ROUNDUP: Norsemen, Cougs, Scots get wins

By Ramon Scott
Updated: April 29, 2017

2017 EAST COUNTY PREP BASEBALL

By Bill Dickens
© East County Sports.com

EL CAJON (4-29-17) — The Valhalla Norsemen (11-11, 7-1 Grossmont Valley League) won 5-4 on Friday (Apr. 28) in dramatic fashion, defeating the West Hills Wolf Pack (9-13, 5-3 GVL) on a bases-loaded walk-off single by MAX HAGEMAN.

The victory kept Valhalla at the top of the Grossmont Valley League standings. West Hills tumbled into third place while Steele Canyon maintained its second position at 5-1 in league. No question, this race is not over.

West Hills took the lead in the top of the 3rd on singles by BRADEN SANFORD and DYLAN CRAFT to put runners on 1st and 3rd. NOAH QUINTANA knocked home Sanford on a fielder’s choice.

In the 6th the Wolf Pack opened the lead to 4-0.

Singles by JOSEPH THRAILKILL and CHRIS SCHROEDER got things moving. An error scored Thrailkill and moved Schroeder to 3rd. Sanford and Craft walked to load the bases for Quintana who doubled home 2 runs.

Valhalla, refusing to roll over, started their comeback in the 6th. LEWIS DIRKES doubled then stole 3rd. KYLE CASPER doubled home Dirkes. A double by Hageman and a hit by pitch to COLE HOWARD loaded the bases. CAMERON ZAMUDIO walked home a run and RYAN PEROT singled home another.

In the bottom of the 7th Dirkes singled on a bunt, RILEY O’SULLIVAN walked and Casper was safe on a bunt to load the bases for Hageman to single home the winning runs.

ED DEMPSEY earned the win while BRENDAN SHERWIN took the loss. Dirkes tied the school record for career steals.

Casper led Valhalla’s offensive thrust with 3 hits in 4 at-bats.

West Hills had the contest in hand behind the pitching of Quintana, who allowed only one run and 3 hits through six innings. He was removed from the game due to his pitch count, which had reached a regulation 10 innings by the time he left the mound. He was 1-for-2 with 3 RBI with the bat.

STEELE CANYON 10, MONTE VISTA 3 – Sophomore AARON TAYLOR could easily complain about the fact that he rarely touches the field on defense for the Steele Canyon Cougars. But he has proven himself as a successful designated hitter and leadoff man for the Cougars.

Case in point: Taylor slashed 4 hits and drove in 3 runs to propel Steele Canyon to a 10-3 victory over Monte Vista in the skirmish for the Grossmont Valley League championship.

Steele Canyon is only one game from the top in the battle with Valhalla and West Hills.

No. 9 hitter MATTHEW BRINKMEIER, who has hit both at the top and the bottom of the order, proved he can hit at the bottom of the stack as he went 3-for-3 with a double, 2 stolen bases and a sacrifice fly.

Steele Canyon pitcher TREVOR NEWBERRY picked up his 3^rd win in four decisions by spinning 5 1/3 innings, allowing 6 hits, 3 runs, 3 earned, 4 walks and 2 strikeouts.

TREVOR BACK pitched 1 1/3 innings, allowed 3 hits, no runs, no walks and had one strikeout for the Cougars.

In the 3^rd inning, Brinkmeier got on base with a bunt single then stole 2 bases. Taylor ripped an RBI single to bring in Brinkmeier. Smith followed with a booming double to score Taylor. One out later catcher LUKE ARIAS sliced an RBI double to bring home Smith.

In the 4^th after two outs, BRANDON NAVARRO singled and stole a base. Brinkmeier singled to left and Taylor had a base hit to load the bases. Smith smashed a single to right to score both Navarro and Brinkmeier.

The Cougars would score three more runs in the 5^th inning and a couple more in the 7^th.

For Monte Vista ANDREW GONZALES was 2-for-4 with 2 RBI.

IVAN PLAZOLA hit a double to score DIEGO SANDOVAL for the Monarchs.

GROSSMONT 12, EL CAPITAN 0 – JAYDEN LOMBARDO slammed his 3rd home run to drive in 3 and MAX FORD was 4-for-5 with 2 RBI for the Grossmont Foothillers (9-12, 2-3 GHL) who made it look easy as they smothered visiting El Capitan (5-15, 0-5 GHL) in Friday’s (Apr. 28) Grossmont Hills League encounter.

JACKSON HULETT combined with JAKE ENNIS on a 2-hit shutout for Grossmont. Hulett pitched the first six innings and struck out 8. Ennis pitched the final frame.

The Foothillers put together 11 runs in the middle two innings – 6 in the 3^rd and 5 in the 4^th – to lead 11-0.

El Capitan’s only hits of the contest belonged to TANNER DONAHUE and HUNTER MARKLE, with one apiece.

Grossmont will travel to the foothills on Saturday (Apr. 29) to face the Ramona Bulldogs at 11 a.m.

HELIX 6, GRANITE HILLS 5 (8 inn.) – The game was tied at 3 apiece with Helix batting in the top of the 8^th. ZACK OWENS hit an RBI double to move the Highlanders in the lead in Friday’s (Apr. 28) Grossmont Hills League showdown at Granite Hills.

The Highlanders’ CONNOR KONISHI singled to center in the 8^th and AUSTIN KOVALCHECK followed with another single. One out later Owens doubled to score Konishi. AUSTIN KRETZCHMAR reached on a fly ball, scoring Kovalcheck with the game winner.

Granite Hills battled on a BRADY JOSLYN homer in the bottom of the 8^th, scoring DARIEN COSSIO, who had slammed a base hit to center, but the Eagles would score no more.

Joslyn was 2-for-3 with 2 RBI, while BRAYDEN ANDERSON was 2-for-3 with 3 RBI in the losing cause.

Helix remained a game behind Santana in the Grossmont Hills League standings.

MOUNT MIGUEL 8, EL CAJON VALLEY 6 – Mount Miguel jumped out to a 6-2 first inning lead, and the Matadors extended their advantage to 8-7 after five innings in Friday’s (Apr. 28) Grossmont Valley League contest.

Although the score doesn’t indicate, this turned into a pitching duel.

The Matadors hammered out 10 hits to produce 8 runs, while El Cajon Valley, which played errorless ball, rode the pitching of ROBERT VERDUGO, while Mount Miguel relied on CONNOR WHITE.

Both pitchers spun complete games.

The Braves scored 6 runs on 6 hits. HECTOR CARREON was 2-for-4 with a double.

On the flip side TREVOR DARBY was 2-for-2 with a triple for Mount Miguel. RUBEN PRECIADO was 2-for-3 with an RBI, as was ANGELO ZERTUCHE.

Fri., Apr. 28, 2017
Grossmont Hills League
HIGHLANDERS 6, EAGLES 5 (8 inn.)
Helix         ab r h bi Granite Hills   ab r h bi
Smelko cf      4 1 1 0  Ross cf          3 0 0 0
Peterson 2b    3 1 0 1  Verdon 3b-p      4 0 0 0
Richardson ss  3 0 0 0  Cossio dh        4 1 1 0
Konishi lf     4 1 2 0  Fenn c           0 0 0 0
Isbell c       2 0 0 1  Hazelhurst p-1b  3 1 1 0
Owens dh       4 1 1 1  Joslyn lf-1b     3 2 2 2
Padilla rf     3 0 0 0  McGrew 2b        3 1 1 1
Kovalcheck ph  1 1 1 1  Omahen ss        4 0 1 0
Oquita 1b      4 0 0 0  Anderson rf      3 0 2 3
Kretzchmar 3b  4 1 2 0
TOTALS        32 6 7 4  TOTALS          27 5 8 6

Helix (15-8, 5-2) 000 100 23 – 6 7 4
Granite Hills (11-10, 2-3) 000 000 02 – 5 8 1

E-Richardson 2, Isbell, Estrada, Ross.
DP-Hel 1.
LOB-Hel 7, GH 8.
2B-Smelko, Cossio, Owens. 3B-Hazelhurst.
HR-Joslyn 8^th, solo. SB-Kovalcheck. SF-McGrew.

PITCHING SUMMARY
Helix           ip h r er bb so
Jackson       5.0 5 3 2 3 2
Smelko W(5-0) 2.0 3 2 2 0 2
Granite Hills
Hazelhurst    4.1 2 1 1 3 7
Verdon L(3-3) 6.2 5 4 3 0 5
HBP-by Hazelhurst (Isbell, Richardson).

FOOTHILLERS 12, VAQUEROS 0
El Capitan         ab r h bi Grossmont     ab r h bi
Bell c              3 0 0 0 Ford cf        5 1 4 2
Montejano 3b-2b-ss 2 0 0 0 Odom lf        2 1 0 0
Olivieri 3b         1 0 0 0 Levin lf       1 0 1 1
Lindsay ss-2b-1b    3 0 0 0 Lombardo rf    4 2 2 3
Shenefield 1b       3 0 0 0 JGarcia 1b     4 2 1 0
Zamora cf           3 0 0 0 Hulett p-lf    3 2 3 0
Donahue dh          2 0 1 0 Giovengo ss    4 1 1 2
Markle 2b-ss        2 0 1 0 Williams dh    1 3 0 1
Peyton p-2b-1b      2 0 0 0 Parent 3b     2 0 0 1
Barker lf           2 0 0 0 Giganti c      3 0 1 2
Coker               – – – – Russell        – – – –
Rendetti p          – – – – Ennis          – – – –
Keagy ph       1 0 0 0
TOTALS             23 0 2 0 TOTALS     30 12 13 12

El Capitan (5-15, 0-5) 000 000 0 – 0 2 1
Grossmont (9-12, 2-3) 006 501 x – 12 13 0

GWRBI-Ford.
E-Lindsay.
DP-EC 1.
LOB-EC 2, Gro 23.
2B-Ford, Lombardo, Giovengo, JGarcia.
HR-Lombardo (3) 4^th, one on. Sac-Odom, Parent.

PITCHING SUMMARY
El Capitan       ip h r er bb so
Peyton L      3.0 8 8 8 3 2
Lindsay        2.0 3 3 3 2 1
Rendetti       1.0 2 1 0 1 1
Grossmont
Hulett W(4-3) 6.0 2 0 0 0 8
Ennis          1.0 0 0 0 0 0
HBP-Giganti, Hulett, Lindsay 2. WP-Peyton. Balk-Peyton.

Grossmont Valley League
MATADORS 8, BRAVES 6
El Cajon Valley ab r h bi Mount Miguel    ab r h bi
Favela 3b        2 1 0 0 Beauzec 3b       2 1 1 2
Sanchez ss       3 2 1 0 Camacho c        0 0 0 0
Carreon cf       4 1 2 1 Conwright cf     4 0 1 1
Moreno 1b        3 0 0 0 Preciado lf      3 2 2 1
Michel c         3 1 2 1 Ortiz ss         2 2 0 0
Verdugo p        2 0 0 0 Montijo rf       3 0 1 0
Cebrero lf       2 0 0 0 Mendoza 1b       3 0 0 0
Bovee rf         3 0 0 0 Zertuche 2b      3 2 2 2
Romero 2b        3 0 0 0 Darby dh         3 0 3 2
Sanchez eh       3 1 1 0 White p          2 1 0 0
TOTALS          28 6 6 2 TOTALS        25 8 10 12

El Cajon Valley (4-10, 0-5) 203 010 0 – 6 6 0
Mount Miguel (5-15, 2-6) 510 020 x – 8 10 5

E-Beauzec 3, Camacho, Zertuche.
DP-MM 3.
LOB-ECV 3, MM 4.
2B-Carreon. 3B-Darby.
SB-Beauzec, Ortiz, Montijo 2, Zertuche, Darby 2,
Favela, Sanchez, Carreon, Michel 2. Sac-Beauzec.
CS-Verdugo, Montijo, Darby.

PITCHING SUMMARY
El Cajon Valley ip h r er bb so
Verdugo L 6.0 10 8 8 2 2
Mount Miguel
White W 7.0 6 6 1 2 6
HBP-Montijo, White, Verdugo 2. WP-Verdugo.

COUGARS 10, MONARCHS 3
Steele Canyon ab r h bi Monte Vista    ab r h bi
Taylor dh     5 1 4 3 DGarcia ss      3 1 1 0
YSmith rf     5 1 2 3 Gulley dh       2 0 1 0
Esquibel lf    4 0 0 0 Sanchez lf      4 0 0 0
Arias c        4 0 1 1 Gonzales 2b     4 0 2 2
Tellous 1b     3 0 1 0 Sandoval c      4 1 1 0
McCarthy pr    0 1 0 0 Manuel 1b       3 0 1 0
Dickey 1b      1 0 0 0 Plazola cf-p    3 0 2 1
Mata ss        2 1 0 0 Alvarez rf      2 0 0 0
Pedrin ph      1 0 0 0 Schweizer ph    0 0 0 0
Navarro 3b    3 1 2 2 Camacho 3b      2 1 1 0
Blethen ph     0 1 0 0 Harlow pr       0 0 0 0
Brinkmeier cf 3 3 3 1
TOTALS     31 10 14 10 TOTALS         27 3 9 3

Steele Canyon (13-6, 5-1) 003 230 2 – 10 14 0
Monte Vista (13-11, 2-5) 002 001 0 – 3 9 2

GWRBI-Taylor.
E-Camacho, DGarcia.
LOB-SC 7, MV 8.
2B-YSmith, Arias, Brinkmeier.
SB-Taylor, Navarro, Brinkmeier. Sac-Gulley.
SF-Brinkmeier, DGarcia. CS-Pedrin.

PITCHING SUMMARY
Steele Canyon     ip h r er bb so
Newberry W(3-1) 5.2 6 3 3 4 2
Back            1.1 3 0 0 0 1
Monte Vista
Gutierrez L     3.2 8 5 5 0 2
Plazola         3.1 6 5 5 1 4
HBP-by Plazola (Blethen).

NORSEMEN 5, WOLF PACK 4
West Hills      ab r h bi Valhalla       ab r h bi
Schroeder cf      4 1 1 1 Barba 3b        4 0 2 0
Sanford c         3 2 1 0 Dirkes 2b       4 2 2 0
DCraft rf         3 0 2 0 RO’Sullivan p-1b 3 1 0 0
Quintana p-rf     2 0 1 3 Casper cf        4 1 3 0
Villasana 3b      4 0 1 0 Hageman c        3 1 1 2
Hughes 1b         3 0 0 0 Howard rf        2 0 0 0
Kondyra 1b       1 0 0 0 Heider dh        3 0 0 0
Gagliano ss       4 0 1 0 TSmith ss        2 0 0 0
Commerford lf     4 0 2 0 Perot lf         3 0 1 1
Thrailkill 2b     4 1 2 0 Zamudio ph       1 0 0 1
TOTALS          32 4 11 4 TOTALS          30 5 9 4

West Hills (9-13, 5-3) 001 003 0 – 4 11 4
Valhalla (11-11, 7-1) 000 003 2 – 5 9 1
No outs when winning run scored
GWRBI-Hageman.
E-Sanford, Commerford, Gagliano 2, Dempsey.
DP-WH 1.
LOB-WH 10, Val 7.
2B-Dirkes, Casper 2, Hageman, Quintana. 3B-Schroeder.
SB-Dirkes. Sac-Hageman.

PITCHING SUMMARY
West Hills        ip h r er bb so
Quintana        6.0 6 3 1 1 2
Sherwin L(0-2) 0.0 3 2 2 1 0
Valhalla
RO’Sullivan W   5.0 7 1 1 2 3
Casper          1.0 3 3 3 2 0
Dempsey         1.0 1 0 0 0 2
HBP-by Quintana (Howard). WP-Quintana, Dempsey. Balk-RO’Sullivan.
Sherwin faced 4 batters in the 7th.