Eagles earn another shot at Saints

EL CAJON (5-18-2019) – Granite Hills starting

pitcher Clay Fordham shrugged off a first-inning

run by firing 6.1 innings of shutout ball, capping

the Eagles comeback past visiting La Jolla Country

Day, 7-1, in Friday’s (May 17) elimination game to
the CIF Division I baseball championship.

“It was just a great game for us,” Fordham said. “We
needed to win and we showed that we aren’t done yet.”

Granite Hills (15-14 overall) will host St. Augustine

in Saturday’s challenger bracket finale, and with the

victory would get the opportunity to knock-off two-time

defending champion Grossmont for a berth in the final.

“We just need to keep the same energy and momentum rolling
into tomorrow,” Fordham said. “We owe Saints.
They’ve gotten us twice. We’re gonna bring everything
we got so we can keep this thing moving.”

Fordham (5-2) shook off the effects of early back-

to-back doubles to limit the Torreys to just four

hits the rest of the way. He finished with seven

strikeouts, one shy of his season high set against

Grossmont.

Meanwhile, Eagles left fielder Dillon Goins drove in

three runs to fuel an 8-hit attack. Included was a 2

-run triple in the sixth, pushing across Art Lopez

and Austin Smith to push the advantage to 6-1. Goins

would later score on a wild pitch.

After the ballclubs exchanged runs in the first,

Granite Hills tallied three times in the second to

hold the lead the rest of the afternoon.

The inning started with four consecutive singles —

by Fordham, Max Bodtke, and Smith — the later

for RBI and a 2-1 lead.  An out later, Dillon

Goins doubled to left field for another run.

For Granite Hills, Goins and T.K. Parker each batted

2-for-3, as did Zach Schwartzberg of the Torreys.

LJCDS (13-18), which fell to top-seeded Grossmont in

the first round, hadn’t played at East County school

in CIF play since dropping a 5-1 decision to Christian

in 1979.