Valhalla pitchers spin 1-hitter at Petco

By Nick Pellegrino
Updated: April 29, 2023

2023 EAST COUNTY PREP BASEBALL / GVL

By Nick Pellegrino
ECS Senior writer

Saturday at Petco Park: Foothills Christian vs. Classical Academy, 1 p.m.

GASLAMP DISTRICT – The ironies were located throughout Petco Park.

The last time West Hills played at the downtown ballpark, the game with Monte Vista extended into extra innings.

The last time the Wolf Pack met Valhalla, it was again an extra-inning affair.

Indeed, this was the opportunity for West Hills to even the score, but Valhalla was not willing to participate.

Valhalla pitcher Matt Ibrahim / file photo

Norsemen pitcher Matt Ibrahim fired a 1-hit shutout over six dominating innings, leading Orange Nation to an 11-0 whitewashing of the Wolf Pack.

Valhalla led 8-0 through four innings, so West Hills politely cleared the bench and allowed almost every member of the roster to enjoy a moment in the Petco Park sun, but the contest belonged to Ibrahim.

The senior right-hander struck out eight Wolf Pack batters, with the lone hit coming with two down in the fourth inning. But even the base hit by sophomore Joey Monetti came with a happy result for Valhalla.

A walk and a single placed runners on the corners, but the budding jam was quickly erased when Norsemen catcher Mace Wheeler picked off the lead runner at third for the third out.

Meanwhile, the Valhalla offense was clicking from the start, scoring twice in the first and second innings for a 4-0 lead, then doubling the lead to make it 8-0 in the third.

The game-winning RBI went to Colton Stinkeoway with a two-run single in the first. An inning later with the bases loaded, Julian Jerjees (single) and Wheeler (walk) collected RBI.

Then in the third, the first seven batters reached on singles or walks, allowing West Hills to hoist the white flag and sub-out all of the starters shortly thereafter.

Wheeler paced the offense by driving in three runs, while two others — Jerjees and Stinkeoway — had two RBI each.

The Valhalla leaders in hits were shortstop Jesse McCormick, center fielder Brennan Simonet, second baseman Nate Moulton and Jerjees, the first baseman.

West Hills (12-9-1 overall) drops two games back in the loss column behind front-running El Capitan in the Grossmont Valley League, yet still has two games to play against the Vaqueros.

Orange Nation (14-8 overall) will need a Wolf Pack sweep to stay alive for a GVL co-championship.

Elsewhere

El Capitan 15, Mount Miguel 1

Wyatt Carrillo

LAKESIDE -El Capitan senior center fielder Wyatt Carrillo slugged a triple for the third straight ballgame, helping the Vaqueros mount a 10-1 cushion through two innings to waltz past Mount Miguel, 15-1, Friday (Apr. 28) in GVL play at Hostetler Field.

Carrillo has posted four of his five triples during the club’s current three-game winning streak. In each of the victories, the Vaqueros belted two triples as a team.

Vaqueros right fielder Jett Hayes drove in three runs, as El Cap only collected seven RBI on 15 runs due to more than a half-dozen Matadors errors.

The entire El Cap outfield contributed, with left fielder Ryder Lynn matching Hayes with two hits, but the club leader was shortstop Brody McAuliffe with three base hits,

Mount Miguel (5-16 overall, 0-7 GVL), down 3-0, scored its only run in the second on a pair of walks, followed by a hit batter, then a wild pitch to allow Junior Ettleman to score.

El Capitan (16-6, 6-1 GVL) caps a three-game homestand on Tuesday, hosting West Hills at 4 p.m.

Monte Vista 9, ECVHS 4

SPRING VALLEY – Monte Vista needed just three at-bats to produce nine runs before clearing the bench in a 9-4 decision over visiting El Cajon Valley on Friday (Apr. 28).

The Monarchs were so polite, they in no way ran up the score — no member of the ballclub had more than one hit or more than a single RBI.

Monte Vista (13-9 overall, 6-2 GVL), saw Gavin Daley belt a triple.

For ECVHS (3-11, 0-6 GVL) center fielder Jorge Vargas went 2-for-4, with a two-run double and scored twice. The Braves host Mount Miguel on Tuesday at 4 p.m.