“It’s a Beautiful Day for…” rain?

By Nick Pellegrino
Updated: February 23, 2022

2022 EAST COUNTY PREP BASEBALL

By Nick Pellegrino
ECS staff writer

SPRING VALLEY — For those old enough to remember transistor radios — today, they’re called grandparents — between the conclusion of the Los Angeles Dodgers pregame show and the start of the game, they played the song in this story’s headline: “It’s a beautiful day for a ballgame.”

“There were absolutely miserable conditions: raining, winding, cold — you name it,” said Mount Miguel baseball coach Frank Coit about his Matadors’ season opener.

“Why we played? I have no idea”

Unfortunately, they did and the results were predictable and a bad way to start the 2022 campaign. Except for a few games along the State Route 78 corridor in North County, every other high school ball game was called off on Tuesday (Feb. 22) — except one, as the Matadors fell to visiting Canyon Hills, 10-6.

“In reality, neither team should’ve played in the conditions that we played in, just trying to get a game in,” added the skipper.

Coit later texted, “Baseball is a sunny day game, not a winter storm game like football… lol.”

Obviously, the battered were at a disadvantage, with the Matadors garnering a mere three hits in trailing 10-1 before scoring five times in the fifth=and-final inning before the umpires declared enough was enough.

“It was freezing cold and Canyon Hills dealt with the weather a little better than our boys.”

Which meant that the umpires must have hated the final inning, which took nearly 40 minutes to complete.

With the Rattlers leading, 5-1, they scored six times in the top of the frame, only to watch Mount Miguel answer back with five runs of their own before everyone quickly vacated the diamond.

The “Q-Dawgs” also had an advantage after already playing a contest in falling to Oceanside. Then they scored three times in the third against Mount Miguel.

Junior third baseman Brandon Todd led Canyon Hills — which are they? A canyon or a hill? — by batting -for-4 for with a double and four RBI.

For the men in blue, at least the dreary afternoon ended on a double play. On a sacrifice fly by Steve Gulley, David Keller scored. However, when the Matadors attempted to sneak across another run on the same fly ball, Todd’s relay throw to the plate ended the ballgame.

Earlier in the inning, the Matadors scored on two walks, a hit batsman and another walk to force in Joseph Ortega against the CHHS bullpen.

Another base-on-balls forced in another run, followed by an RBI base hit by senior second baseman Joseph Lopez.

The other Matadirs hits were by Keller and Gulley. Considering the conditions, starting pitcher Josh Hollis didn’t do too badly, allowing just four hits and two earned runs in his three innings, striking out three Rattlers.