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Meteor miracle lifts Granite Hills in 7th

2024 EAST COUNTY PREP BASEBALL
CIF-San Diego Section Championships
Open Division

 

By Nick Pellegrino
ECS Senior writer

EL CAJON – The Carlsbad Lancers were three outs away from eliminating three-time Grossmont Hills League champion  Granite Hills from the CIFSDS Open Division championship.

The Lancers never reached the goal, leaving one to wonder: did a large meteor which sailed over Portugal– thanks to Space.com —  during the exact moments of the Eagles rally trigger the comeback?

In one of the most remarkable comebacks in the history of Granite Hills postseason baseball, the Eagles pushed across four tuns in the bottom of the seventh inning, shocking — and eliminating — Carlsbad, 5-4, Saturday (May 18) at Granite Hills Field.

While others discuss the impact of the natural universe, no fancy writing is necessary. Here is the play-by-play (with comments, of course) with Carlsbad holding a 4-1 advantage.

— Parker Vance, line single to left.

— Trevor Smith, ground single to right field; Vance to second base.

— Pitching change. Nick Figuered walks on four pitches; bases loaded.

— Kade Gaeir, hip-by-pitch, RBI; Vance scores (CHS 4-2) bases loaded.

— Pinch-hitter Talon Tucker, walk, RBI; Smith scores (CHS 4-3); bases loaded.

By coincidence(?), the meteor is at its heighth, being witnessed by tens of thousands in Portugal and western Spain, with reports coming from as far south as the Canary Islands.

— Pitching change. Branden Lewis, once down in the count 0-2, lines a 2-2 pitch to left field for an RBI single; Figuered scores (tied 4-4); bases loaded.

— Foul pop Out (not an infield fly automatic out since the ball was in foul terriotry by third base). One down.

— Luke Bailey pinch-running for Gaeir.

— Jordan Mansfield, ground single to left field with the infield playing “up,” Bailey scores (GH 5-4); bases loaded.

And the wild celebration was on.

Lewis also posted an RBI single in the the third to counter an early an early 2-0 Lancers lead. Carlsbad later added two more runs in the sixth, but it wasn’t enough.

The pitching win went in relief to Rowan Haynes, sixth the final 5.1 innings tossing a 3-hitter. For the contest, Eagles pitched yielded just three hits.

Granite Hills (21-6 overall), the third seed, advances to the lower bracket final of the IOpen Division, needing to twice defeat host second-seeded Torrey Pines to earn a championship ame berth.

Carlsbad closes its season at 16-14.

Summary

EAGLES 5, LANCERS 4
Carlsbad....... 020 002 0 -- 4 3 0
Granite Hills.. 001 000 4 -- 5 8 0
One out when winning run scored.

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