Orange: 2X unbeaten GVL champions

By Nick Pellegrino
Updated: May 9, 2024

2024 EAST COUNTY PREP BASEBALL

Compiled by Nick Pellegrino
ECS Senior writer

Grossmont Valley League

Valhalla 8, Monte Vista 1

SPRING VALLEY – The Valhalla Norsemen completed a 10-game romp to the Grossmont Valley League championships by stopping host Monte Vista, 8-1, on Thursday (May 9).

The triumph gives Valhalla its second straight unbeaten season in league play, extending its GVL win streak to 19 games.

The GVL record is 29, set by El Capitan when the league was first founded. The Vaqueros captured their final five GVL games of 2010 when El Capitan took home a CIF championship, then an unbeaten season in 2011-12 before dropping the 2013 GVL opener.

In addition, with the three-way logjam for second place, Valhalla won the league by four full games, the largest margin in Grossmont Conference (any league) history.

Down 3-0, Monte Vista ended the shutout bid when Reuben Cabugwas scored an unearned run in the fourth inning.

However, Valhalla immediately responded with five runs in the fifth to tuck away the victory.

Hitting stats for Valhalla were not reported prior to the deadline.

West Hills 6, El Capitan 0

SANTEE – West Hills pitcher(s; names not reported) fired a 6-hit shutout in a 6-0 blanking of El Capitan at Wolf Pack Park.

The decision left the two schools, plus Monte Vista, in a 3-way deadlock for second place in the Grossmont Valley League.

El Cap pitcher Landon Harbach kept the Vaqueros close for three innings, but the Wolf Pack tallied four times in the fourth to mount their 6-run advantage.

Nathan N. Brzezinski closed with 2.1 frames of shutout relief for El Cap in his second-longest relief appearance of the season.

Mount Miguel 7, ECVHS 1

SPRING VALLEY – In a pairing of ballclubs that could meet again in the CIFSDS Division 5 playoffs, Mount Miguel completed a sweep of ECVHS to finish alone in fifth place. The ballclubs were even entering the final week of the regular season.

The Matadors scored four times in the second inning to gain a 6-0 advantage, thanks to a 10-hit attack.

Junior Ettleman drove in two runs on two hits, while Xavier Reyes added a 2-run single. Both are seniors.

Matadors pitcher Charlie Sandoval tossed four innings of shutout ball to gain the victory. The save went to Alfredo Rodriguez, despite yielding an unearned run.

The Braves avoided a shutout with a seventh-inning run scored by Matias Herrera.

Summit League

Ocean View Christian 6, Mountain Empire 6

BUCKMAN SPRINGS – Grossmont High wasn’t the lone East County ballpark to allow a share of the league championship to slip through their fingers.

Mountain Empire, which was tied with CV-High Tech entering the final day of the Summit League pennant race, was upset by Ocean View Christian, the next-to-last-place team in the circuit.

Earlier in the week, CV-High Tech bounced OcCV,12-2, guaranteeing the Bruins a share of the crown.

However, the RedHawks failed to keep up their end of the bargain after allowing a mere 17 runs in the seven previous Summit contests.

Still, the second-place finish is the best by Mountain Empire since joining the league following the canceled pandemic season.

Meanwhile, Liberty Charter, the defending Summit titlists, finished in the middle of the pack in third place at 4-4.

The Lions (7-15 overall) complete their regular season on Monday with a non-league setback at Kearny, 10-4.