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© East County Sports.com
SANTEE (3-31-07) — In an unlikely match-up for the Grossmont Conference North-South championship, the visiting Valhalla Norsemen held off upstart West Hills, 6-4, Friday (Mar. 30) at Wolf Pack Park.

West Hills (5-6), under a new coaching regime, was the only Grossmont North League team to finish conference pool play with a winning record, and thus earned the hosting role. Ironically, the Pack was matched against Grossmont South pool champion Valhalla, a team it had beaten earlier in the tournament, 8-3.

“We really wanted to win this tournament, but at the same time we wanted to get some payback,” said Valhalla freshman catcher DANNY HAWKSLEY.

Bobby Wilkins of Valhalla struckout 11 batters over five innings, leading the Norsemen to the Grossmont Conference Tournament crown after stopping host West Hills, 6-4. (Photo by Greg Eichelberger)

Valhalla jumped in front 1-0 in the 1st inning without benefit of a hit. GREG GARCIA walked, was balked to second, stole third and scored on RYAN O’SULLIVAN’s sacrifice fly. Hawksley followed with a two-out double to the fence, but the Norsemen could get no more against Wolf Pack starter STEVEN SCHIMPF.

Valhalla (7-3), which has won five straight, led only 3-2 after 5 innings. The game was, in fact, in doubt until the final out.

With closer TREVOR FRANK nearing his first save of the season, after earning 5 as a freshman, one out away from silencing the Wolf Pack, and infield error kept the door open.

Freshman TONY SPEARS came to the plate representing the tying run with West Hills runners at first and third.

Frank blew two fast balls past Spears, who eventually worked the count to 1 ball - 2 strikes. Spears then singled to right, scoring DAVID BRISTOL, and cutting Valhalla ’s lead to 2.

However, as AARON GAGNON attempted to advance from first to third on Spears’ clutch hit, Valhalla right-fielder TYLER KEATON made a strong throw to third baseman GARRETT GILES to erase Gagnon for the game-ending out.

“Nine out of 10 times, he’s safe on that play,” said West Hills coach CHRIS BAUM. “It was a great throw but it looked to me that Gags got under the tag.

But that’s the style of baseball we play. We’re going to be aggressive. We dared them to make a perfect throw, and they did.”

Valhalla’s BOBBY WILKINS turned in his second 5-inning stint of the week to roll his record to 4-0. The hard-throwing senior right-hander struck out a career high 11 while rationing the Wolf Pack to 4 hits and 2 runs.

“Wilkins had great movement on his fastball and was just overpowering,” said Hawksley.

Frank finished the job, checking the Pack on 2 hits and one earned run over the final two innings.

Hawksley, who was inserted into the clean-up spot by coach STEVE PERDUE, delivered 3 hits in 4 at-bats. One of his safeties was a key RBI single in the 7th inning that extended the Norsemen’s lead to 6-3.

“I’ve hit 5th, 6th and now 4th,” Hawksley said. “I prefer to hit up in the order, but no matter what position it is, it feels the same to me.”

TOMAS KARAGIANES slapped an RBI double to right-center field in the 2nd inning to extend his East County-leading hitting streak to 10 games.

Trailing 3-1 with 2 outs in the 5th West Hills caught a break when BLAINE HOFFARD’s slicing fly ball to right field was lost in the sun for a double. Gagnon followed with an RBI single and stole second. Gagnon was stranded there, leaving it a one-run game with two frames to play.

Over the final two frames it was point-counter-point. Frank’s RBI single made it 4-2 for Valhalla .

In the bottom of the 6th the Wolf Pack’s RYNE BARKLEY hit a booming triple and scored on ERIC McKNIGHT’s fly ball.

Valhalla padded its lead to 3 in the top of the 7th as O’Sullivan and Hawksley stroked run-scoring singles.

CHRISTIAN 7, SCOTTSDALE CHRISTIAN 6 (8 inn.) – This is a recording… beep.

For the third game in a row the Patriots (5-3) saw a lead evaporate with two outs in the top of the 7th inning when a left-hand hitting opponent stroked a run-scoring hit.

Moviegoers might recognize the plot out of the script of Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray. For Christian High baseball coach MIKE MITCHELL it bordered on a nightmare trilogy.

“This is unbelievable,” said Mitchell. “Three times we get one out away from winning and then come from ahead to force extra innings.”

Despite the unusual road to victory, the Patriots have beaten Scripps Ranch, Kearny and Scottsdale Christian in extra innings – each by a one run margin. Although not the course he would choose to take, Mitchell isn’t complaining about the tightrope walk.

Christian’s latest victory came under the dim lights at Helix High where the Patriots overcame a 5-1 deficit but failed to hold a 6-5 lead. The exciting conclusion came in the bottom of the 8th.

TAYLOR EICHHORST led off the winning inning with a line shot up the middle to extend his season-long hitting streak to 8 games. He advanced to second on ADAM NASH’s sacrifice bunt. Freshman catcher MICHAEL GRUBER ripped a single to left field.

The ball was hit so hard that Mitchell, operating out of the third base coaching box, planned to halt Eichhorst 90 feet from home plate.

The Scottsdale Christian left-fielder, however, fired the ball to the plate anyway. When Gruber continued around first and headed for second, the Arizona catcher – despite pleas from his coach not to do so – fired the ball over second base and into center field.

This is where the plot thickens… The Scottsdale center fielder took the wild toss on one hop and made a perfect return throw to the plate as Eichhorst was attempting to score from third.

“Remember, Taylor is 6-foot-2, 220 and doesn’t exactly run like a deer,” Mitchell said.

The throw from the outfield was on the mark and Eichhorst might have been out had he not made a picturesque hook slide and reached out and touched the plate with his left hand.

“That’s just baseball instincts,” Mitchell said. “That throw had him beat, but he was able to find a way to avoid the tag.”

Eichhorst was the main cog in the Christian offense. He contributed a sacrifice fly in the Patriots’ 4-run 4th inning and slashed an RBI single, giving the Patriots a 6-5 lead in the 6th.

Gruber contributed 3 hits to Christian’s 8-hit total. As a team the Patriots stole 7 bases.

Mitchell was also pleased by his sometimes porous defense.

“We had three Webb-gem plays by our third baseman SHAUN DAY, shortstop BRYAN MITCHELL and second baseman EDDIE YOUNG,” coach Mitchell said. “They were just incredible plays that took away hits. That was kinda refreshing since we had made 25 errors in our first seven game.”

All was not perfect though for the Patriots as they left 12 men on base. Christian has stranded 42 runners in its last three games.

© East County Sports.com
LAKESIDE (3-30-07) — The Valhalla Norsemen are riding a 4-game winning streak today thanks to a 4-1 win over El Capitan in Thursday’s (Mar. 29) final round of Grossmont North-South Tournament pool play.

The victory qualified the Norsemen (6-3) to represent the Grossmont South against Grossmont North kingpin West Hills in Friday’s (Mar. 30) tournament championship on the Wolf Pack diamond at 4 p.m.

Naturally the Norsemen will be looking to avenge that loss to the upstart Wolf Pack, probably as much as they want to capture the tournament championship trophy.

Credit Valhalla for winning a game it had to have to reach the East County classic finale.

RYAN O’SULLIVAN was the man in charge. The Norsemen’s junior right-hander limited the Vaqueros (4-6) to just 5 hits and one earned run over 6 1/3 innings.

“O’Sullivan has a live arm,” El Capitan coach STEVE VICKERY said. “He consistently throws in the high 80s and I think he may have turned it up a notch in the 5th inning. I’ve been told that he tops out at 92 mph. But the thing that makes him really tough, besides his velocity, is he’s able to spot his changeup and curveball when he really needs it.”

Sophomore MATT GONZALES got the final two outs, stranding two Vaqueros on base to earn his second save.

Valhalla took the lead in the 3rd inning as GREG GARCIA led off with a double down the left-field line and scored on O’Sullivan’s single up the middle. PETE THOMAS slugged his first varsity home run with one out in the 4th to make it 2-0.

The Norsemen padded their lead with a pair of runs in the 5th. Once again, Garcia was the catalyst with a bunt single.

“Garcia’s ball started out 3 feet foul but hit the berm and rolled fair,” said Vickery. “That’s the world we’re living in right now.”

GARRETT GILES made the Vaqueros pay when he doubled over the left-fielder’s head to drive in 2 runs.

El Capitan’s hitters batted in bad luck. Or, if you look at it from Valhalla ’s standpoint, the Norsemen denied them of great defense.

The key play of the game came in the 6th inning. TANNER RUST singled and MILES REAGAN was hit by a pitch. One out later BRYSON LUKACIK hit a sinking line drive to center field. Norsemen senior TOMAS KARAGIANES came charging in and made a diving, one-handed catch to rob Lukacik and deny the Vaqueros of at least one and probably two runs.

“That was a great catch,” Vickery said. “He just laid out – fully extended. If that ball gets by him it’s probably a triple and 2 runs for us.”

LUCAS WHITMORE followed with a single to right field to score Rust. But that would be all the Vaqueros would get, thanks to Karagianes’ defensive gem.

Lukacik had one hit in three trips to extend his East County-leading hitting streak to a season-long 10 games.

GRANITE HILLS 3, GROSSMONT 2 – Granite Hills senior ERIC KRAUSE has the mannerisms of Padres pitcher Greg Maddux. No matter what happens he maintains a poker face.

Krause has seen better days during his record-breaking career at Granite Hills, but the effort he produced in Thursday’s (Mar. 29) final round of Grossmont North-South Tournament pool play was quality enough to give him his third win in four decisions.

“He threw a few more pitches than usual (120), but again he showed the grit and determination to come out a winner,” said Granite Hills coach JAMES DAVIS.

Krause struck out 7 and allowed only one earned run in his East County-leading fourth complete game effort.

Granite Hills gave their star pitcher the early lead when LOUIS CAZARES cracked his 4th home run of the season over the left-field fence, and TRAVIS TAIJERON followed with a line shot down the right field line for his second homer of the campaign.

Both home runs came on 3-1 pitches by Grossmont sophomore LEVI STEVENS.

“Stevens was behind in the count early in the game, and it cost him,” Davis noted. “But after that, he was pretty tough.”

Krause hit a 2-out single in the opening frame but nothing came of it. After that Stevens retired 13 in a row. In fact the Eagles (7-3) garnered only one more hit over the final six innings.

But that one hit – a 6th inning single by center-fielder BRIAN HUMPHRIES – led to the winning run. Humphries advanced to second on an error and eventually scored on AUSTIN COLEMAN’s groundout to break a 2-2 tie.

Grossmont (8-3) picked up its first run in the 2nd inning as DEREK BAUM singled, stole second, went to third on a throwing error and scored on a wild pitch. The Foothillers tied it on KYLE SECCIANI’s solo home run in the 5th.

The Foothillers missed a golden opportunity to tie the game in the bottom of the 7th. With one out pinchhitter JUSTIN RUTHERFORD singled to center. AUGIE WILLIAMS then walked on four pitches. JOSH SIMMS singled sharply to right-center field.

Granite Hills right-fielder JOSH QUERIONES cut the ball off and fired a one-hop strike to catcher Taijeron to nail Rutherford at the plate for the second out.

“That’s one of the most consistent parts of our game – defense,” said Davis . “Josh made a perfect throw. But our shortstop (JOHNNY OMAHEN) and second baseman (Cazares) have been playing great defense all year as well.”

Another missed opportunity for Grossmont came in the 4th. The Foothillers loaded the bases on the first of two BRYAN HAAR doubles, a walk to Stevens and CHARLIE PIRO was awarded first base on catcher’s interference.

Krause was up to the challenge as he coaxed the next Foothiller to hit into an inning-ending double play.

Frustrating? Yes. But somehow the Patriots managed to pick up a pair of victories in extra innings, including Thursday’s (Mar. 29) City Conference Tournament pool play finale over visiting Kearny .

“I don’t know what it is about this team, but they always seem to make things interesting,” Christian coach MIKE MITCHELL observed. “For the second day in a row we came from ahead to trail, then came from behind to win. It’s kind of a weird way to play the game, but that seems to be what we do.”

Christian (4-3), which hosts Scottsdale Christian (8-6) in a rare night game Friday (Mar. 30) at Helix at 7 p.m., overcame a 4-3 deficit with a pair of runs in the bottom of the 8th to clip the Komets.

With one out DANNY MITCHELL lined a single to right field. EDDIE YOUNG followed with a walk and both runners advanced on a wild pitch. Playing the odds, Kearny issued an intentional pass to BRYAN MITCHELL to load the bases.

It turned out to be a bad move.

TAYLOR EICHHORST rifled a double over the head of the center fielder to score two runs and give Christian the victory. For Eichhorst it was a big offensive day already for the Patriots’ sophomore, who extended his hitting streak to 7 games with 3 hits in 4 at-bats.

BRADLEY JOHNSTON pitched all 8 innings for Christian, scattering 7 hits and allowing only one earned run. He walked 3 and struck out 3 while pushing his record to 2 wins and one loss.

“Bradley had thrown only 47 pitches through 5 innings,” Mitchell said. Johnston needed a total 97 pitches to finish the job.

ADAM NASH contributed 2 hits to Christian’s 8-hit attack. Bryan Mitchell singled in four trips to extend his hitting streak to 5 games.

© East County Sports.com
SANTEE (3-29-07) — A new coach and massive graduation caused the majority of West Hills opponents to label the Wolf Pack as also-rans coming into the 2007 season.

Sure enough, West Hills lost two of its first three games. But now, the Wolf Pack (5-5) has the edge on earning the host position in Friday’s (Mar. 30) Grossmont North-South Tournament championship game.

“When I first looked at the schedule I figured Wow, if we can just be 5-5 after our first 10 games, that would be great,” said West Hills coach CHRIS BAUM. “I made that assessment knowing what kind of teams we were going to play while at the same time not being familiar with the character of my players.”

Now that Baum has grown accustomed to those who play for him he is not surprised that the 5-5 Wolf Pack has a shot at playing for East County ’s biggest championship. (See tournament standings box.)

The Wolf Pack pulled a narrow escape against the Monarchs (2-7).

Trailing 5-2 in the top of the 7th, Monte Vista scored two runs and had runners at second and third with one out remaining. ERIC LaBOUBE hit a shot to left field. West Hills’ BRENNAN TAYLOR circled around, fell backward and caught the ball in his lap.

El Capitan's Taelor Worrell slides into home in an attempt to score, but Helix catcher Caleb Schumaker mades the tag in time for the out. (Photo by Greg Eichelberger)

“I aged five years on that play,” Baum said.

HELIX 10, EL CAPITAN 4 – The Highlanders all but assured themselves of a berth in Friday’s (Mar. 30) Grossmont North-South Tournament championship game by knocking off host El Capitan on Wednesday (Mar. 28).

Helix (7-2), a team not known for its hitting, laced two El Capitan pitchers for 15 hits. Seven of those safeties were of the extra base variety, including a solo home run by JEFF ROSENTHAL and a 3-run homer by MATT COBB.

“Our pitchers have been carrying us most of the season, but today it was our turn,” said second baseman RAUL RITCHIE. “We were aggressive at the plate. This was our best hitting game of the season and it’s a great feeling.”

Ritchie was 3-for-4 with 2 runs scored. Cobb also had 3 hits and drove in 4 runs.

“They fought off a lot of good pitches and put the ball in play,” said El Capitan coach STEVE VICKERY. “It wasn’t like our pitcher (starter KEVIN MORTON) was making bad pitches, it was more a case of them (the Highlanders) doing a good job on 2-strike counts.”

Helix opened up a 4-0 lead but it wasn’t until Cobb clubbed a 3-run homer in the 4-run 7th that the Highlanders could feel free to celebrate their 5th straight victory.

“We have 18 people who are buying into a system,” said Helix coach COLE HOLLAND. “That’s unusual for a high school team where a lot of egos are involved.”

El Capitan ’s BRYSON LUKACIK was 2-for-3 with an RBI to extend his hitting streak to 9 games.

GRANITE HILLS 7, SANTANA 0 – Sophomore TRAVIS HOPPER may be the difference between Granite Hills winning a championship or finishing a notch or two back as an also-ran. Not to put any pressure on, but the 6-foot-1, 165-pound left-hander seems to be up to the task.

Hopper scattered 6 Santana hits and struck out 3 as he posted his second win in 3 decisions.

“There’s no question he’s a key guy for us,” said Granite Hills coach JAMES DAVIS.

Granite Hills (6-3), which won for the fourth time in five starts, took command early, scoring 4 runs in the 2nd inning.

Singles by ERIC KRAUSE, KYLE JOHNSTON and JOSH QUERIONES made it 1-0. BRIAN HUMPHRIES then hit a 3-run homer over the right-field fence.

“Everything we did today was positive,” Davis said. “I know as a coach I sure feel better about today than the last game we played.”

Queriones added an RBI double in the 4th and LOUIS CAZARES lifted a scoring flyball to right, giving Granite Hills a 6-0 lead.

Cazares added an exclamation point when he hit the 9th pitch he saw in his final at-bat over the center field fence for his second homer this season.

Not too much excitement for Santana (5-4-1), which has lost 4 of its last 6. None of the Sultans enjoyed a multi-hit game.

The Sultans output consisted of 5 singles and a double by KYLE ROMERO.

On the pitching front the only bright spot for Santana was BRANDYN BELL’s 3 shutout innings. He allowed one hit and struck out 5.

“It can only get better from now,” said Santana coach JERRY HENSON. “Our bats have gone South right now. We’ll be in the cages and get better.”

GROSSMONT 14, STEELE CANYON 2 – The NICK LONGMIRE Show resumed in Wednesday’s (Mar. 28) Grossmont North-South Tournament at Joe Gizoni Field in El Cajon . The right-hand hitting senior outfielder drove in 5 runs with a single and his 6th and 7th home runs of the season as the Foothillers clobbered the Cougars.

Longmire broke up a scoreless deadlock in the 3rd inning when he followed singles by CHARLIE PIRO and JOSH SIMMS with a homer over the right-center field fence. Longmire chipped in an RBI single in Grossmont’s 7-run 4th inning and then finished his day with another home run over the right-center field fence.

“I’ve never seen a kid hit like this over this many games (10),” said Grossmont skipper ROB PHILLIPS. “It doesn’t seem to matter where they throw it, Nick seems to hit it and hit it hard.”

Going into Thursday’s (Mar. 29) final round of tournament play against Granite Hills, Longmire carries a .600 batting average (21-for-35) with 16 RBI, 17 runs and 8 stolen bases.

The No. 2 ranked Foothillers went on a hitting frenzy against four Steele Canyon pitchers. Designated hitter Piro was 2-for-3 with 3 runs scored and 1 RBI. In his last three games the Grossmont junior is batting .556 with 2 homers and 6 RBI.

Simms, the Hiller leadoff hitter, was 3-for-4 with 4 RBI including a 3-run homer in the 5th. In his last three games the Grossmont second baseman is 6-for-11 (.545) with 7 runs scored and 9 RBI.

BRYAN HAAR continued his steady contributions with the bat, driving in 2 runs with a pair of doubles.

Not to be overlooked in Grossmont’s latest scoring free-for-all was senior right-hander MATT SILVA, who was making only his second start. Silva rode the wave of the Foothillers’ bats to record a complete game 5-hitter for his second win in as many decisions.

MOUNT MIGUEL 7, EL CAJON VALLEY 0 – DAVID WYNN pitched a 2-hit shutout and struck out 11 as the Matadors bopped the visiting Braves in Wednesday’s (Mar. 28) final Grossmont North-South Tournament pool play game for both teams.

“We’re getting back on track,” said Mount Miguel coach BYRON GRIGSBY after the Matadors snapped a 5-game losing streak.

Wynn struck out the side in the 1st inning and fanned 5 of the first 6 Braves he faced. Wynn held El Cajon Valley hitless for 3 1/3 innings before DOMINIC BAILEY singled with one out in the 4th. The only other hit Wynn allowed was a double to JOSE TORRES leading off the 7th.

Mount Miguel (4-5) wasted little time jumping on the Braves (2-10) in the opening frame, scoring 3 runs in the 1st inning. The top three hitters in Mount Miguel ’s lineup did most of the damage, generating 6 runs and 5 hits.

JAMES TREBUS, who accounted for half of the Matadors’ 6 hits, led off the 1st inning with a single. BRYANT SHIMIZU then reached base on an error, and both runners scored on NICO CALAFATO’s double. After Calafato stole third, Wynn singled to make it 3-0.

An inning later with two outs Trebus set the Matadors’ offense in motion again with a single to right. Shimizu hit a fly ball to right field that was misplayed, and Trebus came around to score.

An El Cajon Valley error opened the scoring door for Mount Miguel again in the 4th. JULIAN CHARLES struck out but reached base when the ball went to the backstop. A passed ball allowed Charles to take second, where he scored on Trebus’ ground ball single to left. After Shimizu walked Calafato doubled, scoring both runners.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (3-28-07) -- When the rain and a sprinkling of hail started to fall, prompting a delay in Tuesday's (Mar. 27) lone Grossmont Conference Tournament contest, the only thing going through the minds of visiting Monte Vista High must have been, "We're not going to need to come back here again?"

In the third -- and, ultimately, final --- attempt to complete a regulation ballgame, the Monarchs rode the hitting of ANTHONY LOPEZ and the pitching of JOSH KELLY to down host El Cajon Valley, 13-4.

Lopez batted 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles, including the go-ahead, 2-run double in the 3rd inning. Meanwhile, Kelly allowed just one hit over his first five innings in gaining his initial victory of the season.

"We got enough runs on the board early," said Lopez, who hopes to attend USD or San Diego State next year. "And Josh pitched a great game today -- he was on a streak."

After the original contest was completely rained out before the first pitch was thrown, the first replay saw Monte Vista take a 7-0 lead, only to have lightning wipe out the contest in the 4th inning. So after the brief 5-minute pause on the teams' third try, the Monarchs immediately responded to snap a 2-2 tie, when Lopez split the outfielders in left-center with his first double to score DAVID PALACIOS (hit by pitch) and BO AGUILAR (single).

"We're definitely not going to hold our heads down," added Lopez. "We can battle with the best -- this is a much better club than last year's."

Kelly shook off the effects of a 2-run single by Braves catcher JOSE TORRES in the 1st, at one stretch retiring 14 consecutive batters before tiring in the 6th. The senior right-hander struck out four in 5 1/3 innings.

"I didn't know about the (hitless) streak until after the game, but this game boosted my confidence a little bit," noted Kelly. It'll make me stronger for the rest of the year."

Leading 5-2, the Monarchs doubled their score with five additional runs in the 5th, keyed by a 2-run basehit by designated hitter MIKE HOLDREN.

The hit came moments after a wild pitch scored CORY COOPER, who was safe after the catcher's throw to the plate hit Holdren in the back of the leg, yet the umpire ruled the batter had moved sufficiently to not be called for interference.

"But we kept battling and working hard, even if the breaks were not going our way," noted ECV coach WAYNE WEIGHTMAN. "At least you saw nine guys hustling and busting their butts out there."

The other El Cajon Valley hit was of the pinchhit variety by ALEX ROE.

Meanwhile, Braves starter KEVIN MANSFIELD tossed a "half of a no-hitter" in his 4 2/3 frames of work. Monte Vista's right-handed batters were 0-for-11 against the junk ball thrower, as only the Monarchs lefties could solve Mansfield with seven hits in 11 official at-bats.

Monte Vista centerfield AARON GOSSMEYER went 3-for-3 plus a walk, scoring twice and driving in a run, while freshman third baseman NICK QUINTERO batted 2-for-4 with a walk and three runs scored in his varsity debut.

CHRISTIAN 10, SCRIPPS RANCH 9 (10 inn.) – Christian coach MIKE MITCHELL could not remember the last time his Patriots left eight runners on base during a game. But that’s what happened when the Patriots hosted Scripps Ranch on Tuesday (Mar. 27) in a 3 ½ hour City Conference Tournament marathon.

“We left the bases loaded in the 1st, 7th, 8th and 10 innings,” Mitchell noted. “And we left runners at second and third in the 9th. A couple of times those situations occurred with two outs. But this would have been a very frustrating game to lose.”

Fortunately for the Patriots (3-3), two Scripps Ranch errors and a pair of walks added up to the winning run for Christian in the bottom of the 10th.

“Kind of an ironic ending, huh?” Mitchell said. “We get 13 hits in the game and that’s not enough to win. Then we score the winning run without getting a hit.”

Three times Christian came from behind as the Falcons failed to hold leads of 1-0, 8-5 and 9-8.

“That’s true, but two times we came from ahead to lose the lead,” Mitchell said. That would be 4-1 after three innings and 5-4 after four innings.

Some might have said this was a sloppily played game but it wasn’t short on drama.

TAYLOR EICHHORST’s solo home run with two outs in the 4th gave Christian a 5-4 lead.

Trailing 8-5 entering the 7th inning, Christian fought back ADAM NASH singled to right and MICHAEL GRUBER walked. One out later SHAUN DAY doubled to left center, scoring Nash. Then as the Patriots were down to their final strike, DANNY MITCHELL lined a 2-2 pitch to left center for a single, scoring Gruber and Day to tie the game.

After Scripps Ranch assumed a 1-run lead in the top of the 9th, Christian tied it again in the bottom of the inning on EDDIE YOUNG’s leadoff home run.

The game might have continued on until darkness brought a halt to the proceedings had the Falcons (3-5) not kicked the ball around in the bottom of the 10th.

BRAD ROBERTSON reached base on an infield error to start the 10th. Scripps Ranch reliever Jonathan Alives retired the next two Patriots before issuing walks to Young and BRYAN MITCHELL to load the bases.

Young, Eichhorst, Nash, Day and Danny Mitchell contributed 2 hits apiece for the Patriots. Starting pitcher JOHN GEE picked up a pair of RBI on a windblown double in the 3rd inning.

Robertson allowed only 3 hits and one earned run over 3 2/3 innings to pick up his first varsity win.

Valhalla's Greg Garcia (5) slides headfirst to avoid the tag by Grossmont catcher Chris Baum, scoring the game-winning run on Ryan O'Sullivan's basehit to cap a 3-run rally in the 7th inning to shock the Foothillers, 4-3. (Photo by Greg Eichelberger)

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (3-27-07) — Had they known that top-ranked Rancho Bernardo would lose its first game in 10 starts to Rancho Buena Vista, the No. 2-ranked Grossmont Foothillers might have been enjoying the view atop the San Diego CIF ratings today.

Valhalla's Ryan O'Sullivan (top) collects the game-winning hit in the bottom of the 7th, while Tomas Karagianes beats out an infield single, as the Norsemen nipped Grossmont. (Photos by Greg Eichelberger)

Grossmont ace TAYLOR WOHLWEND protected a 3-1 Hillers lead by retiring the first two Valhalla batters in the bottom of the 7th inning.

Credit Valhalla sophomore MATT GONZALES, who kept the Norsemen’s hopes for a last-second victory alive with a bloop single. That spelled the end for Wohlwend as Grossmont coach ROB PHILLIPS went to his bullpen and brought in fireballer BRYAN HAAR.

GREG GARCIA then laced a single to center to load the bases.

It became a showdown between Valhalla ’s top hitter RYAN O’SULLIVAN and Haar, who was desperately looking for that closing out. O’Sullivan won the duel, giving Valhalla (5-3) a thrilling 4-3 victory.

“When I walked up to the plate I figured I’d either be a hero or everybody would hate me,” said O’Sullivan, who fell behind in the count – one ball, 2 strikes. “When he came in with a 1-1 fastball, I swung out of my shoes trying to hit it (and missed).”

O’Sullivan backed out of the box and gathered his thoughts.

“They’d been getting ahead of me on the fastball, then coming back at me with a curveball the whole game,” he said.

O’Sullivan figured the pattern wouldn’t change. He guessed right.

“I was thinking for sure they would throw me a curveball in that situation,” he said. “He hung it a little on the outside part of the plate.”

For some reason the Foothillers were not playing the right-hand hitting O’Sullivan to pull, and the Norsemen’s best hitter took notice.

“I noticed they left the left field line open,” O’Sullivan said. “So even though the pitch was just a little on the outside of the plate, I definitely wanted to pull it. I got around on it and hit a line drive about 10 feet off the (left field) line.” The ball bounced all the way to the fence, allowing all three runners on base to score.

“Every baseball player loves opportunities like this,” O’Sullivan said. “I was happy the game was in my hands. It was an amazing end to a big victory.”

O’Sullivan said he felt like he was in a mosh pit from the mobbing by his excited teammates after the game.

O’Sullivan pitched the final two innings and was rewarded with his second win in three decisions.

He followed senior right-handed starter BOBBY WILKINS, who pitched 5 overpowering innings, limiting the Foothillers to one hit and one unearned run while striking out 9.

Grossmont took a 1-0 lead in the 4th frame. JOSH SIMMS walked and advanced to third on a double by KYLE SECCIANI with nobody out.

Wilkins bounced back with a strikeout before issuing an intentional walk to load the bases. The Valhalla hard-throwing right-hander recorded a second strikeout and probably would have escaped unscathed had it not been for a passed ball, allowing Simms to score.

In the 6th inning Grossmont stretched its advantage to 3-0 on a 2-run single by LEVI STEVENS.

Valhalla, which lost 8-2 earlier in the year to Grossmont, began its comeback in the 6th inning. Karagianes led off the inning with a single and eventually scored on a groundout by CHRIS THOMAS.

“This was a huge win for us,” said Valhalla coach STEVE PERDUE. “To come from behind and beat a team of Grossmont’s caliber says a lot about the character of our team.”

Grossmont coach ROB PHILLIPS was not pleased by Grossmont’s el foldo in the final frame.

“We can’t expect to win a game when you leave five runners in scoring position and strike out 13 times,” Phillips said. “I guess you could say that if the object of the game was to get to second base, we really played well. Unfortunately, that’s not how this game’s played.”

STEELE CANYON 7, EL CAJON VALLEY 1 – Sophomore CODY KLOPP etched his name into the San Diego CIF record book in Monday’s (Mar. 26) Grossmont North-South Tournament game against visiting El Cajon Valley .

Making his first varsity start, Klopp fired a 3-hitter and struck out 10 during a 5-inning stint for the Cougars (5-3). But more than that Klopp struck out 8 Braves in a row during one stretch to tie the Grossmont Conference record set by Santana’s MIKE HOOK against Valhalla in 1986.

Klopp’s string of strikeouts also ties him for second in the SDCIF record book with St. Augustine ’s Brad Gennaro (1989 vs. Hoover ) and Ramona’s Ashley Dunlap (1999 vs. Patrick Henry), as well as Hook.

“Klopp pitched a great game – at one point he had thrown 24 strikes and just 3 balls,” said Steele Canyon coach PHIL MITTRY. “His control was really good today. I expect good things from him in the next two years.”

Ramona left-hander Tim Ellis holds the SDCIF record for 10 consecutive strikeouts against Oceanside in 1986. Ellis later pitched for Grossmont College , the Barona Stars and professionally for a couple of years.

The Cougars scored all the runs they would need in the 1st frame against the Braves (2-8). The first run scored on a wild pitch, and KYLE KERSTETTER’s sacrifice fly made it 2-0.

In the 2nd inning ERIC CARRILLO singled, stole second and third and scored on a single by ANTHONY NAVARRSKI. Navarrski also contributed a run-scoring triple to Steele Canyon ’s 4-run 4th inning. DONNIE FRANK and RYAN MURRAY-LOPEZ chipped in with RBI singles. Kerstetter capped the inning with an RBI double.

“Navarrski got some clutch hits and Frank did a great job in the leadoff spot,” said Mittry.

El Cajon Valley avoided the shutout in the 5th inning when ADRIAN TORRES hit the Braves’ first home run of the season. Junior DOMINIC BAILEY accounted for the other 3 Braves’ hits – one of them a double – and stole two bases.

HELIX 3, SANTANA 2 – In years gone by Helix has ranked as one of the San Diego CIF perennial powers. That is, until the last half dozen years when the Highlanders have slipped in and out of prominence.

Make no mistake about it, COLE HOLLAND’s Highlanders are ready to prove that they belong among the SDCIF elite this season. They currently ride on the crest of a 4-game winning streak.

The Highlanders (6-2) rode another complete game pitching performance by MAHI LaBASTIDA to defeat Santana in the Grossmont North-South Tournament on Monday (Mar. 26) in La Mesa .

The Highlanders now hold a slight edge over Valhalla for the right to represent the Grossmont South in Friday’s (Mar. 30) conference finale at the site of the Grossmont North pool play champion. Helix has allowed only three runs – one less than Valhalla . Both Helix and the Norsemen are 3-0 in pool play.

LaBastida has been the Highlanders’ guiding light. A week ago he beat then-undefeated Grossmont with a complete game outing, and followed that up by stymieing the Sultans with a 6-hitter while striking out 8.

The key to Helix’s victory came in the 5th inning when the Sultans (5-3-1) put runners at second and third with a 2-1 lead and nobody out. LaBastida refused to buckle. The Highlanders got one out when a Santana squeeze backfired. A second out also occurred at the plate when LaBastida threw a ball in the dirt but Helix catcher ZACH TANIDA blocked it, retrieved it and tagged out RYAN STUTZ, attempting to score from third.

“That was just a great play all the way around,” said Holland . “Tanida has been a key for us behind the plate. Zach, our pitchers, and our pitching coach MIKE MILLER have done a great job to make us the team that we are today.”

DALLAS MARTIN, the East County king of hardluck losers, pitched a complete game for Santana, but suffered his third loss in four decisions. He walked none and struck out 6 while rationing the Highlanders to 4 hits.

Only a week ago Martin pitched 5 innings of hitless relief against Helix, but was pinned with the loss when a ball was dropped in the outfield.

Things were looking up for Martin on Monday as he followed a JONATHAN TIPPIN single with his 4th home run of the year, staking Santana to a 2-0 lead.

Back-to-back two out doubles by JEFF ROSENTHAL and RANDY PEREZ in the 3rd inning sliced the Santana lead in half.

The Highlanders won the game in the 5th inning when Tanida singled and JEREMY PETERSON pounded a 2-run home run to dead center field.

“Martin is one of the toughest guys in the county,” Holland said. “He’s totally confident and can throw more than one pitch for a strike. He’s not going to throw his fastball on the first pitch every time. He’s not afraid to throw any of his pitches, no matter what the situation is. The guy is total quality.”

WEST HILLS 5, GRANITE HILLS 4 – Heading into the season most prognosticators dismissed West Hills as a factor in the Grossmont North League pennant race. Apparently first-year head coach CHRIS BAUM and his Wolf Pack did not receive that memo.

For the second time in nine starts West Hills (4-5) knocked off a Top 10 team in Monday’s (Mar. 26) Grossmont North-South Tournament game at Granite Hills.

The visiting Pack, in fact, overcame a 2-0 deficit to upend the 9th-ranked Eagles (5-3).

In the 3rd inning West Hills began its comeback. RYNE BARKLEY doubled down the left field line with one out and advanced to third on a groundout. Barkley scored on ERIC McKNIGHT’s double to left.

STEVEN SCHIMPF then went ape as he hammered a 3-1 pitch for a colossal home run over the right-center field fence, giving West Hills a 3-2 edge.

The Pack came back for more in the 5th thanks to a Granite Hills error. McKnight made the Eagles pay with a long “no doubter” to left-center field for his first homer of the season and a 5-2 West Hills lead.

That would be all the offensive support that senior BRIAN RITAYIK would need as he turned in a complete game 3-hitter against one of East County’s top offensive units.

Granite Hills made a belated comeback in the 6th inning when AUSTIN COLEMAN followed a walk to TRAVIS TAIJERON with his 5th home run of the season.

Granite Hills coach JAMES DAVIS was miffed by the umpire’s judgment of Taijeron’s apparent home run to left field in the 4th inning that would have tied the game 3-3.

“That was a horrible call,” said Davis, who is not one to badger umpires. “It went around the foul pole, but somehow the guy (umpire) missed it.

“It would be easy for us to sit here and blame the umpire for our loss, but we’ve got bigger issues than that,” Davis added. “At one point our batters took six consecutive first-pitch strikes. That’s hardly being aggressive. We are really struggling at the plate.”

Davis credited Ritayik for his complete game performance, which included 6 strikeouts.

“He was throwing strikes. It was more than just throwing his fastball over, because he proved he could spin a breaking ball over for a strike as well,” Davis said.

What could have broken the game open in the 7th, with one out, Barkley walked and Ritayik hit a double. The Eagles drew their infield in and McKnight hit a laser line drive to short. Granite Hills’ JOHNNY OMAHEN snagged it and stepped on second for an unassisted double play.

“This team, when they play, is a force to be reckoned with,” said West Hills coach CHRIS BAUM of his Pack. “They are consistently inconsistent. They have just got to believe they can beat all these teams.”

EL CAPITAN 11, MOUNT MIGUEL 3 – The Vaqueros are the current leaders to represent the Grossmont North in Friday’s (Mar. 30) Grossmont Conference Tournament championship game. But they are hardly home free.

The Vaqueros are 2-1 against GSL teams and have allowed the fewest runs.

But El Capitan (4-4) has pool play games remaining on Wednesday (Mar. 28) against Helix, and Thursday (Mar. 29) against Valhalla . The Vaqueros will need a good showing in those two games, both of which will be played in Lakeside .

For one of the few times this season El Capitan enjoyed a so-called “breather” as they jumped on top of host Mount Miguel 7-0 after 3 innings in Monday’s (Mar. 26) pool play game.

“Our guys did a great job early in the game, getting their pitch and doing something with it. We had quality at-bats early in the game,” El Capitan coach STEVE VICKERY said.

The Matadors (3-5 ) handed the Vaqueros their first run with three walks and a hit batter in the opening inning.

El Capitan didn’t break out the bats until the 2nd inning when LUCAS WHITMORE ignited a 5-run inning with a one-out double to left. BRYSON LUKACIK also had a double in that inning, which extended his season-long hitting streak to 8 games. DANIEL LEAVITT stroked an RBI single and MILES REAGAN drove in a run with a fly ball. Whitmore and ANTHONY LYBARGER executed a double-steal for the first run of that inning, a Mount Miguel error gave the Vaqueros another tally, while a bases-loaded walk to KEVIN MORTON plated a third run.

Of the 14 runs scored between the two teams, only 4 runs were earned. All of those markers belonged to the Vaqueros.

TANNER RUST led El Capitan ’s 10-hit attack with 2 doubles and a single in as many at-bats. He also stole 4 bases and scored 4 runs.

“Rust is a smart base runner,” said Vickery.

TONY ALVAREZ paced Mount Miguel with 2 hits and an RBI in 3 at-bats.

MARCO MARISCAL turned in a stout pitching performance for El Capitan, limiting the Matadors to 3 hits and no earned runs while striking out 7 in 5 innings. JAMES LONG pitched the final 2 innings, striking out 3.

“Mariscal was outstanding. This was a good outing to kind of get him back in the groove,” said Vickery.

“El Capitan is a class act,” said Mount Miguel coach BYRON GRIGSBY. “They could have actually blown us out of the water.”

© East County Sports.com
SAN DIEGO (3-25-07) — Christian High played its fifth consecutive road game in Saturday’s (Mar. 24) City Conference Tournament at Cathedral Catholic.

Playing on the road is never easy, as the Patriots (2-3) dropped a 7-2 decision to the No. 3-rated Dons. Christian was playing catch-up almost from the outset as Tyler Gaffney gave the Dons (7-2) the lead with a 2-run homer in the 2nd inning.

The Patriots cut the lead in half in the 4th inning on a double by TAYLOR EICHHORST and a single up the middle by MICHAEL GRUBER.

By the time the Patriots scored again off sophomore Jonathan Meyer, the Dons had built a 7-1 lead.

“In the 5th inning we kinda self-destructed, made some mental mistakes and didn’t make some plays,” Christian coach MIKE MITCHELL said. Cathedral scored 3 runs in that inning.

“We need to get a little better defensively in the outfield,” Mitchell added. “If we catch a fly ball in a key situation, it’s probably only a 3-2 ballgame.”

Christian managed only 4 hits off Meyer, including DANNY MITCHELL’s RBI single in the 7th.

“We battled but today we just couldn’t get it together,” Mitchell said.

Christian will host its first home game of the season when Scripps Ranch visits on Tuesday (Mar. 27) at 3 p.m.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON 3-24-07) — The Grossmont Foothillers recorded a record-breaking blowout in Friday’s (Mar. 23) Grossmont North-South Tournament. Not because they mauled visiting Monte Vista, 20-3, but rather how they did it.

The Foothillers scored a Grossmont Conference record 17 runs in the 4th inning, breaking the previous mark of 16 established by the 1989 Foothillers against Mount Miguel.

Grossmont (7-1) sent 21 batters to the plate, generating 8 hits – 5 of them home runs – including 2 by CHARLIE PIRO. A junior who is also the Foothillers’ football quarterback, Piro led off the inning with a home run over the right-center field fence. He concluded the wild inning with a grand slam, which was his third hit of the game and the third hit of his varsity baseball career.

Grossmont’s home run parade in the 4th also included NICK LONGMIRE’s East County-leading 5th homer with a man aboard, a 3-run shot by JOSH SIMMS and a solo blast over the scoreboard by BRIAN HAAR.

The 17-run outburst included a 2-run double by KYLE SECCIANI, 6 batters hit by pitches, 4 errors and a walk.

The 17-run scoring spree ranks fourth highest in San Diego CIF history, topped only by La Jolla 23, Rancho Bernardo 21 and Christian 19.

LEVI STEVENS, a sophomore southpaw, was the beneficiary of the Grossmont scoring fest. Stevens gave up 5 hits but no runs over 4 innings to post his first varsity victory. He struck out 6.

Simms enjoyed one of his finest days in the leadoff spot for the Foothillers, going 3-for-4 with 4 RBI. Secciani, who has been struggling of late, slashed a pair of doubles to drive in 3 runs and also scored 3 himself.

DAVID PALACIOS had a 2-run single in the 6th inning for Monte Vista (1-6).

SPENCER REED was 2-for-3 for the Monarchs.

GRANITE HILLS 4, EL CAPITAN 1 – TRAVIS TAIJERON led the San Diego CIF with 15 home runs as a junior last season. Such numbers obviously create a reputation and have no doubt made Taijeron a marked man this spring.

Taijeron has maintained a hefty batting average – well above .400 – but did not hit his first home run until the seventh game of his senior campaign on Friday (Mar. 23) in the Eagles’ Grossmont North-South Tournament game against El Capitan in Lakeside .

After BRIAN HUMPHRIES reached first on a one-out infield single, Taijeron belted a 3-1 LUCAS WHITMORE fastball into the middle of the El Capitan parking lot, beyond the left-center field fence, for a 2-0 lead.

“He really tagged that ball. It had to go about 400 feet,” commented Granite Hills coach JAMES DAVIS. “As much as it had to help Travis’ confidence, it gave our whole team an emotional boost.”

Eagles senior pitcher ERIC KRAUSE took it from there, scattering 7 hits and striking out 9 in a complete game effort that gave him his second win in three decisions.

“It was a typical Eric Krause game,” Davis said. “He works fast, throws strikes and that keeps our defense solid.”

Granite Hills (5-2) played error-free ball against the Vaqueros (3-4).

El Capitan challenged Krause in the bottom of the 1st. The hard-nosed Eagle right-hander struck out the first two El Capitan batters before TANNER RUST singled up the middle. MILES REAGAN followed with a double to center, plating Rust. But that would be all the Vaqueros could muster.

MARK ANDERSON added an RBI double for Granite Hills in the 2nd inning and Krause plated the final run with a sacrifice fly in the 6th.

Although Granite Hills had only 6 hits off Whitmore and reliever KEVIN MORTON, they made them count.

“Granite Hills was able to bunch their hits and made them count,” said El Capitan coach STEVE VICKERY.

HELIX 6, WEST HILLS 1 – Its pitching staff depleted by injuries, Helix was in dire need of a strong pitching outing in Friday’s (Mar. 23) Grossmont North-South Tournament game at West Hills.

JEREMY PETERSON delivered. The 6-foot-6, 240-pound senior right-hander blanked the Wolf Pack (3-5) on 4 singles over 6 innings as the Highlanders (5-2) posted their third straight win.

“We’re very thin in pitching right now,” said Helix coach COLE HOLLAND. “But Peterson came up big for us and gave us our second straight quality start.”

Peterson struck out 6 and walked only 2 as he picked up his second win in three decisions.

GREG SHELBY got the final three outs but was tagged with an unearned run in the 7th.

The Highlanders took a 1-0 lead into the 3rd frame where they broke the game open by ringing up a 5-spot.

RANDY PEREZ provided the spark for the big inning with a double. He advanced to third on an infield single by DERRIC MILLER. After Miller stole third, RAUL RITCHIE ripped a double, giving the Highlanders a 3-0 advantage. One out later AARON DODD-WADDINGTON tripled home Ritchie.

A few pitches later West Hills attempted to pick off Dodd-Waddington from third, but a throwing error allowed him to score.

A 2-out double by MAHI LaBASTIDA, followed by a Peterson single, made it 6-0.

“Beating Santana and Grossmont back-to-back was great, but we needed to win this game too and we played well enough to get it,” Holland said.

West Hills avoided the shutout when BRET SKINNER drew a one-out walk and eventually scored on a throwing error in the bottom of the 7th.

SANTANA 11, MOUNT MIGUEL 1 – For awhile there Santana coach JERRY HENSON had to wonder whether he could get his Sultans’ offense in synch.

In the last 24 hours Santana (5-2-1) has produced 26 runs on 23 hits.

“We’re still swinging the bats pretty good,” said Henson. “We had a good defensive day – put some hits together and some runs on the board.”

JONATHAN TIPPIN drove in 3 runs with a pair of doubles against the Matadors (3-4). In his last two games Tippin is 4-for-7 with 4 doubles and 6 RBI.

Tippin followed a walk to RYAN STUTZ with a double, giving Santana a 1-0 lead in the 1st. It was more of the same in the 2nd, as Stutz swatted an RBI single and Tippin doubled in 2. DALLAS MARTIN then singled to left-center, scoring Tippin to make it 5-0.

Santana turned the game into a rout with 5 runs in the 6th. COREY KING contributed a run-scoring single and KYLE CULVER clubbed a 2-run homer.

Four Sultans shared in the pitching, with Martin picking up the win with 2 perfect innings in relief.

Mount Miguel avoided the shutout in the 3rd inning when JAMES TREBUS, BRYANT SHIMIZU and NICO CALAFATO swatted consecutive singles.

VALHALLA 20, EL CAJON VALLEY 1 – What had been an anemic Valhalla offense received a much-needed transfusion in Friday’s (Mar. 23) Grossmont North-South Tournament game at El Cajon Valley .

Having scored only 15 runs in their previous 6 games combined, the Norsemen (4-3) battered the Braves for 15 hits while scoring in 6 of their 7 turns at bat.

GARRETT GILES ignited the scoring onslaught with a 2-run single in the 1st inning.

Valhalla led 13-1 after three panels. A dozen Norsemen contributed to the Valhalla attack.

RYAN O’SULLIVAN cracked a 2-run homer during Valhalla ’s 7-run 3rd inning and totaled 3 RBI for the afternoon. GREG GARCIA also had 3 RBI for Valhalla .

O’Sullivan picked up his first pitching win, rationing the Braves (2-7) to 3 hits and one unearned run over four innings. He struck out 7.

Reliever TREVOR FRANK retired all 9 El Cajon Valley batters he faced, striking out 6 to earn the save.

ADRIAN PADILLA drilled a double off O’Sullivan in the 2nd inning to drive in the Braves’ only run.

Trailing by 12 runs at the time, the Braves missed a scoring opportunity in the 3rd inning. They loaded the bases with one out on an error, a single by JOSE TORRES and O’Sullivan plunked ADRIAN TORRES. But O’Sullivan escaped with a strikeout and a pop-up.

Highlights have been few and far between for the struggling Braves, who have lost seven in a row. Diehard veteran coach WAYNE WEIGHTMAN noted that CHRIS LENCZEWSKI retired the Norsemen on 6 pitches – one by strikeout – in the 7th inning.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (3-23-07) — One thing the Monte Vista Monarchs have come to learn about playing baseball at El Cajon Valley High – watch out for Mother Nature.

The Monarchs built up a 7-0 lead in Thursday’s (Mar. 22) Grossmont North-South Tournament game against the Braves, but did not leave with a victory. The game was stopped with two outs in the top of the 4th inning when nearby lightning strikes caused the umpires to send the teams to their respective dugouts.

“You don’t mess around with lightning,” Vetterling said. “I’ve seen enough of it where I’m from. Back there you have to wait 45 minutes before resuming play for every time you see a streak of lightning. And there were probably half a dozen visible strikes over a 20-minute stretch here today. I knew when we came off the field that we weren’t going to be able to continue. It was just too dangerous.”

Then a light rain began to fall. The game could have continued if only rain were involved. But the umpires decided the field was getting too wet, and it was beginning to get dark.

So the game was declared “no contest” and will start over on Tuesday (Mar. 27) at 4 p.m.

It was a tough break for the Monarchs who have won only one of their six starts. They had control of this game, pounding out 8 hits.

Junior catcher ANTHONY MARCON drove in 3 runs with a pair of singles to pace Monte Vista. Unfortunately for him, those numbers will be stricken from the record because the two teams were unable to complete the necessary five innings to make it an official game.

“I don’t know what it is about this place, but we’ve had a similar scenario the last two years we’ve played here,” Marcon said. “It was hailing when we played here last year.”

But that game continued and the Monarchs prevailed.

“We had a delay of about 10-15 minutes, but the storm passed by and we were able to finish,” Marcon recalled.

“I’ve never seen it come in so fast,” Monte Vista coach LARRY RINEHART said of the thunderstorm. “It was like I was back in Missouri (where he’s from). You don’t expect to see this in Southern California.”

Santana's Jon Tippin (bottom) slides safely into second base with the steal, as Steele Canyon second baseman Donnie Frank can do nothing but catch the ball to prevent it from sailing into center field. The Sultans breezed, 15-5. (Photo by Greg Eichelberger)

© East County Sports.com
SANTEE (3-22-07) — Santana coach JERRY HENSON never thought of his Sultans as being a high-scoring team going into the season. But he did expect a little more output than what his club had generated in its first six games

Nick Sica of Santana slams a 2-run double, one of six extra-base hit by the Sultans. (Photo by Greg Eichelberger)

The Sultans hit a gusher in Wednesday’s (Mar. 21) Grossmont North-South Tournament against visiting Steele Canyon. Santana (4-2-1) ripped off 6 extra base hits on its way to a 15-5 tanning of the Cougars

“We’ve been lagging on offense lately,” said Santana senior JONATHAN TIPPIN. “We’ve had some guys in slumps and personally, I’ve been in a slump. But this was a good day to break out.”

Tippin, who has ranked among East County’s top hitters the past two seasons, was batting .278 before Steele Canyon came to town. The senior center-fielder provided the key hit of the day when he tagged a bases-loaded double to right-center field, turning a 3-2 deficit into a 5-3 lead

“We kind of switched up my swing a little bit the day before,” Tippin said of spending extra time working on his hitting with his coaches. “Basically what I did is loosen up my hands a little bit, spread my feet out and let the ball come deeper.”

The three-year veteran also received an added incentive from Steele Canyon. The Cougars, who were leading by one at the time, decided to intentionally walk Santana leadoff hitter RYAN STUTZ to load the bases with one out in the 4th.

“That just gave me motivation, you know,” said Tippin. “I know why they did it, but it was still a form of disrespect. So I just went up there and banged it.”

It was the first of 2 doubles for Tippin who also scored 3 runs and stole a base

“We’ve been beating ourselves lately,” he added. “But that’s behind us now. We’re going to bounce back.”

The top five hitters in the Santana batting order were a collective 9-for-20 with 14 RBI and 9 runs scored.

DALLAS MARTIN slugged a 2-run homer – his 3rd of the season – in the 6th inning after plating a run with a bases-loaded walk in the 5th

Sultans pitcher Kyle Culver struckout seven Cougars without issuing any walks for the 15-5 victory. (Photo by Greg Eichelberger)

Catcher NICK SICA drove in 3 runs with a pair of singles, and BRANDYN BELL rang up 3 RBI with a 2-run double in the 4th and an RBI single in the 5th

“We hit the ball pretty hard,” Henson said. “It’s about time.”

Steele Canyon (4-3) scored three time in the top of the 1st inning to put the pressure on the Sultans

JORDAN HINDI, who was 3-for-4 with 2 runs scored on the afternoon, ignited the early rally with a base hit

DONNIE FRANK followed with a bunt single. MARK BELLATTI hit into a fielder’s choice to score Hindi, and KYLE KERSTETTER singled in a second run. ANDREW BELLATTI plated a third run with a sacrifice fly before Santana pitcher KYLE CULVER snuffed out the rally with back-to-back strikeouts

Steele Canyon starting pitcher ANDREW BRUDER allowed only one run and 2 hits through the first three innings before the roof caved in in the 4th

“Bruder was cruising there for awhile,” said Steele Canyon coach PHIL MITTRY. “And then he got the ball up – lost his location. Everything was down the heart (of the plate) and you can’t do that against a quality team like Santana.”

WEST HILLS 5, MOUNT MIGUEL 1 – Few of the preseason prognostications include West Hills as any kind of factor in the Grossmont North League pennant race. That was before the Wolf Pack played its first non-league game

Now that West Hills is off to a 3-4 start, including Wednesday’s (Mar. 21) win over visiting Mount Miguel in the Grossmont North-South Tournament, those who doubt the power of the Pack might want to reconsider

This was a come-from-behind win for West Hills, which did all of its scoring in its final three turns at bat

Trailing 1-0 in the 4th, West Hills got a one-out double to left-center from ERIC McKNIGHT. STEVEN SCHIMPF singled to center, sending McKnight to third where he eventually scored on BRIAN RITAYIK’s sacrifice fly

The Wolf Pack grabbed the lead in the 5th. Pinchhitter TONY SPEARS walked and stole second. He advanced to third on BLAINE HOFFARD’s sacrifice bunt

Rookie skipper CHRIS BAUM called for a bunt for the second batter in a row and AARON GAGNON laid down a perfect squeeze, scoring Spears

“We are not really hitting the cover off the ball right now,” Baum said. “We have to go back and play some little ball – you have to put down sacrifices and squeeze plays.”

Gagnon’s bunt was so good that he was able to beat it out for an infield hit

“Gagnon is a great spark plug,” Baum said. “He just causes havoc on the bases. He’s a good, aggressive baserunner.”

The West Hills 5th continued thanks to some Mount Miguel shortcomings. Two West Hills runs scored on wild pitches, taking the Wolf Pack to a 4-1 lead

After two Mount Miguel errors with two outs in the 6th, Gagnon brought in the final run of the game with a single

Gagnon’s game doesn’t end with his offense

“He leads the team behind the plate, he’s a great catcher – one of the best catchers I’ve seen at this level,” said Baum. “He’s smart behind the plate, frustrates hitters – gets into their heads

McKnight and Gagnon accounted for four of the Wolf Packs seven hits

“McKnight is consistently hitting close to .600 (.450 to be exact), I don’t even think the kid has broken out yet,” said Baum

Ritayik allowed only 5 hits and no earned runs over six innings. He walked one and struck out 6

“Ritayik is a diamond in the rough,” Baum said

The only run for Mount Miguel (3-4) came with two outs in the 4th as JAMES TREBUS and TONY ALVAREZ hit back-to-back singles. Trebus went to third when the right-fielder bobbled the ball. DAVID WYNN then hit a squibber between third base and the pitcher’s mound for an infield single, scoring Trebus.

© East County Sports.com
SAN DIEGO (3-21-07) — Junior EDDIE YOUNG, arguably the best player on the Christian High baseball team, made his 2007 debut as the Patriots designated hitter in Tuesday’s (Mar. 20) City Conference Tournament opener at Morse

Recovering from a severe ankle sprain, Young’s role for the Patriots was limited as he did not assume his normal shortstop position. However, he should be ready to pick up his glove very soon

As the Patriots edged the Tigers 4-3, Young hit a double, a triple and stole a base. It was Young’s triple to right-center field that scored DANNY MITCHELL (walk) with what proved to be the winning run in the 4th inning

Young opened the ballgame with a double to right-center field. He advanced to third on BRYAN MITCHELL’s bunt single and scored on TAYLOR EICHHORST’s fly ball to right

The Patriots (2-2) made it 2-0 in the 2nd inning without benefit of a hit. However, shoddy fielding by Christian handed the Tigers (1-6) three runs in the bottom of the 2nd

Christian answered back in the top of the 3rd. Bryan Mitchell singled to center and scored when Eichhorst tripled to center, making it 3-3

“We got good production out of the top of our order as the top three guys had six of our seven hits,” said Christian coach MIKE MITCHELL

The only other hit for the Patriots was a leadoff single in the 4th by MICHAEL GRUBER. However, he was quickly erased in a double play

Not to be overlooked was the complete game pitching of JOHN GEE. The junior right-hander pitched a 5-hitter, survived 4 walks and struck out 7 to post his first varsity win

“Gee pitched a really good game for us,” Mitchell said. “In the 5th inning, following two outs and a walk, we were getting ready to take him out. But then he retired the next 10 batters.”

© East County Sports.com
LA MESA (3-20-07) — The Grossmont Foothillers were brought back to reality during Monday’s (Mar. 19) opening round of the Grossmont North-South Tournament courtesy of the host Helix Highlanders

With chests puffed out and gaudy statistics to match en route to a 6-0 start, the Foothillers fell flat on their faces. Nemesis No. 1 in Grossmont’s pratfall was Helix pitcher MAHI LaBASTIDA, who held the Hillers – with a team batting average of .400 – to a four hits while spinning a complete game shutout in a 6-0 Helix upset win

“I was pretty nervous, knowing that I was pitching against one of the best teams in the county,” LaBastida said. “But I kept my composure up there and worked hard.”

LaBastida, who has had a hand in three of Helix’s four victories – two of them saves – gave credit to his catcher, ZACH TANIDA

LaBastida had the Foothillers guessing throughout the contest

“They really didn’t know what was coming because I have five pitches – fastball, curveball, change, splitty and slider,” he said. “I was able to throw all of them for strikes today.”

With his game based on the offspeed pitch, LaBastida noted that the Foothillers were unable to touch his slider

“That thing was working really good,” he said. “That was my best pitch, my out pitch today. It was breaking hard to the left. They either looked at it or swung away and couldn’t touch it.”

Helix scored 5 runs in the 2nd inning to provide LaBastida with an early cushion

A one-out single by AARON DODD-WADDINGTON set the stage for Tanida’s second home run of the season – a shot over the left-center field fence. LaBastida kept the rally going with a basehit to left and rode home when JEREMY PETERSON pounded an 0-2 pitch from JUSTIN MASON over the left-center field fence to make it 4-0

The Highlanders kept coming in that same inning when JEFF ROSENTHAL walked and advanced to third on the first of two RANDY PEREZ doubles. After DERRIC MILLER walked to load the bases, RAUL RITCHIE brought in Rosenthal with a sacrifice fly

Ritchie capped the scoring with a solo home run in the 5th inning

“I think we’re a pretty good team right now,” said LaBastida. “I think we played a great team today (No. 2 ranked Grossmont). We have a lot of seniors and we’re coming up big right now.”

The loss snapped a 17-game winning streak (dating back to last season) for the Foothillers, who were flat from start to finish against the Highlanders (4-2)

Tanida shared credit for the Highlanders’ biggest win of the season today with LaBastida

“We were on the same page the entire game,” Tanida said. “We had great communication and we came in with a strategy of what we wanted to do against these guys. He had great control and hit his spots. With Mahi not being an overpowering pitcher, he’s perfect against a team like Grossmont. They swung through a lot of pitches.”

Grossmont coach ROB PHILLIPS was hardly stunned by the outcome

“I knew when we walked in the gate we were in trouble,” Phillips said. “I know we couldn’t play any better than we did on Saturday (Mar. 17), and we couldn’t play any worse than we played today

“I’m not taking anything away from Helix. Their pitcher threw a great ballgame against us. They made all the plays and our at-bats were absolutely horrible.”

VALHALLA 1, SANTANA 0 – In a classic pitching duel, matching Santana’s DALLAS MARTIN and Valhalla ’s BOBBY WILKINS, the Norsemen prevailed on TOMAS KARAGIANES’ single to right-center field in the 5th inning of Monday’s (Mar. 19) Grossmont North-South Tournament contest in Rancho San Diego

“We’ve been in one-run games in four of our first six,” said Valhalla coach STEVE PERDUE

Not surprisingly, the pitching-laden Norsemen (3-3) have won 3 of those 4 close encounters

All of Valhalla ’s victories belong to Wilkins (3-0), who blanked the Sultans on 3 hits and struck out 10 in a complete-game effort. Not many pitchers have reached 90 mph on the radar gun, but Wilkins is one of the few

“In the early parts of the game Wilkins was overpowering, hitting 90-92 mph,” said Perdue. “When he has the mindset to stick with his fastball, which has a lot of movement, he can really be tough. For some reason he tried to start off hitters with a curveball. He was inconsistent.”

Wilkins realized his curveball wasn’t getting it done

“My breaking ball wasn’t doing what I wanted it to do,” explained the 6-foot-3, 210-pound right-hander. “So I went with more change-ups and that turned out to be my out pitch.”

Wilkins said, “This is probably the best game I’ve pitched this season because I was able to adjust.”

The only run of the game came in the 5th inning. Valhalla ’s TYLER KEATON led off with a single to center and kept on running when the Sultan’s outfielder let the ball get by him to the fence. Keaton wound up at third base with nobody out

Santana’s ace Martin got the next two outs before surrendering the decisive single to Karagianes

Santana (3-2-1) was not without its scoring chances

The Sultans best bet was in the 4th. With one out Martin singled to left and it appeared that he was going to score on a double to left-center by NICK SICA. However, Sica’s ball became a ground-rule double as it bounced over the fence

“Sica really smoked that ball,” Santana coach JERRY HENSON said. “It should have been a triple but the hop didn’t go our way.”

Wilkins, after dealing an intentional walk to BRANDYN BELL to load the bases with one out in the 4th, struck out the next Sultan and then relied on his defense to bail him out of the jam

Santana’s CHRIS RABICHAUD hit a chopper back up the middle that took a high hop. Valhalla shortstop RYAN O’SULLIVAN made an acrobatic leap to snag the ball and step on second base for the inning-ending force-out

STEELE CANYON 4, WEST HILLS 2 – No doubt those who follow the Grossmont South League consider Steele Canyon no better than a dark horse in this year’s race

While the players would obviously take issue to that kind of thinking, Cougars coach PHIL MITTRY prefers to remain in that stealth mode

ANDREW BRUDER’s 2-run single broke a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the 6th inning to launch the Cougars (4-2) to their third win in four starts

Earlier in the game Bruder drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the 4th frame, which gave Steele Canyon a 2-0 edge at the time

But a major contributor to Steele Canyon ’s victory was pitcher ANDREW BELLATTI. The sophomore right-hander limited the Wolf Pack (2-4) to 3 hits and 2 earned runs while striking out 10 and walking none. Bellatti was awarded his first win for his efforts

“I was very impressed with Andrew Bellatti,” said Mittry. “He is working on his spots, hitting them really well and had a good fastball going. He worked well with our pitching coach today. He did a great job for a sophomore.”

West Hills, which tied the game 2-2 in the top of the 6th on DAVID BRISTOL’s 2-run double, loaded the bases in the 7th on two walks and a basehit

Enter junior reliever ALEC BARTLEY

“Bartley came into a tough situation late in the game and got his second save,” Mittry said. “In his two saves, both times he came in with the bases loaded and got the out.”

EL CAPITAN 6, MONTE VISTA 1 – Senior LUCAS WHITMORE has been hidden in the shadows of the El Capitan baseball program the last two seasons

In Monday’s (Mar. 19) first round of the Grossmont North-South Tournament it was Whitmore’s turn to shine. The left-hand hitting centerfielder pounded out 3 hits in 4 at-bats as the Vaqueros dispatched the Monarchs in Spring Valley

Not only did Whitmore drive in the game-winning RBI, he also keyed a 2-run 4th inning with a leadoff double

“It was a big day for Whitmore,” said El Capitan coach STEVE VICKERY. “He didn’t have much success with a bat as a junior so it was nice to see him come through.”

KEVIN MORTON has been money in the bank for the Vaqueros (3-3). The junior right-hander rationed Monte Vista (1-5) to 5 hits while striking out 10 en route to a complete game performance. Morton, who walked only one, increased his East County-leading strikeout total to 32

“Once again Kevin was outstanding for us,” Vickery said of Morton, who owns all three of El Capitan ’s pitching victories. “He stayed ahead in the count and was able to throw his curveball for strikes any time he wanted to.”

BRYSON LUKACIK followed a RYAN INVERSO double with a basehit, extending the Vaqueros advantage to 3-0 in the 3rd inning. Lukacik’s basehit stretched his hitting streak to a season-long 6 games in a row

Shortstop TANNER RUST was 2-for-3 for the Vaqueros

On the Monte Vista side, BO AGUILAR went 2-for-3 to extend his hitting streak to 5 games

Monte Vista avoided Morton’s shutout bid in the 6th inning when the Monarchs loaded the bases on consecutive singles by CORY COOPER, Aguilar and MATT MORRIS. Cooper eventually scored on a wild pitch

GRANITE HILLS 16, EL CAJON VALLEY 1 – Granite Hills coach JAMES DAVIS was proud to say that he inserted 19 players into Monday’s (Mar. 19) Grossmont North-South Tournament rout of visiting El Cajon Valley

“That must be some kind of record,” Davis said

Records are not kept for such things but Davis made his point by clearing his bench

AUSTIN COLEMAN slammed his 4th home run and went 3-for-5 with 4 RBI for the Eagles (4-2). BRIAN HUMPHRIES also drove in 4 runs with a 3-run homer, an RBI triple and finished 3-for-3

Granite Hills scored all the runs it would need in the 1st inning. Humphries sparked the rally with a one-out single, advanced to second on a passed ball, and then stole third. He scored on TRAVIS TAIJERON’s basehit. Taijeron went to second on a error and scored a single by Coleman. ERIC KRAUSE capped the 3-run 1st with a scoring flyball

It was more of the same in the 2nd inning as Granite Hills extended its lead to 6-0. JOSH QUERIONES doubled and scored on a triple by Humphries, who scored on Taijeron’s groundout. One out later LOUIS CAZARES homered over the scoreboard in center field

The Eagles broke the game open with 5 runs in the 3rd. Humphries’ 3-run homer was the key blow in that inning

The Eagles’ scoring parade continued in the 4th with 3 runs. TYLER PONCIANO swatted a sacrifice fly, Coleman cranked an RBI double, and a third run scored on a wild pitch

In the 6th Ponciano singled and Coleman smacked his 4th home run of the season

Sophomore southpaw TRAVIS HOPPER limited the Braves to 3 hits and one run while striking out 6 over 5 innings to gain the win

“Travis is an emerging pitcher,” said Davis . “He’s very sure of himself and he has a bright up-side. He controls three pitches and his best games are ahead of him.”

El Cajon Valley (2-6) avoided the shutout with a run in the 4th inning

KEVIN CARREON doubled, advanced to third on ABEL SANCHEZ’s single, and scored on RAY AQUININGOC’s sacrifice fly.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (3-18-07) — Are the Grossmont Foothillers deserving of the No. 1 ranking in the San Diego CIF?

Coming off an impressive 14-0 rout of Bonita Vista in Saturday’s (Mar. 17) finals of the 10th annual Foothiller-Aztec Classic at Joe Gizoni Field, Grossmont’s record stands at a perfect 6-0. Reaching back to last year the Foothillers are now riding a 17-game winning streak

“I think we’re No. 1,” said Grossmont senior outfielder NICK LONGMIRE. “We’ve come out firing this year. We have lots of talent and our ability is sky-high.”

Thanks to a 20-hit assault on six Bonita Vista pitchers, the Foothillers are now batting .400 as a team. Thanks to the senior leadership of right-hander TAYLOR WOHLWEND, Grossmont’s team ERA is an impressive 1.83

Eight Foothillers put together multi-hit games, led by Longmire who began the onslaught with a solo home run off Bonita Vista ace Guido Knudson. Longmire finished the afternoon 4-for-5 with 3 RBI

While Longmire raised his season average to .727, BRYAN HAAR went 3-for-3 with 3 RBI to hoist his average to .579. Sophomore first baseman LEVI STEVENS went 2-for-3 and is now hitting at .553

Six Foothillers are batting .300 or better

“I knew we were hitting the ball well, but I couldn’t believe it when I saw the stats,” Grossmont coach ROB PHILLIPS said

Bonita Vista coach Vincent Gervais was made a believer as he saw his Barons (4-1-1) lose for the first time this season

“The way they were hitting the ball today, they could have beaten anybody today,” Gervais said of the Foothillers

“The thing about it that impressed me is how many times we got hits when we were behind in the count,” Phillips said. “Longmire sets a great example. He’s gotten a lot of his (16) hits with two strikes. He’s willing to shorten his swing and make good contact. Right now he’s just unconscious.”

A key blow in the big inning was a 2-run double by Haar. JUSTIN MASON and KYLE SECCIANI also had RBI doubles in the wild 4th

While the Foothillers were battering the Barons, Wohlwend and CASH McCLELLAN were blanking Bonita Vista on 4 hits. Wohlwend, who owns 3 wins, 2 saves and a 1.50 ERA, worked the first four innings to pick up the win

“My curveball is working best for me,” said Wohlwend, “but I was kinda leaving my fastball up a little bit too much.”

Not that it mattered

Bonita Vista’s best scoring chance came with two outs in the 2nd inning as the Barons put two runners in scoring position. Wohlwend escaped when Longmire made a nice running catch of Christian Mua’s slicing flyball to right field

“They hit some balls hard but I got lucky today,” Wolhwend added

A junior right-hander making his varsity debut, McClellan allowed only one hit in 3 innings as he earned the save. He struck out 2 and walked none

“Taylor is our No. 1 and we wanted to keep him on a pitch count,” Phillips said. “Then McClellan came in and picked us up so we could keep Wohlwend fresh for next week."

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (3-16-07) — It wasn’t quite a case of the Granite Hills Eagles crashing out of a two-game scoring slump in Thursday’s (Mar. 15) Hilltop-Lolita’s Tournament pool play finale. The Eagles (3-2) did, however, score a season high in a 9-1 victory over visiting St. Augustine

Brian Humphries of Granite Hills slides home safely to score in the Eagles' 9-1 triumph over St. Augustine. (Photos by Greg Eichelberger)

“We hit the ball better but we still have some issues with our lineup,” said Granite Hills coach JAMES DAVIS, who’s Eagles totaled 10 hits for the afternoon

Senior catcher TRAVIS TAIJERON, who was mired in an early 2-for-10 slump, broke out with 4 hits in as many at-bats to pace the Eagles

“We all know he can hit, it’s just been a matter of getting his confidence back,” Davis said

BRIAN HUMPHRIES put together his best game of the young season, going 2-for-3 with a double, 3 runs scored and 2 RBI

“Brian hit the ball real well,” Davis said. “It’s good to see him getting back on track.”

Keeping in mind that Granite Hills had scored only one run in the previous 15 innings, Davis had to be pleased with the fast start against St. Augustine (1-4), although it wasn’t a slugfest

With one out in the bottom of the 1st, Humphries was hit by a pitch. Taijeron doubled down the left-field line, sending Humphries to third, and he scored on a wild pitch

A dropped fly ball put two Eagles on base. ERIC KRAUSE – known more for his pitching – then slashed a 2-run double to left center, giving the Eagles a 3-0 lead

Two walks, an infield single and a stolen base helped the Eagles stretch their lead to 5-0

Granite Hills added a sixth run in the 2nd inning. Singles by Humphries and Taijeron put runners at the corners. Humphries scored on AUSTIN COLEMAN’s sacrifice fly

In the 3rd inning Humphries slashed a 2-run double and Taijeron capped the scoring with run-scoring single

Senior DARREN GAY limited the Saints to 4 hits and one run over six innings to pick up his second win in as many decisions. He struck out 3 and walked none while improving his career record to 12-4

“His fastball has really picked up in velocity this year,” said Davis of Gay, whose best pitch is the change-up

Sophomore DEAN MILLER pitched a scoreless 7th and struck out one for Granite Hills

RANCHO BERNARDO 8, EL CAPITAN 7 – Coach STEVE VICKERY’s Vaqueros annually play in the Hilltop-Lolita’s Tournament because “it offers the best early-season competition.”

That’s why Vickery is not too disappointed by the Vaqueros’ 2-3 showing in this annual event, which concluded Thursday (Mar. 16) with a tough loss at undefeated Rancho Bernardo (5-0)

El Capitan rallied from an early 3-0 deficit to lead 7-3 going into the bottom of the 6th inning

“We were really playing well,” Vickery said, pointing to pitcher LUCAS WHITMORE’s ability to hold the Broncos to 3 runs and 3 hits over five frames. “We were hitting the ball well but just couldn’t close the deal.”

Vickery noted that the Vaqueros were 5-for-9 with runners in scoring position

“That’s the good news,” he said. “We had a lot of guys get good at-bats against a quality team. We were right there. We just needed to do the little things you need to do to win ball games.”

El Capitan expanded its advantage in the 6th when MILES REAGAN ripped an RBI single and Lukacik drove in a pair with a basehit

The Vaqueros could easily have scored more had they not hit into three double plays and stranded 10 baserunners

Whitmore, a senior southpaw, threw 91 pitches in 5 innings, which led Vickery to make a pitching change

“Lucas did a tremendous job,” Vickery said. “But his pitch count was high and it’s too early in the season to ask him to go longer.”

The Broncos jumped on the El Capitan bullpen for 5 runs and 6 hits over the final two frames to steal the win.

© East County Sports.com
NATIONAL CITY (3-14-07) — The visiting El Cajon Valley Braves jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 1st inning of Wednesday’s (Mar. 14) Bully’s East Invitational consolation game at Sweetwater High

KEVIN CARREON led off with a single, advance to third of a throwing error, and scored on ABEL CERVANTES’ sacrifice fly to center

It was all downhill for the Braves (2-5) after that

Sweetwater (2-4) scored five runs in the bottom of the 1st, as the Red Devils continued on for a 10-1 victory

Since starting the season 2-0 the Braves have been outscored 75-5 during their current 5-game losing streak.

El Cajon Valley self-destructed, committing eight errors, which handed Sweetwater four unearned runs

After allowing the 1st inning run, Sweetwater senior Armando Guerrero limited the Braves to a 5th inning single by ADRIAN TORRES, who was immediately thrown out attempting to steal

Guerrero, who faced only two batters over the minimum in seven innings, struck out five. El Cajon Valley pitchers and MATT THOMAS and Torres fanned three apiece.

© East County Sports.com
SANTEE (3-14-07) — When CHRIS BAUM accepted the West Hills coaching post there were no expectations for the Wolf Pack, considering the majority of the team had graduated

“I knew when I came in that basically I’d be building from the ground up,” he said

So far West Hills is 2-3 under Baum. But the prospect of a sparkling future came to light in Tuesday’s (Mar. 13) Foothiller-Aztec Classic finale when the host Wolf Pack knocked off No. 2 ranked Valhalla, 8-3

“For a first-year coach as I am, this has got to be one of the best wins I’ll have in my career,” Baum said. “It’s one of those games I’ll probably never forget. To beat a team with all the tradition that Valhalla and its great coach STEVE PERDUE have is really special

“It should really put a fire under our team.”

Sophomore BRENNAN TAYLOR scattered 5 hits, allowed 3 runs and struck out 6 to pick up the victory

“Taylor was absolutely amazing,” Baum said of his 6-foot-3, 160-pound right-hander. “He’s a hard thrower who’s only going to get better. He just battled out there today.”

Senior BRIAN RITAYIK pitched 2 innings of one-hit shutout relief to earn the save

“Once we got the lead at 5-3, Ritayik came up to me and said he wanted the ball - he wanted to finish it off,” Baum said

Ritayik did just that

In addition to his clutch pitching Ritayik broke the game open in the bottom of the 6th with a 2-run triple to left-center to cap the scoring

It was the third straight loss for Valhalla (2-3). The Norsemen started out strong enough as GREG GARCIA walked, RYAN O’SULLIVAN doubled and CHRIS THOMAS singled to give Valhalla a 2-0 lead in the opening inning

West Hills tied it in the bottom of the 1st on STEVEN SCHIMPF’s 2-run double off the center field fence

Valhalla regained the lead in the 2nd inning. TOMAS KARAGIANES singled and stole second and eventually scored on O’Sullivan’s basehit to left

In the bottom of the 3rd, the Wolf Pack produced the tying run as AARON GAGNON singled, stole second and scored on ERIC McKNIGHT’s double

West Hills took the lead in the 5th inning without benefit of a hit. Gagnon walked, stole second and scored when pinchhitter WILL CRUMPLER’s sacrifice bunt was thrown away by the Valhalla pitcher. McKnight brought in Crumpler with a sacrifice fly

HELIX 8, SANTANA 7 – After one inning it appeared Santana was going to dismantle visiting Helix Tuesday (Mar. 13) in Santee and secure a berth in the Foothiller-Aztec Classic finals

The Sultans (3-1-1) parlayed 6 walks and 2-run home runs by DALLAS MARTIN and BRANDYN BELL to lead 5-0 after the 1st inning

The Highlanders (3-2), however, wasted little time coming back, scoring 7 runs in the next two innings to lead 7-5

Santana tied it in the 4th, but Helix won it in the 5th on a dropped fly ball

“How often can you expect to win against a quality team when you walk six guys and give up two homers in the 1st inning?” Helix coach COLE HOLLAND pondered

The Highlanders launched their comeback in the 2nd inning on a double by AARON DODD-WADDINGTON, which was the first of 6 consecutive hits

ZACH TANIDA followed with a 2-run homer over the right-center field fence

MAHI LaBASTIDA kept the rally alive with a basehit, JEREMY PETERSON followed with a single and STEVEN PEREZ ran for him. After CALEB SCHUMAKER’s single loaded the bases, RANDY PEREZ sliced a base hit down the right field line, scoring two

Suddenly the Highlanders were back in the game, trailing by a single run

Santana sophomore reliever JAMES NEEDY came in to quell the rally by serving up a double-play ball and an inning-ending groundout

In the 3rd inning the Highlanders were right back at it. A walk to MATT COBB, a base hit by Dodd-Waddington and a misplay on Tanida’s bunt loaded the bases for Helix. Back-to-back passed balls handed the Highlanders 2 runs and a 6-5 lead

Santana made a pitching change, bringing in Martin, their ace

LaBastida laid down a squeeze bunt which scored Tanida, giving Helix a 2-run cushion

Sloppy play reigned supreme after that as the Sultans tied the game on a passed ball and an error in the 4th

Helix received the winning marker in the 5th when Cobb reached base on an error, stole second and LaBastida’s fly ball to right field was dropped

Helix receiver GREG SHELBY made his first extensive relief appearance, limiting the Sultans to 4 hits and no earned runs while striking out 3 in 4 1/3 innings

“It was just a great job by Shelby. He sucked up some innings when we had to have it,” said Holland, noting that sophomore pitcher MIKE ANDRADE will be lost to the team for two weeks after undergoing an emergency appendectomy on Saturday (Mar. 10)

LaBastida blanked the Sultans over the final two innings to log his second save

For Santana, Martin was the hard-luck loser, pitching 5 strong innings of hitless relief. He walked one and struck out 7, but could not overcome his team’s defensive lapses

“We gave them one more run than they gave us,” said Santana coach JERRY HENSON. “I feel bad for Dallas. He’s pitched 15 innings and allowed only 2 earned runs, and yet does not have a win.”

FALLBROOK 9, EL CAPITAN 5 – Coach STEVE VICKERY and his Vaqueros probably hope Fallbrook senior Shawn Sanford never sets foot on their field again

Sanford was a one-man wrecking crew against the Vaqueros, driving in 7 runs with a pair of home runs in the opening two frames of Tuesday’s (Mar. 13) Hilltop-Lolita’s Tournament contest in Lakeside

But it wasn’t only the senior standout’s hitting that bothered El Capitan (2-2)

“That guy just killed us,” said Vickery. “He was running up that centerfield bank like he plays here every day. He made three catches that cost us six runs.”

Trailing 7-0, El Capitan fought back in the 2nd inning with solo home runs by MILES REAGAN and NATHAN KIRBY

The Vaqueros were in position for a big inning in the 3rd with two runners on and one out. Reagan clubbed a shot to center that appeared to be marked for a double and 2 RBI, but Sanford made like a mountain goat as he climbed the hill to rob Reagan

One batter later ANDY HALE smashed a similar shot that Vickery thought surely would hit halfway up the bank. Once again, though, Sanford negotiated the hill to make the catch

Finally in the 4th, El Capitan was able to add two runs. After ANTHONY LYBARGER’s bunt single loaded the bases, ANDREW CHANDLER walked to force in a run

Then TAELOR WORRELL belted a deep to deep right-center field

“That ball had “triple” written all over it,” Vickery said. Apparently the coach forgot about who was playing center field for Fallbrook

Once again, Sanford scaled the hill to make the catch

As consolation, Worrell’s drive turned into a sacrifice fly, allowing Kirby to score from third

El Capitan scored its final run in the 5th on a double by Reagan and an RBI single by BRYSON LUKACIK. The Vaqueros might have had more except Kirby’s line drive was right at the Fallbrook third baseman, who turned it into an inning-ending double play

Reagan went 3-for-4 with 2 doubles and a home run to pace El Capitan ’s 10-hit attack. Lukacik and Lybarger added 2 hits apiece

The Foothillers will host Bonita Vista (4-0-1) in the tournament final on Saturday (Mar. 17) at 10:30 a.m

“We’re happy to be where we are, but it’s not like we’re playing great baseball,” said Grossmont coach ROB PHILLIPS

Sophomore southpaw LEVI STEVENS pitched 4 innings of one-hit ball and provided a game-winning RBI double in the 6th for Grossmont

NICK LONGMIRE pitched 2 innings in relief to pick up the win and also went 3-for-4 with 2 runs, 2 stolen bases and an RBI double

TAYLOR WOHLWEND pitched a shutout 7th to earn his second save

Grossmont took a 2-0 lead in the 1st inning on DEREK BAUM’s sacrifice fly and an RBI single by JUSTIN MASON. With the score tied 3-3 entering the 6th, Baum singled and ANDREW FORD ran for him. Stevens blasted a double into left-center field, scoring Ford with what proved to be the game-winning run

BRYAN HAAR slugged an RBI single, giving Grossmont a 3-run lead in the top of the 5th

Ceballos struck out 4 and walked only one as the Cougars improved to 3-2

“He was in control the whole game,” said Steele Canyon coach PHIL MITTRY. “He threw a lot of strikes, was up in the count all day.”

ANDREW BELLATTI followed a 2nd inning single by KYLE KESTETTER with a booming home run to left field, staking Steele Canyon to a 2-0 lead

“We’re not going to hit a whole lot of home runs, but that was a legit shot,” Mittry said. “We’re going to have to play small ball, make things happen. We have to be creative – more than we have been in the past

“You know me, I don’t like to bunt. I don’t think we bunted at all last year when we had more power,” he continued. “But look at this game today. We had two key bunts that helped us win the game. We’re a different team this year and we have to play to our strengths.”

The Cougars opened up a 4-1 lead in the 4th inning

ERIC CARRILLO singled and stole second. After ANDREW BRUDER walked, TOMMY HOYT, attempting to sacrifice, laid down a perfect bunt for a base hit. In his haste to make a play on Hoyt at first, the Marian pitcher threw the ball away, allowing Carrillo to score

Freshman CODY LEWIS, who was 2-for-2 with 2 RBI, drove in Bruder with a sacrifice fly to center

POWAY 2, GRANITE HILLS 1 – For the second game in a row the Granite Hills Eagles went stagnant on offense in Tuesday’s (Mar. 13) Hilltop-Lolita’s Tournament action at Poway . But they almost got away with it, thanks to the superb pitching of senior right-hander ERIC KRAUSE

Krause blanked the defending San Diego CIF Division I champion Titans over 5-plus innings before Poway ’s Jake Chilton clubbed an RBI double in the bottom of the 6th to tie the game at 1-1

Things got worse for the Eagles in the bottom of the 7th when a 2-out wild pitch presented Poway (3-1) with the winning run

“In the (top of the) 7th inning we had bases loaded with nobody out, and we can’t score,” said Granite Hills coach JAMES DAVIS. “Then we give the game away in the bottom half.”

LOUIS CAZARES and AUSTIN COLEMAN collected 2 hits apiece for the Eagles, who have tallied just one run in the last 15 innings

Coleman’s leadoff single in the 2nd inning keyed Granite Hills’ only run of the game. KYLE JOHNSTON was hit by a pitch and then Krause walked to load the bases with nobody out

Granite Hills failed to get the big hit that inning as JOSH QUERIONES’ infield grounder drove in the run

The Eagles scored 8 runs in each of their first two games – both victories

CARLSBAD 11, MONTE VISTA 6 – The visiting Monarchs fell into a 6-1 hole after two innings of Tuesday’s (Mar. 13) Foothiller-Aztec Classic in North County

Monte Vista (1-4) cut the deficit to 6-5 in the 5th inning. The big hit of the day for the Monarchs was CODY MORRIS’s pinch hit double with the bases loaded in that inning. ANTHONY LOPEZ, BO AGUILAR and MATT MORRIS all scored on that hit

Carlsbad (1-4) came right back with 4 runs in the bottom of the 5th. SDCIF home run leader John Talley clubbed a 2-run homer in the decisive 5th

SPENCER REED went 2-for-4 with a double and 2 RBI for the Monarchs. Aguilar also had 2 hits and scored twice

“We have a lot of work to do,” said Monte Vista coach LARRY RINEHART.

© East County Sports.com
SPRING VALLEY (3-13-07) — The Matadors made more errors (5) than hits (4) and that proved to be a bad combination in Monday’s (Mar. 12) final round of pool play in the Bully’s East Invitational game at Mount Miguel

Francis Parker (3-2), ranked No. 8 in the San Diego CIF preseason ratings, mashed the Matadors 11-3 for its third straight win after an 0-2 start

Mount Miguel (3-2) suffered its second straight loss following a 3-0 start

The Matadors found themselves playing catch-up from the opening inning as Parker notched three markers in the top of the 1st

Mount Miguel bounced back with 2 runs without benefit of a hit in the bottom of the inning

After the Lancers made it 4-2 in the 2nd, Mount Miguel matched that tally in the bottom of the frame. MIKE KOESTERER singled, advanced to second on RICKY SOLARZANO’s sacrifice bunt and scored on ALEX VANDERHYDE’s basehit

Mount Miguel would garner only 2 hits the rest of the way – a double by JAMES TREBUS and a second single by Vanderhyde. As a team the Matadors stole 6 bases

The Matadors were still within striking distance until Parker scored 4 unearned runs in the top of the 7th. Nick Noonan hammered a 2-run homer for the Lancers in the final frame

“Morse took a little fight out of us and San Ysidro took our heart,” said Mount Miguel coach BYRON GRIGSBY. “We’re a little beat up, and little tired. Coming in we prepared a lot mentally. We just need to get our focus back, then we’ll start winning again.”

SD-SOUTHWEST 9, EL CAJON VALLEY 1 – Seven errors submarined the pitching efforts of three El Cajon Valley pitchers Monday (Mar. 12) as host San Diego Southwest won its first Bully’s East Invitational game at the Braves’ expense.

Only four of the Raiders’ runs were earned as they collected 6 singles, a double and a triple

El Cajon Valley loaded the bases with 2 outs in the 1st on singles by MATT THOMAS and ABEL CERVANTES along with a walk to RAY AQUININGOC. But Southwest pitcher Gary Pendleton escaped the jam with an inning-ending strikeout

Pendleton went on to strike out 8 of the next 10 Braves he faced, and finished with 13 Ks in a complete game effort

“Pendleton threw a great game against us,” said El Cajon Valley coach WAYNE WEIGHTMAN

El Cajon Valley avoided the shutout with a run in the 5th inning on 2 Southwest errors and a basehit by KEVIN CARREON.

© East County Sports.com
CHULA VISTA (3-11-07) — El Capitan’s roster is dotted by many new faces. But the Vaqueros continue to produce victories more often than not

MILES REAGAN singled in the winning run in the top of the 8th inning to give El Capitan a 5-4 win over Hilltop in Saturday’s (Mar. 10) Hilltop-Lolita’s Tournament game at Hilltop

ANTHONY LYBARGER went 3-for-4 with 2 RBI for the Vaqueros, while ANDY HALE and BRYSON LUKACIK each went 2-for-5 with an RBI

KEVIN MORTON pitched 2 overpowering innings of relief, striking out 5 to pick up his second win in as many decisions

“When Morton is on the mound we have a chance against anybody,” El Capitan coach STEVE VICKERY said. “He’s very much like CRISTIAN GARCIA, only he has a better curveball.”

Vickery also praised his neophyte-dominated lineup of hitters

“Lybarger is just a clutch player who can play a lot of positions for us,” he said. “In the last three games he has started in left field, center field and second base

As for Hale, Vickery said “He’s very aggressive and had a pretty good week for us.”

El Capitan took a 3-2 lead on an RBI single by Lybarger in the 5th inning. Hilltop tied the game in the bottom of the frame

Once again, in the top of the 7th, Lybarger delivered an RBI single to give the Vaqueros a 4-3 edge. And for the second time, Hilltop tied the game in the bottom of the inning

The Foothillers (3-0) survived 5 errors by pounding out 16 hits, including home runs by NICK LONGMIRE, AUGIE WILLIAMS and DEREK BAUM to smash Steele Canyon in Saturday’s (Mar. 10) Foothiller-Aztec Classic game at Monte Vista

The rout was on when Grossmont scored 11 runs after two outs in the 5th inning

Longmire started the big inning with a two-out solo home run – his third. The Cougars kept the door open by booting a potential inning-ending ground ball

Before Steele Canyon could get the final out in that frame, JUSTIN MASON slashed a 2-run single, as did CASH McCLELLAN

BRENNAN GEARY and JUSTIN RUTHERFORD smacked RBI singles and two additional Steele Canyon errors caused three more Foothillers to score

ANTHONY NAVARRSKI slashed an RBI single up the middle for Steele Canyon ’s first run of the 2nd inning. The Cougars’ second tally scored on an error in the 6th

Longmire, Williams, Baum, Mason and BRYAN HAAR contributed 2 hits apiece to Grossmont’s 16-hit assault on four Steele Canyon pitchers

RYAN MURRAY-LOPEZ accounted for 2 of Steele Canyons’ 5 hits, including a double

However, Palacios proved to be the classic leadoff hitter as he reached base in all four plate appearances, drawing three walks and scoring 4 runs

Palacios had the last word in the bottom of the 9th as he singled, stole second and scored on a throwing error, giving Monte Vista its first win in four starts

Palacios ignited a 2-run 1st inning with a leadoff walk. He scored on a one-out double by ANTHONY LOPEZ to tie the game 1-1. MATT MORRIS then doubled in Lopez, giving the Monarchs the lead

In the 3rd inning Palacios walked and eventually scored on a single by CODY MORRIS

After the Monarchs fell behind 5-3 in the 5th inning, Palacios once again rekindled the Monte Vista offense with a leadoff walk. JOSH KELLY also walked, setting the stage for a run-scoring single by Lopez. Kelly eventually scored the tying run on a passed ball

Senior BEAU FRIELING pitched two shutout innings to earn the victory for the Monarchs

SANTANA 9, MARIAN CATHOLIC 3 – Undefeated Santana used a pair of big innings to blow out Marian Catholic during Saturday’s (Mar. 10) Foothiller-Aztec Classic encounter at Bonita Vista

Senior KYLE CULVER was a double-threat for Santana (3-0-1). The 6-foot-1, 235-pound right-hander allowed only one earned run and 5 hits while striking out 7 to earn the pitching nod

As a batter Culver laced a 2-run single in the 1st inning, and then clubbed a 2-run double in the 3rd inning

NICK SICA’s 2-run single to right field gave Santana an early 2-0 lead

Other big hits for the Sultans included KENNY ALEGRIA’s 2-run single in the 3rd, which was followed by an RBI double by RYAN STUTZ

“We’re starting to hit the ball a lot better, and our pitching has really held up,” said Santana coach JERRY HENSON. “It’s been the backbone of our baseball team.”

VISTA 2, VALHALLA 1 – Playing without two of their key hitters, RYAN O’SULLIVAN and CHRIS THOMAS, the Norsemen struggled offensively in Saturday’s (Mar. 10) Foothiller-Aztec Classic game at Vista

O’Sullivan, who bats third in the Norsemen’s lineup, was taking the SAT. Thomas, a three-sport letterman who also plays football and wrestles, was on a recruiting trip to the Air Force Academy

BOBBY WILKINS turned in 6 masterful innings for Valhalla , allowing just 2 hits, one run, and 2 walks while striking out 7. Wilkins retired the final 14 batters he faced before leaving the game when it was tied at 1-1

The Panthers pounced on reliever TREVOR FRANK for 3 hits and the winning run in the bottom of the 7th

Trailing 1-0, Valhalla tied the game in the 4th

TOMAS KARAGIANES led off with a single to left and TYLER KEATON walked. GREG GARCIA hit into a fielder’s choice, leaving runners at the corners. Garcia took off on a delayed double-steal and got caught in a rundown. The Panthers went after Garcia which allowed Karagianes to steal home, tying the game

RUSSELLVILLE (Ala.) 18, CHRISTIAN 9 – For the second time in as many days Christian High tangled with the Golden Tigers of Russellville (Ala.) in Saturday’s (Mar. 10) final round of the KSA Tournament in Orlando, Fla

Unlike the day before when the game was controlled by quality pitching, this one was a free-for-all

A 2-run single by TAYLOR EICHHORST up the middle in the bottom of the 6th pulled the Patriots even at 9-9

“In the 7th inning the wheels fell off,” said Mitchell. “We ran out of pitching and I think we didn’t take our gloves out on the field.”

Russellville (15-2) scored nine times in the final frame to punch out the Patriots (1-2)

The nine errors suffered by the Patriots was a record of sorts for Mitchell

“I’ve never had a ballclub make 9 errors in a game before this one,” Mitchell said

“We had a little trouble catching the ball.”

Ten of the runs scored by Russellville were unearned

On the offensive side, Eichhorst went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI for the Patriots

DANNY MITCHELL drove in 3 runs with a single and a sacrifice fly. JOHN GEE also had a triple and 3 RBI

SHAUN DAY was 2-for-4 with a run scored for Christian

EASTLAKE 11, WEST HILLS 6 – The Wolf Pack took a 2-0 lead in the first inning but could not maintain its early advantage as West Hills attempted to celebrate first year head coach CHRIS BAUM’s birthday with a victory in Saturday’s (Mar. 10) Foothiller-Aztec Classic game

“We started off great, just hit a few holes until the last inning,” said Baum. “When we put together a complete game we’ll start winning some games. But I’m proud of how we went out with a fight.”

Junior ERIC McKNIGHT was the driving force for the Wolf Pack was 3-for-4 with 2 doubles and 3 RBI. McKnight’s first double gave West Hills a 2-0 lead. He added an RBI double in the 7th inning

Senior STEVEN SCHIMPF hit a leadoff home run – a line shot over the left field fence – in the 4th inning to cut Eastlake ’s lead to 5-3

RYNE BARKLEY also made a solid connection for the Pack with a leadoff triple into the left-centerfield gap in the 7th inning. He scored on a wild pitch

CATHEDRAL CATHOLIC 5, GRANITE HILLS 0 – The visiting Eagles (2-1) got lost in the spacious Cathedral Catholic ballpark during Saturday’s (Mar. 10) Hilltop-Lolita’s Tournament contest

“We hit three balls that would have been out of our ballpark,” said Granite Hills coach JAMES DAVIS

Too bad for the Eagles that they weren’t playing at home

Sophomore Jonathan Meyer and junior John Parsons blanked the Eagles on 3 hits as Cathedral won its third straight in as many starts

Granite Hills’ best shot at scoring came in the 3rd inning when MARK ANDERSON’s double put runners at second and third with nobody out for the Eagles. The runners remained there as the Eagles rolled over 1-2-3

LOUIS CAZARES singled in the 4th and ERIC KRAUSE singled in the 5th, and that’s about all Granite Hills had to show offensively

MONTGOMERY 5, HELIX 0 – Senior RAUL RITCHIE went 2-for-3 for the Highlanders in Saturday’s (Mar. 10) Foothiller-Aztec Classic contest, but his teammates could muster only one additional hit as Helix came up empty in a game played at Eastlake

DERRIC MILLER had the other Helix hit

Senior Brett Miller made life miserable for the Highlanders (2-2) as he walked none and struck out 8 en route to his second win in as many starts

Juan Moriel keyed a 4-run second inning for the Aztecs (3-0-1) with a 2-run homer

“They did a better job than we did today,” said Helix coach COLE HOLLAND.

© East County Sports.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (3-10-07) — Christian High head coach MIKE MITCHELL did not bring his team to South Florida to pad their baseball records

“Our mission was to create some bonding since we have so many new players,” Mitchell said. “The kids are having a great time getting to know each other, and I think that will pay off in the long run.”

Crystal clear weather and free rein to enjoy five different amusement parks has helped Mitchell’s troops meet the intended purpose

“The three baseball games we’re playing down here is only a small part of it,” Mitchell said. “Of course we want to win. But that’s not the most important thing at this stage of the season.”

Even so, Mitchell was not pleased when his Patriots blew a 3-0 lead and wound up losing to Russellville (Ala.) 5-4 in Friday night’s (Mar. 9) KSA Tournament game

“This is a game we should have won,” he said. “But we let it get away. It’s still early yet, so we’re just getting used to playing together.”

JOHN FERREIRA was 3 for 4 with an RBI and 2 stolen bases to pace the Patriots. The senior outfielder had a single in all three of Christian’s scoring innings

In the first inning SHAUN DAY singled, stole second and scored on a base hit to right by Ferreira. Walks to ADAM NASH, COLIN HARRIS and MICHAEL GRUBER forced home a second run

Christian (1-1) made it 3-0 in the 3rd when Nash walked, advanced to 3rd on Ferreira’s single and scored on a wild pitch

Russellville (10-2) scored in each of the final four innings to take a 5-3 lead

The Patriots, who left 10 runners on base – 6 of them in scoring position – mounted a serious comeback in the bottom of the 7th

Nash was hit by a pitch to open the inning and scooted to third base on Ferreira’s single. When the Golden Tigers attempted to throw pinch-runner RONNIE SERGENT out at third, Ferreira hustled into second base with a potential tying run

Gruber’s sacrifice fly scored Sergent, but the Patriots left Ferreira at third base as the game ended

“We were playing in a huge ballpark, it seemed like it was 500 feet to the outfield fences,” said Mitchell. “We hit two balls that would have been home runs at our field, but were outs here.”

Other than losing, the thing that disturbed Mitchell the most was the behavior of the Russellville fans

“Their fans were obnoxious and had absolutely no class,” Mitchell said. “They stood behind the backstop calling pitches and yelled inflammatory remarks at our players. There’s no call for behavior like that. The Russellville coaches and players were fine; it was those outside of the fences that caused the problem.”

SAN YSIDRO 9, MOUNT MIGUEL 5 – Coach BYRON GRIGSBY wasn’t very happy with his Mount Miguel Matadors (3-1) Friday (Mar. 9) afternoon

Needing just one win to secure a berth in the Bully’s East Invitational championship game on Wednesday (Mar. 14), the Matadors did a belly flop as they blew a 4-0 lead and suffered their first loss to previously winless San Ysidro

“We played awful,” Grigsby said. “There’s not a whole lot of good things I can say about this game.”

Grigsby pointed to Mount Miguel ’s 4 errors, which led to 5 unearned runs

“When you make 4 errors, you can’t expect to win,” he said

Three Mount Miguel pitchers combined to issue 8 walks and allow 7 hits to the Cougars (1-3). Three of the Matdor’s miscues came in the bottom of the 6th when San Ysidro scored 5 unearned runs to erase a 5-4 Mount Miguel lead

Mount Miguel ’s MICHAEL KOESTERER went 3 for 3 with 2 runs and a stolen base. His first hit sent TONY ALVAREZ (HBP) to second base in the 2nd inning. ALEX VANDERHYDE followed with a double, scoring both runners to give Mount Miguel the early lead.

A leadoff single by Koesterer keyed another 2-run inning in the 4th. It could have been a big inning for Mount Miguel as RICKY SOLORZANO followed with a base hit. At that point a hit-and-run play call resulted in a double play

The Matador’s rally continued with a walk to CHARLES HUNTER, a hit batter (NICO CALAFATO) and BRYANT SHIMIZU’s fly ball to left field was dropped, allowing Solorzano and Hunter to score

Despite hitting into a double play in the 5th inning, the Matadors were able to score again on a throwing error, which gave them a 5-3 advantage at the time

FRANCIS PARKER 15, EL CAJON VALLEY 0 – After opening the season with two wins, the Braves suffered their third straight loss in Friday’s (Mar. 9) Bully’s East Invitational tournament play at Francis Parker

El Cajon Valley committed six errors and the Lancers (2-3) pounded out 14 hits, making a long afternoon for four Braves pitchers

Senior Nick Noonan was 5 for 5 with two triples, a grand slam home run and 6 RBI to pace Parker

The Braves produced only two hits – a 1st inning single by ADRIAN PADILLA and a leadoff single by KEVIN CARREON in the 4th.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (3-9-07) — For an early-season match-up, this one had classic written all over it. The Foothiller-Aztec Classic schedule called for Valhalla to visit Grossmont on Thursday (Mar. 8) afternoon

The Norsemen, the defending San Diego CIF Division III champions, were facing off against the defending SDCIF Division II champion Foothillers at Grossmont’s Joe Gizoni Field

Led by the heavy hitting of shortstop BRYAN HAAR and a solid pitching effort by TAYLOR WOHLWEND, the No. 3 ranked Foothillers (3-0) punched out an 8-2 victory

Haar hammered 3 doubles and a booming home run as he drove in 4 runs to support the complete game pitching of Wohlwend (2-0)

Valhalla coach STEVE PERDUE would not come right out and say Haar rates among the top hitters in the SDCIF, but admitted that the 6-foot, 190-pound junior was locked in against Valhalla ’s four sophomore pitchers

“Everything we threw up there, he hit,” Perdue said of Haar, who is batting at a .556 clip this season

Haar laced an RBI double down the left field line in the 1st inning and hit a similar shot during the Foothillers’ 5-run 2nd inning. He doubled and stole third in the 4th but was stranded there, and completed his day with a home run over the scoreboard in left-centerfield

“I’m not doing anything special but it just feels good right now,” said Haar, who said he had sprouted up two inches and added 10 pounds during the off-season

“They tried to challenge me with fast balls and I just jumped all over them.”

Of his home run, which came with one out in the 6th, Harr said “I knew I hit it pretty good and I figured it was going out.”

Haar said it was his first 4-hit game of his high school career. Although proud of his promising start, Haar didn’t want to focus on himself but rather wanted to talk about the Foothillers’ future

“I think we’re better than last year,” he said, noting that Grossmont finished 26-8 a year ago. “I really do.”

Wohlwend has clearly established himself as the ace of the Grossmont staff with two wins and a save in the Foothillers’ first three games. He held the Norsemen hitless through three innings and completed his outing with a 4-hitter, walking one and striking out 7

A 6-foot-3, 190-pound senior right-hander, Wohlwend served up 114 pitches to complete his latest outing

Wohlwend benefited by Grossmont’s 6-0 lead after two innings. Three Valhalla errors contributed to the Foothillers’ 5-run second inning

“I had a good day, my arm was feeling good,” said Wohlwend. “I don’t pitch any different with a lead. I always try to pitch the same, no matter what the score is.”

Both Haar and Wohlwend agreed that a victory over Valhalla is more gratifying than most wins

“I love it,” chuckled Haar. “They’re our rivals.”

LEVI STEVENS and JOSH SIMMS each had an RBI double in Grossmont’s 5-run second inning

Grossmont junior ROBERT REYES ripped a solo home run in the 3rd inning for his first varsity hit, and junior ANDREW FORD, in a pinch-hitting role, delivered a single to left field for his first varsity hit

Valhalla avoided the shutout on an RBI single by freshman DANNY HAWKSLEY in the 4th inning and an RBI double by RYAN O’SULLIVAN in the 6th

GRANITE HILLS 8, SAN MARCOS 2 – It doesn’t matter which way the wind blows these days because the Granite Hills Eagles are proving they can hit the ball out of any ballpark

In their first two games the Eagles (2-0) have hoisted 5 balls over the fence, including 3 in Thursday’s (Mar. 8) Hilltop-Lolita’s Invitational at San Marcos

Eagles senior third baseman AUSTIN COLEMAN has 4 hits – 3 of them home runs – and 5 RBI in 6 at-bats. His 6th inning solo shot at San Marcos was little more than an exclamation point as the Eagles had already secured the victory

KYLE JOHNSTON, the Eagles’ left-fielder, went 4 for 4 with a solo home run against the Knights. He now has 5 hits in 7 at-bats with a pair of RBI and 3 runs scored after two games

LOUIS CAZARES joined the Granite Hills home run parade with a solo blast in the 3rd inning at the Knights’ expense

Although the Eagles have scored 16 runs on 20 hits in 13 innings, the highlight of the early season as far as Granite Hills coach JAMES DAVIS is concerned, has been the pitching of DARREN GAY

The senior right-hander, who had a brilliant sophomore season and a so-so junior campaign, appears to be back in the groove. Gay rationed San Marcos (0-2) to 4 hits and one earned run while striking out 6 during his 6 inning stint

Sophomore DEAN MILLER finished the job for Granite Hills by striking out the side in the bottom of the 7th

“We had good pitching by Gay and Miller and we strung some runs together,” said Davis . “I thought we could have had more, but what coach doesn’t?”

SANTANA 7, RAMONA 1 – It’s hard to believe that the Santana Sultans are not worthy of a Top 10 ranking. Game after game the Sultans showcase quality pitching

That was the case in Thursday’s (Mar. 8) Foothiller-Aztec Classic when 6-foot-5, 195-pound sophomore JAMES NEEDY made his varsity debut for Santana. Needy had plenty of support as he allowed only 4 hits and no earned runs during a five inning stint

The big right-hander plunked three batters, which shows that he’s not afraid to pitch inside

Senior KYLE CULVER blanked the Bulldogs (1-1-1) over the final two frames to secure Needy’s first varsity win

With the game tied 1-1 entering the 4th inning, the Sultans got back-to-back singles from NICK SICA and BRANDYN BELL to spark what would be the winning rally

The runners advanced on JON TIPPIN’s sacrifice bunt. Culver then hit a fly ball to deep right field, allowing Sica to score. KENNY ALEGRIA followed with a line drive single down the right field line, scoring Bell

A 2-run double by sophomore RYAN STUTZ made it 5-1 and Alegria followed suit with a 2-run double in the 7th to seal the deal

Sica was 3 for 4 to pace Santana’s 12-hit attack

In fact for Steele Canyon (2-1), it was a pair of big innings that knocked out Chula Vista (1-2)

“We had better discipline today,” said Steele Canyon coach PHIL MITTRY. “Everybody put the bat on the ball today. We juggled the lineup and it paid off.”

Trailing 2-0 in the bottom of the 3rd with two outs, the Cougars came to life on back-to-back singles by MARK BELLATTI and KYLE KERSTETTER. The Spartans missed a chance to end the inning as they misplayed a groundball hit by ANDREW BELLATTI, which scored Mark Bellatti

ERIC CARRILLO followed with a ground rule double, scoring Kerstetter to tie the game at 2-2

After a walk to ANDREW BRUDER loaded the bases, TOMMY HOYT slashed a 2-run single. CODY LEWIS and JORDAN HINDI added RBI singles to extend Steele Canyon ’s advantage to 6-2

The Cougars broke the game open in the bottom of the 5th when they converted half of their 14 hits into 7 runs

Hindi singled in the first run, and RYAN MURRAY-LOPEZ followed with a 2-run single. Mark Bellatti blasted a triple, scoring Murray-Lopez and then came home on a double by Kerstetter

Lewis, a freshman, capped the big inning with a 2-run double

“Lewis had a big game,” Mittry said. “He’s playing in a new position. Usually he’s an infielder, today he played right field because he’s very athletic and it worked out well. He did a good job at the plate too. He worked hard all winter.”

Four Steele Canyon pitchers combined to pitch a 7-hitter at Chula Vista . Only three of the Spartans’ runs were earned and the Cougars’ quartet totaled 9 strikeouts

“Sophomore CODY KLOPP was a little bit nervous on the mound in the first inning, but then he settled down and threw really well,” said Mittry

HELIX 6, CASTLE PARK 0 – Helix coach COLE HOLLAND was pleased more than surprised by the complete-game pitching of 6-foot-6, 240-pound senior left-hander JEREMY PETERSON in Thursday’s (Mar. 8) Foothiller-Aztec Classic game in La Mesa

Peterson allowed only 4 hits and one walk while striking out 8

“Peterson made only 74 pitches and didn’t give up a run,” said Holland . “Our bullpen needed a rest and he gave it to us.”

Holland was equally as pleased by the sudden power exhibited by the Highlanders (2-1), who clubbed 3 home runs – 2 by AARON DODD-WADDINGTON

“It was uncharacteristic for us to have three home runs,” said Holland . “We aren’t really a home run-hitting team

Dodd-Waddington hit a solo shot in the 4th inning and smacked a 2-run homer in the 6th

“Aaron took two really good swings. It was kind of a shot in the arm for us,” said Holland

After a 2-out single by Peterson to keep the 6th inning alive, MAHI LaBASTIDA slugged a home run to score pinchrunner SOLONZO GRIER, giving the Highlanders a 6-0 lead

In Thursday’s (Mar. 8) Foothiller-Aztec Classic against the visiting Barons (2-0-1) of Bonita Vista, Monte Vista senior southpaw ANTHONY LOPEZ twirled five shutout innings before the Barons tied it 1-1 in the 6th

Lopez allowed the first two runners to reach base in the 7th before ANTHONY MARCON took over in relief. The Barons wound up scoring four runs in that frame and Monte Vista was unable to answer

“Lopez did a great job today,” said Monte Vista coach LARRY RINEHART. “He pitched 6 innings and gave up only 3 hits and 3 runs.”

Monte Vista took the early lead in the bottom of the 5th inning. DAVID PALACIOS singled and advanced to second on SPENCER REED’s sacrifice bunt. The Monarchs’ CODY MORRIS walked and BO AGUILAR was hit by a pitch to load the bases

The Bonita Vista third baseman then booted JOSH KELLY’s ground ball allowing Palacios to score the first run of the game

VISTA 7, WEST HILLS 1 – Wolf Pack pitchers BRET SKINNER and STEVEN SCHIMPF probably deserved a better fate against visiting Vista (2-1) in Thursday’s (Mar. 8) Foothiller-Aztec Classic contest

But the West Hills offense consisted of singles by BRIAN RITAYIK and freshman TONY SPEARS. Ritayik also stole a base and scored the lone Wolf Pack run in the 2nd inning, which cut the Vista lead in half at the time

“We’ve gotten off to a little bit of a slow start early in the season, but we’ll pick it up,” said West Hills coach CHRIS BAUM. “Our hitting just needs to come around.”

Skinner and Schimpf allowed seven hits and six earned runs, while walking only one and striking out six. West Hills fell to 1-2

MISSION BAY 4, EL CAPITAN 1 – Junior Francisco Valdez needed only 68 pitches to subdue the El Capitan Vaqueros in Thursday’s (Mar. 8) Hilltop-Lolita’s Tournament at Mission Bay

The Vaqueros (1-1) were limited to five singles by the Buccaneers hurler after riddling Escondido for 17 runs and 17 hits two days earlier

Junior ANDY HALE had a pair of singles against Mission Bay

El Capitan scored its only run at the beach in the 1st inning. TAELOR WORRELL led off with a single, moved to second on a wild pitch and to third on TANNER RUST’s groundout. Worrell scored on MILES REAGAN groundout

After that, it was mostly silence for the Vaqueros, who wasted a solid pitching effort by the trio of LUCAS WHITMORE, JOSH SODEN and JAMES LONG. Only two of Mission Bay ’s runs were earned, as a pair of El Capitan errors proved costly.

© East County Sports.com
SAN DIEGO (3-8-07) — It took the Matadors 27 games to post four victories a year ago, but that season is merely a fading memory. Coach BYRON GRIGSBY’s Matadors of 2007 have a brand new attitude and a 3-0 start

Mount Miguel mowed down Morse (Grigsby’s alma mater) in Wednesday’s (Mar. 7) Bully’s East Tournament action by a 9-3 count. The Matadors need only a split of their next two games to earn a berth in the tournament’s championship game on Wednesday (Mar. 14)

“We are a great ballclub right now, said Grigsby. “Our guys are buying in to what we’re trying to teach them, and finally believe they can win.”

ALEX VANDERHYDE allowed only one earned run and 5 hits over 5 innings to pick up the pitching nod for Mount Miguel . DAVID WYNN provided 2 innings of shutout relief while striking out 3

The Matadors broke a 3-3 tie with 5 runs in the 6th inning

RICKY ARRAY, who was 3 for 4 in the game, ignited the rally with a one-out single. Two runs scored on an error and RICKY ALVAREZ added a 2-run single. Alvarez was 2 for 3 in the game

Array stole 2 bases, including a 2nd inning theft of home base. NICO CALAFATO and BRYANT SHIMIZU also stole 2 bases as Mount Miguel totaled 8 thefts in the game

CHRISTIAN 12, LEXINGTON CHRISTIAN (Mass.) 0 – Despite a cross-country flight to Orlando , Fla. where they landed in the wee hours of the morning, the Christian High Patriots came out swinging in Wednesday’s (Mar. 7) season opener of the KSA Tournament

“Our kids got to bed by 1 a.m. at the earliest, and then we had to be on the field by 8 a.m. for a 9:30 start,” said Christian coach MIKE MITCHELL

Jet lag did not appear to be a factor, however, as the Patriots scored all of their runs in the first three innings

Junior ADAM NASH hammered a 2-run homer in the 1st inning and finished the abbreviated 5-inning contest with 3 hits in 4 at-bats. Nash’s totals also included a single, a double and 2 runs scored

Sophomore SHAUN DAY was 2 for 4, including a 2-run home run and 3 runs scored for the Patriots

Despite playing without its top hitter – junior shortstop EDDIE YOUNG – the Patriots pounded out a dozen hits, including 5 of the extra base variety. Young missed the game with an ankle sprain

JOHN GEE, BRAD JOHNSTON and COLIN RYAN combined to blank the Lasers on 2 hits while striking out 5

The Patriots will face more competition in Friday’s (Mar. 9) when they take on Russellville , Ala. at 5 p.m. PST. The Golden Tigers are 9-0

LA JOLLA 18, EL CAJON VALLEY 1 – After opening the season with back-to-back victories, the El Cajon Valley Braves stumbled onto hard times. In the last two games of the Bully’s East Tournament the Braves have been blown out by a composite 41-3 score

The Braves bout with La Jolla on Wednesday (Mar. 7) would have been closer had it not been for five errors. A dropped fly ball in the first inning led to seven unearned runs, and that pretty much decided the outcome

Half of La Jolla ’s scoring totals came across because of errors

The Braves avoided the shutout with a run in the 4th inning when they collected 3 of their 4 hits. ABEL CERVANTES started the rally with a one-out single. One out later ADRIAN TORRES singled and MATT THOMAS followed with an RBI basehit

The only other hit the Brave got was a 1st inning single by DOMINIC BAILEY. He stole second but was stranded there.

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EL CAJON (3-7-07) — ERIC KRAUSE surrendered 4 runs in the top of the 1st inning, but didn’t buckle as Granite Hills opened the season with an 8-5 victory over visiting Rancho Buena Vista in Tuesday’s (Mar. 6) Hilltop-Lolita’s Tournament action

AUSTIN COLEMAN blasted a pair of 2-run homers – one in the 1st and another in the 5th – as the Eagles came from behind to set a record

TOP: Daniel Leavitt is greeted by Vaqueros teammates following his grand slam to help whip visiting Escondido, 17-4. BOTTOM: Kevin Morton gained the victory, allowing just four hits in five innings of work. (Photos by Greg Eichelberger)

In spite of his rocky start, Krause regained firm footing over the final six innings. After falling behind 4-0 in the 1st inning, the Eagles staged a 2-out rally. With BRIAN HUMPHRIES aboard on a base hit, Coleman launched his first home run over the left field fence

LOUIS CAZARES kept the opening inning rally alive with a basehit and scored on a triple by KYLE JOHNSTON. Krause then drove in Johnston with a basehit to make it 4-4

Trailing 5-4 entering the bottom of the 5th, the Eagles came back to life on a basehit by JOSH QUERIONES, who was eventually forced out on a ground ball by Humphries

TRAVIS TAIJERON picked up the slack by doubling home Humphries to tie the game 5-5. Coleman followed with a booming home run to left field to stake the Eagles to a 7-5 advantage

“Offensively we had one quality at-bat after another, we swung and connected on some good pitches,” said Vaqueros skipper STEVE VICKERY

Senior DANIEL LEAVITT was 2 for 2, including a grand slam homer in the 6th inning for the Vaqueros

BRYSON LUKACIK was 4 for 5 with a double and an RBI. Junior ANDY HALE was 2 for 3 with a double and 3 RBI

“Hale had a couple of good at-bats early and they really got us going,” noted Vickery

MILES REAGAN laced 3 hits in 5 at-bats, scored 4 runs and drove in a pair for El Capitan . TAELOR WORRELL also had 2 hits

“Our bats were anxious to get up and hit all day,” said Vickery

Junior KEVIN MORTON pitched the first 5 innings for the Vaqueros, allowing just 4 hits, 2 runs and one walk while striking out 8 for the win

“Morton was so dominant on the mound today,” Vickery said. “He stayed ahead of the count all game, tossed consistent baseball and got us back in the dugout quickly.”

El Capitan takes on No. 10 Mission Bay in Thursday’s (Mar. 8) second round of the tournament

“I like our early season schedule. There are no easy games and it will get us ready for the Grossmont League,” Vickery said

HELIX 6, CARLSBAD 5 – The visiting Highlanders scored 3 runs in the top of the 7th inning Tuesday (Mar. 6) to edge host Carlsbad in a Foothiller-Aztec Classic contest

RBI singles by RAUL RITCHIE and MATT COBB evened the game at 5-5

Helix coach COLE HOLLAND pointed to a 7th-inning play that is not reflected in the linescore that proved pivotal in the Highlanders’ victory

“In the 7th, Cobb did a good job breaking up a double play to allow AARON DODD-WADDINGTON to beat it to third base and pinch-runner STEVEN PEREZ to score (the game-winning run),” said Holland

After falling behind 5-1 through four innings, the Highlanders began their comeback when JEFF ROSENTHAL and RANDY PEREZ walked and scored on DERRIC MILLER’s triple.

GROSSMONT 6, MARIAN CATHOLIC 4 – Sophomore LEVI STEVENS crashed a 3-run home run to erase an early Marian Catholic lead as visiting Grossmont continued on its way to a second straight win in Tuesday’s (Mar. 6) Foothiller-Aztec Classic action

JUSTIN MASON went 3 for 4, including a key RBI in the 3rd inning

BRIAN HAAR added a scoring fly ball in the 4th inning to give the Foothillers a 6-2 edge

Marian Catholic picked up single runs in the 6th and 7th innings, and could have had more

A ground rule at Marian Catholic baseball diamond is that if a ball goes into the trees and bounces back onto the field, it’s in play

With two outs in the 7th inning Marian’s Daniel Sanchez hit a ball into the trees and it bounced back out onto the field

Grossmont right-fielder NICK LONGMIRE, remembering the ground rule that Coach ROB PHILLIPS told them about before the game, picked up the ball and fired to second for the out. This would have put the tying run at the plate; instead, it ended the game.

VALHALLA 4, EASTLAKE 3 -- The No. 2 ranked Norsemen took a 2-0 lead in the 2nd inning of the Foothiller-Aztec Classic on Tuesday (Mar. 6), but needed to scramble in the late innings to topple the Titans

Senior GREG GARCIA – all 5-foot-11, 165 pounds of him – hoisted a game-tying home run over the scoreboard in right-center field leading off the bottom of the 7th to tie the game at 3-all

With one out in the bottom of the 8th, the Norsemen (2-0) put together a game-winning rally

GARRETT GILES singled, WILL COOMBS walked and PETE THOMAS reached base on an infield single to load the bases

Garcia, TYLER KEATON, Giles and Thomas contributed 2 hits apiece to Valhalla ’s 10-hit total

RYAN O’SULLIVAN pitched a strong 6 innings for the Norsemen, allowing only 3 hits and 2 earned runs. He walked 3 and struck out 6

MATT GONZALEZ pitched 1-1/3 innings of shutout relief before BOBBY WILKINS came in to record the final 2 outs to keep the game tied at 3-3

When the Norsemen rallied for the win, Wilkins - bound for San Diego State – collected his 2nd victory in as many games

SANTANA 2, MONTGOMERY 2 (11 inn., darkness) – Both teams unleashed their ace pitchers in a battle of Top 10 teams in Tuesday’s (Mar. 6) Foothiller-Aztec tournament action at Santana

The Sultans’ DALLAS MARTIN, who clubbed a game-tying solo home run over the center field fence in the 5th inning off Montgomery ace Bradley Procopio to make it 2-2, scattered 8 hits and struck out 8 during a 10-inning pitching stint

Sophomore JAMES NEEDY surrendered 2 hits to the Aztecs (1-0-1), but escaped unscathed

Procopio and Jomel Torres limited the Sultans to 7 hits. After Montgomery took a 2-0 lead in the top of the 3rd, the Sultans fused together a pair of walks and an RBI single by BRANDYN BELL to cut the Aztecs’ lead in half

“We had chances, just didn’t capitalize on them,” said Santana coach JERRY HENSON

CHULA VISTA 8, WEST HILLS 3 – In a game where both teams committed four errors, visiting West Hills fell behind 5-1 after three innings and never recovered in Tuesdays’ (Mar. 6) Foothiller-Aztec Classic action in South Bay

ERIC McKNIGHT and DAVID BRISTOL each went 2 for 3 with a double, an RBI and a run scored for the Wolf Pack (1-1)

VISTA 14, STEELE CANYON 1 – Coach PHIL MITTRY would like to find a way to avoid including a stop at Vista High on the Cougars’ baseball schedule

A year ago Steele Canyon lost 14-2 to the Panthers, and Tuesday’s (Mar. 6) Foothiller-Aztec Classic game wasn’t much better

“It was the same game as last year when we went up there,” Mittry said

The Panthers (1-1) pounded three Steele Canyon pitchers for 17 hits and 11 earned runs in the latest rout. Five Cougars errors did not help matters, as Steele Canyon fell behind 10-0 after three innings

On the up side for Steele Canyon , junior MARK BELLATTI went 3 for 3 with a double

Another plus was that the Cougars pitchers did not issue a single walk

CASTLE PARK 11, MONTE VISTA 0 – The host Trojans scored 8 runs in the 4th inning to turn Tuesday’s (Mar. 6) Foothiller-Aztec Classic contest into a rout

“We weren’t prepared to play today,” said Monte Vista coach LARRY RINEHART

Monte Vista’s offense consisted of singles by ANTHONY LOPEZ, MATT MORRIS, AARON GOSSMEYER and CODY MORRIS.

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SPRING VALLEY (3-6-07) — JAMES TREBUS and NICO CALAFATO combined to blank visiting San Diego Southwest on four hits Monday (Mar. 5) as host Mount Miguel rolled to an 8-0 victory in the second round of the Bully’s East Invitational

The back-to-back victories marked only the second time during coach BYRON GRIGSBY’s tenure that the Matadors have posted consecutive wins. And this one was convincing

Trebus, who earned the win, allowed only two hits but walked five and also struck out eight in 5 2/3 innings. Calafato got the final four outs, one coming on strikes

The much improved Matadors were led on the offensive end by BRYANT SHIMIZU, who went 4 for 4 with a double, an RBI, a run scored and a stolen base

Trebus was also 2 for 3 at the plate, including an RBI single in the 1st inning that proved to be the game winning RBI. He added an RBI single in the 3rd inning

JONY ALVAREZ went 2 for 3 with an RBI and a run scored for the Matadors

RICKY ARRAY was 1 for 1 with four stolen bases for Mount Miguel

THE BISHOP’S 23, EL CAJON VALLEY 2 – The Braves’ 2-0 start came to a resounding end Monday (Mar. 5) as the visiting The Bishop’s Knights riddled five El Cajon Valley pitchers for 17 hits in the lopsided victory in the Bully’s East Invitational game

The Braves scored their only runs in the 3rd inning on two walks and three wild pitches

El Cajon Valley (2-1) collected only three hits, two of them by MATT THOMAS.

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EL CAJON (3-4-07) — A midseason injury curtailed the junior season of Grossmont’s NICK LONGMIRE, then the Foothillers first baseman and leading RBI man at the time. The loss of Longmire severely hampered Grossmont’s scoring punch, but the Foothillers went on to capture its second straight SDCIF Division II championship

Longmire returned to active duty for the Foothillers in Saturday’s (Mar. 3) opener of the Foothiller-Aztec Classic at Grossmont High. The senior slugger went 4 for 4 with 2 home runs, a pair of doubles and 4 RBI as the Foothillers vanquished the Panthers 8-2

After tying the game with an RBI double in the first inning, Longmire gave Grossmont a 2-1 lead with a booming home run to right-center field

Longmire followed a single by JOSH SIMMS with his second home run – a shot over the left field fence – to make it 5-1 in the 4th inning

A 2-run double by JUSTIN MASON and an RBI double by LEVI STEVENS staked Grossmont to an 8-1 lead after four innings

TAYLOR WOHLWEND pitched 6 strong innings, allowing only 5 hits and 2 runs. Mason pitched a shutout 7th to complete the victory

STEELE CANYON 7, EASTLAKE 6 – One thing that worried Steele Canyon coach PHIL MITTRY at the outset of the season was whether the Cougars would be able to generate enough offense to support a reasonably strong pitching staff

In Saturday’s (Mar. 3) opener of the Foothiller-Aztec Classic Steele Canyon ’s offense came through with 14 hits led by 3 hits apiece by RYAN MURRAY-LOPEZ and ANDREW BELLATTI

A 2-run double by Murray-Lopez keyed a 5 run 5th inning by the visiting Cougars and made a winner of starting pitcher ANDREW BRUDER

Bellatti and TOMMY HOYT added RBI singles in the pivotal 5th, while KYLE KERSTETTER doubled in a run and ERIC CARRILLO singled in another to give the Cougars a 7-2 lead in the 6th inning

SANTANA 3, CASTLE PARK 0 – BRANDYN BELL, a 6-foot-3 junior right-hander, turned in an overpowering opening day pitching performance in Saturday’s (Mar. 3) first-round of the Foothiller-Aztec Classic at Montgomery High

Bell needed only 87 pitches to complete the 3-hit shutout that included 8 strikeouts and 2 walks. In addition, Bell smashed a 2-run single to break a scoreless tie in the 4th inning

“We played good solid defense,” said Santana skipper JERRY HANSEN. “Our pitching was outstanding today. Bell had command of all three pitches all day.”

JONATHAN TIPPIN, CHRIS RABICHAUD and NICK SICA had 2 hits apiece for Santana

Wilkins pitched the first six innings and struck out 8 for the win, while Gonzales pitched a scoreless 7th inning for the save

Valhalla broke a 2-2 tie in the 5th inning. TOMAS KARAGIANES, who was 2 for 3 on the day, walked and stole second

RYAN O’SULLIVAN followed with an RBI single and later scored on a CHRIS THOMAS base hit, giving the Norsemen a 4-2 advantage they would not lose

So far, so good

A 2-run single by CHARLES HUNTER capped a 4-run 5th inning to give Mount Miguel a 5-0 advantage in Saturday’s (Mar. 3) opening round of the Bully’s East Invitational at Mar Vista

DAVID WYNN, who was cuffed around on a regular basis a year ago, allowed only 3 hits and 3 runs over 6 and 1/3 innings and struck out 9 to earn the win

Wynn should thank JAMES TREBUS for sealing the deal by getting the final two outs to earn the save

The Mount Miguel victory snapped a 13-game losing streak, dating back to last year

NICO CALAFATO, BRYANT SHIMIZU, RICKY ARRAY and Trebus each contributed 2 hits apiece to Mount Miguel ’s total of 10. Both of Shimizu ’s hits were doubles

WEST HILLS 1, MARIAN CATHOLIC 0 – Senior BRIAN RITAYIK made the debut of first-year head coach CHRIS BAUM something to remember with the Wolf Pack’s victory over Marian Catholic in Saturday’s (Mar. 3) opener of the Foothiller-Aztec Classic at Valhalla

Not only did Ritayik spin a 2-hit shutout while walking only 2 and striking out 8, he also supplied a game-winning double to drive in the lone run in the 4th inning

Ritayik’s 2-out game-winning blow scored ERIC McKNIGHT, who doubled with one out

It was not a game in which the Pack smacked the ball around as the youthful Wolf Pack generated only 5 hits. Junior NOLAN PETERSEN contributed two singles

EL CAJON VALLEY 3, MORSE 0 – ABEL CERVANTES and ADRIAN PADILLA combined for a 2-hit shutout as the Braves won their second straight game on Saturday (Mar. 3), opening the Bully’s East Invitational tournament by taming the visiting Tigers

The El Cajon Valley pitching duo combined for 8 strikeouts, with Cervantes serving up 5 Ks while absorbing the victory

Although not a milestone victory, coming off a 1-26 season, El Cajon Valley has to be pleased at this stage

The Braves scored their first run in the opening frame as Padilla singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch. An error sent Padilla to third, where he scored on a RAY AQUININGOC ground ball

RAMONA 5, HELIX 4 (12 inn.) – The host Highlanders lost a marathon battle with the visiting Ramona Bulldogs in the opening round of the Foothiller-Aztec Classic on Saturday (Mar. 3) in La Mesa

MATT COBB slugged a solo home run in the second inning and AARON DODD-WADDINGTON was 2 for 5 as the Highlanders fell in extra innings

DERRIC MILLER went 3 for 7 for Helix, which outhit the visiting Bulldogs 11-8

“You’ve got to give their pitcher credit,” said Helix coach COLE HOLLAND. “(Cole) Sulser struck out 12 in 8 innings. The two biggest things today was the 12 runners we left on base and we struck out 14 times.”

MONTGOMERY 16, MONTE VISTA 7 – Junior SPENCER REED went 3 for 4 with a pair of home runs and 4 RBI, but the visiting Monarchs still came up short against host Montgomery in Saturday’s (Mar. 3) opening game of the Foothiller-Aztec Classic

It was sort of a strange turnaround for Monte Vista over last year when the Monarchs had airtight pitching but struggled to produce on the offensive side

CORY COOPER and BEAU AUGUILAR added 2 hits apiece for Monte Vista.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (3-2-07) — ADRIAN TORRES went 3-for-4 with three RBI as El Cajon Valley opened the season with a 7-3 non-league victory over visiting High Tech High on Thursday (Mar. 1)

The Braves broke open a tight pitching duel with 6 runs in the 5th inning. Torres had a 2-run double and winning pitcher MATT THOMAS slugged a 2-run single in the big inning

El Cajon Valley played some defense too, as shortstop ADRIAN PADILLA turned in an unassisted double play in the 6th inning. He was also 3-for-3 at the plate, while sophomore ABEL CERVANTES went 3-for-4 and scored a pair of runs.

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EL CAJON (02-01-07) — It’s too early to expect to see preseason rankings for San Diego CIF baseball. Obviously there are plenty of contenders for the No. 1 spot, including Torrey Pines, Grossmont, Valhalla and possibly Granite Hills

There is already one set of preseason rankings that has been published by Collegiate Baseball magazine. Only one San Diego CIF team is included in that publication’s Top 25 – Valhalla, which is No. 21

Among the reasons for Valhalla’s national attention is senior standout TOMAS KARAGIANES. The Norsemen’s center fielder has accepted a baseball scholarship to the University of Arizona beginning with the 2008 season.

A superb outfielder, who batted .325 with 10 steals, two home runs and 16 RBI as a junior, Karagianes is an untapped talent who figures to blossom as a senior this spring

Karagianes was also being wooed by USC, Long Beach State and Loyola Marymount, as well as the Wildcats. The only other visit he took besides the one to Tucson was the one to USC

“Both places had so much to offer,” he said. “But in my mind I pictured myself going to Arizona . I went to a camp there last summer and did really well. They gave me the camper of the week award, which was like being the MVP, because I went 8-for-12 with 5 extra base hits.”

Karagianes was also impressed by Arizona ’s athletic weight room

“It’s the biggest one in the country,” he said. “It has everything.”

A multi-talented southpaw, who was a standout quarterback for Valhalla ’s 6-6 football team, is only scratching the surface of his athletic talent. Credit the Arizona coaches for recognizing Karagianes’ potential

“I really didn’t get a lot of attention from the colleges for football,” Karagianes said. “I think the word was out that I was going to go baseball.”