare occurrence, a player collected a pair of awards from East County Sports.

The Newcomer/Rookie of the Year award went to Granite Hills freshman Brenden Lewis, who also captured Fireman of the Year after registering more than double the saves (7) than any of his nearest competitors.

When looking at the statistics, one wonders how much higher than .432 would be the batting average of Wright, the Sultans’ top hitter, if not for his efforts to “play the game the right way.” His Old School approach, including his many “intentional” ground balls to get a runner home from third base, may have cost his points on his average, yet his RBI could remain strong.

For Wright’s determination, he was named the Bill Dickens Memorial Inspirational Player Award winner.

Players from the Grossmont Valley League also gained acclaim.

Isaiah Hilke of Monte Vista, who would be a well-known standout from any GHL ballclub, was the Unsung Hero Award honoree. Hilke led East County in triples and was a major part of almost every rally which led to a Monarchs victory this season.

The Most Improved Player was Johnathan Trader, the catcher for Mount Miguel.

It was noticed early by both opposing coaches and a few area scouts that Trader vastly improved his throwing ability. In fact, after giving up (what too many) stolen bases in 2021, he started the season by throwing out seven of the first 10 runners attempting to steal on himself or his pitcher.

Plus, his batting average clicked upwards of 50 points, too.

As tradition follows, ECS.com selects the CIF champion as Coach of the Year. Although no school captured a CIFSDS title, the one who came closest at the highest division was James Davis at Granite Hills,

Davis’ Eagles posted the best overall record in Division I, and advanced to the Open Division title game as the top seed and the No. 1 ranked ballclub in the section, only to fall in the title game in extra innings.

Among the 16 first-team honorees on the first team, five were from Granite Hills. The Eagles also has four players on the second team, and two on the third team, equaling the CS record of 12 honorees.

All-East County Team
2022 BASEBALL

Players of the Year
Grant MacArthur, Granite Hills

Pitcher of the Year
Koda Alto, Santana

Newcomer/Rookie of the Year
Fireman of the Year
Brenden Lewis, Granite Hills

Most Improved
Johnathan Trader, Mount Miguel

Unsung Hero
Isaiah Hilke, Monte Vista

Bill Dickens’ Inspirational Player
Ethan Wright, Santana

Coach of the Year
James Davis, Granite Hills

FIRST TEAM

Pos.	Name, School, Grade
P SS-P CF Util	Koda Alto, Santana, 12 Shane Bailey, Christian, 11 Noah Barnes, Grossmont, 12 Spencer Davis, Granite Hills,12
P OF 3B-P P	Ryan Ellis, Patrick Henry, 12 Jacob Embleton, Granite Hills, 11 Chandler Henry, Granite Hills, 10 Ben Haar, Helix, 12
1B-P cINF P C	Wyatt Laub, Helix, 12 Grant MacArthur, Granite ills, 12 Vaughn Major, Christian Tommy Molina, Steele Canyon, 11
P SS-P SS 1B	Nico Tomasello, Granite Hills, 11 Cole Winsor, El Capitan, 12 Ethan Wright, Santana,12 Barron Zamore, Grossmont, 12

SECOND TEAM

Pos.	Name, School, Grade
LHP/1B CF-SS OF/2B OF/RHP	Taylor Casey, Foothills Chr., 12 Weston Clark, Steele Canyon, 12 Taylor Corella, Steele Canyon,12 River Diaz De Leon, Grossmont,11
3B CF-DH CF OF	Evon Drake, West Hills, 11 Connor Evans, El Capitan, 12 Isaiah Hilke, Monte Vista, 12 Will James, Steele Canyon, 11
P C P P-INF	Brenden Lewis, Granite Hills 9 Cody Macias, Granite Hills 12 Ethan McNish-Heider, Granite Hills, 12 Ashton McCurty,Christian, 10
INF SS OF P-1B 1B	Elijah Reber, Santana, 12 Camden Sos, Granite Hills, 11 Justin Tucker, Grossmont, 11 Tanner Vielguth, Granite Hills, 12 James Whitman, Helix, 11

THIRD TEAM

Pos.	Name, School, Grade
LHP INF OF INF/P CF SS LHP/1B	Jaxon Adrain, Liberty Charter, 10 Jayden Agramont, Santana, 11 Hudson Beamon, Granite Hills, 12 Jose Carranza, Grossmont 12 Ruben Cosio, ECVHS, 12 Chris Cosio, ECVHS, 10 Mason Dirkes, Grossmont, 12
C-1B LHP LHP 3B/RHP	Xavier Farnum, Christian, 10 Talin Gardini, Patrick Henry, 10 Seth Gilbody, Foothills Chr., 12 Steve Gulley, Mount Miguel, 10
P/INF cOF/DH RHP INF	Caleb Harris, Santana, 12 Jett Hayes, El Capitan, 11 Riley Hughes, Valhalla, 11 Brady Hull, Patrick Henry
C-3B P-C OF mINF	Colby Johnson, Foothills Chr., 11 Hunter Kaul, Christian, 11 Elijah Morr, Foothills Chr., 12 Rikki Ortiz, ECVHS,11
P-OF OF 2B	John Popka, Foothills Chr., 12 Ryan Rodieck, Grossmont, 12 Bryce Smith, West Hills, 12
LHP OF OF C-OF	Colton Stinkeoway, Valhalla, 10 Cameron Tarling, Helix, 12 Demarae Woods, Helix, 12 Trevor Young, Helix, 12