ROUNDUP: Sultan stars shine at Petco

By Bill Dickens
Updated: April 27, 2017

2017 EAST COUNTY PREP BASEBALL

By Bill Dickens
© East County Sports.com

SAN DIEGO (4-27-17) — Playing under the bright lights in front of an unusually large crowd at Petco Park, the Santana Sultans proved that they are of championship caliber by blanking the Helix Highlanders 4-0 in Wednesday’s (Apr. 26) Grossmont Hills League contest.

Santana’s Jerry Alesi at the plate on Wednesday night.

Santana (5-1 GHL, 15-7) now holds a one-game lead over Helix (4-2 GHL, 14-8).

Only 24 hours earlier the Highlanders beat the Sultans by the same score, 4-0, but once the two teams reached Petco Park, it was showtime and Santana was the leader of the cast.

The ringmaster of the evening was Santana senior pitcher NOAH NUNEZ, who proved he could do it all. Spinning a complete game, 2-hit shutout, Nunez raised his record to 6-2 while walking none and striking out 7.

As dominant as Nunez was on the hill, he was also crushing with the bat as he slashed a run-scoring triple.

Santana gathers following its win over Helix at Petco Park.

The game had an ironic start as Helix pitcher CONNOR KONISHI hit three batters in the 1^st inning and walked the Sultans’ JERRY ALESI with the bases loaded to cash in a run without benefit of a hit to make it 1-0.

In the 4^th inning when the Sultans broke the game open with 3 runs as ANDERS TOLHURST led off with a single. EMORY ALLEN-FOX reached base on an error and AARON TAYLOR ran for him. After a fielder’s choice by BROCK ELLIS, TRISTAN SALINAS, who was 3-for-3 in the game, slashed a RBI single to make it 2-0.

At that point Santana pulled a double steal with Ellis and Salinas completing the theft, making it 4-0.

STEELE CANYON 2, MONTE VISTA 0 – Steele Canyon climbed back into the race by slipping past Mount Miguel in Wednesday’s (Apr. 26) Grossmont Valley League encounter.

NOAH NADEAU pitched a critical complete game victory for the Cougars, allowing only 3 hits, one walk and struck out 6.

JUSTIN SCHWEIZER suffered a tough loss for the Monarchs, who tumbled to 2-4 in the GVL.

Steele Canyon scored the only run in the 2^nd inning on a single by BILLY TELLOUS, who then stole second base. DANNY YANEZ, who was 3-for-3, scored Tellous with a base hit to left field.

The Cougars added an insurance run in the 4^th inning. LUKE ARIAS doubled to left-center and scored on a double by Yanez.

Monte Vista’s offense consisted of singles by ANDREW GONZALES, JON GULLEY and ZACH MANUEL.

The Cougars (5-1, GVL, 13-7) are just a half-game back behind first-place Valhalla.

VALHALLA 16, WEST HILLS 5 – The West Hills Wolf Pack (9-11, 5-2 GVL) and the Valhalla Norsemen (10-11, 6-1 GVL) came into today’s (Apr. 26) action, along with Steele Canyon, in a 3-way dogfight atop the Grossmont Valley League standings.

On this day in Santee, it was all Valhalla as the Norsemen defeated the Wolf Pack, 16-5, in a key GVL game.

The Norsemen scored in 6 of 7 innings and had control the entire game.

RILEY O’SULLIVAN paced the 13 hit attack going 2-3 with 5 RBI and 4 runs scored including his 3rd HR of the season. LEWIS DIRKES, JOSH HEIDER, KYLE CASPER and JACOB BARBA each collected multiple hits.

Valhalla’s Cole Howard slides in past the waiting Braden Sanford Wednesday afternoon.

West Hills mustered 10 hits as well with DYLAN CRAFT going a career high 4-for-4 with 2 RBI and a double, and BRADEN SANFORD adding 3 hits. Sanford stole his 23^rd base of the season to tie for 3^rd place on the West Hills all-time record list.

TANNER SMITH earned the win moving to 3-1 while JONATHAN MAAT took the loss dropping to 2-2.Over the first five innings, West Hills pitching allowed four leadoff batters to reach base on walks, with three scoring.

Over the first five innings, West Hills pitching allowed four leadoff batters to reach base on walks, with three scoring. In the other inning (the 2nd), the second batter walked and scored, allowing Valhalla to mount an 8-1 cushion.

Barba registered three RBI.

Sanford raised his batting average to a .569 mark. The senior’s hitting-streak reached 12 consecutive contests (19 of 20, too).

After Valhalla tallied three times in the 1st, the Pack immediately got one run back on a RBI double by Dylan Craft.

In the seventh, NOAH QUINTANA had a 2-run single for West Hills, then DUANE WITTMEIER lifted a sacrifice fly.

GRANITE HILLS 7, EL CAPITAN 4 – Don’t count out the Granite Hills Eagles in the Grossmont Hills League race.

The Eagles (11-9, 2-2 GHL) are just starting to pick up momentum as they proved in Wednesday’s (Apr. 26) 7-4 victory over host El Capitan.

It was a big day for the Eagles’ JOSH VERDON, who was 2-for-3 with 2 runs scored, a RBI and a double.

It was double duty for Verdon as he was also called on to pitch 1 1/3 innings, allowing one hit and striking out 2 to gain the save.

He picked up the pace for WILLIAM BURTON, who spun 5 1/3 innings, allowing 7 hits, 4 runs, 4 earned, 6 strikeouts and 4 walks to earn the win.

This is a Granite Hills team that most baseball patrons expected to see. The Eagles have won three in a row.

The Eagles ground out 9 hits, including 2 each by SEAN ROSS and Verdon. JAKE FENN returned behind the plate, going 1-for-2 with a RBI. But look for him to pitch again.

JUSTIN ZAMORA spun six innings for El Capitan in a losing effort, allowing 8 hits, 7 runs, 5 earned, 2 walks and 4 strikeouts. TYLER LINDSAY pitched one inning, allowed one hit and struck out 2.

HUNTER MARKLE was 2-for-4 with a run for the Vaqueros, while Zamora was 1-for 4 with a run as was Lindsay.

MOUNT MIGUEL 19, EL CAJON VALLEY 13 – In a Grossmont Valley League slugfest Mount Miguel hammered out a 19-13 conquest over host El Cajon Valley on Wednesday (Apr. 26).

For both teams, it was a scoring bee that neither have been accustomed to producing this season.

The Matadors ripped off 19 hits while the Braves generated 11 hits in a losing cause.

A pivotal statistic in this contest was that Mount Miguel committed eight errors, allowing the Braves to take a 12-10 lead after six innings with the game being tied several times in the process.

Then the roof caved in on the Braves as the Matadors erupted for 9 runs in the 7^th inning to put the game away.

ANDREW MONTIJO was 2-for-5 with 5 RBI including a triple to lead the Matadors.

CONNOR WHITE was 1-for-4 with 3 RBI including a triple for Mount Miguel, while ULISES NUNEZ was 4-for-5 with a run scored and 2 RBI. JULIUS HARRIS was 2-for-3 with 3 runs scored.

CAMERON BEAUZEC and CHRIS CONWRIGHT each hit a double for the Matadors.

JUAN MICHEL was 3-for-4 with 3 runs scored and one RBI for El Cajon Valley, while HECTOR CARREON was 2-for-4 with 3 runs scored and 2 RBI for the Braves.

JESUS FAVELA and SEBASTIAN SANCHEZ each had a double for the Braves.

Wed., Apr. 26, 2017
Grossmont Hills League
SULTANS 4, HIGHLANDERS 0 (Petco Park)
Helix        ab r h bi Santana      ab r h bi
Smelko cf     3 0 0 0  Salinas cf    3 2 3 1
Peterson 2b   3 0 0 0  Rasmusson ss  3 0 0 0
Richardson ss 3 0 1 0  Nunez p       3 0 2 1
Konishi p     3 0 0 0  Simmons dh    3 0 0 0
Isbell c      3 0 0 0  Oedewaldt 3b  0 0 0 0
Owens dh      2 0 0 0  Calvert rf    1 0 1 0
Padilla rf    2 0 1 0  Alesi 1b      2 0 0 1
Babbitt 1b    1 0 0 0  Tolhurst 2b   3 0 1 0
Kretzchmar 3b 2 0 0 0  Taylor pr     0 1 0 0
                       Fox c         2 0 0 0
                       Ellis lf      3 1 1 0
TOTALS       22 0 2 0  TOTALS       23 4 8 2

 Helix   (14-8, 4-2) 000 000 0 – 0 2 2
 Santana (15-7, 5-1) 100 300 x – 4 8 0

E-Fox.
DP-Sant 1.
LOB-Sant 7, Hel 2.
2B-Padilla. 3B-Nunez. SB-Salinas 2. Sac-Fox, Babbitt.

PITCHING SUMMARY
Helix            ip  h  r er bb so
 Konishi L(4-4) 3.2  5  4  2  1  2
 Zamora         2.0  3  0  0  0  2
 Hernandez      0.1  0  0  0  0  1
Santana
 Nunez   W(6-2) 7.0  2  0  0  0  7
HBP-by Konishi (Salinas, Nunez, Alesi, Calvert).

EAGLES 7, VAQUEROS 4
Granite Hills   ab r h bi El Capitan      ab r h bi
Ross cf          4 2 2 1  Bell c           4 0 2 0
Verdon 3b-ss-p   3 2 2 1  Markle 2b-lf-ss  4 1 2 0
Fenn c           2 0 1 1  Donahue eh-c-dh  3 0 1 1
Allister c       0 0 0 0  Shenefield 3b    3 0 0 0
Hazelhurst 1b    4 0 1 1  Cunningham 3b    0 0 0 0
Joslyn lf        3 0 1 1  Zamora p-lf-rf   4 1 1 0
McGrew 2b        4 0 0 0  Lindsay ss-lf-p  4 1 1 0
Omahen ss        4 1 1 0  Peyton 1b        4 0 1 0
Cummings dh      3 1 0 0  Barker lf        3 0 0 0
Anderson rf      3 1 1 0  Coker rf-lf      1 1 0 0
Bodtke           - - - -  Montesanto lf    - - - -
                          Head             - - - -
TOTALS          30 7 9 6  TOTALS          30 4 8 1

 Granite Hills (11-9, 2-2) 202 300 0 – 7 9 2
 El Capitan    (5-14, 0-4) 020 011 0 – 4 8 3

E-Joslyn, Omahen, Lindsay, Zamora, Head. 
DP-EC 2.
LOB-GH 6, EC-9.
2B-Hazelhurst, Ross, Verdon, Lindsay, Donahue, Markle. 
SF-Fenn, Joslyn. 

PITCHING SUMMARY
Granite Hills   ip  h  r er bb so
 Burton  W     5.2  7  4  4  4  6
 Verdon Sv     1.1  1  0  0  0  2
El Capitan
 Zamora  L     6.0  8  7  5  2  4
 Lindsay       1.0  1  0  0  0  2
WP-Burton 2, Verdon, Zamora 5.

Grossmont Valley League
NORSEMEN 16, WOLF PACK 5
Valhalla       ab r h bi West Hills        ab r h bi
Barba 3b        3 2 2 3  Schroeder cf       4 1 1 0
Dirkes ss       5 2 3 1  Sanford c          4 2 3 0
RO’Sullivan 1b  3 4 2 5  DCraft ss          4 1 4 2
Casper cf       5 0 2 1  Quintana rf        3 0 0 0
Heider c        4 1 2 1  PCraft rf          1 0 1 2
Dunnam ss-c     0 1 0 0  Villasana 3b       1 0 0 0
Howard ss-p     3 1 1 0  Wittmeier 2b-3b    2 0 0 1
Perot lf        4 1 1 1  Commerford lf-3b-p 4 0 1 0
TSmith p-ss-2b  3 1 0 0  Hughes 1b          0 0 0 0
Zamudio dh      2 2 0 1  Bailey 3b-1b       2 0 0 0
JSt. Clair      - - - -  Maat p             1 0 0 0
Ingrassia       - - - -  Travoli 3b-lf      2 0 0 0
                         Gagliano 2b        1 0 0 0
                         Thrailkill 3b-2b   1 1 0 0
TOTALS      32 16 13 13  TOTALS           30 5 10 5

 Valhalla  (10-11, 6-1) 313 104 4 – 16 13 1
 West Hills (9-12, 5-2) 100 000 4 -  5 10 3

E-Ingrassia, Villasana 2, Hughes.
LOB-Val 6, WH 7.
2B-Dirkes, RO’Sullivan, Casper, Heider, DCraft. 
3B-Dirkes. HR-RO’Sullivan (3) 7^th, two on. 
SB-Dirkes, RO’Sullivan 2, Zamudio,Sanford, Hughes. 
Sac-Howard. SF-Wittmeier. CS-TSmith, Zamudio. 

PITCHING SUMMARY
Valhalla        ip  h  r er bb so
 TSmith W(3-1) 5.0  6  1  1  1  5
 Howard        2.0  4  4  4  1  1
West Hills
 Maat   L-2-2  2.1  5  7  3  4  2
 Kondyra       1.2  2  1  1  1  0
 Commerford    3.0  6  8  7  4  2
 Travoli       0.0  0  0  0  0  0
HBP-Commerford. WP-Commerford 2.

COUGARS 2, MONARCHS 0
Monte Vista   ab r h bi Steele Canyon  ab r h bi
Garcia ss      3 0 0 0  Taylor dh       4 0 0 0
Gutierrez lf   0 0 0 0  YSmith rf       3 0 1 0
Sanchez 1b     2 0 0 0  Esquibel lf     3 0 1 0
Gonzales 2b    3 0 1 0  Arias c         3 1 1 0
Sandoval c     3 0 0 0  Tellous 1b      3 1 1 0
Plazola cf     3 0 0 0  Yanez 2b        3 0 3 2
Wiley dh       2 0 0 0  Mata ss         2 0 1 0
Manuel dh      1 0 1 0  Navarro 3b      3 0 0 0
Alvarez dh     3 0 0 0  Brinkmeier cf   2 0 0 0
Gulley 3b      2 0 1 0
TOTALS        25 0 3 0  TOTALS         26 2 8 2

 Monte Vista  (13-10, 2-4) 000 000 0 – 0 3 1
 Steele Canyon (12-6, 4-1) 010 100 x – 2 8 1

E-Gonzales, Yanez.
LOB-MV 5, SC 8. 
2B-Yanez, Arias. SB-Garcia, Esquibel, Tellous. Sac-Mata.

PITCHING SUMMARY
Monte Vista      ip  h  r er bb so
 Schweizer L    6.0  8  2  2  1  5
Steele Canyon
 Nadeau    W    7.0  3  0  0  1  6

MATADORS 19, BRAVES 13 
Mount Miguel  ab r h bi El Cajon Valley ab r h bi
Beauzec        4 4 3 3  Favela           2 1 1 0
Camacho        - - - -  Sanchez          5 1 1 2
Conwright      4 3 3 2  Carreon          4 3 2 2
Preciado       1 0 0 0  Moreno           4 1 0 0
Ortiz          0 0 0 0  Michel           4 3 3 1
Montijo        5 2 2 5  Verdugo          4 0 1 0
Zertuche       0 0 0 0  Cebreros         4 0 1 1
Darby          2 1 1 0  Bores            2 2 0 0
White          4 2 1 3  Huerta           4 1 1 0
Solis          1 1 0 0  Romero           3 1 1 1
Harris         3 3 2 0
Beas           5 1 1 2
Kelly          4 1 2 1
UNunez         5 1 4 2
TOTALS      38 19 18 6  TOTALS        36 13 11 7

 Mount Miguel   (4-15, 1-6) 430 111 9 – 19 19 8
 El Cajon Valley (4-9, 0-4) 521 031 1 - 13 11 1

E-Montijo 2, Darby, Kelly 2, UNunez 3, Favela.
DP-ECV 1.
LOB-MM 7, ECV 7.
2B-Carreon, Beauzec 2, Conwright 2, Harris, Beas, UNunez, Favela, Sanchez. SB-Beauzec 2, Conwright 3, Harris, Kelly, UNunez, Sanchez, Carreon 2, Michel 3, Bores 3. Sac-Favela. CS-Conwright, Ortiz, Sanchez.

PITCHING SUMMARY
Mount Miguel      ip  h  r er bb so
 Preciado W      0.1  4  5  4  2  1
 Montijo         1.0  2  1  1  0  2
 Darby           3.2  4  4  2  1  7
 Solis           2.0  1  3  0  1  3
El Cajon Valley
 Favela  L       0.2  2  1  1  1  0
 Carreon         6.1 17 18 17  5  6
HBP-Carreon 3.