© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (05-01-08) — A third-place finish in the Eastern League is within reach of the Christian High Patriots. It is by no means, however, a lock for the Patriots who moved up from the less competitive Central League to tangle with more aggressive foes in the Eastern circuit.

Patriots coach MIKE MITCHELL admitted his preseason hopes were to earn at least a split of the 12 Eastern League games, and possibly pull of a 7-5 finish. So far, pretty good.

ADAM NASH and BRYAN MITCHELL combined for five hits and five RBI to lead the Patriots past visiting Serra, 7-2, in Wednesday’s (May 1) Eastern League action.

The victory vaulted the Patriots (17-7, 5-4 EL) into 4th place in the seven-team Eastern League race with three games remaining, including two against front-running Mira Mesa (May 7 and 9). Christian also plays at Serra (18-7, 4-5 EL) on Friday (May 3) at 3 p.m.

In its latest outing, Christian snapped a 2-2 tie with three runs in the 3rd inning against the Conquistadors. The Patriots loaded the bases on an error, a single by NIKO KANAKARIS and a muff of a sacrifice bunt.

MICHAEL POTEET’s sacrifice fly scored SHAUN DAY with the go-ahead run from third base. An infield single by MICHAEL GRUBER reloaded the bases for pinch-hitter Nash, who slashed a two-run single to left field.

Nash and Mitchell added run-scoring singles in the 5th inning for the Patriots.

“After that horrible loss at Scripps Ranch a week ago, we were about as down as we could get. So we held a team meeting,” the younger Mitchell said. “Since then, we’ve been able to turn things around.”

Mitchell, the Patriots’ senior second baseman who has gradually been raising his season average, was 3-for-5 with two RBI.

“I adjusted my swing, widened my stance,” Mitchell said. “I think I’ve been doing a better job of going the other way, taking the ball to right field.”

In his latest outing, Mitchell distributed singles to left, center and right.

“This was a big win for us,” the younger Mitchell said. “We have four games left (the regular season finale is at Coronado on May 14). We’d like to get 20 wins. If we keep playing like we have these past two games we have a shot. But all four of those we have left are going to be tough.”

Christian senior right-hander JOHN GEE turned in a complete-game four-hitter, striking out 7 in the process.

© East County Sports.com
LAKESIDE (4-30-08) — When it comes to pitching, the Grossmont North, the Grossmont South and the Palomar League all claim they have the best dealers in the San Diego CIF. All have a pretty good argument.

No question any game involving Santana is going to be a low-scoring affair because the Sultans definitely have a solid pitching staff. So does El Capitan, which seems to be bolstering its staff as the season reaches the peak stage.

It was all about pitching once again when No. 7 ranked El Capitan edged host Santana 2-1 in a key Grossmont North League game on Tuesday (Apr. 29).

The Vaqueros’ MARCO MARISCAL turned in a masterful 2-hitter, but could easily have come up on the short end had it not been for ANDY HALE’s 2-run single with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the 6th inning.

“That’s definitely the biggest hit I’ve had,” said Hale, who has been frustrated with a .255 (14-for-55) batting average.

Despite his less than spectacular average, Hale has driven in 16 runs, including two game-winners for El Capitan (18-6, 5-1 GNL).

Hale hit the ball on the button in all three of his at-bats against Santana right-hander JAMES NEEDY.

“The first two times I hit two absolute shots,” said Hale.

Both of them resulted in outs. That’s the kind of luck the senior first baseman has had throughout the campaign.

Trailing 1-0 entering the bottom of the 6th the Vaqueros greeted Needy with consecutive singles by KEVIN MORTON and MILES REAGAN. One out later designated CANNON NIKZAD walked to load the bases.

Needy then recorded his second strikeout of the inning to set up his game-on-the-line showdown with Hale.

“I’m not kidding myself, I’ve been struggling all year,” Hale said. “But I really wanted this one.”

With the count 1-1 Needy challenged Hale with a fastball in the inside part of the plate.

“No question Needy brought some of his best stuff today,” Hale said. “But when he came in with that fastball all I wanted to do was go right back at him.”

And so he did. Hale whistled a basehit right past Needy’s glove into center field, scoring Morton and Reagan.

That would be all Mariscal needed to roll his record to 4-2 while logging his second complete game in six starts.

“Mariscal pitched the game of his life at a time when we really needed it,” said El Capitan coach STEVE VICKERY. “It was just a great display of pitching on his part.”

“We’ve been talking about adding and subtracting off his fastball. He changed speeds so well that nobody could square off against him. They just couldn’t time his fastball, and his curveball… well, he was just tremendous with it. Like I said, that’s the best I’ve ever seen Mariscal pitch.”

El Capitan , which is tied with Grossmont for the GNL lead, hosts the Foothillers on Thursday (May 1) at 4 p.m.

Santana (15-9, 3-5 GNL), which has suddenly fallen out of the league race, must now focus on improving its record for the playoffs.

The Sultans took a 1-0 lead against Mariscal in the 2nd inning as BRANDYN BELL blooped a single to right field and advanced to second when the ball was kicked around in the outfield. Bell scooted to third on MATT CHARLEBOIS’ groundout and scored on KYLE ROMERO’s sacrifice fly.

Needy accounted for Santana’s only other hit – a single to left in the 1st inning – while RYAN STUTZ saw his East County-best 22-game hitting streak come to an end. The Sultans’ CHRIS RABICHAUD also saw his 11-game hitting streak snapped by Mariscal.

“It was the same old story – we beat them for at least six innings then gave it up,” said Santana coach JERRY HENSON. “Today we played ‘three flies and yer out.’ We had 10 fly balls with outs. We got them on base but only got them over and in on one run. Otherwise we flew out.”

“Needy threw well enough to win, we just didn’t have any run support for him.”

Vickery agreed.

“Needy’s a pretty darn good pitcher right now but he’ll be one of the best – if not the best – in the county next year,” Vickery said.

Just check the San Diego CIF statistics – in 51 innings Frank has struck out 58 and walked only one.

Probably no pitcher in the state can match that ratio.

Frank, in fact, can’t even remember issuing that lonely walk. At this point it really doesn’t matter. The 5-foot-10, 152-pound right-hander survived a 2-run home run by DYLAN GARCIA as the No. 12 ranked Norsemen upset the No. 2 ranked Eagles in Tuesday’s (Apr. 29) Grossmont South League game at Granite Hills.

“I never got to pitch against Granite Hills last year,” said Frank, a 3-year varsity veteran who had to watch from the bench as the Eagles posted a 3-game sweep. “So this was pretty exciting.”

Valhalla (17-7, 7-2 GSL) scored the winning run in the 7th inning as ANTHONY GONZALES, who had entered the game an inning earlier as a defensive replacement at second base, led off the decisive inning with a double down the right field line.

Two outs later it appeared that Granite Hills starter DEAN MILLER was going to escape unscathed.

But MATT GONZALES – cousin of Anthony – singled to center for his third hit of the game.

Valhalla ’s MIKE WILSON, head coach and third base coach, was waving Anthony Gonzales around third.

When Granite Hills centerfielder BRIAN HUMPHRIES came up with the ball and made a strong throw to the plate, Wilson threw up a stop sign for his baserunner.

“As I put on the brakes to stop,” said Anthony Gonzales, “I saw that Humphries’ throw was on the money. I know I’d have been out.”

With runners at the corners and RYAN O’SULLIVAN at the plate, Eagles pitcher Miller uncorked a wild pitch, allowing Anthony Gonzales to score what proved to be the winning run.

“I saw it kick away from the catcher so I went for it,” said Anthony Gonzales.

However, Granite Hills catcher TYLER PONCIANO pounced on the errant pitch and fired to Miller, who was covering the plate.

“I knew it was going to be close so I dove in and caught the plate with my hand,” said Anthony Gonzales.

Frank retired the Eagles in the bottom of the 7th to post his 5th complete game in seven starts.

“There’s nothing magic about my control, I just try to hit my spots,” said Frank. “I was doing a pretty good job of jamming the hitters today.”

Granite Hills coach JAMES DAVIS noted that Frank had a trio of 3-ball counts but never gave in.

“What can I tell you? Frank did a great job, moved the ball around the strike zone,” Davis said. “He did a great job of keeping the ball down.”

Said Frank, “I try to stick with my fastball for as long as I can. My 2-seamer was going pretty good but I think it was my changeup that kept them guessing. People think my changeup is a knuckleball because it has such a natural drop to it. All I know is it’s effective.”

Valhalla took a 2-0 lead in the 3rd inning. With one out Matt Gonzales singled and O’Sullivan followed with a double. Gonzales came home on DANNY HAWKSLEY’s sacrifice fly and O’Sullivan rode home on JOSH AUSTEL’s base hit.

“The way Granite Hills handled us last year gave us great motivation for this year,” said Matt Gonzales. “Trevor was flawless except for that one home run pitch. But then too, you’ve got to give Dean credit. He got in on me all three pitches (that Miller got hits on). I was just fortunate to find the holes.”

Anthony Gonzales agreed with his cousin concerning the work of Miller.

“It seemed to me he had us on our heels all day,” Anthony Gonzales said.

These same two teams that tied for the Grossmont South League lead will meet again on Thursday (May 1) at Valhalla .

Glenn, who was 3-for-4 in the game, later scored on a sacrifice fly by winning pitcher MIKE ANDRADE in the same frame.

“This 6-game losing streak has been tough, so getting a win is nice,” said Helix coach COLE HOLLAND. “We have just got to continue to play hard.”

Helix (7-14, 2-7 GSL) scored in five of the seven innings against two Monte Vista pitchers. Scoring seven runs matches the Highlanders’ second highest output of the season.

They defeated El Cajon Valley 7-1 on Apr. 5 after belting Beaumont , Colo. 10-4 in the Lions Tournament on Mar. 19. To be blunt, scoring runs has been a real struggle for the Highlanders. They came into Tuesday’s game averaging less than three runs per game.

The Highlanders took a 1-0 lead in the 1st inning. JEFF ROSENTHAL and ANTHONY DIAZ singled, advanced to third on a passed ball. Rosenthal scored on Glenn’s groundout.

Helix started to pull away in the 2nd inning as VINCE CRISE was hit by a pitch and scored on a double by THOMAS BRYAN. Bryan eventually cruised home on a wild pitch to make it 3-0.

MATT MORRIS’s RBI single in the bottom of the 2nd brought the Monarchs’ (6-16, 1-8 GSL) to life.

Monte Vista tied the game an inning later on ADAM TIMANUS’s bases-loaded single.

After Helix pushed across two runs in the 5th, a Monte Vista error allowed the Highlanders to make it 6-3 in the 6th.

Diaz put the crowning touches to the Helix win by leading off the 7th inning with his 4th home run of the season.

Although Holland wasn’t throwing a party over the victory, he had to be pleased that his Highlanders moved a game ahead of the Monarchs in the battle to escape the GSL cellar.

“The outcome has less value, but we always have something to play for,” said Holland .

GROSSMONT 15, EL CAJON VALLEY 3 – If the Grossmont Foothillers were looking ahead, it wasn’t evident in Tuesday’s (Apr. 29) Grossmont North League victory at El Cajon Valley . Winning for the fifth straight time, the No. 4 ranked Foothillers (19-5, 5-1 GNL) did all of their scoring in the first six innings as they prepared for Thursday’s (May 1) two-game showdown against El Capitan .

The Hillers and Vaqueros are tied for the GNL lead at 5-1. Game 1 of the series will be played in Lakeside at 4 p.m., and the second tilt will be at Grossmont’s Joe Gizoni Field on Saturday (May 3) at 11 a.m.

Grossmont jumped on top against the Braves with back-to-back doubles by JOSH SIMMS and CHARLIE PIRO in the 1st inning. The Braves (8-15, 0-6 GNL) tied it in the bottom of the opening frame as ANTHONY VROLIJK doubled and scored on EFRIN PADILLA’s single up the middle.

It wasn’t close after that.

Winning pitcher LEVI STEVENS gave the Hillers a 2nd inning lead with a double to left-center field. He eventually scored on BRENNAN GEARY’s groundout.

Two El Cajon Valley errors helped the Hillers score three unearned runs in the 3rd on singles by BRYAN HAAR and ROBERT REYES.

Grossmont brought out the longball in the 4th inning. After Piro singled to right, DEREK BAUM powered his 4th home run over the fence in left-center to make it an 8-1 game.

El Cajon Valley coach MIKE RUPP made a pitching change at that point but it didn’t help as Haar greeted the reliever with his 5th home run over the left field fence.

Stevens limited the Braves to four hits and one run while striking out five and posting his 5th win in eight decisions.

Piro continued his hot hitting with a 2-for-3 effort, extending his hitting streak to 16. Over his current hitting bonanza, Piro has three doubles, three homers, 12 RBI and eight runs scored.

Baum, who was 2-for-5 with four RBI against the Braves, is hitting .444 (8-for-8) in his last five games.

For El Cajon Valley ABEL CERVANTES was 2-for-3, cranking his SDCIF-leading batting average up to .608 (45-for-74).

LUTHERAN 9, FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 8 – Foothills Christian took an early 5-run lead in Tuesday’s (Apr. 29) Citrus West League meeting with rival Lutheran.

It was short-lived, however, as Lutheran took a 6-5 lead in the 3rd inning and never let go.

Trailing 8-5 entering the top of the 6th Foothills tied the game on three errors and JOE CANTER’s sacrifice fly.

Lutheran snapped the tie in the bottom of the 6th on Willie Heiens’ inside the park home run.

“Lutheran’s field is about 430 feet to center and Heien really hit a bomb,” said Foothills Christian coach JAMES McHUGH. “The ball still fell about 40 feet short of the fence, but Willie has great speed and was able to circle the bases.”

TRAVIS GEORGE was 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI for Foothills Christian (7-10, 0-7).

After MATT DELMORE singled in the top of the 2nd, BRANDON JAROSIN clubbed an inside the park home run. Canter chipped in a 2-run single in the 5-run inning.

“This was another in a long line of frustrating losses for us,” said McHugh. “How you can consistently lose games in which you have more hits and less errors than the other team? I don't know, but we manage to do it.”

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (4-29-08) — After MIKE MITCHELL’s tirade following last Friday’s (Apr. 25) loss at Scripps Ranch, the Patriots players were probably taken aghast by the coach’s frustration.

Whatever.

Bottom line is Christian’s Patriots had a little more bounce in their step Monday (Apr. 28) when they slapped visiting Scripps Ranch, 9-3, in their second and final Eastern League meeting between the two ballclubs.

“You could tell when we were taking infield that we were a more focused ballclub today,” Mitchell said. “This is one of the few times I’ve ever been happy playing a Monday game.”

Christian (16-7, 4-4 EL) jumped on the Falcons (7-13, 2-6 EL) for seven runs in the 2nd inning and never looked back.

MICHAEL STOWERS started the scoring shower with a one-out single and stole second. After MICHAEL POTEET walked, MICHAEL GRUBER singled to load the bases.

Then, in his first varsity at-bat, sophomore KEN JENKINS slashed a line drive over the head of Scripps Ranch shortstop Jason Ross for a two-run single.

EDDIE YOUNG, who was 4-for-4, followed Jenkins’ lead with a two-run triple to center field. After BRIAN MITCHELL walked, TAYLOR EICHHORST hammered his eighth home run of the season over the fence in left field.

A two-run double by SHAUN DAY capped the Christian scoring in the 6th inning. Day, who injured a shoulder in a sliding mishap during the Lions Tournament, was 3-for-4 in his first action in six weeks.

“Day is our No. 4 hitter and having him back changes a lot of things in our offensive strategy,” Mitchell said.

BRAD JOHNSTON pitched a complete game 7-hitter, allowing just two earned runs to post his third win in four decisions.

© East County Sports.com
SPRING VALLEY (4-27-08) -- Mount Miguel High senior JAMES TREBUS pitched a dominating ballgame, striking out 13 batters. He even hit a home run. But Trebus' biggest factor in Saturday's (Apr. 26) Grossmont South League contest may have been his baserunning.

"I was going home on the bunt, but then I saw the pitcher at the plate," recalled Trebus. "I'm not the fastest runner -- I was worried."

However, the throw was late to allow Trebus to open the scoring. And when JULIAN CHARLES added a 2-run basehit moments later, the Matadors were well on their way to a 4-1 triumph over host Monte Vista.

"I was able to slide around him and get my hand on the plate," Trebus added, managing to slip past Monarchs pitcher NICK SABO on the squeeze bunt by RICKY SOLORZANO.

Charles then sent a ball through the infield to the right side for the Matadors' lone hit of the inning. But with TONY ALVAREZ and Solorzano scoring for a pair of RBI for Charles, Trebus had all the run support he needed.

"It hasn't been my best year hitting, so I was just trying to get a good swing," said Charles. "I've been working on it and hit the ball right where I needed to."

With basehits in high demand, it proved to be enough.

Monte Vista's only run came on a Trebus wild pitch, allowing designated hitter MATT BOELTER to score. Boelter opened the 4th with a ground-rule double that hopped over the fence in left-center field, then moved to third base on a sacrifice bunt by CODY MORRIS.

However, Trebus got the run back by smacking his 4th homer of the season to the same spot -- but 40 feet farther -- as Boelter's drive. Then on the mound, Trebus seemed to get stronger as the 98-minute ballgame came to a close, striking out the final five Monarchs he faced to finish with a career-high strikeout total.

"It was my best game pitching in high school," he noted. "My cut fastball was working really good."

Trebus survived a shaky start by walking three of the first four batters he faced. He escaped the jam by registering all three outs via strikes, then he started a 1-6-3 double play to get out of the 2nd inning unscathed.

While the Matadors' future may be now with a large crop of seniors on the roster, Monte Vista caught a glimpse of good times in upcoming seasons.

Sabo, a freshman, made his starting pitching debut for the Monarchs, overcoming his one poor inning with a complete-game performance. Sabo finished with a 4-hitter, striking out eight Matadors.

"I pitched pretty well for most of the game," explained Sabo, who had been playing at first base of late upon gaining a berth in the Monte Vista lineup. "I just have to keep working hard and hit my spots.

Mount Miguel (11-10, 4-4 GSL) moved above the .500 plateau with the victory, while Monte Vista (6-15, 1-7 GSL) remaining in a deadlock with Helix to fall three games behind the Matadors.

EL CAPITAN 6, SANTANA 1 – When it comes to Saturday games it’s almost automatic for El Capitan coach STEVE VICKERY when he selects his starting pitcher. All the veteran skipper has to do is remember a helpful little motto: “S-O-S – Soden on Saturdays.”

A 6-foot-7, 215-pound senior right-hander, JOSH SODEN has gone undefeated this season, but four of his victories have come on the last four Saturdays. That includes a complete game effort against Grossmont North League rival Santana on Saturday (Apr. 26) in Santee.

“There’s nothing fancy about Soden,” Vickery said. “He just throws strikes, minimizes his pitch count and has an uncanny ability to keep the opposition off balance.”

It was the 5th straight win for No. 9 ranked El Capitan (17-6, 4-1), which has won eight of its last nine.

Although the final score may indicate otherwise, this was hardly a cruise to the finish line for Soden, who surrendered nine hits before registering his third complete game in six starts.

It was a one-run ballgame until El Capitan broke loose for four runs in the top of the 7th. TANNER RUST’s 2-run homer was the key blow in that inning. The almost always stable Santana pitching corps issued three walks and allowed two runs to score on wild pitches in the same frame to put the game all but out of reach.

Rust was center stage in the Vaqueros opening inning rally as he singled to right and eventually scored on MILES REAGAN’s base hit, giving El Capitan a 1-0 lead it would never lose.

The Vaqueros picked up a second run in the 3rd inning when TYRONE WIGGINS scored on a wild pitch.

Santana cut the lead in half in the 5th inning. ANTHONY MORENO singled and maneuvered his way to second base while the Sultans were making two outs. After CODY SMITH walked, RYAN STUTZ laced a double to left field to score Moreno . Stutz’ shot bounced over the fence for a ground rule double, which actually cost Santana the tying run as Smith was sent back to third.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that Smith would have scored if the ball had remained in play,” Vickery said.

The return of Reagan has rejuvenated what has been an El Capitan sporadic offense. After missing five games due to a shoulder bruise Reagan has hit .750 (12-for-16) with five extra base hits, five RBI and 11 runs scored. Reagan has also earned the opposition’s respect in a hurry, drawing six walks over that stretch.

It was another day of frustration and missed opportunities for Santana (15-8, 3-4 GNL).

“It seems like we get the hits but not when we’re in scoring position,” said Santana coach JERRY HENSON. “We had nine hits today. We need some kids to step it up in order for us to win ballgames. Most of the games we have played we’ve outhit our opponents, just have not hit in pressure situations.”

Santana leadoff hitter CHRIS RABICHAUD was 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles. Moreno and Stutz also had two hits apiece for the Sultans.

Tellez doesn’t perform like a ninth-grader when he’s on the mound, as indicated by his 4-2 record and 2.97 ERA. The 5-foot-9, 185-pound southpaw turned in a key complete game effort on Saturday (Apr. 26) at Helix to keep the Norsemen just one game behind three-time defending Grossmont South League champion Granite Hills.

“I felt great out there,” Tellez said. “I was just throwing strikes and having fun.”

Tellez said he noticed from the outset that the Helix batters crowd the plate.

“I threw mostly fastballs and tried to keep them on the middle inside,” said Tellez, who scattered six hits while walking one and striking out four. “My job is to keep us in it – give us a chance to win.”

Catcher BRYCE MOSIER, the other half of the Valhalla freshmen battery, was a double threat. Not only did he go 2-for-3 with a bat, he did a quality job working with Tellez.

“I really enjoying catching Cisco,” Mosier said. “He always hits his spots and moves the ball around.”

The feeling is mutual.

“Mosier knows what pitches I have and when to call them,” Tellez said. “It seems like we’re always on the same page.”

Valhalla coach MIKE WILSON is pleased with the combination, no doubt realizing the Norsemen have a bright outlook for the future.

"I was very impressed with our freshmen battery today," said Wilson . "Cisco had great command locating both his fastball and off-speed pitches. And Bryce made some great plays and blocks behind the dish today, not to mention hitting two hard linedrive singles."

Valhalla took a 1-0 lead in the opening frame. RYAN O’SULLIVAN walked and stole second. After DANNY HAWKSLEY walked, JOSH AUSTEL singled to left, bringing in O’Sullivan.

Helix (6-14, 1-7 GSL), which has lost its last six, refused to go down easy. The Highlanders tied the game in the 3rd inning.

MARCOS SALINAS singled and advanced to second on BENNY GUERRERO’s bunt. BRONSON RUNIONS singled to left, putting runners at the corners. JEFF ROSENTHAL also singled to left, bringing in Salinas to tie it at 1-1.

Valhalla scored what proved to be the winning run in the 5th inning.

WILL COOMBS doubled. When MATT GONZALES attempted to bunt Coombs over to third, the Highlanders made a throwing error to leave runners at first and third.

A few pitches later Gonzales broke for second in an apparent attempted steal. Helix caught him in a pickle. Credit Gonzales for dancing between the bases long enough to allow Coombs to score the decisive run when he sprinted home from third.

GROSSMONT 12, EL CAJON VALLEY 1 – CHARLIE PIRO has a 5-game hitting streak going but it’s nothing he cares to brag about.

Make no mistake about it though, Grossmont’s Piromaniac is one hot hitter.

During his recent hitting spree the Foothillers’ senior slugger has gone 12-for-19 (.632 average) with three home runs, two doubles, 11 RBI and six runs scored.

The 6-foot-4, 190-pound Piro accounted for six runs in the Foothillers Grossmont North League romp over visiting El Cajon Valley on Saturday (Apr. 26).

Piro drove in runs in each of his first three at-bats – one coming on his 7th home run of the season, giving Grossmont a 4-0 lead in the 3rd inning. He also chipped in an RBI double in the Hillers four-run 4th.

LEVI STEVENS snapped out of a lengthy slump with a leadoff home run in the Grossmont 4th. CONOR MEREDITH capped that inning with a 2-run double.

No. 4 ranked Grossmont (18-5, 4-1 GNL) totaled 12 hits in the contest, including two by catcher DEREK BAUM, who also stole four bases.

The offensive output was more than enough for Grossmont starter and winning pitcher AARON GRIFFIN, who needed only 58 pitches to blank the Braves on two hits over five innings for his 7th win without a loss.

Reliever NICK GASPAR finished the job, allowing only one unearned run and two hits while striking out four in his two inning’s work.

For only the second time in 22 games this season El Cajon Valley ’s ABEL CERVANTES, who began the day batting better than .600, went hitless in two at-bats.

© East County Sports.com
SCRIPPS RANCH (4-26-08) — Christian High coach MIKE MITCHELL was fuming following Friday’s (Apr. 25) loss at Scripps Ranch. And that’s unusual for the unflappable Mitchell.

“It’s been 10 years since I’ve been this upset over a loss like the one we had today,” said Mitchell, who has coached for more than two decades. “It’s like I told our kids, we will not win another game if we go out with the approach and attitude like we did today. It was pathetic – no thought process whatsoever.”

In spite of the dismal outing, the Patriots (15-7, 3-4 EL) trailed by only one run entering the bottom of the 6th inning.

“When we got to the Scripps Ranch ballpark today our guys were talking about the 345 foot fence in centerfield,” Mitchell said. “All we wanted to do was hit home runs… or should I say, try to hit home runs… since we didn’t hit any. We were swinging from our heels all day. There are too many guys that are selfish on this team, and as a unit we were just bad.”

After falling behind the Falcons (7-12, 2-5 EL) 4-0 after the first two innings, the Patriots who totaled only five hits for the game, rallied for three runs in the 6th. They loaded the bases on a walk to BRYAN MITCHELL, a double by TAYLOR EICHHORST and a walk to ADAM NASH. NIKO KANAKARIS then grounded a single to the right side, scoring Mitchell and Eichhorst. Nash would eventually score on a double play ball, and then the Patriots’ offense went silent the rest of the way.

In the bottom of the 6th Christian’s defense collapsed.

“It should have been a 1-2-3 inning,” Mitchell said. “But no. We commit two physical errors and then play a soft line drive into a 2-run triple. This inning was kinda typical of the whole day.”

There are some coaches in the Eastern League that believe Christian doesn’t belong – that they should be playing at a less competitive level.

“Our kids wanted to take the challenge of playing in a tougher league (leaving the Central circuit for the Eastern League),” Mitchell noted. “It doesn’t matter what league we’re in if we’re going to have a lousy attitude and our enthusiasm is lousy.”

“Right now, I don’t think we have an all-league selection.”

Mitchell hopes his Patriots take heed and make a better showing when Scripps Ranch visits Christian on Monday (Apr. 28) in a 3 p.m. Eastern League game.

Earlier in the season No. 4 ranked Grossmont whipped the Titans twice. It was No. 9 ranked El Capitan’s turn to topple the Titans in a non-league game Friday (Apr. 25) in Lakeside.

Eastlake did not go quietly, however, taking a 6-3 lead after two innings.

After a rocky start El Capitan senior right-hander KEVIN MORTON (5-2) settled down to pitch his fourth complete game, scattering nine hits and allowing just three earned runs.

Morton was also a force on offense, driving in three runs with a double and two sacrifice flies. It was his fly ball that followed singles by MILES REAGAN and KORBIN KRUGER that tied the game 6-6 in the 5th inning.

El Capitan (16-6) put the game away in the 6th. TYRONE WIGGINS doubled off the top of the centerfield fence to begin the frame. He advanced to second on a TANNER RUST groundout and scored on a single by pinch-hitter CANNON NIKZAD. MARCO MARISCAL ran for Nikzad and eventually scored on a fly ball by Morton.

Reagan was 3-for-3 with a double and three runs scored. He’s knocked out 11 hits in his last four games.

After Eastlake took a 1-0 lead in the 1st inning, Rust stole home with two outs and the bases loaded, tying the game. ANDY HALE followed with a 2-run double, but the lead was short-lived as Eastlake scored five runs in the 2nd.

© East County Sports.com
RANCHO SAN DIEGO (4-25-08) — The BELLATTI brothers were apparently not impressed by Granite Hills’ No. 3 ranking in the San Diego CIF. Perhaps known more for their pitching, the Bellattis kept their arms at their sides and their hands on the bats as they combined for seven hits, five runs and four RBI to lead host Steele Canyon to a Grossmont South League 9-8 upset in 8 innings Thursday (Apr. 24).

It was a fitting conclusion for the Cougars (11-8, 5-2 GSL) as they closed to within one game of the front-running Eagles (17-4, 6-1 GSL).

Trailing 8-7 as they entered the bottom of the 8th, the Cougars’ JESSE JENNER reached base on an error to open the final frame. MARLON PORTER sacrificed him to second base. MARK BELLATTI then laced a single to score Jenner and tie it at 8-8.

JORDAN HINDI walked and then, with two outs, ANDREW BELLATTI delivered the game-winning single to score his brother from second base.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous when I came up for that last at-bat,” said Andrew Bellatti, who was facing Granite Hills reliever KENNY BELZER.

Belzer jumped ahead in the count 1-2, but then hung a tantalizing curveball to Bellatti.

“He crowded me with some fastballs. I fouled off an inside 1-2 fastball so I thought he might come back with a curveball,” Bellatti said.

And that’s what he did. Bellatti lined a hanger down the left field line, allowing his brother Mark to jog home uncontested with the decisive marker.

“This was a major win for us,” said Andrew Bellatti, who will undoubtedly be the starting pitcher when the Cougars contest the Eagles on Saturday (Apr. 26) at Granite Hills.

Mark Bellatti, who was 4-for-5 to anchor Steele Canyon ’s 13-hit attack, noted that the bottom of the 7th was the pivotal point of the game. Bellatti slugged a solo home run – his 7th of the season – to shave Granite Hills’ lead to 7-5.

The biggest play of the game came with two outs and nobody on base when Steele Canyon ’s DONNIE FRANK lifted a pop fly into short left field that eluded Eagles shortstop JARED HUNT.

“I thought the game was over,” said Mark Bellatti. “Then all of a sudden I saw the ball fall into no-man’s land. I knew we’d gotten a reprieve and we couldn’t let it go.”

Andrew Bellatti followed with a base hit and NOLAN MURRAY, who has been delivering clutch hits by the handfuls, came through again with a 2-run double down the right-field line to make it 8-8 after seven innings.

“Letting that routine pop fly fall in just killed us,” said Granite Hills coach JAMES DAVIS. “That ball has to be caught.”

Steele Canyon coach TODD SNYDER likes where his Cougars stand at the moment.

“We are at the point where we can control our own destiny,” he said. “If we beat Granite Hills on Saturday we know we’ll be tied for first place.”

That kind of excitement has his players hyped to a new level.

“We like to talk about how people don’t have any respect for us,” said Mark Bellatti. “But that’s our problem. We haven’t proved anything to anybody in the past. But we’re changing that this season and we’re on the verge of doing something big.”

SANTANA 2, WEST HILLS 1 (12 inn.) – It’s not like CODY SMITH is afraid of the dark, but the Santana sophomore realized that daylight was running out on the host Santana Sultans in Thursday’s (Apr. 24) Grossmont North League game against West Hills.

“I figured this is going to be the last inning,” admitted Smith, who was 2-for-4 for the Sultans (15-7, 3-3 GNL). “But it wasn’t like I was thinking I’ve gotta hit a home run.”

No doubt that thought crossed his mind, however, as he led off the bottom of the 12 inning with the scored tied 1-1. The left-hand hitting Smith stepped in against West Hills reliever BRANDON HAMILTON, who had blanked the Sultans on three hits over the previous three innings.

Hamilton immediately took control of the count, putting Smith in a one ball, two strike hole.

“I was just hoping I could put the ball in play at that point,” Smith said.

Hamilton served up a 1-2 knuckleball.

“It was right over the plate,” said Smith. “I didn’t swing hard but I knew I hit it pretty good and I ran hard out of the box. When I rounded first base I saw the right fielder (BRENNAN TAYLOR) turn his back and run for the fence. Then I saw him stop – I knew the ball had gone out.”

It was Smith’s second home run of the season.

“This is the greatest accomplishment I’ve had in baseball,” he said. “Not just because I hit a home run, but because it gave us a win that we needed to have.”

Smith’s walk-off homer made a winning pitcher of JAMES NEEDY, who blanked the Wolf Pack on five hits over the final 5 1/3 innings.

“At first when I saw him hit it I thought Oh, it’s a routine fly ball,” said West Hills coach CHRIS BAUM. “Then the wind seemed to catch it and I thought Oh no, it’s going out.”

Santana sophomore starter KYLE HAYES limited the Wolf Pack to one run and one hit over four innings. Reliever RYAN STUTZ shut out the Pack over the next 2 2/3 innings on two hits.

West Hills (10-12, 3-3 GNL) didn’t have a hit until the 4th inning, and only had one hit going into the 6th.

“We’ve been struggling a little at the plate,” said Baum. “Our pitching has been superb, but you’re not going to win a whole lot of games by scoring one run in 12 innings.”

“Hitting is contagious. If we can just get a couple guys going I think we’ll start swinging it like we were earlier in the season.”

Santana coach JERRY HENSON, whose Sultans have struggled at the plate even more than the Wolf Pack, noted that each team left 12 runners on base.

“We’d get them in position to score but just couldn’t get them in,” said Henson.

Santana actually scored in the 1st inning as CHRIS RABICHAUD led off the game with a base hit to extend his hitting streak to 10 games. Smith laid down a sacrifice bunt, which due to his lightning speed, turned into a single. The runners advanced 90 feet as the Sultans surrendered two outs.

ANTHONY MORENO then lined a singled to left field to score Rabichaud, staking Santana to a 1-0 lead.

West Hills countered with a two-out rally in the 4th as ERIC McKNIGHT walked, GABRIEL ZEHNER was hit by a pitch and Taylor singled down the right field line to drive in McKnight with the tying run.

MONTE VISTA 17, MOUNT MIGUEL 6 — Even when it might appear that a team with little to play for could be ready to cash it in, the Monte Vista coaching

staff must be credited for doing a quality job of preparing the Monarchs for Thursday’s (Apr. 24) duel against Mount Miguel ’s sophomore pitching sensation RUDDY ACOSTA.

Never in his brief varsity career has Acosta been treated so rudely. A dozen Monarchs contributed to an 18-hit attack. Acosta was rocked for 13 runs (9 earned) and 10 hits and was chased from the mound after facing five batters in the 3rd inning without recording an out.

This was by far Monte Vista’s finest offensive output. Only once time previous had the Monarchs scored as many as 12 tallies. This is a club that has been shut out five times.

The key against the hard-throwing Acosta was preparation. Monte Vista pitching coach RYAN JAMISON, a former Division I college and minor league professional pitcher, gave the Monarchs’ hitters a taste of what they might see from the 6-foot-6, 160-pound Acosta.

“Hitting off coach Jamison in BP like we did gave us a lot of confidence,” said Monte Vista catcher ANTHONY MARCON, who was 2-for-5 with 3 RBI against the Matadors. “We were ready for (Acosta).”

Ready, I guess. Monte Vista (6-14, 1-6 GSL) scored 9 runs in the opening frame and never looked back in winning for only the second in 12 games. It got so bad for Mount Miguel that junior TONY ALVAREZ was flagged for catcher’s interference twice in the opening inning.

“It seemed like everything he threw was hard stuff,” Marcon said of Acosta.

Monte Vista leadoff man ERIC GENTRY agreed.

“He was trying to blow every pitch past us,” Gentry said. “His fastball had a little bit of a tail to it, but it was easy to anticipate. The way it looked to me is everything he threw he left on the table.”

Gentry slashed a 2-run single in the wild first inning as did SPENCER REED. Gentry also keyed a 4-run 3rd inning with a base hit and stolen base. ADAM TIMANUS’ two-run single gave Monte Vista a 12-3 bulge in the 3rd before MATT BOELTER’s sacrifice fly and back-to-back doubles by MATT MORRIS and NICK SABO made it an 11-run spread.

Marcon tacked on a 2-run single to swell Monte Vista’s advantage to 16-3 in the 5th.

“We’ve always been a team that could hit,” Marcon said. “It’s a matter of being more consistent both with the bats and in the field.”

Monte Vista did not commit and error at Mount Miguel (10-10, 3-4 GSL).

The Matadors did not roll over after surrendering the nine-spot in the 1st inning as JAMES TREBUS whacked a two-run triple. Trebus added an RBI single in the 7th but it was nowhere near enough to defuse the Monte Vista onslaught on this afternoon.

ERIC LaBOUBE went the distance to log the pitching win.

EL CAPITAN 18, EL CAJON VALLEY 11 – Maybe the El Cajon Valley Braves can’t find a way to snap their state-record of 126 consecutive losses reaching back to 1997. But one thing is certain, coach MIKE RUPP’s boys are putting up a stout fight every time out of the box this spring.

This is not just fluff talk. Case in point was Thursday’s (Apr. 24) Grossmont North League loss to visiting El Capitan (15-6, 3-1 GNL), currently the No. 9-ranked team in the San Diego CIF. The Braves fell behind 10-2 in the 3rd inning but fought back to cut the deficit to two runs by the close of the 4th frame.

The Braves (8-13, 0-4 GNL) battered three El Capitan pitchers for 16 hits and 11 earned runs. Senior ADRIAN PADILLA drove in a career-high 6 runs for El Cajon Valley, while ABEL CERVANTES raised his San Diego CIF batting average to.623 (43-for-68) with three hits and 4 runs scored. Cervantes extended his current hitting streak to 16 games, and has hit safely in 20 of 21 games.

“It was one of those games where we had to keep pushing it,” said El Capitan coach STEVE VICKERY, who admitted the Braves were relentless in their pursuit. “ El Cajon Valley is going to put pressure on everybody they play this year.”

KYLE MILLS, KORBIN KRUGER and KEVIN MORTON drove in 4 runs apiece to pace the Vaqueros. Kruger did the majority of his damage by clubbing 3 doubles, while Mills doubled and slugged a 3-run homer.

MILES REAGAN continued his hefty hitting and now has 8 hits in the three games since his return from an injury.

When El Capitan ’s TANNER RUST lined a triple to begin the game it served as a harbinger of things to come. The two teams combined for 33 hits – 10 of the extra-base variety.

“We came out and swung the bats like we were swinging them earlier in the year,” said Rupp. “We made a couple of key mistakes, but we never gave up. I’m real short on pitching so it kinda hurts us late in the game. Now that we are playing three games a week I have to save enough pitching to get through the week. It’s tough on games like this when you don’t have enough pitching.”

VALHALLA 6, HELIX 2 – RYAN O’SULLIVAN and JAKE BOEKAMP combined to pitch the Norsemen past host Helix in Thursday’s (Apr. 24) Grossmont South League action to move Valhalla within one game of league-leading Granite Hills.

O’Sullivan checked the Highlanders on five hits and one earned run while striking out eight for his sixth win in seven decisions.

"Ryan played a great game today,” said Valhalla coach MIKE WILSON. “He pitched well working both sides of the plate and did a great job offensively, scoring twice and getting two RBI."

Boekamp pitched a scoreless 7th.

Valhalla (15-7, 5-2 GSL) broke out in front with a 4-run 3rd inning. TYLER KEATON provided the spark as he doubled off the fence in left center.

WILL COOMBS followed with a home run over the right-center field fence, and the Norsemen were on their way to their 9th win in 12 starts.

"Will has really done a great job for us in the leadoff spot ever since stepping into the role earlier this year,” Wilson said. “He has been getting on base in a variety of ways and finding ways to score."

The longball seemed to rattle Helix starter MIKE ORTIZ, who then plunked MATT GONZALES with a pitch.

O’Sullivan followed with a single to left that the Highlanders left fielder muffed, allowing Gonzales to take third. DANNY HAWKSLEY kept the rally going with a single to right, scoring Gonzales to make it 3-0. After JOSH AUSTEL was hit by a pitch to load the bases, PETER THOMAS hit a ground ball to third base.

The Highlanders missed a sure out when the fielder threw the ball away, allowing O’Sullivan to score.

“We’ve been doing things like that way too many times this year,” Helix coach COLE HOLLAND said. “It’s hard to come back when you keep giving runs away. I’m a frustrated coach right now because our team just can’t hit.”

Holland credited Ortiz for his complete game pitching effort.

“Mike threw a great game, just 87 pitches and no walks,” Holland said. “But when you don’t score any runs you don’t win many games.”

After the Highlanders pecked away for a run on JEFF ROSENTHAL’s RBI single in the bottom of the 3rd, Holland had some hope of a possible comeback. That pipedream went out the window in the 5th inning as Gonzales singled to left and O’Sullivan hammered his 9th homer

"We were hitting the ball hard today and spread hits throughout the lineup,” said Wilson.

DEREK DEYLING was a double threat for the Knights (6-9, 1-6 CWL) as he pitched a complete game victory while going 2-for-4 with four RBI and four runs scored for Foothills Christian.

BRANDON JAROSIN also enjoyed an offensive breakout with a 3-for-5 effort that included a double and five RBI.

Not to be overlooked was HENRY LUSCHEI who was 3-for-5 with three doubles, five RBI and three runs scored.

The list of the Knights’ offensive stalwarts continued with TRAVIS GEORGE going 2-for-5 with four runs scored and two RBI.

JOE CANTER was 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles, four RBI and four runs scored.

“This was one of those games that it was hard to take a lot of positive from,” said Foothills Christian coach JAMES McHUGH. “You hate to even be on the winning end of these contests.”

Jarosin and Luschei both had five RBI, a new school record.

“We hit the ball well today, but we still put more balls in the air than I'd like to see,” McHugh said.

Foothills Christian will travel to Lutheran on Tuesday (Apr. 29) for a 3:15 start.

© East County Sports.com
SAN DIEGO (4-24-08) — There is a little bit of grumbling about whether Christian High should have been allowed to move from the less competitive Central League to the more challenging Eastern League this season.

Perhaps that is fear talking from some of the so-called stronger teams in the seven-team circuit.

Senior right-hander BRADLEY JOHNSTON turned in a complete game 6-hitter against the host Morse Tigers in Wednesday’s (Apr. 23) Eastern League fray won by the Patriots 6-1. That victory balanced Christian’s league ledger at 3-3 and improved their overall mark to 15-6.

“Johnston pitched a great game,” said Patriots coach MIKE MITCHELL. “He was effective throwing strikes, worked fast. He was ahead in the count all day long.”

Christian got a lift from the top part of its batting order as leadoff man EDDIE YOUNG and No. 2 batter BRYAN MITCHELL were a combined 6-for-8. Young, who has hit safely in 16 of his last 17 games, scored twice and picked up an RBI.

The Young-Mitchell combination set the tone early. Young opened the game with a base hit and immediately stole second for his 18th theft of the season. Mitchell rifled a single to right, putting runners at the corners with nobody out. TAYLOR EICHHORST drove a fly ball to deep right, allowing Young to score.

It was more about Young in the 2nd inning as his RBI double gave Christian a 2-0 cushion.

Christian broke the game open in the 3rd by scoring three times. A one-out single by freshman MICHAEL POTEET set the stage for NIKO KANAKARIS’ run-scoring double to right field.

A Morse pitching change didn’t slow the Patriots down, as MICHAEL STOWERS lined a single to center to put runners at the corners. The Patriots then caught the Tigers “flat-pawed” as ADAM NASH laid down a squeeze bunt to bring in Kanakaris. MICHAEL GRUBER capped the inning with an RBI single to center.

That would be more than enough for Johnston, who did not allow an extra base hit to the Tigers (4-15, 0-4 EL).

Just for drill the Patriots scored for the fourth consecutive inning with a familiar combination. Young singled to right, Mitchell singled to center and Eichhorst’s fly ball to deep center plated Young.

© East County Sports.com
RANCHO SAN DIEGO (4-23-08) — Those who might be inclined to write off the Steele Canyon Cougars should think again. Coach TODD SNYDER’s crew is only two games out of the Grossmont South League lead heading into a key two-game series against front-running Granite Hills that begins on Thursday (Apr. 24).

The Cougars (10-8, 4-2 GSL) rallied from a 5-2 deficit Tuesday (Apr. 22) to thwart upset-minded Monte Vista 10-5.

NOLAN MURRAY’s 3-run double capped a five-run 5th inning that snapped a 5-5 deadlock that propelled the Cougars to their third straight victory.

“I kinda knew they were trying to get to me with breaking stuff,” said Murray . “So when they changed pitchers I was looking curveball all the way. That’s what I got. I let the first one go. The second one I got a good swing on and it went down the line.”

Murray finished 3-for-4 with 4 RBI in the pivotal victory.

“We’re an explosive team,” said Murray . “All it takes is a key hit to get us going. Yeah, my hit was probably the biggest one I’ve had all year.”

While Murray carried the offensive load, junior relief pitcher DANNY MacINTYRE turned in 3 2/3 innings of perfect relief. He struck out eight of the 11 batters he faced without allowing a baserunner.

“I had fun with it,” MacIntyre said. “Basically I stayed with my fastball away. I lived on the corner all day.”

MacIntyre, no doubt one of the most versatile players in East County in that he can play every position on the field, was also 1-for-1 in his only at-bat.

“I like to bounce around, be a utility kind of guy,” he said. “You never know when you’re throwing in the bullpen, but I felt the stuff today.”

Monte Vista (5-14, 0-6 GSL) let it be known that it came to play as ERIC GENTRY led off the game with a home run.

Either the Cougars were not impressed or were not intimidated as they countered with two runs in the bottom of the 1st.

MARK BELLATTI led off with a double, advanced to third on an error and scored when the Monarchs dropped a fly ball.

In spite of its shoddy defense Monte Vista came right back in the top of the 2nd as SPENCER REED doubled and scored on MATT MORRIS’ home run.

The Monarchs extended their advantage in the 4th inning as Reed singled and scored on CODY MORRIS’ home run to make it 5-2.

Steele Canyon tied the game in the bottom of the 4th on an RBI single by DONNIE FRANK, a run-scoring double by ANDREW BELLATTI and Murray ’s RBI groundout.

“We came out a little flat today and they were pounding the ball,” said Steele Canyon coach TODD SNYDER. “Sometimes the pitching isn’t there. (SC starter) CODY KLOPP works hard. He takes a rough outing harder then anybody. I have complete confidence in putting him out there. MacIntyre was able to come in and you can’t ask for any better performance than he gave.”

WEST HILLS 3, SANTANA 2 – In a typical Grossmont North league game, the daredevil West Hills Wolf Pack challenged visiting Santana to stifle their run game in Tuesday’s (Apr. 22) GNL action.

The decisive run of the game came in the 6th inning on aggressive base-running by the host Wolf Pack.

After ERIC McKNIGHT opened the inning with a walk, SAM LINDAHL took over as a pinch-runner. Lindahl wasted little time challenging the Santana defense as he attempted to steal second base.

“We had a pitch-out on that play and then we throw too high, so the guy is safe,” recalled Santana coach JERRY HENSON. “If the throw is on the money, the guy is out by 4-5 feet.”

Lindahl continued his journey as he attempted to advance on a ground ball to shortstop.

“I think they caught us by surprise when the guy (Lindahl) broke for third,” Henson said. “When our shortstop goes after him by throwing to third, his throw hits the runner in the back. So the guy’s safe.”

Just when it appeared that Santana starter BRANDYN BELL had escaped with an inning-ending strikeout, his pitch broke so sharply that Sultans catcher DUSTIN BUMBAR was unable to make a clean block, thus opening the door for Lindahl to score what proved to be the winning run.

“The ball hit the dirt and bounced up,” Henson said. “When Bumbar went to block it, it hit him on the forearm and kicked away. That gave the guy coming from third plenty of time to score.”

“We had three chances to get that third out and didn’t do it,” Henson said. “A lot of it is a credit to West Hills. They are an aggressive team that forces you to make plays and dare you to make mistakes.”

Wolf Pack pitcher ROBBY ROBLES went the distance, scattering six hits and allowing only two runs while striking out four. Robles threw a complete game with 74 pitches.

He surrendered Santana’s JAMES NEEDY’s third home run of the year to fall behind 1-0 in the 2nd inning.

“I have nothing but confidence when Robles is pitching,” said Wolf Pack coach CHRIS BAUM. “He’s come a long way from winter (ball) to be the ace of our staff. When he’s on the mound I can divert my attention elsewhere.”

A double by Santana’s RYAN STUTZ, which extended his East County leading streak to 20 games, set the stage for KYLE HAYES’ RBI single and a 2-0 lead in the 4th.

West Hills tied the game in the 5th inning on an RBI single by TONY SPEARS and a triple by RYNE BARKLEY.

“We executed a double play in the 7th inning that was amazing,” said Baum. “Hayes hit a ball into the hole between second and first and Spears, playing deep, scooped it up, spun on his back foot and let loose a perfect throw to WILL CRUMPLER at second base, who threw it to McKnight at first for the double play. Crumpler and Spears have been playing stellar defense all year.”

VALHALLA 6, MOUNT MIGUEL 1 – No pitcher in the San Diego CIF has a better strikeouts-to-walks ratio than Valhalla junior TREVOR FRANK.

Frank pitched a complete game 3-hitter while striking out 10 and walking none as the Norsemen (14-7, 4-2 GSL), won for just the second time in five games in Tuesday’s (Apr. 22) Grossmont South League action.

"Trevor threw a great game today,” said Valhalla coach MIKE WILSON of Frank, who has struck out 50 while walking only one. “His fastball had some good movement and he was pounding the zone all day."

Designated hitter PETER THOMAS spearheaded the Valhalla offense, driving in three runs with a double and a single.

The Norsemen took a 2-0 lead in the opening frame. WILL COOMBS started things with a base hit and JAKE BOEKAMP reached on an error, putting two runners on with nobody out.

Mount Miguel starter ANDREW MAZON retired Valhalla kingpin RYAN O’SULLIVAN on a flyout to center but surrendered an RBI double to DANNY HAWKSLEY. Frank drove in a second run on an infield out.

Valhalla picked up an insurance run in the 5th inning on a 2-0 double by JOSH AUSTEL off the left field fence and an RBI single by Thomas.

"Pete Thomas and Josh Austel really did a great job at the plate today,” said Wilson . “After some minor adjustments to Pete's swing, he really seemed to put it together today especially with guys on base. Josh just missed two homeruns, hitting a liner off the left field fence and pulling another ball out, but just foul."

Mount Miguel (10-9, 3-3 GSL), which had a three game winning streak, avoided the shutout in the 6th inning on an RBI double by NICO CALAFATO.

Mazon allowed only two earned runs in his complete game pitching effort as he was slapped with his second loss in four decisions.

“Mazon pitched well enough to win,” said Matadors coach BYRON GRIGSBY. “We just didn’t make the plays behind him. Coming off a 3-0 week last week, we were completely flat today.”

EL CAPITAN 5, EL CAJON VALLEY 1 – MARCO MARISCAL pitched a complete game 5-hitter as No. 9 ranked El Capitan posted its 5th win in six starts in Tuesday’s (Apr. 22) Grossmont North League action.

El Capitan jumped in front 2-0 in the opening frame by parlaying two walks, a wild pitch and singles by KEVIN MORTON and KORBIN KRUGER.

The Braves (8-12, 0-3 GNL) cut the Vaqueros lead in half in the 3rd inning by stringing together singles by DAVID SANCHEZ, ABEL CERVANTES and ANTHONY VROLIJK.

Cervantes’ base hit extended his current hitting streak to 15 games. The El Cajon Valley junior has been held hitless in only one of 20 games this season while compiling a SDCIF-best .615 (40-for-65) batting average.

Outside of the 3rd inning eruption, Mariscal had the Braves eating out of his glove.

“I was proud of Mariscal today,” said El Capitan coach STEVE VICKERY. “He pounded the strike zone and was able to throw three pitches for strikes. All of a sudden we’re getting outstanding pitching the last three weeks. Our pitching staff is coming together like we thought it would at the beginning of the season.”

El Capitan extended its advantage to 3-1 in the 4th inning on a double by BROOKS NOBLE and a single by TYRONE WIGGINS. But it wasn’t until the 5th inning that the Vaqueros could actually take command.

MILES REAGAN ripped a one-out double down the left-field line. CAMERON MACKY pinch ran for Reagan and scored on a 2-run homer over the right-center field fence by CANNON NIKZAD.

“El Cajon Valley plays good, aggressive baseball – made a couple of outstanding plays today,” said Vickery. “Their first two players (Cervantes and Vrolijk) can play for anybody.”

GRANITE HILLS 7, HELIX 1 – No. 3 ranked Granite Hills won for the 12th time in 13 starts to maintain its 2-game lead in the Grossmont South League on Tuesday (Apr. 22) with a win over Helix in La Mesa.

Junior DEAN MILLER, one of the most unsung pitchers in East County , was overpowering against the Highlanders, striking out 10 while allowing only four singles in a complete game effort.

“Miller has been pretty consistent for us,” said Eagles coach JAMES DAVIS. “Every time he goes out on the mound we know he’s going to eat a lot of innings for us.”

Miller is also the best hitter among the Eagles pitchers, as he proved again on Tuesday by banging out two singles in four at-bats.

Granite Hills took the lead in the 3rd inning as BRIAN HUMPHRIES walked and scored on a double by JARED RAPOZA. Rapoza advanced to third on a base hit by KENNY BELZER and scored on JOSH QUERIONES’ sacrifice fly.

JARED HUNT’s double made it 3-0 in the 5th.

An inning later TYLER JOWORSKI doubled and scored on a base hit by Miller.

DYLAN GARCIA also slashed a 2-run single and Queriones drove in another run during the 6th inning

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 12, JULIAN 2 – It wasn’t the World Series, but the Knights of Foothills Christian were mighty happy about Tuesday’s (Apr. 22) impressive non-league romp over host Julian.

Several attempts to improve the Julian baseball field have failed for one reason or another. So Foothills Christian coach JAMES McHUGH was prepared for the worst.

“The field is like playing on rocks,” McHugh said. “It is about 340 to left, 390 or so to center and at the shortest point maybe 330 down the right field line. And it's all dirt which means if you hit a gap you run.”

TRAVIS GEORGE was a double threat. As a batter, he was 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles, 3 runs scored, and 2 RBI. The junior pitcher turned in a complete game, limiting Julian to four hits and one earned run. He struck out 6 and walked one.

“We executed perfectly,” McHugh said. “More than that George countered by forcing Julian's main hitters to get the ball in the air. With the wind up there a fly ball to left is just pointless. Anything in the air is in play because the wind is so strong that it keeps everything up.”

HENRY LUSCHEI capped a 4-run 2nd inning with a 2-run double for the Knights (6-9).

In Foothills 4-run 6th inning DEREK DEYLING slashed a 2-run triple. JOE CANTER chipped in an RBI single and scored on MATT DELMORE’s 3-base hit.

For good measure in the 7th inning George doubled in a pair and Luschei hit his second triple of the game to score the Knights’ final run.

“When it came to hitting, we executed the game plan we had worked on all last week,” said McHugh. “We found the gaps and we kept the ball out of the air. We had our first four triples of the season and not all of those could be credited to the hard surface. We simply ran the bases well.”

“I can't say enough about the outing that Travis George delivered for us on the mound today,” McHugh continued. “Trav really kept Julian in check. The outing was a great relief to our staff.”

George needed only 87 pitches to complete the game.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (4-20-08) — It was a typical Grossmont North League chess match where every move could lead to potential checkmate.

Such was the case in Saturday’s (Apr. 19) GNL showdown at the Foothillers’ Joe Gizoni Field, which was all about the visiting Sultans for the first 5½ innings.

No. 6 ranked Grossmont (17-5, 3-1 GNL), which had been mesmerized by Santana junior RYAN STUTZ for five innings, came to life in the 6th, doing all of its scoring in what would result in a 5-2 victory for the Foothillers.

BRYAN HAAR led off the inning with a triple to right-center field. The Sultans bungled the relay and Haar was able to score.

JOSH POND at that point relieved Stutz and got one out before LEVI STEVENS walked and CASH McCLELLAN singled up the middle. KYLE SECCIANI coaxed a second walk off of Pond to load the bases.

Santana coach JERRY HENSON then brought in sophomore KYLE HAYES, who struck out JOSH SIMMS for the second out to maintain Santana’s 2-1 lead.

The Sultans (14-6, 2-2 GNL) had no answer for Grossmont’s latest newborn slugger, CHARLIE PIRO. The 6-foot-4, 190-pound Piro belted a game-winning grand slam over the right-center field fence.

“It was a 3-1 count and I was sitting dead-red fastball,” said Piro. “And that’s what he threw me – thigh-high and away. I knew I got all of that one. I even had a second to watch it, so I knew it was going out.”

In 5th inning Piro just missed a 2-run shot as Santana’s left fielder CHRIS RABICHAUD went up and over the fence to rob the Hillers slugger.

“I got under it a little bit – just missed it – and hit a towering fly ball,” Piro said. “That gave Rabichaud time to get back to the fence and camp under it. He and I have been friends for a long time, but I was furious when he took that home run away.”

Prior to Piro’s grand slam in the 6th inning Grossmont had failed at seven previous at-bats with runners in scoring position.

“It was a good week for us. Any time you win three games in a week it has to be considered a good week,” Phillips said. “But I wouldn’t say we have a lot of momentum going. In this game today we left seven runners on – six in scoring position – in the first three innings.”

Credit Grossmont coach ROB PHILLIPS for raising Piro from the bottom third of the Foothillers’ batting order to the No. 3 slot.

“A couple of our guys have been struggling lately so they moved me up to No. 3 in the order,” Piro said. “It’s not like Coach Phillips announces the lineup for the game or anything. Basically we never know where we’re going to bat, where we’re going to play or if we’re going to start until about 10 minutes before game time (when public address announcer BILL DUNNING announces Phillips’ lineup).”

Then it’s time for the Star Spangled Banner, so there’s no time for discussion or lobbying – it is what it is.

Piro admitted being caught by surprise that he had been elevated to the No. 3 spot.

“We have the kind of team where everybody can hit,” Piro said. “So no matter how you jumble the batting order we’re still going to score runs. For me batting No. 3, I go about it the same as if I were batting fifth or sixth. My job is to drive in runs.”

For Santana, which fell into a 2nd-place tie with West Hills, it was truly frustrating for Sultans coach JERRY HENSON.

“It just kills you inside when you lose a close one like that,” he said. “When you know you have them on the ropes, have done everything you can to win . . . then give it away.”

EL CAPTAN 14, WEST HILLS 2 – The Vaqueros welcomed MILES REAGAN back to the lineup in Saturday’s (Apr. 19) Grossmont North League contest against West Hills in Lakeside.

A 6-foot-2, 197-pound senior, Reagan had missed the previous two weeks due to a shoulder contusion suffered during a practice drill. It was clear to those in attendance that being sidelined obviously keyed up Reagan for a bountiful return. He did not disappoint.

Reagan went 5-for-5 with a home run, two doubles, four runs scored and three RBI as No. 9 ranked El Capitan (13-6, 1-1 GNL) rang up 15 hits in the surprising blowout of the Wolf Pack.

“For two weeks all I could do was run and watch,” said Reagan, who is regarded as a pro pitching prospect and probable high-round June draft choice.

Reagan could be the answer to a league championship for El Capitan since he provides the big bat in the middle that the Vaqueros sorely need. Then, of course, there’s his 93 mile an hour fastball. which is attracting the pro scouts.

Reagan said he expects to begin contributing on the mound in the next week or so. But his most recent comeback was all about hitting. His RBI single in the 1st inning gave El Capitan the early lead against the Wolf Pack (9-11, 2-2 GNL). After that it seemed like every time Reagan came up to bat, the Vaqueros offense spun into motion.

Reagan led off what would be a 3-run 3rd inning with a double to right-center. His 4th inning single was the spark to a second 3-run frame. In the 5th he didn’t mess around at all as he led off with his second home run of the season, deep into the student parking lot beyond the left-center field fence.

In the 6th inning Reagan chipped in with an RBI double.

“I was itching to get in there and play,” he said. “I know I can swing it, but the scouts say I’m a pitcher first. That’s OK, because I love to do both.”

Reagan said the contusion at the top of his right shoulder has healed but the time he’s been off the field actually will make him a stronger player in the stretch run.

“I was in a slump when I got hurt,” Reagan said. “So I had to do a lot of those little drills and it got to be pretty monotonous.”

Not to be overlooked was the pitching of 6-foot-7, 215-pound JOSH SODEN, who pitched a complete game 5-hitter, allowing only one earned run to the Wolf Pack.

“Soden was amazing,” said El Capitan coach STEVE VICKERY. “It took him only 39 pitches to get through the first five innings and 64 to finish the game.”

Unlike many pitchers, racking up the strikeouts is not something that enamors Soden. He struck out only one West Hills batter but walked none.

“Josh is extremely confident,” Vickery said. “He can throw three pitches for strikes but he’d rather get a groundball than a strikeout. West Hills is a very aggressive team, and Josh just kept frustrating them by flipping his curveball and changeup in there for strikes. Most people probably don’t recognize it but he is sneaky fast.”

DAVID BRISTOL accounted for three of West Hills four hits and also drove in the Wolf Pack’s first run in the 4th inning.

The bottom half of the West Hills lineup was a collective 0-15 against Soden.

The Cougars (9-8, 3-2 GSL) suddenly find themselves in a tie for 2nd place in the Grossmont South, just two games behind kingpin Granite Hills.

Steele Canyon proved that it does have some youthful talent in its pitching staff. And that means depth, which is critical at this time of year.

Sophomore NATHAN O’TOOLE limited the Monarchs to two earned runs and six hits while striking out six over 4 1/3 innings. That wasn’t good enough to earn him a victory, but it was steady enough to set up a late-inning win for Steele Canyon.

Senior MARLON PORTER, who punched an RBI double in Steele Canyon ’s 3-run 3rd inning, provided the spark in the winning rally three innings later. Once again, Porter – 3-for-4 in the game – doubled to start the decisive 6th.

Monte Vista got one out and then intentionally walked MARK BELLATTI. The Cougars’ JORDAN HINDI foiled the Monarchs strategy by slugging what proved to be a game-winning 2-run triple.

Junior relievers STEVEN SLADEK and DANNY MacINTYRE took over from there, sealing the deal for Steele Canyon . Between them they blanked the Monarchs on one hit over 2 2/3 innings. Sladek worked 1 2/3 innings to pick up the win and MacIntyre finished the job for the save.

“O’Toole threw well, as did Sladek, then MacIntyre came in and closed the door,” said Steele Canyon coach TODD SNYDER.

Monte Vista got RBI hits from ADAM TIMANUS, MATT BOELTER and MATT MORRIS to erase an early 3-0 deficit.

“We were in it right up to the end, but our own stupidity killed us,” said Monte Vista coach BRANDON ROGERS. “We had guys picked off in key situations and had another runner attempting to steal on a fastball count.”

Steele Canyon out-hit the Monarchs 11-7.

“Their pitcher wasn’t overpowering,” said Snyder. “We’ve matured as a team, so we were able to make some adjustments and put some runs on the board in the 3rd inning. All of our base hits went to the center of the field. That helps on pitchers that don’t throw as hard. Boelter was more of a finesse pitcher. LaBoube threw a little harder, so again, we had to make adjustments.”

GRANITE HILLS 7, HELIX 1 – The Eagles extended their Grossmont South League lead to two games over Valhalla, Mount Miguel and Steele Canyon – all of whom are locked in a 2nd-place tie.

Junior right-hander CHRISTIAN LEWIS gave the No. 3 ranked Eagles an overpowering pitching performance in Saturday’s (Apr. 19) over the visiting Highlanders.

Lewis, a 6-foot-3, 193-pounder, limited Helix to three singles and no earned runs while striking out five in a complete game effort.

“Lewis did a good job today, throwing a lot of strikes,” said Granite Hills coach JAMES DAVIS. “He pitched a good game. He got ahead of the hitters, kept them off balance.”

If Lewis continues to contribute at the level he did on Saturday, Granite Hills will have three top notch starters in its surge for a fourth straight Grossmont South League title.

The Eagles (16-3, 5-0 GSL), who have won 11 of their last 12 starts, did all of their scoring against Helix in the first three innings.

JARED RAPOZA was the Eagles’ spark as he singled in a run in the bottom of the 1st to tie the game, then hoisted a sacrifice fly to extend Granite Hills’ lead to 4-1 in the 2nd inning.

DYLAN GARCIA extended his hitting streak to 10 games with three hits in four at-bats for Granite Hills. He also drove in a run with a base hit in the 3rd inning.

TYLER PONCIANO, who pitched in an RBI single in the 3rd inning, has also hit safely in 10 straight games.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (4-19-08) — Coming from behind has been routine for the Christian High Patriots this season. But losing streaks? No.

The Patriots (14-6, 2-3 EL) erased a 3-1 deficit to edge visiting Morse, 4-3, in Friday’s (Apr. 18) Eastern League contest, snapping a season-high 3-game losing streak in the process.

Christian turned the game in its favor with three runs in the bottom of the 5th inning.

BRYAN MITCHELL sparked the rally with a base hit to right field, and TAYLOR EICHHORST followed with a double to left. NIKO KANAKARIS tapped a slow roller for an infield single, which loaded the bases as the other Patriots runners had to freeze.

Freshman pitcher MICHAEL POTEET brought in Mitchell with a scoring fly ball, and MICHAEL STOWERS lined a single up the middle to score Eichhorst and Kanakaris, giving Christian the lead for keeps.

Poteet worked the first five innings to post his second win in as many decisions. BRAD ROBERTSON blanked the Tigers on one hit over the final two innings to earn his second save.

“We really needed to get this one,” said Christian coach MIKE MITCHELL. “We’ve gotta get the next one too, at their place on Wednesday (Apr. 23).”

© East County Sports.com
SPRING VALLEY (4-18-08) -- When BYRON GRIGSBY took over the Mount Miguel Matadors, the baseball team lacked pitching, it was short in hitting and struggled on defense.

So the coach tossed a series of underclassmen -- including at least three freshmen -- into the starting lineup, enduring several seasons of growing pains.

"We weren't a very good ballclub," recalled Grigsby. "There were a lot of losses when I first got here."

But look at the Matadors now.

The freshmen are now seniors, with a new class of talented newcomers supporting them. Together, the once doormat Matadors moved above the .500 plateau following Thursday's (Apr. 17) surprisingly easy 9-0 whitewashing of visiting Helix in Grossmont South League action.

Then sophomore RUDDY ACOSTA added the finishing touches on two fronts. He tossed a 2-hit shutout for the Matadors' second victory over Helix since 2004 (the first coming two days ago, when Mount Miguel beat Helix 6-1), then he drilled a long, 2-run homer to straight-away centerfield to power Mount Miguel (9-8, 2-2 GSL) into the midsection of the league standings.

Not displaying the nerves suffered by his contemporaries when they first were told to sink-or-swim when inserted into the lineup three years ago, Acosta struck out 12 Highlanders with his sinker in front of the camera of a local television news outlet.

"It's beautiful to be here," said the 6-foot-6 Acosta, whose primary language is Spanish. "The curve worked best for me -- I tried to be strong and work hard."

Acosta was only in trouble once after walking the first two Helix batters in the 4th. But his sinker, mixed with a curveball, proved to be more than effective, striking out the next three batters to escape and preserve an early lead.

"The kid can throw a Big League hook and he hits corners," Grigsby explained. "And he has the same delivery so it's tough to pick up. Then he threw the sinker and it didn't matter after that."

It's a welcome relief for 4-year varsity starters such as Calafato, the shortstop, who endured years of growing pains before proving the program can be competitive following three consecutive last-place finishes.

"We were baptized under fire -- me and Trebus and Solórzano," noted Calafato. "Then Ruddy comes in and played great. He throws hard for a sophomore, and that home run was a nice line drive."

Late in the contest, the Matadors unknowingly displayed their lack of experience of how to play with a big lead, much to the dismay of the Scotties.

Leading by eight runs, one Mount Miguel player stole a base -- officially ruled indifference when no play was attempted -- which led to a brief shouting match between dugouts and some upset Helix fans. Then a bunt attempt in the 7th inning for a basehit with no one on base led to a heated verbal confrontation between head coaches, who went chest-to-chest when one charged toward the other in the third-base coach's box.

Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed and the home-plate umpire and some assistant coaches prevented anything further from occurring.

Helix (5-10, 1-3 GSL) could not solve Acosta, who yielded a 2-hopper through the infield for a single to CHASE GLENN to leadoff the 2nd inning. Pinchhitter ISAIA OSOIMALO then gained an infield single on a chopper over the mound with two out in the 7th.

This week marked the Scotties' first setback to Mount Miguel since the final game of the 2004 season. Since that contest, the Matadors posted a meager 1-46 record in Grossmont South League play over 3-plus seasons until completing this 2-game series sweep of Helix to gain a share of third place.

Just to show how unlucky Helix was, a routine grounder that would've ended the 1st inning turned into a 2-run double by TONY ALVAREZ. The ball took a bad hop over the shortstop, scoring Calafato and LUCAS GOLDEN, who both walked and stole bases.

A pair of Highlanders errors allowed three unearned runs in the 3rd for a 6-0 margin, then Acosta went deep with his first varsity homer moments after Golden reached on another bad-hop single.

"Those were the bounces we used to get when we were on defense," added Grigsby. "Luck is on our side right now."

Alvarez and freshman RUDY BURRUEL each batted 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI, including a Burruel double, while Golden scored three times.

WEST HILLS 4, EL CAPITAN 3 (8 inn.) – There’s something magical about the West Hills Wolf Pack. Even when you contain their so-called big guns, another member of the Pack is sure to step up.

Enter junior designated hitter MICHAEL LOBAUGH.

Wolf Pack coach CHRIS BAUM must have been playing a hunch as he penciled Lobaugh into the lineup, considering the back-up catcher was batting only .130 at the time.

But throw those numbers away because Lobaugh came up with the big hit in Thursday’s (Apr. 17) Grossmont North League game. With the score tied in the bottom of the 8th, DAVID BRISTOL singled and ERIC McKNIGHT was hit by a pitch. TYLER ZICKEL ran for McKnight and pitcher GABRIEL ZEHNER attempted to advance the runners with a bunt, but it backfired and Bristol was forced out at third.

Then it was Lobaugh’s turn – and he delivered a walkoff double as Zickel carried across the winning run.

“It was a big win for us to stay in contention for league,” said Baum, whose Wolf Pack are in a 3-way tie with Grossmont and Santana for the GNL lead. “It shows what kind of a team we are to come back after our loss to Grossmont on Tuesday and play a great game.”

ROBBY ROBLES, who only two days earlier was roughed up by Grossmont, blanked No. 9 ranked El Capitan (12-6, 0-1) on two hits while striking out two to pick up his 5th win in eight decisions.

West Hills starter Zehner worked 6 2/3 innings for the Wolf Pack.

“You have to give that guy credit,” said El Capitan coach STEVE VICKERY. “He threw the ball effectively on both sides of the plate. He’s sneaky fast.”

El Capitan starter KEVIN MORTON had a strange game, hitting a school record six Wolf Pack batters. To his credit, the 5-foot-11, 165-pound Stanford-bound right-hander picked off four Wolf Pack runners. That could be a Vaqueros’ record too, although that could not be confirmed.

“When you face Morton you know you’re going to have a challenge,” said Baum.

Morton survived 7 1/3 innings while striking out eight.

“The big thing is he couldn’t spot his fastball,” Vickery said. “But he’s such a competitor that he was able to neutralize West Hills’ offense with some nice pick-off moves.”

El Capitan erased a 3-run deficit with two runs in the 6th inning. TANNER RUST and KORBIN KRUGER knocked back-to-back singles. The runners advanced into scoring position on ANDY HALE’s groundout. Pinch-hitter CANNON NIKZAD singled up the middle to tie the game 3-3.

Although El Capitan out-hit West Hills 9-8, Vickery was disappointed by the Vaqueros inability to deliver in several key situations over the final three innings.

“We had four bad at-bats – not even a single good swing – with runners in scoring position, and it killed us,” Vickery said.

West Hills took the early lead on a solo home run by McKnight in the 2nd inning.

El Capitan tied it on MARCO MARISCAL’s base hit in the 4th. In the bottom of that inning WILL CRUMPLER singled to right, staking West Hills to a 3-1 advantage.

“One thing you have to say about our league this year is every game is going to be interesting,” Vickery said. “This reminds me of the early ‘90s when a 9-3 record would win the league outright, and 8-4 would give you a co- or tri-.”

Stay tuned.

With the score tied 4-4 going into the bottom of the 6th inning, ANTHONY NAVARRSKI sparked what would be Steele Canyon ’s winning rally. Navarrski led off with an infield single and advanced two bases on a pair of wild pitches.

MARLON PORTER lifted a fly ball to left field, allowing Navarrski to tag up and score what proved to be the winning run.

It was a fine all-around effort by Navarrski, who blanked the Norsemen on one hit over the final 2 2/3 innings. He was picking up for Steele Canyon ace ANDREW BELLATTI. It was a regular bailout job by Navarrski who entered the game with bases loaded and one out.

Valhalla ’s DANNY HAWKSLEY hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game 4-4, but Navarrski shut the Norsemen down after that.

“He got us out of that inning,” said Steele Canyon coach TODD SNYDER. “For somebody to come off the bench and pitch like he did and contribute with his bat, I can’t say enough about him.”

Although Steele Canyon did not pin the loss on Valhalla ace RYAN O’SULLIVAN, the fact that the Cougars (8-8, 2-2 GSL) came away with a victory is a major plus for them. It’s a swing game like this that could be the difference of making – or not making – the playoffs.

“Our kids know a lot of Valhalla kids and they were fired up for this game,” said Snyder. “We came together as a team today. The guys were enthusiastic – I’m very proud of their performance.”

MARK BELLATTI’s 6th home run of the season gave Steele Canyon a 1-0 lead in the opening frame. The Cougars capitalized on a wild pitch to make it 2-0 after two.

O’Sullivan, competitor that he is, followed TREVOR FRANK’s single to left with his 7th homer to tie it.

A Valhalla error handed the Cougars a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the 4th. But Valhalla came right back in the top of the 5th as JOHN AGUIRRE-RUIZ doubled to right, advanced to third on TYLER KEATON’s sacrifice bunt and scored on WILL COOMBS’ single up the middle.

O’Sullivan was obviously not at his best but worked through five innings, surrendering just two earned runs. The Cougars pinned the loss on Valhalla ’s JAKE BOEKAMP, who gave up the decisive marker in the 6th.

“When you are facing O’Sullivan you just have to come with your best,” Snyder said. “ Valhalla ’s a good team, there’s a reason they have a very good record. We were up to the challenge today and we’re going to go up from here.”

Valhalla (13-6, 3-1 GSL) fell out of a first-place tie with Granite Hills. But the race has hardly been decided considering there are 11 more league games remaining.

“We’re not going to take anything for granted,” said Snyder. “On any given day a pitcher might have an amazing outing. You have to go out with your best every time.”

Hopper, 6-0 this season and 14-2 over the past two years, limited the host Monarchs (5-12, 0-4 GSL) to five singles and a double while surrendering just two earned runs en route to his East County-leading 5th complete game.

“I felt like I had more velocity on my fastball,” Hopper said. “And my curveball also had a lot of movement. It was one of my best combination of pitches that I’ve had all year.”

No. 3-ranked Granite Hills (15-3, 4-0 GSL) took another step toward capturing a 4th straight Grossmont South League pennant but had to come from behind to do it.

The Eagles started fast, pushing across two runs in the top of the 1st as BRIAN HUMPHRIES doubled, JARED RAPOZA singled, DYLAN GARCIA singled and KENNY BELZER drove in a run with an infield grounder.

Monte Vista, however, came back as Granite Hills put the first two Monarchs batters on base with back-to-back errors. ADAM TIMANUS singled in one run for the Monarchs and SPENCER REED’s base hit tied it at 2-all.

Hopper picked Reed off first base but the Monte Vista runner managed to create a pickle. Before the Eagles could put the tag on Reed, Timanus scored the go-ahead run from third.

Two walks and a throwing error allowed Granite Hills to tie the game in the 3rd. Belzer, who is batting .500 over his last five games, singled to put the Eagles on top to stay. He finished the day 2-for-5 with 3 RBI and now has 10 RBI over his last five outings.

“It’s either feast or famine with Belzer,” Granite Hills coach JAMES DAVIS said. “Right now he’s on one of his hot streaks.”

The top four hitters in Granite Hills’ batting order were a combined 9-for-16 (.563) against the Monarchs. The quartet of Humphries, Rapoza, Garcia and Belzer had a composite 7 runs scored and 7 RBI.

Not to be overlooked was first baseman KAMERON ASKEY, who clubbed a key 2-run double in a 5-run 7th inning for the Eagles.

“That was a big hit for us,” Davis said of Askey’s blow. “He had a nice day swinging the bat for us.”

Granite Hills has won 10 of its last 11 decisions.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (4-17-08) — Christian High coach MIKE MITCHELL is happy to say goodbye to the Patrick Henry Patriots for the rest of the season.

Christian, which came into the week averaging more than 7.3 runs per game, was completely shut down by Patrick Henry pitching. The host Patriots (13-6, 1-3 EL) were limited to four hits in their two Eastern League meetings, including a 6-1 loss on Wednesday (Apr. 16).

“Because their pitching is so good they have to be the team to beat in our league,” Mitchell said of Patrick Henry (12-6, 2-0 EL).

Christian, which was shut out the first time all season in Monday’s (Apr. 14) league meeting at Patrick Henry, avoided being blanked for the second time when NIKO KANAKARIS belted his 7th home run in the 7th inning.

Outside of that blast Christian’s offensive output in 14 innings against Patrick Henry consisted of seven singles.

Patrick Henry senior right-hander Ryan Livingstone turned in a complete game victory to push his personal record to 5-2. Livingstone retired the first 11 batters he faced before TAYLOR EICHHORST singled to left with two outs in the 4th.

“We’re a team that has to manufacture runs so we need to get our leadoff batter on every inning,” Mitchell said. “That never happened against Livingstone.”

Christian never got more than one runner on in any single inning.

Mitchell praised the complete game pitching of BRADLEY JOHNSTON, who might have had a better fate had he not been burned by a pair of Jacob Rebelo home runs.

“Johnston got some pitches up early and one of those was to Rebelo,” Mitchell said. “He’s not an overpowering pitcher, but after we made some adjustments following the first inning he did a great job until he ran out of gas in the final inning.”

Patrick Henry scored three runs in the 7th to take a 6-0 lead.

“I think Johnston was tiring in the 7th and he got some more pitches up,” Mitchell said.

One of those was to Rebelo, who hit his second home run with a man aboard.

Mitchell brought up sophomore KEN JENKINS to bring more speed to his outfield. It proved to be a wise move as Jenkins, patrolling center field, made an electrifying catch on a ball hit by Rebelo in the 5th inning.

“Jenkins made a full layout crashing into the right-center field fence,” Mitchell noted. “One of my assistant coaches, ADAM PERRY (a Christian High graduate), said it was the best catch he’d ever seen at this field.”

Christian hosts Morse on Friday (Apr. 18) in an Eastern League game at 3 p.m.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (4-15-08) — Granite Hills sophomore TYLER JOWORSKI received his initial taste of varsity competition when he was promoted from the junior varsity to the football varsity last fall.

“I guess I did OK,” said Joworski, who started the Eagles’ final three gridiron contests. “I like playing football a lot. But this is baseball season and now that’s my favorite.”

Joworski enjoyed a career day with the bat Tuesday (Apr. 15), driving in four runs with three doubles, a single and a sacrifice fly as Granite Hills drilled visiting Monte Vista 19-1 in a Grossmont South League contest.

It was a day for doubles for No. 3-ranked Granite Hills (14-3, 3-0 GSL), which slashed a Grossmont Conference record 11 doubles in mauling the Monarchs (5-11, 0-3 GSL) to maintain a share of the loop lead with Valhalla (13-5, 3-0 GSL).

Only Christian High has belted more doubles – in a San Diego CIF game – than Granite Hills. The Patriots pelted La Jolla Country Day for 14 two-base hits on its way to a 48-0 (yes, that is the correct score) rout in 1977.

“We were pretty flat against El Cap (a 7-2 loss) on Saturday, but all we did was take batting practice on Monday and that carried over to today’s game,” Joworski said. “We came out swinging and balls started flying.”

Joworski doubled twice in Granite Hills’ 7-run 2nd inning that staked the Eagles to a 9-1 bulge. He also drove in 2 runs, stole a base and scored once in that frame alone. Joworski jacked an RBI double in the 5th inning as well.

“I was dead red all day and all I saw was fastballs,” Joworski said. “In my first at-bat I hit a line drive down the left field line. The second AB I doubled to right center. The third (double) was a liner to left. I never saw so many fastballs.”

KENNY BELZER joined the doubles parade by swatting three of his own. Belzer is batting .533 with 5 extra base hits and 7 RBI over the last four games.

Sophomore JARED HUNT also contributed two doubles to the conference record effort. BRIAN HUMPHRIES, DYLAN GARCIA and TYLER PONCIANO pitched in with one 2-bagger apiece.

“This is the best day of my high school baseball career,” Jaworski said. “It’s the first of many, I hope.”

Eagles coach JAMES DAVIS isn’t surprised by Jaworski’s big day, which raised his season average to .333.

“Tyler is one of the young guys who has stepped in and helped fill some voids,” Davis said. “He has good instincts on the baseball field, which doesn’t surprise me since he’s a 4.0 student.”

It’s guys like Joworski that make Davis realize that Granite Hills baseball is going to rank with the elite for years to come.

“I have more choices now than I’ve had in years,” Davis said, noting his ballclub’s versatility. “That’s a good problem to have.”

Junior DEAN MILLER limited the Monarchs to five hits over six innings while striking out five during his 4th win in six decisions. The pitcher was also 2-for-3 with 3 runs scored on the offensive end.

Monte Vista actually took a 1-0 lead in the 1st inning as SPENCER REED singled, stole second and scored on CODY MORRIS’s base hit.

The Eagles countered in the bottom of the 1st as Humphries led off with a double and Garcia walked. Belzer was hit by a pitch to load the bases and JOSH QUERIONES stroked a 2-run single and the rout was on.

GROSSMONT 12, WEST HILLS 1 – Senior CHARLIE PIRO’s claim to fame during his high school career at Grossmont was probably more as a quarterback than anything else.

Piro did OK, calling signals, taking snaps and lofting passes but his eventual legacy will probably be as a baseball player.

“I thought I did OK as a quarterback,” Piro said. “But I think I’m doing alright on the baseball field.”

Grossmont baseball coach ROB PHILLIPS said there’s no doubt which way Piro should go as a collegiate athlete.

“He’s just now coming into his own this year,” Phillips said. “He’s expanded his strike zone and can hit the ball into the gaps. Even more than that he can uncoil and now has great arm extension.”

That spells longball.

The 6-foot-4, 190-pound Piro lined a 2-run homer in the 4th inning, helping Grossmont to a 4-0 lead over the Wolf Pack in Tuesday’s (Apr. 15) Grossmont North League contest in Santee.

“That was a real golf shot,” said Phillips of Piro’s 5th home run of the season. “It was about two feet off the ground when he hit it and was still rising when it went between the scoreboard and the flagpole in left center. It had to be 400-feet-plus.”

Piro, who finished the game 3-for-4 with 4 RBI, raised his season average to .400 (26 of 65) and RBI count to 27.

“It was a good pitch, low and inside,” Piro said of the 2-0 pitch from West Hills starter ROBBY ROBLES. “I got a good stroke on it. I knew I hit it hard enough but thought it might not be high enough to clear the fence. And then too, those crazy West Hills outfielders will run through a fence to catch a ball. So I just took off running.”

Piro’s ball was hit so hard that by the time he rounded first base the umpire signaled home run. Piro’s blow also scored DEREK BAUM, who opened the inning with a single.

Grossmont, which lost its league opener to West Hills 13-7, actually turned this game into a reversal. The Foothillers (15-5, 1-1 GNL) scored eight runs in the 6th inning to put this one on ice.

Piro contributed a 2-run single in the big inning as did pinch hitter ANDREW FORD. Pinch hitter BRANDON GEARY also singled in a run.

“It was tough last year, sitting behind NICK LONGMIRE (now at the University of Pacific ) last year,” Piro said. “It’s been a lot easier to come in the ballpark knowing I’ll be in the lineup every day this season. It’s made me more relaxed at the plate and I think I’ve been able to contribute more.”

AARON GRIFFIN handled the bulk of the pitching chores for Grossmont, limiting the Wolf Pack (8-10, 101 GNL) to one run and five hits over six innings while rolling his personal record to 5-0.

MOUNT MIGUEL 6, HELIX 1 – Hitting the longball has not been a major segment of Mount Miguel ’s offensive attack. In fact the Matadors have hit only three home runs in their first 15 games.

After the first 11 pitches of Tuesday’s (Apr. 15) Grossmont South League game at Helix, two balls had left the yard.

NICO CALAFATO smashed a 3-2 pitch from Helix’s MIKE ANDRADE over the left field fence to jump start the Mount Miguel offense. JOSH GOLDEN went the other way, but got the same result as he hoisted a 2-2 pitch from Andrade over the right field fence, giving Mount Miguel a 2-run cushion with nobody out in the top of the 1st.

“Back-to-back home runs was a great start,” said Matadors coach BYRON GRIGSBY. “Calafato and Golden have been working hard on their swings. It was great to see it finally pay off.”

“Calafato has been in a little slump and it’s good to see him come out of it,” Grigsby added.

Pitchers JAMES TREBUS and RUDDY ACOSTA made those home runs stand up as Mount Miguel (8-8, 1-2 GSL) posted its first league win.

“Trebus threw well today,” Grigsby said.

The Matadors put the game away in the 3rd inning with the help of some wild pitching by the Helix staff. Calafato, who accounted for three of Mount Miguel ’s eight hits, slapped a one-out single.

The Highlanders loaded the bases by hitting two of the next three batters.

TONY ALVAREZ tapped an infield single to score Calafato and Golden’s all-out hustle allowed him to score on the same play. FRANK NELSON capped the rally with a run-scoring single to make it 5-0.

It was only the second loss in six games for Helix (6-9, 1-2 GSL), but the Highlanders could muster only three singles against the dealings of Trebus and Acosta.

Mount Miguel snapped a 3-game losing streak.

“We had a nice meeting on Friday about how we all stopped working, including me as a coach. We found success and we didn’t keep working at it, got lazy. We have a basic formula: ‘Outer, Inner, and Last’ and we all know what that means. These guys are making big accomplishments.”

The victory allowed the Norsemen (13-5, 3-0 GSL) to hang onto their share of the league lead with Granite Hills.

Valhalla snapped a 1-1 tie with two runs in the 3rd inning to take a lead it would not surrender. WILL COOMBS led off the pivotal inning with a walk and advanced 90 feet on Frank’s bunt.

With two outs, DANNY HAWKSLEY singled to center scoring Coombs to break the deadlock. PETER THOMAS followed with an RBI single.

RYAN O’SULLIVAN’s Grossmont Conference-leading 7th home run extended Valhalla ’s advantage to 4-1 in the 5th inning.

Not known for its offensive sock, the Norsemen continued to swing away in the 6th inning. JOSH AUSTEL led off the inning with a double into the left field corner. A hit batter, a walk and two errors handed the Norsemen two runs that would prove to be key in the outcome.

Steele Canyon (7-8, 1-2 GSL) did not go down without a fight.

Singles by DONNIE FRANK and JORDAN HINDI set the Cougars offense into motion. The Cougars came up with an RBI double by MARK BELLATTI, but their other two runs crossed the plate on an error and a fielder’s choice before they ran out of time.

“Even though we lost I thought we were playing together, more as a team than we have all season,” said Steele Canyon coach TODD SNYDER. “We were doing things like cheering each other on, and I haven’t seen that before today. We’re getting there, the adrenalin’s pumping and just seeing us pull together makes a huge difference.”

SANTANA 14, EL CAJON VALLEY 4 -- JAMES NEEDY continues to prove that he can do more than pitch, and we not just talking about football, where he served the Sultans last fall as a quarterback.

Needy singled in a run in the 1st inning, doubled in another in the 2nd and doubled in a third in the 4th as the Grossmont North League-leading Sultans (14-4, 2-0 GNL) cruised by visiting El Cajon Valley.

While the Sultans were winning for the 13th time in 15 starts, El Cajon Valley was suffering its 124th straight league loss.

El Cajon Valley (8-11, 0-2 GNL) tied the game on NERLIN CARREON’s single in the 2nd inning.

Santana forged in front in the bottom of the 2nd as ANTHONY MORENO slugged a solo home run over the left field fence. A walk, an error and a double by Needy helped stake Santana to a 4-1 lead. A 2-run single by BRANDYN BELL gave Santana a 7-2 lead after three innings.

Santana broke the game open in the 4th by pouring across six tallies.

“El Cajon Valley has a team that can play ball this year,” said Sultans skipper JERRY HENSON. “I think every game is going to be challenging this year. We like to get in there and mix it up. It will be quite competitive and that makes interesting for us all. Whoever comes out on top is going to be well-deserving.”

San Diego CIF batting leader ABEL CERVANTES was 2-for-4, which hoisted his season batting average to .650.

“The wheels fell off in the 4th inning,” said El Cajon Valley coach MIKE RUPP. “We’re still trying to figure it out. We’ve got 10 more games to figure it out.”

© East County Sports.com
SAN DIEGO (4-15-08) — The Christian High Patriots suffered from an overdose of Austin Green in Monday’s (Apr. 14) Eastern League encounter at Patrick Henry.

Green, Henry’s senior center fielder, drove in three runs with a pair of doubles. He was also a hawk on defense.

“The guy flat killed us,” said Christian coach MIKE MITCHELL after his Patriots fell 7-0. “Not that we were doing a whole lot of anything anyway.”

Green robbed Christian’s EDDIE YOUNG of a home run in the 5th inning and then crushed a budding Patriots rally in the 6th by throwing a runner out at the plate.

“I thought Young’s ball was a home run for sure, ”Mitchell said. “But you’ve gotta give Green credit for never giving up on it. He crashed into the fence and came down with the ball.”

Although Christian (13-5, 1-2 EL) had only four hits, the Patriots missed plenty of scoring opportunities. They loaded the bases with one out in the 7th and came up empty.

Young did all he could do to put the Patriots on the board in the 1st and 3rd innings as he reached third base on a walk and a pair of steals in each of those frames.

“We just didn’t have a very good day,” said Mitchell.

These same two teams will meet again on Wednesday (Apr. 16) at Henry at 3 p.m.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (4-13-08) — The 3rd-ranked Granite Hills Eagles are no doubt glad they won’t have to deal with El Capitan senior JOSH SODEN any more.

The 6-foot-7, 215-pound Vaqueros right-hander has dealt the usually hard-hitting Eagles nothing but frustration in two starts this spring, allowing just three earned runs in 15 innings.

Even a summer-like heat wave could not melt Soden’s icy calm as he shut down the Eagles on a 5-hitter to lead visiting El Capitan to a 7-2 victory in Saturday’s (Apr. 12) Grossmont North-South Tournament championship game.

Facing a Granite Hills squad with a .348 team batting average is no small task. Turn up the heat to about 95 degrees with the wind swirling from all different directions and it becomes a bonafide challenge.

“I can’t say that the heat didn’t bother me,” Soden admitted. “So I tried to drink as much water as I could between innings. It was pretty draining out there.”

While Soden was supported by a 15-hit attack from his teammates, he was keeping the usually explosive Eagles in check.

After DYLAN GARCIA’s RBI single gave the Eagles a 1-0 lead with nobody out in the 3rd inning, Granite Hills’ offense went silent the rest of the way. A second run scored on a throwing error. But then, Soden survived four errors, three hit batters and two walks while holding the Eagles hitless over the final five innings.

“I’m not a guy that likes to pitch in hot weather,” said Soden. “I’ll take cool to cold anytime.”

El Capitan erased a 2-0 deficit by collecting six singles to knot the score in the 4th inning. Freshman TYRONE WIGGINS and junior TANNER RUST each drove in a run with a base hit in that frame. If not for some questionable base running the Vaqueros (12-5) might have turned the game into a blowout at that point.

With the wind seemingly changing direction by the minute the Vaqueros received an early break in the 5th inning when a fly ball that appeared to be a sure out turned into a 2-base error.

Once again the Vaqueros started peppering Granite Hills starter CHRISTIAN LEWIS with another series of singles. MARCO MARISCAL and KYLE MILLS stroked back-to-back one-out singles, giving El Capitan a 3-2 lead. Wiggins kept the inning alive with a bunt single to load the bases with two outs.

When KEVIN MORTON stepped in with the bases full the wind was blowing out. Just as he connected with a long fly ball to left field that had grand slam written all over it, the steady gusts did a 180-degree change to deny Morton.

However, Granite Hills left-fielder JARED RAPOZA, who at the crack of the bat headed for the fence, suddenly had to jam on the brakes and reverse direction. The wind pushed Morton’s ball back toward home plate, causing Rapoza to make a gallant effort to catch the ball, to no avail. Morton wound up at second base with a double and three RBI.

“I thought that ball was going out,” said Granite Hills coach JAMES DAVIS. “The wind probably brought it back 20 feet. That was incredible – that’s the kind of funky wind we had today. This was very unusual. Most of the time the wind blows out to right-center.”

Davis feared that his Eagles – fresh off an impressive 4-2 victory over Grossmont less than 24 hours earlier at Petco Park – might suffer a let-down going from the bright lights of the downtown ballpark to East County ’s early season heat wave.

“I’m not going to make any excuses,” Davis said. “Soden kept us off balance just like he did the first time he faced us. I thought we took better swings than we were taking a week ago.”

Maybe so, but it didn’t matter.

The Eagles loaded the bases with one out in the 2nd inning only to have Soden quell the threat by picking the lead runner off third base. He finished the job with an inning-ending strikeout.

Wiggins, Mills and Morton were a collective 9-for-12 with 6 RBI to pace the Vaqueros offensively.

“I got three hits in my first varsity game,” said Wiggins, who was 3-for-4 with 2 RBI in Saturday’s re-match at Granite Hills, which won the pool play contest between the two a week ago in nine innings. “It’s been a real long time between since I had another game like that.”

Wiggins pointed out that winning the Grossmont North-South Tournament is one of the Vaqueros’ annual team goals.

“To accomplish it is very good,” Wiggins said. “Even though we didn’t win every game in the tournament to finish as champions is still very important to us.”

VISTA-CALVARY CHRISTIAN 18, FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 0 – In probably their poorest outing of the season the Knights of Foothills Christian were clobbered by Vista Calvary Christian in Saturday’s (Apr. 12) Citrus West League encounter in North County .

“I don't know what it is about this Calvary team, but they seem to bring out the worst in us,” said Foothills coach JAMES McHUGH. “We've been a pretty solid defensive team most of this season, however you would have never known that by watching today's game and our 8 errors. Every time we play Calvary they just play a simple game of baseball and somehow we forget what hitting is, we can't throw a strike and our defense disappears altogether.”

IAN MURPHY pitched the first 2 innings and got the loss as he allowed 8 runs (4 earned). He also saw his personal 17-game hitting streak (dating back to last season) come to an end.

“We could blame this on being our 4th game this week or on the 94 degree heat in Escondido or on having limited pitching left after a long week, but the simple fact is we did not show up in any aspect of the game and that is why we lost,” McHugh said.

HENRY LUSCHEI accounted for two of Foothills Christian’s three hits.

© East County Sports.com
SAN DIEGO (4-11-08) — Competing inside of impeccable Petco Park will ever be etched upon the minds of the Granite Hills Eagles and Grossmont Foothillers as they faced off in Friday’s (Apr. 11) first-ever high school action at the downtown home of the San Diego Padres.

For the record, No. 3 Granite Hills edged No. 4 Grossmont 4-2 in the final pool play game of the Grossmont North-South Tournament, sending the Eagles (13-2) against El Capitan (11-5) in Saturday’s (Apr. 12) championship game at Granite Hills at 11 a.m.

As elated as the teams were to trot about the immaculately manicured surface at Petco – where nary a bad-hop was noticed – Granite Hills coach JAMES DAVIS cannot help but worry about a possible letdown against the Vaqueros.

Davis, of course, hopes Petco-lag doesn’t rear its ugly head.

“Winning on the ‘big stage’ was so satisfying, and it was a great experience,” Davis admitted. “But we need to get back to the business at hand. Heck, I just hope everybody shows up.”

Among the starry-eyed Eagles was junior catcher TYLER PONCIANO, who was 2-for-3 with an RBI, a run and a stolen base.

“I was a little nervous,” he said of playing in the 42,445 seat stadium. “It’s an amazing place – an experience that I hope will come again. About the 2nd inning we all settled down, got the nerves out.”

Granite Hills knocked out Grossmont downtown, scoring all four runs in the 4th inning. KENNY BELZER was plunked by a LEVI STEVENS pitch with one out. ROBERT McMAHON ran for Belzer and advanced to second on a single by JOSH QUERIONES.

JARED HUNT followed with the hardest hit ball of the nightcap – a line shot to left-center field that scored McMahon and tied the game at 1-1.

Ponciano then laced a single to left, scoring Queriones to put the Eagles in front to stay. Hunt eventually scored on a wild pitch, and KAMERON ASKEY drove in a fourth run with a groundball out.

The Eagles missed a chance to break the game open in the 5th. JARED RAPOZA led off with a single to left but was quickly erased when Stevens picked him off first. Then DYLAN GARCIA singled up the middle to finish Stevens for the night.

Reliever AARON GRIFFIN attempted to pick off pinch-runner MIKE CRABB but threw wildly and Crabb wound up at third base with one out.

That didn’t seem to faze Griffin who escaped the 5th unscathed by getting back-to-back groundouts. He then retired the Eagles in order in the 6th.

Speaking of pitching, Granite Hills’ TRAVIS HOPPER mesmerized the Hillers hitters with finesse rather than velocity as he posted his fifth win without a loss and an East County-best fourth complete game.

Had it not been for a throwing error, Hopper would have limited the Foothillers to one earned run. As he’s been accustomed to doing all season, he experienced another tightrope walk – this time it came in the 6th inning.

Grossmont’s superb leadoff hitter, KYLE SECCIANI, opened the 6th with his second single of the night. JOSH SIMMS followed by drawing the first of two walks off Hopper. BRYAN HAAR then blooped a single to center field to score Secciani.

Suddenly it was a 2-run game and the Foothillers had the tying runs on base with nobody out.

“Every time it looks like Hopper is on the verge of being taken out he does his best work,” said Davis . “This was no exception.”

Hopper proceeded to shut the Hillers down with a strikeout, a groundout and a pop-up. He surrendered a walk in the 7th but had no trouble closing out the Hillers.

“We were really happy to get Grossmont,” Hunt said. “They put up a good battle, it was a fun game. We’re a team that doesn’t give up. Hopper is our ace, he pitched good tonight. Petco is a really nice field and the whole team was really excited to play down there. It was like a lifetime chance. It’s a way different feeling from (sitting) up in the stands. It feels real.”

ST. AUGUSTINE 8, CHRISTIAN 5 -- The difference between a professional player and one still in high school became evident in Friday's (Apr. 11) Eastern League contest.

The Patriots (13-4, 1-1), following a pair of victories over the Saints during the previous 11 days, came out flat -- especially on defense. Each of Christian's five errors contributed to unearned runs -- six in all -- as St. Augustine staved off a late rally to claim a home-field victory at Hickman Field.

"We didn't have our usual focus, so we created scoring opportunities for Saints all day," said Pats coach MIKE MITCHELL. "We didn't make plays when we needed to. It's the first time we didn't play well all season."

St. Augustine left-fielder David Popkins capitalized, stroking a double and a triple to drive in runs each time to mount a 5-0 lead through four frames.

Christian scored twice in the 5th, as BRADLEY JOHNSTON pushed home MICHAEL STOWERS from third base with a grounder to the right side, then EDDIE YOUNG doubled and came home on a double by TAYLOR EICHHORST.

However, the Saints gained three additional unearned runs in the home-half of the frame, chasing Johnston, the hard-luck Patriots starting pitcher.

Christian rallied late with three runs in the 7th, aided by three walks by the Saints. An error brought home the first run, followed by RBI doubles by NIKO KANAKARIS and MICHAEL POTEET.

DeSALES (Geneva, N.Y.) 6, FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 5 – The Knights failed to maintain a 5-3 edge after three and a half innings as they fell to the New Yorkers Friday (Apr. 11) in a non-league game.

In fact Foothills Christian registered a season-low five hits.

IAN MURPHY was 2-for-4 with two runs scored, a double and one RBI to pace the Knights (5-8). Murphy has a 10-game hitting streak going.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (4-11-08) — The term “classic” is more often than not overused. But in Thursday’s (Apr. 10) final round of the Grossmont North-South Tournament pool play at Valhalla it fit perfectly.

It was an archetypal pitching match-up between El Capitan’s KEVIN MORTON and Valhalla’s RYAN O’SULLIVAN. It was so tantalizing that even Padres right-fielder BRIAN GILES and third baseman KEVIN KOUZMANOFF were in attendance in an unofficial capacity, watching from beyond the left field fence.

Morton got the nod, spinning a 2-hitter as the visiting Vaqueros edged the Norsemen 1-0 to all but guarantee El Capitan a spot in Saturday’s (Apr. 12) tournament final.

The Vaqueros (11-5) will face either Granite Hills or Valhalla in the tourney championship bout at 11 a.m. The site of the finale hinges on Friday night’s Grossmont-Granite Hills game at Petco Park. If the Eagles win, they will host the Vaqueros. If Grossmont beats the Eagles, then Valhalla will host the Vaqueros.

The decisive run in El Capitan’s win over Valhalla came in the 3rd inning. It began when ANTHONY LYBARGER reached base on an error. He advanced to second on TYRONE WIGGINS’ sacrifice bunt. O’Sullivan then blew a third strike past Morton for the second out.

Enter TANNER RUST, the Vaqueros catcher. Rust, who accounted for all three of El Capitan ’s hits, smashed a single to left field. As Lybarger rounded third on the hit, Valhalla sophomore left-fielder JOSH AUSTEL fired a one-hopper to catcher JOHN AGUIRRE-RUIZ at the plate. Rust and the ball arrived at the same time. Rust got the nod as the plate umpire signaled palms down, giving the Vaqueros a 1-0 edge.

“That was a bang-bang play for sure,” said Vaqueros coach STEVE VICKERY, who was in the third base coaching box, waving Lybarger to the plate.

El Capitan went for the encore in the 5th inning. Lybarger walked and stole second. One out later Morton lined out to center field. Then it was Rust’s turn again. The heavily recruited junior receiver, who also led county quarterbacks in passing yardage during the fall, hit a groundball single into right field.

Once again, Vickery flashed the green light to Lybarger to keep on coming. Valhalla right-fielder TYLER KEATON charged the grounder and came up throwing. His peg was right on the mark as Aguirre-Ruiz tagged Lybarger for the inning-ending out.

“Man, that was a textbook play by Keaton,” Vickery said.

UCLA has been stalking Rust almost on a daily basis the last couple of months. They like his glove, they like his arm and they like his bat.

“I’ve really been swinging the bat well lately,” said Rust. “I know my average doesn’t reflect that but it seems like I’ve lined out at least once every game. But this time they started to fall for me.”

Nice timing by Rust, as O’Sullivan held the remainder of the El Capitan team 0-for-20.

“One thing you have to know when you’re facing O’Sullivan is he’s always going to be around that plate,” Rust noted. “I know everybody knows this, but he’s by far one of the best pitchers I’ve ever faced. He was on today and he definitely pitched well enough to win.”

O’Sullivan (5-1) struck out eight and walked two.

“I saw every one of his pitches,” Rust continued. “In my first at-bat I fouled off a couple of fastballs and then hit a changeup (for a base hit).”

Rust said his game-winning hit came off a curveball.

“When I came up the third time he tried to throw a fastball by me and I was able to get a good swing on it (for his third hit),” Rust said.

Morton limited the Norsemen to a 5th inning double by Keaton and a leadoff single by MATT GONZALES in the 7th inning.

"We had some runners on base with opportunities to score, but just couldn't get them in," said Valhalla coach MIKE WILSON.

Morton said he struggled a little bit with his control early as he walked five in the first four innings. However, he ended up with nine strikeouts and took a no-hitter into the 5th inning.

“I was able to locate my curveball and changeup well the whole game,” Morton said. “My fastball though was on and off, but I made it work for me by using it to set up the other two pitches. Most of my strikeouts came on off-speed stuff, although they did chase a couple of fastballs.”

The ever-so-humble Morton refused to take all the credit for what arguably was his finest hour as a high school pitcher.

“The wind was ever-present,” he said. “Anything in the air got knocked down. But once we got that run on the board it bolstered my confidence and made me want to make it stand up. It didn’t allow for much wiggle room but I love these kind of situations. It’s all about keeping your focus.”

WEST HILLS 9, MOUNT MIGUEL 0 – The hours leading up to Thursday’s (Apr. 10) final pool play game of the Grossmont North-South Tournament were grueling, to say the least for coach CHRIS BAUM and his Wolf Pack.

The Wolf Pack learned they would have to forfeit six games (four them victories), which turned their 12-5 record to an 8-9 mark in seemingly the bat of an eye. West Hills officials discovered that a clerical snafu, whereby a transfer had failed to fill out two required forms, made him ineligible. That player was not a starter and did not play in every game. However, he did make an impact.

“It’s kind of a gray area,” said Baum. “It was nothing intentional on our part, in fact, we turned ourselves in. It’s not like we’re trying to hide anything.”

Baum admitted that he was not aware of Forms 1050 and 207, which became part of the San Diego CIF Green Book this season.

“I got a telephone call from our athletic vice principal telling me that we had a problem,” Baum said. “It was a long day, just having to wait to see what our fate would be.”

Realizing that West Hills was scheduled to face sophomore sensation RUDDY ACOSTA of Mount Miguel later that afternoon didn’t make things any easier to swallow.

“This (West Hills) baseball program has always had to deal with adversity,” Baum said. “But we are used to battling uphill and this is just another step. We made be down right now, but we’ll be back. The season’s not over.”

Baum wasn’t just blowing smoke, as he rallied his troops for the ride to Spring Valley .

Junior BRANDON HAMILTON needed only 71 pitches to shut out the Matadors on six hits for his fifth win against no losses.

Junior CHRIS ALLEN, one of the Pack’s hottest hitters at the moment, went 3-for-3 including a 2-run single that extended the Pack’s advantage to 6-0 in the 6th inning. Allen also stole three bases, as did RYNE BARKLEY, who was 2-for-2 with a pair of RBI.

It was Barkley’s speed that provided West Hills with the initial spark. He singled with two outs in the 1st inning, stole second and stole third and scored on a throwing error.

Sacrifice flies by GABRIEL ZEHNER and Barkley made it 3-0 after three innings.

In the 5th inning Barkley laced a two-out single to score Allen, who reached base on a base hit and stole his way around to third. Allen tacked on a 2-run single to make it 6-0 after six frames.

It was the rockiest outing for Acosta, a 6-foot-6, 160-pound sophomore right-hander. Even senior JAMES TREBUS was roughed up by the Wolf Pack, allowing three runs and three hits in the final frame.

Acosta and RUDY BURRUEL had two hits apiece for Mount Miguel (7-8), which suffered its third straight loss.

“The good thing about all of this is we’re still eligible for the playoffs and in our league,” said Baum.

“Any win’s a good win, but it’s good to get a win just before we go back into league play,” said Monte Vista coach BRANDON ROGERS.

Monte Vista (5-10) capitalized on seven El Cajon Valley errors, doing all of its scoring in the first five innings.

Case in point was the 1st inning when the Monarchs parlayed an error and three walks into a 1-0 lead.

A two-out error followed by ERIC GENTRY’s stolen base opened the door to back-to-back doubles by TRISTON BRAYMAN and ADAM TIMANUS to make it 3-0 in the 2nd inning. Brayman, Timanus and SPENCER REED had two hits apiece for Monte Vista.

“Timanus has been consistent with the bat the last couple of games,” said Rogers .

Run-scoring singles by ERIC LaBOUBE and KRISTOPHER VANCE, along with a sacrifice fly by Gentry, doubled the Monarchs’ advantage in the 3rd inning.

TONY MARCON’s double made it 8-0 in the 4th.

MATT BOELTER and NICK SABO shared the pitching chores for Monte Vista. I

“Boelter and Sabo threw excellent, did a good job for us,” said Rogers .

It was another rugged outing for El Cajon Valley pitcher ADRIAN PADILLA, who pitched better than the final score indicates.

“Adrian Padilla pitched pretty good, he just didn’t have any defense behind him,” said Braves coach MIKE RUPP.

ABEL CERVANTES put together his second 3-hit game of the week, hoisting his San Diego CIF leading batting average to .621 (36-for-58). He stung the Monarchs for a 2-run triple in the 7th inning.

ANTHONY VROLIJK, a foreign exchange student from Holland, was 2-for-4 in the leadoff spot for the Braves. His first hit was an RBI single in the 5th. He doubled and scored on Cervantes’ hit in the 7th.

“Vrolijk has been a blessing in disguise for us,” said Rupp.

SANTANA 11, STEELE CANYON 6 – RYAN STUTZ is emerging as one of the top players in East County . The Santana junior – who is a genuine triple threat – slugged a 2-run homer in the 1st inning, staking the Sultans to a lead they would not lose in Thursday’s (Apr. 10) Grossmont North-South Tournament game in Rancho San Diego.

Stutz later doubled, stole a base and scored twice, extending his East County-leading hitting streak to 16 games.

The only ding in an otherwise sparkling performance by Stutz was he surrendered two runs to the Cougars (7-7) in the 7th inning. It was the first marker allowed by Stutz in 15 innings on the hill.

Santana increased its advantage in the 3rd inning as JOSH POND singled in a run and DALLAS SEIDEL pounded his second homer of the year over the right field fence to make it 5-0. Seidel battled Steele Canyon pitcher CODY KLOPP for eight pitches before launching his circuit clout.

Santana broke the game open in the 4th inning with four runs. CODY SMITH singled in one, JAMES NEEDY drove in a pair with a base hit and Seidel doubled in the final marker.

CHRIS RABICHAUD ripped a solo homer in the 5th inning, giving the Sultans a 10-2 advantage.

“Stutz, Rabichaud and Seidel hit the longball today – helped us put some runs on the board,” said Santana coach JERRY HENSON. “Our fielding was good, we had just one error.”

BRANDYN BELL charted another solid pitching performance to chalk up his 5th win in six decisions. Only one of the four runs he allowed was earned. Bell struck out six and walked none.

“The main guy was our pitcher, Brandyn Bell,” said Henson. “He was outstanding again. He’s throwing four pitches for strikes now and he has enough velocity on his fastball to get it by people. He’s having a great year.”

Steele Canyon coach TODD SNYDER benched some of his starters for disciplinary reasons.

“They wanted to play for themselves,” Snyder said. “But we’re a team and I’m not going to put up with that. It’s my job to keep them accountable.”

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (4-10-08) — The way Christian High coach MIKE MITCHELL views the Eastern League pennant race is it will take at least a 9-3 record to capture a championship.

Not that Mitchell is rating his Patriots as the favorites to claim the title, but the veteran skipper considers his ballclub no less than a darkhorse.

Behind the 3-hit pitching of JOHN GEE and BRAD ROBERTSON the Patriots edged visiting St. Augustine 4-2 in Wednesday’s (Apr. 9) league opener.

“Any time you win your league opener that’s always a plus,” said Mitchell of his Patriots (12-4, 1-0 EL), who have won eight of their last 10. “

This marked the second time Christian had whipped the Saints. The first romp was by a 12-8 count in the Lions Tournament last month. These clubs will collide a third time on Friday (Apr. 11) at Hickman Field.

“This is just a start. I know there are teams that believe they have a better chance of winning this thing than we do, but don’t rule us out,” said Mitchell.

A two-out error and a wild pitch set the stage for Colin Hofmann’s single to left field, giving St. Augustine (8-7, 0-1 EL) a 1-0 lead in the 3rd inning.

Christian created a two-out rally in the bottom of the 4th. BRADLEY JOHNSTON reached on an infield single and coasted home on EDDIE YOUNG’s line drive home run to right-center field.

Unlike in past games the Patriots did not surrender the lead thereafter.

“Gee gave us an excellent outing,” said Mitchell of the 6-foot-3, 185-pound right-hander.

He did not allow an earned run while walking three and striking out four.

Christian padded its lead in the 6th inning when Saints committed two errors that opened the door for BRYAN MITCHELL’s crisp 2-run single to right field.

Mitchell’s hit proved pivotal as the Saints got their first two batters on base to start the 7th. That spelled the end of the day for Gee. Robertson came on in relief and retired the first two batters he faced.

Two walks, a wild pitch and a throwing error handed the Saints one run and left the bases loaded. Colin Hofmann, who batted third in the Saints’ lineup worked the count to 3-1.

“All I was thinking was don’t let the guy hit a grand slam,” Mitchell recalled.

Robertson, who sports a 6-0 record, allowed Hofmann to hit the ball into the air but it fell only as far as the pitcher’s mound where it was caught for the final out.

“I didn’t even want to think about letting their best hitter (David Popkins) get another shot with the bases loaded,” said Mitchell. “He hit the ball hard twice earlier in the game when he lined out to left and lined out to right. I’m glad we didn’t have to see what he could do a third time.”

Junior TRAVIS GEORGE hit the first pitch far over the right field fence and set the tone for the afternoon. He also collected the pitching win, going all 4 innings in a game that was called at that point.

JOE CANTER was 2-for-4 for 4 RBI for Foothills Christian (5-7). IAN MURPHY narrowly missed a home run in the 1st inning as well on his way to a 3-for-4 day which raised his average to .576 on the season.

Murphy and DEREK DEYLING scored 4 runs apiece for the Knights.

Murphy extended his personal hitting streak to 16 games, Derek Deyling to 10 games, dating back to last year.

While Foothills Christian was enjoying the batting spree, Warner coach Norman Fletcher made it apparent that he’d seen enough.

“During the 4th inning the Warner coach approached me to inform me that they would not be continuing the game after this inning,” Knights coach JAMES McHUGH said.

"After the 5th inning?" McHugh replied. And Fletcher said “No, we don't have any pitchers left".

It was suggested that the Wildcats audition someone else for the final inning, and Fletcher’s response was "We don't have anyone else. This is a waste of time."

If McHugh maintained the same attitude, Foothills Christian probably wouldn’t have a baseball program this year. After all, the Knights have been beaten by Army-Navy 15-2, San Diego Jewish Academy 13-8 and Calvin Christian 12-9 among others.

So go McHugh’s trials and tribulations of building a baseball program. But this is a man dedicated to a cause. Unlike some of his coaching counterparts he realizes that it takes time to build a program.

Sometimes it seems harder to get the games scheduled and hoping that teams will show up than it is to actually get on the field and play.

The 3-hour round trip to Warner to play four innings riled McHugh.

“All year you have to watch your calendar, make calls to make sure they are still in, make sure that since they forfeited other games in the season they will make this one or since – heaven forbid – they played yesterday, and will they actually play today,” said McHugh. It really gets old sometimes.”

“Two years ago we had a Vincent Memorial team in our league that was losing every single game by 15 runs but they showed up,” McHugh said. “You gain respect for the teams like that, that show up in their down years and gut it out.

“I've put much worse teams and much worse pitchers on the mound than this (Warner) team we saw today. Believe me no one can cry to me about not having another arm. Somehow you make it happen.”

DEREK BAUM hit a game-ending flyout, which brought a halt to his 17-game hitting streak.

“We’re just not doing anything well right now,” said Grossmont coach ROB PHILLIPS. “Even though the wind was blowing out to right field our guys were trying to yank everything to left. I think the fact that we’re only 5-4 after a 9-0 start is causing us to doubt ourselves right now.”

VALHALLA 8, SANTANA 1 – The visiting Norsemen took a firm grip on earning a berth in Saturday’s (Apr. 12) Grossmont North-South Tournament championship game when they slugged Santana in Tuesday’s (Apr. 9) pool play game.

If the Norsemen defeat El Capitan on Thursday (Apr. 10), they’ll host the tournament championship final at 11 a.m.

Freshman FRANCISCO TELLEZ and junior MATT GONZALES limited Santana to six hits as the Norsemen (12-4) posted their 6th straight victory.

"Cisco worked the zone and made some big pitches when he needed to,” said Valhalla coach MIKE WILSON. “Matt came in and pitched two solid innings of relief."

Sophomore WILL COOMBS proved to be a solid leadoff hitter for Valhalla as he went 2-for-3. Coombs provided the spark in three of Valhalla’s scoring innings.

In the 1st inning he walked and eventually scored on DANNY HAWKSLEY’s double. Hawksley also scored in that inning on a base hit by TREVOR FRANK.

It was more about Coombs in the 3rd inning as he clubbed a leadoff double that led to three more Norsemen runs.

JOSH AUSTEL smacked a 2-run single and BRYCE MOSIER singled in the third run.

In the 7th inning Coombs started things off with a leadoff double, eventually scoring on a wild pitch.

"Will played a great game all around today,” said Wilson . “He hit the ball well and made some good defensive plays."

JOHN AGUIRRE-RUIZ concluded the scoring with an RBI single

Santana scored its only run in the 3rd inning as RYAN STUTZ doubled and scored on a JAMES NEEDY single.

“We didn’t do too well today, made too many errors,” said Santana coach JERRY HENSON. The baseball gods weren’t with us. Our three errors cost us runs on every one. Their pitcher pitched well, kept us off balance. He kept the ball out of the strike zone and we kept swinging at it.”

GRANITE HILLS 20, EL CAJON VALLEY 7 – Granite Hills coach JAMES DAVIS was trying not to brag, but he had to admit that his visiting Eagles were locked in when they pasted host El Cajon Valley in Tuesday’s (Apr. 8) Grossmont North-South Tournament action.

“People are going to say ‘big deal we beat up El Cajon Valley,’” Davis said. “Let them think and say what they want because this is a much improved El Cajon Valley team to start with. As for us, we had a great day of batting practice on Monday – as good as we’ve had all season – and it carried over to this game.”

El Cajon Valley coach MIKE RUPP agreed that the Eagles did come out swinging.

Bottom line is No. 3-ranked Granite Hills (11-3) scored in all seven innings, pounding out 22 hits in the process.

Granite Hills third baseman KENNY BELZER, mired in a two-week slump, broke loose for a 5-for-6 hitting spree. The 6-4, 210-pound senior drove in four runs with his 6th and 7th home runs, which ties him for the East County long ball lead.

“It’s nice to have Kenny swinging it the way he was earlier in the season,” Davis said.

TYLER PONCIANO (4-for-5) also enjoyed a batting bonanza for the Eagles, driving in five runs with a pair of doubles.

BRIAN HUMPHRIES, the Eagles team leader who has been sputtering all season, opened the game with the first of his two triples to right-center field. The highly-sought Humphries, who has a scholarship to Pepperdine in hand, also doubled in a run in the opening frame. He finished the game 4-for-5, scoring three (giving him a Granite Hills career record 115 runs) and driving in two.

JOSH QUERIONES cracked his 2nd home run of the season in the 7-run 1st inning, while TYLER JOWORSKI and KAMERON ASKEY collected two hits apiece in the rout.

For El Cajon Valley, San Diego CIF batting leader ABEL CERVANTES was 3-for-4, raising his average to .611 (33-for-54).

ADRIAN PADILLA was 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI for the Braves (8-9).

EL CAPITAN 18, MONTE VISTA 2 – Things started on a high note for visiting Monte Vista, which took a 1-0 lead on ADAM TIMANUS’ RBI single in the top of the 1st inning of Tuesday’s (Apr. 8) Grossmont North-South Tournament play.

The Monarchs narrowly missed doubling their lead in the same frame but had a runner cut down at the plate on a throw from left-fielder BROOKS NOBLE to third baseman KORBIN KRUGER to catcher TANNER RUST.

“That was a big play in terms of momentum because we really dodged the bullet,” said El Capitan coach STEVE VICKERY.

El Capitan (10-5), which fell out of the Top 10 for the first time this season, scrambled back and wound up scoring in every inning to nail down the lop-sided victory.

ANDY HALE’s sacrifice fly tied the game at one apiece in the 1st, and a Monte Vista balk gave El Capitan a 2-1 edge after two innings.

The Vaqueros broke the game open in the 3rd inning as their first seven batters reached base and scored.

Kruger cracked his fourth home run with a man aboard to launch the big inning. That blow extended his hitting streak to 14 games.

Back-to-back doubles by Hale and CANNON NIKZAD made it 5-1. After KYLE MILLS walked, Noble ripped an RBI double to left-center field. ANTHONY LYBARGER chipped in with an RBI single, and TYRONE WIGGINS drove in two more with a base hit.

The double combination of Hale and Nikzad struck again in the 4th inning, extending the Vaqueros’ lead to 10-1.

After that the Monarchs’ defense began to crumble, committing three errors to hand the Vaqueros three more runs.

Nikzad laced his 3rd double of the game to drive in a run in the 5th inning, and JEREMIAH GROSS ripped a 3-run triple down the left-field line during a 5-run 5th inning.

“I was happy the way we were ready to play,” said Vickery. “We made some good adjustments. We had one of our better games, swung the bats as good as we’ve done all year.”

The beneficiary of El Capitan ’s onslaught was starting pitcher MARCO MARISCAL, who limited the Monarchs to 7 hits and one earned run over 5 2/3 innings.

“Mariscal pitched tough when he had to,” Vickery said. “He’s not a strikeout pitcher but he only walked one batter. He had a quality start for us.”

It was a long day for Monte Vista (4-10), which suffered its 6th straight loss.

MIDWAY BAPTIST 5, FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 4 – The inability to find the strike zone in the early going of Tuesday’s (Apr. 8) Citrus West League contest proved costly for the Knights (4-7, 0-5 CWL).

The Knights were down 4-0 before they came to bat in the bottom of the 1st.

“BRANDON JAROSIN started the game for us, simply could not throw a strike,” said Knights coach JAMES McHUGH. “After walking the lead off hitter, he struck the next batter out before walking 2 more. I took him out after just a third of an inning and went to DEREK DEYLING. Deyling allowed Jarosin's runners to score on end of the bat bloops that fell just beyond the infield.”

Foothills Christian fought back to cut the lead in half but could never catch up. McHugh pointed to the excellent pitching of Deyling.

“In the 2nd inning Deyling allowed a single run on two misplayed fly balls in the outfield – neither errors but both balls that should have been caught,” the coach said.

After that Deyling retired 13 of 15 hitters during a 5-inning stint which included 8 strikeouts.

HENRY LUSCHEI retired Midway Baptist in order in the top of the 7th.

For one of the few times this season the Knights did not enjoy a big hitting spree, although they did finish with 10 safeties.

In the bottom of the 7th TRAVIS GEORGE doubled with one out to bring the tying run to the plate. Deyling reached base on an error, and IAN MURPHY walked to load the bases. Midway booted a JOE CANTER ground ball to make it a 1-run game with the bases full. MATT DELMORE popped one up about six feet in front of the plate and the ball landed in fair territory.

Midway took advantage of that call and wound up turning what appeared to be a game-tying single into a game-ending double play.

Murphy and Canter had two hits apiece for Foothills Christian.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (4-8-08) — When these teams last met the second game of the season Grossmont pummeled Eastlake by 10 runs. It wasn’t that close.

In Monday’s (Apr. 7) non-league rematch at Grossmont’s Joe Gizoni Field, it was that close. The Foothillers squeezed out a 3-0 victory over the visiting Titans in a contest that took only 1 hour and 40 minutes.

It was a much different style game in the first meeting when Grossmont (14-3) stormed in front 13-1 by the 6th inning and held on to win 17-7. The Hillers hammered out 16 hits in that rout, and were limited to 7 in the second go-round.

On both occasions, Grossmont’s AARON GRIFFIN was the winning pitcher. The 6-foot-4, 180-pound junior right-hander blanked No. 8-ranked Eastlake on five hits, while striking out 6 and walking none in a six-inning stint. LEVI STEVENS pitched a perfect 7th, logging one strikeout en route to his second save.

“I had a pretty good curveball for the first three innings,” said Griffin (4-0). “That was my strike out pitch (he fanned 5 in the first three frames). I went away from that and started jamming them more with my fastball. I didn’t get as many strikeouts but did get more groundball outs.”

Griffin delivered only 76 pitches in his latest outings.

“I’m definitely becoming more confident with my stuff,” he said. “I came out late from basketball, so I’m just starting to reach full swing now.”

Just the fact that No. 4-ranked Grossmont did not issue a single walk had to be pleasing to Foothillers coach ROB PHILLIPS.

“Yeah, we’ve hurt ourselves by walking too many people lately,” Griffin said. “On top of that we haven’t been as hitting dominant as we were the first nine games of the season.”

After DEREK BAUM singled to right to extend his San Diego CIF-best hitting streak to 17 games, CONOR MEREDITH doubled to left to make it 2-0. Meredith had two hits as did KYLE SECCIANI.

An Eastlake throwing error plated an insurance run for Grossmont in the 5th.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (4-6-08) — Top 10 teams El Capitan and Granite Hills have been hampered by recent injuries this season. The latest casualty is El Capitan pitcher/outfielder MILES REAGAN, who actually was knocked out of action during Friday’s practice.

Reagan, a 6-foot-2, 197-pound senior right-hander with high-powered pitching velocity, was on the sidelines during Saturday’s (Apr. 5) Grossmont North-South Tournament game won by Granite Hills 3-2 in nine innings.

The No. 2 ranked Eagles (10-3) scored the decisive run with one out in the bottom of the 9th when DYLAN GARCIA singled home BRIAN HUMPHRIES from second base. Humphries started the rally with a one-out single and advanced to second when JARED RAPOZA walked.

It was Garcia’s second RBI single of the game. He followed a two-out double by Rapoza with a base hit to break a 1-1 tie in the 3rd inning.

“Garcia’s been clutch for us all year,” said Granite Hills coach JAMES DAVIS. “He has nice bat speed and is able to hit the ball to all fields.”

“Hopper is one of those guys where players are always fighting at the bat rack to get a chance to hit against him,” Davis noted. “It’s as funny as it is frustrating. Not many people get a real good shot at him, but (opposing batters) keep coming back to the dugout saying ‘He’s got nothing.’”

While Hopper is more of a craftsman than a flame-thrower, Davis liked the contrast that Lewis brought from the bullpen.

“Both guys have good action on their pitches, but they come at you different ways,” Davis said. “That’s the effect we wanted since Hopper is a left-hander and Lewis is a right-hander.”

Not to mention that Lewis clearly has more velocity on his pitches. He recorded the final five outs to post his second win in as many decisions.

One of the hard luck Vaqueros was El Capitan starter JOSH SODEN. The 6-foot-7, 215-pound senior right-hander was touched up for eight hits but surrendered only one earned run in eight innings.

He departed with no decision.

“He doesn’t throw the ball 90 miles an hour, but he has a herky-jerky delivery which makes him hard to hit,” El Capitan coach STEVE VICKERY said. “When he’s on like he was today he gets a lot of ground balls. His problem was, we couldn’t field them. We let him down defensively.”

Vickery wasn’t overly pleased with El Capitan ’s offensive effort either.

“Of our 27 outs, 21 of them were either on strikeouts, pop-ups or bunts fielded by the pitcher,” he said. “We just didn’t put any pressure on them offensively.”

As for Reagan’s status, Vickery said he wouldn’t know for sure until further examinations on Monday (Apr. 7).

Among the hardest throwing pitchers in the SDCIF and regarded as one of the top high school prospects in the June draft, Reagan suffered a shoulder strain during a routine running exercise.

“It’s something we do all the time,” Vickery said. “We sort of match strengths among our players and then have relay races. Reagan is competitive in everything he does. He was in a close race and decided to dive at the finish line just so he could win. At first he got up and ran in another race.”

After that though Vickery said Reagan noticed something was wrong, said he couldn’t lift his right (pitching) arm. An El Capitan athletic trainer examined Reagan and found nothing structurally wrong with his shoulder. Reagan was later that night examined at Grossmont Hospital and doctors there agreed with the trainer’s findings, but ordered further exams.

Vickery couldn’t be certain but hopes that Reagan will only be sidelined for one to three weeks.

VALHALLA 2, WEST HILLS 1 – Last time these two teams tangled back on March 7 in an early season tournament, Valhalla scalded the Wolf Pack 23-2.

Fluke? Well, I guess. West Hills (10-5) has allowed more than 4 runs only four times in its 14 other games this season.

So there had to be some surprise involved when Valhalla ’s TREVOR FRANK and the Wolf Pack’s ROBBY ROBLES limited the two squads to just a handful of hits and 3 runs in Saturday’s (Apr. 5) Grossmont North-South Tournament meeting in Rancho San Diego.

Frank, a 5-foot-10, 152-pound right-hand junior, held West Hills hitless until GABRIEL ZEHNER doubled into the right-center field gap with one out in the 5th inning. Instead of coming unglued because of losing his no-hit bid, Frank maintained his poise and surrendered only one run when KYLE HOOPER grounded out to score ERIC McKNIGHT (walk) to cut Valhalla’s 2-0 lead in half.

“All season Frank has been pounding the strike zone with all three pitches,” said Valhalla coach MIKE WILSON. “His control has been superb.”

In his latest outing, a complete game effort, he struck out six and issued his first walk in 30 innings this season. Frank has a 34-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

“Frank was money,” said West Hills coach CHRIS BAUM. “He threw almost all fastballs, challenged us all day. He didn’t have to make many changes because we didn’t adjust. I thought our guy (Robles) pitched pretty well, too.”

Wilson noted that Frank made a serious bid for a no-hitter.

“The hit he gave up was legit,” Wilson said. “It was a hard line shot to right-center field. It could have easily gone for a triple had our right fielder not TYLER KEATON cut it off before it reached the fence. That was a great play by Keaton.”

Frank improved to 3-2.

“Trevor has a lot of movement on his ball and his changeup has the same kind of sink as his fastball,” Wilson added. “And today his curveball had a sharp bite to it.”

West Hills Robles wasn’t as flashy but was equally effective. Ironically, it was Frank that started Robles’ problems with a leadoff single in the bottom of the 4th. PETE THOMAS was hit by a pitch and both runners moved up 90 feet on a wild pitch.

JOSH AUSTEL then broke the scoreless deadlock when he hoisted a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Frank. BRYCE MOSIER singled to left to score Thomas and make it 2-0.

Valhalla is the only team on the Grossmont South side with a 3-0 tournament record. The Norsemen (11-4), however, still have pool play games remaining against El Capitan and Santana.

West Hills (10-5) is 2-1 in the tournament and could well receive a third match against the Norsemen if successful in its final two pool play games.

“Our kids have been content flying under the radar,” Baum said. “But we think we deserve some kind of respect in the polls. We’ve beaten Granite Hills and Grossmont, and now we just missed beating Valhalla.”

The Wolf Pack-Norsemen game took just an hour and 26 minutes to play – 36 minutes for the first three innings.

GROSSMONT 10, MOUNT MIGUEL 2 – In his continuous search for pitching help, Grossmont coach ROB PHILLIPS believes he may have stumbled across a possible diamond in the rough. That would be junior left-hander NICK GASPAR.

The 5-foot-11, 170-pound Gaspar is not totally new to the scene. What he has done, however, is struggle with a 17-plus ERA, a 0-1 record and 5 walks in 3 1/3 innings.

Gaspar was the first pitcher out of the bullpen when the Grossmont starter walked the bases loaded in Thursday’s (Apr. 5) Grossmont North-South Tournament action at Mount Miguel.

Gaspar had to feel somewhat comfortable, considering he inherited a 4-0 lead when he took over in the 2nd inning.

“It seemed to me that Nick wasn’t as nervous as he’s been in the past,” said Phillips. “He did a great job and cut his ERA in half.”

The key in Gaspar’s latest outing was control, something that the Grossmont pitchers as a staff have struggled with in their first 16 games.

“He threw a lot of first-pitch strikes,” Phillips said. “And that’s the key. When you’re not walking the ballpark it keeps your defense on its toes.”

Gaspar blanked the Matadors on four hits to earn his first varsity win. He struck out four and walked none. He was the only one of four Grossmont pitchers who did not issue a free pass.

“I’ll tell you one thing, he’s going to see more time as long as he can pitch like he did today,” said Phillips.

Grossmont has utilized 13 different pitchers, which – as a group – has served up 62 walks while striking out only 101. The opposition has turned 22 of those free passes into runs.

A 2-run double by BRYAN HAAR helped Grossmont take a 4-0 lead in the 2nd inning. The No. 3 ranked Foothillers (13-3) broke the game open with five runs in the 4th. BRENNAN GEARY’s 2-run single was the key blow in that inning.

Mount Miguel ’s best chance to make a game of it came in the opening frame when it loaded the bases against Grossmont sophomore starter STEVEN BRAULT. However, they were unable to cash in as Brault was able to coax two pop flies to end the inning.

The Matadors (7-7) avoided the shutout with single tallies in the 6th and 7th innings. JAMES TREBUS had the only hit in that scoring effort, while JOSH GOLDEN stole two bases and scored on a wild pitch.

HELIX 7, EL CAJON VALLEY 1 – After starting the season with six consecutive losses, it appears that the Helix Highlanders were not going to be a factor in tournament play and especially not in the Grossmont South League race this season.

Realizing his players were short on varsity experience, 7th year Helix head coach COLE HOLLAND was not expecting any miracles.

“I know it’s a cliché but we’ve kinda been doing things with smoke and mirrors, man,” said Holland.

Of late, however, the smoke has begun to clear and the mirrors are providing a brighter view.

In Saturday’s (Apr. 5) Grossmont North-South Tournament contest, the visiting Braves (8-8) put the pressure on. ANTHONY VROLIJK walked, stole second, advanced to third on EFRIN PADILLA’s sacrifice and scored on ADRIAN PADILLA’s two-out single.

But the Highlanders (5-8), who have come on to win five of their last seven starts, rebounded for two tallies in the bottom of the opening frame. JEFF ROSENTHAL reached base on a one-out drag bunt single and scored on ANTHONY DIAZ’s third home run of the season.

Helix starter MIKE ORTIZ made that narrow lead stand up for five innings. But the Padilla brothers, who shared the pitching for El Cajon Valley through the first five frames, didn’t buckle, either.

“The way they pitch they kind of lull you to sleep,” Holland said. “We just couldn’t get anything going.”

Until the 6th.

After BRONSON RUNIONS was hit by a pitch, Rosenthal twice attempted to bunt him into scoring position. He failed both times. It didn’t matter though because Rosenthal eventually slugged a 2-run homer which all but decided the issue.

The Highlanders’ rally continued when Diaz singled, stole second, advanced to third on a passed ball and scored on an error. CHASE GLENN doubled to extend his current hitting streak to nine games. One out later MIKE LOPEZ doubled in two runs to put the game away.

Ortiz (2-1) allowed only three hits and struck out five for Helix.

“He’s just a competitor. He’s not going to overpower you. You know what you’re going to get,” said Holland. “He threw a few more pitches than usual (89) because he had a lot of 3-ball counts.”

SANTANA 5, MONTE VISTA 0 – BRANDYN BELL fired a 2-hit shutout in Saturday’s (Apr. 5) Grossmont North-South Tournament play in Spring Valley. It was the Sultans’ fifth shutout victory and their 11th win in 12 starts.

Santana’s game is all about pitching. That’s clearly evident, considering the Sultans’ team ERA is a sparkling 1.60. Only twice in 15 games have the Sultans allowed more than three runs.

“ Bell was in complete charge on the hill today – threw just 69 pitches,” said Santana coach JERRY HENSON. “He didn’t go into double digits for pitches on any inning after the first. We played outstanding at all phases of the game today,”

Bell raised his record to 4-1 and lowered his personal ERA to 1.66 over 33 2/3 innings.

Santana jumped on top in the 1st inning as CHRIS RABICHAUD walked and scored on a double by CODY SMITH.

KYLE ROMERO slugged a 3-2 pitch over the left-center field fence to make it 2-0 in the 2nd inning.

In the 3rd inning RYAN STUTZ singled, stole second and scored when JAMES NEEDY duplicated Romero’s longball shot. Needy would add his third RBI to close out the scoring in the 5th inning.

Monte Vista ’s offense consisted of singles by MATT BOELTER and CODY MORRIS.

It was the fifth straight loss for the Monarchs (4-9).

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 6, MARANATHA CHRISTIAN 3 – For the first time since their February 27th season opener, the Foothills Christian Knights could celebrate an honest-to-goodness victory in Saturday’s (Apr. 5) non-league action versus Maranatha Christian.

“While our record showed 3-6 before the game, we were well aware that we had not won a game on the field since opening day,” said coach JAMES McHUGH, noting that his Knights have picked up two wins by forfeit. “We had dropped six straight on the field and I talked to the guys this week about having higher expectations.”

IAN MURPHY rationed the Eagles to four hits and two earned runs over five-plus innings to gain the pitching nod. He struck out five and overcame four walks. DEREK DEYLING came on to close out the 6th and blank the Eagles in the 7th to earn his first career save, and just the second in school history.

“Derek has been throwing strikes for us all season and I did not hesitate to go to him with a 4-run lead and the bases loaded,” McHugh said.

McHugh was equally as pleased with his starting pitcher, Murphy.

“Ian Murphy gave us a great outing,” said McHugh. “Our greatest strength is if we have Ian on the mound throwing strikes, and he delivered that today. When Ian is pitching we have the strongest possible defense on the field because some of our other pitchers – Deyling, TRAVIS GEORGE, HENRY LUSCHEI and BRANDON JAROSIN – are really the cornerstones of our defense.”

“We had a few double plays today that we made look absolutely routine, and for this program that is something we have not seen in our history.”

Trailing 2-1 entering the 5th inning, the Knights erupted for four runs. ZACH CUMMINGS led off with a walk, George singled to put runners at the corners. Deyling’s sacrifice fly tied the game at 2-all. Murphy walked and JOE CANTER loaded the bases on an infield single. Luschei’s RBI single gave the Knights a lead they wouldn’t lose.

“We were much more patient at the plate later in the game,” said McHugh. “We had five walks – probably the most for us in a game this year.”

The Knights tacked on an insurance run in the 6th on consecutive one-out singles by Deyling, Murphy, Canter and Luschei.

CATHEDRAL 11, CHRISTIAN 3 – Not many teams hit better than the Dons of Cathedral Catholic. Just ask the Christian High Patriots, who took it on the chin in Saturday’s (Apr. 5) semifinals of the City Conference Tournament at Cathedral.

The Dons (13-3), who went on to capture the tournament championship by rocking Mission Bay 18-7 later Saturday afternoon, had the Patriots pinned to the mat 5-0 after one inning.

Although Cathedral collected only seven hits against Christian (11-4), the Dons made them count. Four of Cathedral’s hits were of the extra base variety, including a 3-run home run by Chris Wilson in the 4th inning.

Casey Husband laced a double and a triple to drive in a pair for Cathedral, which has scored 10 or more runs in its last four games.

“They hit the ball hard,” said Patriots coach MIKE MITCHELL of the Dons. “We walked five batters and four of them scored. That was the difference in the game.”

Christian, which had won eight of its previous nine games coming in, was limited to five hits and two earned runs by Jonathan Meyer, rated one of the top pitchers in the SDCIF.

Christian picked up an unearned run thanks to a double by MICHAEL GRUBER in the 3rd inning and EDDIE YOUNG had an RBI single in the 5th for the Patriots. Young’s blow extended his hitting streak to 10 games.

TAYLOR EICHHORST capped the Christian scoring with a mammoth home run shot over the left-field fence in the 6th inning. It was Eichhorst’s 7th round-tripper, which is tops in East County.

MICHAEL STOWERS had two hits for the Patriots against the No. 4 ranked Dons.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (4-4-08) -- It was sitting on the table, a feast ready to enjoy.

El Cajon Valley was one strike away from shocking visiting Valhalla, which was smartly held in check all Thursday (Apr. 3) afternoon by Braves starting pitcher MATT THOMAS.

"He was really dealing all day," said Norsemen left-fielder TREVOR FRANK. "But we kept coming along and started hitting."

Valhalla then rode the arm of JAKE BOEKAMP to escape the upset. While the senior tossed two innings of shutout relief, the floodgates opened to the tune of seven runs in the 8th in a 12-5 decision over the Braves.

The late collapse failed to deter the team's determination to no longer be the doormat of East County baseball.

"It was one of Matt's greatest games -- he proved he can be one of East County's aces," said catcher ADRIAN TORRES. "It was a tough game to lose, but our team proved that we can compete."

Frank had only one thing on his mind while running toward first base.

"I just wanted the ball to get down," said the left-fielder, who earlier threw out a runner at the plate to keep the game tied at 2-all in the 3rd inning. "Somehow, we needed a hit to keep the game going."

In the 8th, the game was gone. The Braves bullpen saw three pitchers allow a combined seven walks -- three to force in runs -- and a hit batsman for another run. Frank then returned to the plate, stroking a 2-run single to cap a 4-for-5 outing at the plate, including four RBI.

RYAN O'SULLIVAN snapped a tied ballgame with a lead homer in the 5th, sending the ball to the right of the 370-foot marker in left-centerfield. It was his 6th homer of the season.

However, the Braves got out of the inning with a double play, which carried over to the offense to immediately answer back with three runs to secure a 5-3 advantage. At the time, it seemed to be enough of a cushion.

East County batting leader ABEL CERVANTES, who went 1-for-4, registered his lone hit with a deep double. ADRIAN PADILLA followed with an RBI triple, then scored on the Braves' third consecutive extra-base hit, a double by GAVINO PINAL. He later scored by advancing on a ground out, then home on a wild pitch.

Valhalla failed to score in the 6th, when Braves shortstop ANTHONY VROLIJK charged hard on a ball which deflected off Thomas, throwing to first base in time to nip left-hand hitting MATT GONZALES. The next pair of Norsemen lined out to left field.

But in the 7th, sophomore WILL COOMBS busted a one-out double, O'Sullivan (2-for-3, 4 runs, 2 RBI) was intentionally walked, with both advancing on a passed ball.

DANNY HAWKSLEY, who suffered through a long day with three errors and getting hit on the side of the face on a sharp bad-hop single, lifted a sacrifice fly to left to halve the deficit before Frank came through.

Pinal registered two of El Cajon Valley's five hits.

EL CAPITAN 3, STEELE CANYON 2 – They played textbook baseball in Lakeside during Thursday’s (Apr. 3) Grossmont North-South Tournament pool play game.

No errors by either team, clutch pitching by El Capitan’s KEVIN MORTON and Steele Canyon ’s ANDREW BELLATTI and a timely hit or two decided the issue.

Actually the game-winning blow was struck by ANTHONY LYBARGER, who was batting ninth in the Vaqueros’ order. Lybarger lined an 0-1 pitch onto Ashwood Street beyond the right field fence to break a 2-2 tie with one out in the 6th inning.

“I figured he’d go by the book, try to blow a fastball by me,” said Lybarger. “But (Bellatti’s) first pitch was a curveball for a strike. Then he came with a fastball away.” And the right-hand hitting senior was ready.

“I saw the right-fielder going back and I figured it would at least hit the bank,” Lybarger added. “When I looked up I saw the ball go over the fence – it hit a car, too.”

Bellatti, who limited the Vaqueros to four hits while striking out seven in a complete game effort, was burned in the 1st inning when TANNER RUST doubled and KORBIN KRUGER clubbed a 2-run homer over the right-center field fence to extend his personal hitting streak to 12 games.

“That Bellatti is a good-looking kid,” said El Capitan coach STEVE VICKERY. “He’s got a nice, loose arm. The ball comes out of his hand so nice and free. He’s the real deal.”

Morton turned in a complete game 5-hitter, which included an RBI single by JORDAN HINDI in the 2nd inning, and a solo homer by MARK BELLATTI to right field that tied the game in the 3rd. But Morton was hardly home free as Hindi, who accounted for three of Steele Canyon ’s five hits, singled, stole second and advanced to third in the 5th inning.

However, Morton escaped by recording a strikeout, popup and groundout. In the 6th inning he retired the side for the second time and needed only four pitches to send the Cougars packing in the 7th.

“I was a little shaky in the beginning as far as consistency,” admitted Morton, who issued four walks in the first three frames. “The velocity of my fastball wasn’t there so I had to make some adjustments. It’s starting to come back a little bit now, but I’ve learned to kind of pitch more to the bats.”

Morton said he hit the groove around the 4th inning.

“It came down to throwing strikes to these guys and letting them get themselves out,” he said.

Vickery agreed.

“In the middle innings (Morton) was kind of trying to avoid bats, but I think in the last two or three innings he was trying to pitch to contact and not trying to be so perfect,” Vickery said. “That was the whole turnaround – he just trusted in his stuff and attacked the strike zone.”

It was a tough afternoon for coach TODD SNYDER and his visiting Cougars, who left four runners in scoring position – three of them at third base in the first five innings.

“Andrew threw well enough to win,” Snyder said. “But that No. 9 hitter (Lybarger) hurt him. He put a good swing on it, but you’ve got to get into that kid’s kitchen. As hard as Andrew throws, you don’t give a No. 9 hitter the opportunity to go that way.”

But Snyder has hardly lost confidence in Bellatti.

“He’s got room to grow – he just turned 16,” Snyder added. “He didn’t have to shoulder the whole thing. We need to execute when we have runners on third.”

WEST HILLS 5, HELIX 4 – It goes without saying that the visiting Helix Highlanders never heard of COLE BUDVARSON. After Thursday’s (Apr. 4) Grossmont North-South Tournament game, they are probably a little bit more familiar with the 6-foot, 165-pound left-hander.

Budvarson, who was only 1-for-3 in West Hills’ first 13 games, pounded a two-run homer – the first circuit clout of his varsity career – in the bottom of the 3rd inning to stake the Wolf Pack to a 5-2 lead it wouldn’t lose.

“I had a gut feeling, ‘I’m going to let Cole swing it today,’” said West Hills coach CHRIS BAUM. “He’s been swinging it well in practice.”

Budvarson finished the game 2-for-3 so the hunch by the second-year Wolf Pack skipper paid dividends.

Recalling the pitch – which proved to be the game-winning blow – Budvarson said “I was looking for a pitch either low and inside or down the middle. It was a fastball, low and middle inside. That’s the one I can usually hit line drives with. I got ahold of it and it just took off.”

Budvarson’s game-winning blow followed a 2-out walk to winning pitcher BRANDON HAMILTON.

“As soon as it came off the bat I kinda knew it was going really far,” Budvarson said. “I felt good, really confident.”

Helix, which came into the game having won four of its previous five, grabbed a 2-0 lead on MIKE ANDRADE’s home run to right field. It appeared to be a 3-run shot except one of the Highlanders on base was called out for missing home plate.

Talk about a decisive faux pas.

The Wolf Pack countered with three runs in the bottom of the 1st thanks to two walks, a wild pitch, a single by TONY SPEARS and a double by GABRIEL ZEHNER.

“We walked six guys and made two errors in the first three innings,” said Helix coach COLE HOLLAND. “We left half of La Mesa on base. We flat out gave them the game. We didn’t deserve to win it.”

“I don’t think it’s a secret that we need pitching help,” he said.

So the Grossmont skipper gave some untested pitching candidates a chance to shine in Thursday’s (Apr. 3) Grossmont North-South Tournament game at Joe Gizoni Field.

It was kind of a tweaked “American Idol” competition as junior CONOR MEREDITH stepped forward to spin 3 1/3 innings of one-hit shutout relief to pick up the pitching win.

Ironically, as soon as the game ended, Meredith and a bunch of his teammates raced across campus to compete in the school’s Air Band competition.

“You know, I think our kids cared more about winning that music deal than they did about the ballgame,” Phillips said.

Although Phillips wouldn’t openly admit it, he was secretly pleased that the baseball team’s air band group took second, yet was good enough to qualify for the district finals. He was no doubt, however, more pleased that the baseball team was able to beat Monte Vista for the second time this season.

One of the featured stars on both fronts was Meredith.

“I think he was mad at me because I took him out of the lineup,” Phillips said of his starting third baseman. “He’s like most kids, all he wants to do is hit.”

Meredith, who did some pitching at the junior varsity level, says he doesn’t mind pitching.

He was put to the test early against Monte Vista as he came on in relief in the 4th inning with Grossmont leading 8-3 and the bases loaded with two outs. He needed only three pitches to strike out the Monarchs’ MATT MORRIS and kill the threat.

“At first I was a little nervous since I wasn’t throwing many strikes when I was warming up in the ‘pen,” said Meredith. “Once I got to the mound I realized all I needed to do was throw strikes, that my defense would back me up.”

Meredith was equally effective in the 5th inning as he threw eight strikes and one ball to record three outs.

“I made it really clear to our team that we need somebody that can come out of the bullpen and throw strikes,” Phillips said. “Walks have killed us all season. We’ve already given up more walks that have turned into runs this season than we did in twice as many games last year.”

“Meredith is a good athlete. The thing I really like about him is he knows how to compete and go after people.”

Monte Vista (4-8) took the early lead as ERIC GENTRY doubled and scored on a base hit by MATT BOELTER in the 1st inning.

KYLE SECCIANI led off the bottom of the 1st with a game-tying home run for the Foothillers (12-3).

Monte Vista counterpunched in the top of the 2nd as TONY MARCON singled and ADAM TIMANUS homered.

The game of longball continued in the bottom of the 2nd as CHARLIE PIRO laced a 3-2 pitch over the scoreboard in left-center field.

“That was a meteorite that went over the flagpole,” Phillips commented. “I think the college coaches are starting to realize that Piro has some power.”

Grossmont broke the game open with six runs in the 3rd inning. The key blows were 2-run doubles by STEVEN BRAULT and BRENNAN GEARY.

DEREK BAUM also had a base hit in the big inning to extend his East County-leading hitting streak to 15 games.

SANTANA 13, MOUNT MIGUEL 2 – When the visiting Matadors pushed across two runs in the top of the 1st inning of Thursday’s (Apr. 3) Grossmont North-South Tournament game in Santee, the collective palms of the hosting Santana Sultans were feeling a bit moist.

That is until the bottom of the 1st when the Sultans (11-3) erupted for four runs to turn things around. RYAN STUTZ extended his hitting streak to 13 games with an RBI single and JAMES NEEDY stroked a two-run single to lift the Sultans on top. JOSH POND capped the opening frame with a single making it 4-2.

Santana continued its onslaught, scoring in four of its final times at-bat. Needy drove in four runs and had two hits to pace the Sultans to their 10th win in their last 11 starts.

Mount Miguel (7-6) capitalized on two errors and singles by JAMES TREBUS and TONY ALVAREZ for its quick start.

Stutz, the Santana starter, blanked the Matadors on one hit over the next four frames before Pond closed things out with two shutout innings.

“In that first inning we were pretty nervous, booted a couple of balls early,” said Santana coach JERRY HENSON. “So we talked to the boys and after the 3rd inning we felt pretty comfortable. Our defense and pitching have been holding us in the game. Our bats came around today – to make 13 hits is pretty good.”

IAN MURPHY was 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored. He extended his 13-game hitting streak dating back to last year.

“Walks are really what are killing us right now,” said Knights coach JAMES McHUGH. “We've allowed 38 runners to reach this season in 7 games on either walks or hit batters, and of those 25 have scored.”

BRANDON JAROSIN was 2-for-4 with 2 RBI and ZACH CUMMINGS was 2-for-4 with an RBI. TRAVIS GEORGE was 2-for-5 and scored twice for Foothills Christian.

DEREK DEYLING also extended his hitting streak to seven. That included an RBI and a walk.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (4-3-08) — Not many teams in the San Diego CIF section have slugged more home runs than the Christian High Patriots this season.

TAYLOR EICHHORST and NIKO KANAKARIS each hit their sixth round-tripper in the Wednesday (Apr. 2) afternoon 13-3 City Conference Tournament victory over visiting Hoover.

There was no suspense to this one, as the Patriots pushed across eight runs in the 2nd inning.

Senior COLIN RYAN and birthday boy BRYAN MITCHELL provided the spark by driving in two runs apiece with base hits.

Kanakaris, who hit a solo homer in the 4th inning, also doubled in a run in the big 2nd.

Freshman MICHAEL POTEET picked up his first varsity win, holding Hoover to three hits and one run over four innings.

Ryan, Kanakaris and ADAM NASH finished the job, pitching one inning of relief each. Kanakaris struck out two of the three batters he faced.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (4-2-08) -- Defeating the No. 2 rated ballclub in the county could be considered a fluke. But when West Hills High bounced right back and repeated the feat by upending the team which took over the No. 2 slot, that's called demanding respect.

In a ballgame decided on a pair of hustle plays in the 7th inning, the visiting Wolf Pack scored twice -- including the game-winning run by inducing a balk -- to down Granite Hills, 4-3, in Tuesday's (Apr. 1) Grossmont North-South Tournament contest.

"All these other teams take us for granted," said senior shortstop WILL CRUMPLER, who drove in the tying run, then scored the go-ahead marker. "But we put the whuppin’ on them."

After giving up the lead in the 6th on an RBI single by Eagles second baseman TYLER JOWORSKI, West Hills took advantage of a pair of errors to reclaim the lead.

Designated hitter MICHAEL LOBAUGH reached base on a booted ground ball. Pinchrunner BRENNAN TAYLOR promptly stole second base, then took third on a sacrifice bunt.

"Each time, the ball was behind me, so I trusted coach when he sent me," said Taylor. "I couldn't know what was happening, so I just took off running."

Granite Hills then elected to pitch to Crumpler, the No. 9 batter in the West Hills batting order. However, Crumpler's flair over the first baseman's head had trouble labeled all over it.

"All I remember is that I somehow got to second base," added Crumpler. "I can't believe it actually happened, beating Granite."

A ground ball by CHRIS ALLEN moved Crumpler to third base with two out, so when the count reached 1-2 on TONY SPEARS, Wolf Pack head coach CHRIS BAUM rolled the dice.

"There were two strikes and two outs, so we put on the play – something we've had success with in the past," said Baum. "It's tough for the pitcher to recognize quickly. And it's great to use right after you tie the game.

Crumpler took off just as the Granite Hills reliever got into the step position, sprinting for the plate. The throw home would've been in plenty of time, except the pitcher never stepped off the rubber, as he held onto the ball while throwing his head back in disgust knowing he committed the violation.

West Hills then went with ROBBY ROBLES out of the bullpen to pitch the 7th, retiring the top three members of the Eagles batting order to officially cast a vote that the Wolf Pack should now be taken as serious contenders this season.

GABRIEL ZEHNER smacked a double in the 4th to score ERIC McKNIGHT, but after tossing three shutout innings, Zehner got chased after allowing three Eagles hits in the home-half of the 4th, including an RBI single by JOSH QUERIONES.

Granite Hills sophomore DYLAN GARCIA knocked home JARED RAPOZA in the 5th, but West Hills countered in the 6th on a squeeze bunt by DAVID BRISTOL, which followed consecutive basehits by RYNE BARKLEY and McKnight to open the inning.

CHRIS ESTOPIER allowed three unearned runs in two innings of relief, yet gained the victory. The Eagles' DEAN MILLER took the setback despite 6 1/3 strong innings, allowing just one earned run.

VALHALLA 6, GROSSMONT 3 – Forget about the statistics. To a man the coaches in the Grossmont Conference can’t deny that senior RYAN O’SULLIVAN is the best pitcher in the East County, if not the entire county.

O’Sullivan held the hot-hitting Foothillers in check, surrendering just three runs and 6 hits while striking out six in Tuesday’s (Apr. 1) Grossmont North-South Tournament.

The Norsemen (9-4), who had suffered a 7-0 loss at Grossmont earlier this season, proved that they are not a one-man team. FRANCISCO TELLEZ and JAKE BOEKAMP held the Hillers hitless over the final 1 2/3 innings to save O’Sullivan’s fifth win without a loss.

Boekamp, Valhalla ’s senior closer, struck out the side in the 7th to earn his 3rd save.

"We got some great pitching today from Ryan, Cisco and Jake,” said Valhalla coach MIKE WILSON. “Ryan threw a solid five innings, Cisco came in to stop a big inning from starting and Jake came in to close out the game."

One of Valhalla ’s unsung heroes has been junior catcher JOHN AGUIRRE-RUIZ.

"I can't begin to say how pleased I have been with Aguirre-Ruiz as our catcher this year,” said Wilson. “In his first year at the varsity level, he has really done a good job of handling this pitching staff mentally and defensively."

Valhalla’s offense was sharp from the start. In the opening frame WILL COOMBS led off with a single to right, advanced on a groundout and scored on a base hit by TREVOR FRANK. JOSH AUSTEL eventually drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 2-0.

A leadoff double by TYLER KEATON put the Norsemen in gear again in the 2nd inning. He scored on a sacrifice fly by DANNY HAWKSLEY.

The pivotal inning for Valhalla was the bottom of the 6th. Coombs started the rally with a double to left field. O’Sullivan was intentionally walked. Hawksley then singled to left to load the bases. At that point Grossmont’s defense crumbled. A throwing error and a passed ball handed the Norsemen two runs.

For five innings Grossmont’s offensive output consisted of an RBI single by BRYAN HAAR in the 3rd inning. In the 6th inning Grossmont’s JOSH SIMMS led off the inning with an infield single and stole second.

DEREK BAUM, who has a season-long 14-game hitting streak, fouled off a half-dozen pitches before blasting a home run into the football bleachers beyond left field.

“That was probably the most impressive thing we did all day,” said Hillers coach ROB PHILLIPS. “Baum just kept pecking away until he got the pitch he wanted.”

Another factor in O’Sullivan’s favor is he did not issue a single walk.

"Ryan did a great job pitching against such a potent lineup,” said Wilson. "Grossmont has a bunch of guys that can hurt you at the plate. Baum did what all good hitters should do and took advantage of a hanging breaking ball.

“As a pitcher, you just have to tip your hat and make an adjustment."

After a 9-0 start, Grossmont, which is holding onto its No. 3 ranking in the SDCIF, is suddenly showing weaknesses. The Hillers are lacking a dominant stopper on the hill, which makes them vulnerable, considering teams rarely bat their way to SDCIF championships.

“Our whole approach at the plate was horrible all day today,” said Phillips. “We didn’t have good pitch recognition. Too many of our guys were guessing.”

MOUNT MIGUEL 5, EL CAPITAN 4 – No one around the Mount Miguel campus Tuesday (Apr. 1) afternoon could readily recall the last time the Matadors defeated El Capitan on the baseball diamond.

That’s because it’s been 15 years and 18 games since Mount Miguel last knocked off the Vaqueros.

Mount Miguel (7-5) came from behind to edge visiting El Capitan in the opening round of the Grossmont North-South Tournament in Spring Valley. Obviously it was a monumental victory for the Matadors, considering El Capitan came to town ranked No. 5 in the San Diego CIF Section.

“Beating a high profile team like El Capitan is good for our program,” said Matadors coach BYRON GRIGSBY. “It’s wins like this that are making our kids believe that the hard work we ask of them is paying off.”

Not that Mount Miguel teams of the past haven’t worked hard, but victories over the Vaqueros obviously have been scarce.

For the record it was 1993 when Mount Miguel last defeated El Capitan. On that particular afternoon it was a 4-1 decision in the conference tournament game. That had to be sweet for the Matadors because the Vaqueros went on to finish 26-8 that year.

RUDDY ACOSTA was the man of the hour in Mount Miguel ’s latest conquest over the Lakeside nine. The 6-foot-6, 160-pound sophomore scattered eight hits, allowed only two earned runs and struck out 14.

The swing votes in this latest confrontation were the Matadors four unearned runs in the 4th inning.

“There’s no other way to put it, but we just gave it a nonchalant effort,” said El Capitan coach STEVE VICKERY. “But you also have to give Byron Grigsby credit for having his guys play aggressive baseball. They forced us to make plays but we didn’t do it.”

The Vaqueros fell to 8-4.

“In reality we only played one inning – tried to make it a 3-out ballgame,” Vickery said.

Vickery was talking about the top of the 7th. The Vaqueros came to the plate trailing 5-2 when KORBIN KRUGER and MILES REAGAN ripped back-to-back doubles. One out later ANDY HALE singled to make it a one-run game. MATT EICHELBERGER pinch ran for Hale and immediately stole second with two outs.

But the Matadors’ Acosta shut the Vaqueros down when CRAIG LEAVITT lined out to left field to end the game.

Kruger, who has hit safely in his last 11 games, was 3-for-4 for the Vaqueros.

“No question, he’s our hottest hitter right now.”

HELIX 5, SANTANA 4 – COLE HOLLAND has been a winner his whole baseball life so when his Highlanders staggered out of the gate to lose six consecutive games in his 7th season as head coach, he had to be scratching his head for answers.

Some coaches might just write of the season as, well, we’re really not that good.

Not Holland. He doesn’t believe that any team he coaches is going to fall on its face.

Buoyed by some quality pitching from MIKE LOPEZ and MIKE ORTIZ, and some clutch hitting in the early going, the Highlanders posted their fourth win in five starts during Tuesday’s (Apr. 1) opening round of the Grossmont North-South Tournament.

At the outset it appeared that Santana, the No. 9 ranked team in the SDCIF, was prepped for a runaway win. CHRIS RABICHAUD opened the game with a double and RYAN STUTZ singled to put runners at the corners with one out. KYLE HAYES hoisted a sacrifice fly to score Rabichaud and BRANDYN BELL followed with a 2-run homer.

Unlike in past games, the Highlanders fought back immediately. Of course, Santana starter JAMES NEEDY aided the Helix cause by hitting BRONSON RUNIONS and walked JEFF ROSENTHAL. Two outs later, with runners at second and third, CHASE GLENN extended his hitting streak to seven games with a 2-run single.

But the Highlanders weren’t through. VINCE CRISE walked and DAVID DOANE singled to tie the game 3-3 in the opening frame.

Santana added to its own demise by booting an infield grounder and allowing the Highlanders to take a one-run lead after one inning.

Helix returned the favor by booting an infield grounder with the bases loaded in the top of the 2nd to tie the game again. The game remained deadlocked until the 5th inning.

Rosenthal keyed the winning rally with a base hit in the bottom of the 5th inning. He moved up 90 feet on ANTHONY DIAZ’s sacrifice bunt. With two outs Glenn singled to put runners at the corners.

Santana kicked an infield grounder to allow Rosenthal to score the decisive run.

“It was great, it was a good win for our team,” said Holland. “We made four errors but MIKE LOPEZ pitched his butt off for us today. He kept us in the game. Any time you beat a Top 10 team it’s a good day. Ortiz came in the game in the 7th inning and faced the heart of the order and did a good job to get his first save.”

STEELE CANYON 10, EL CAJON VALLEY 2 – Steele Canyon coach TODD SNYDER is leading his Cougars into their third tournament and he’s hoping for more positive results. The Cougars (7-4) came out swinging against visiting El Cajon Valley in Tuesday’s (Apr. 1) first round of the Grossmont North-South Tournament.

Freshman JESSE JENNER drove in three runs with a triple, a single and a sacrifice fly as the Cougars claimed a 5-0 lead after five innings and breezed to the finish line after that.

Leadoff batter JORDAN HINDI also enjoyed a profitable day for the Cougars with the bat with three hits, three runs scored and a pair of RBI. Hindi’s RBI double keyed a 3-run third inning that broke a scoreless tie. Jenner and DANNY MacINTYRE also chipped in with run-scoring singles in that frame.

In the 4th inning after Jenner’s sacrifice fly made it 4-0, senior DONNIE FRANK rapped an RBI single, extending his current hitting streak to 11 games. Frank is no flash in the pan as he is riding a 16-game hitting streak dating back to the final five games of last season.

“It was a good way to start off a fresh tournament,” said Snyder. “We have been frustrated in the past two tournaments. I’m hoping in this new tournament that we finish well.”

NOLAN MURRAY is doing his best as he went 3-for-3 with three runs scored and three stolen bases for the Cougars.

“We need to continue to work on the small things and to execute,” Snyder said. “We are playing more as a cohesive unit. The players are recognizing some of our strengths and want to build up their weaknesses. They want to be complete baseball players.”

El Cajon Valley (8-6) avoided a shutout in the 6th inning as ABEL CERVANTES extended his hitting streak to nine games with a leadoff single and stole second base. He scored on a base hit by GAVINO PINAL.

ANTHONY VROLIJK drove in El Cajon Valley ’s final run in the 7th inning with a single that extended his hitting streak to 10 games.

“I definitely saw something different in El Cajon Valley,” said Snyder. “The last time I played El Cajon Valley we faced JOE KENNEDY (in the mid-1990s). They have got athletes at their school. I’m impressed with El Cajon Valley ’s starting pitcher (ADRIAN PADILLA).”

Despite the lop-sided score El Cajon Valley did have some positives.

DAVID SANCHEZ was 2-for-3 with a double and CAMERON LAUDERMILK had a triple.

“I’m just trying to get them back on track for the rest of the season,” said El Cajon Valley coach MIKE RUPP. “We’re still climbing the hill.”

SAN DIEGO JEWISH ACADEMY 9, FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 5 – Albeit a fledgling baseball program, the Knights of Foothill Christian continue to show improvement.

In Tuesday’s (Apr. 1) Citrus West League action the Knights celebrated their first ever triple play (4-3-2) despite suffering a tough loss to San Diego Jewish Academy.

In the bottom of the 1st inning, the Lions loaded the bases with nobody out. Michael Fagan blooped a shot to second base on a hit-and-run play. The Knights’ JOE CANTER made the catch for the first out and fired to MATT DELMORE for the second out. Delmore fired to catcher IAN MURPHY, who ran the Lions runner back to third base and tagged him a couple of feet in front of the bag.

That was a huge emotional lift for Foothills Christian, which has not played for nearly two weeks.

The Knights took a 4-0 lead in the 3rd inning, but SDJA countered with six in the same frame. Foothills was forced to play catch-up the rest of the way.

“We did not hit particularly well today,” said Foothills Christian coach JAMES McHUGH. “We saw the ball decently and we did not have a lot of strikeouts (6), but we really did not hit the ball hard more than a handful of times.”

On the defensive side Foothills Christian committed only one miscue.

“HENRY LUSCHEI was great at third base and I think Delmore probably had one of the best defensive games of his career,” McHugh said. “Matt made a few huge saves for us today.”

DEREK DEYLING was 2-for-4 for the Knights, extending his hitting streak to six games.

Murphy was 1-for-4 with an RBI which extended his personal batting streak to 12 games dating back to last season.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (4-01-08) — MIKE MITCHELL doesn’t claim to be a magician. But the Christian High baseball coach did make a bit of a hunch pay dividends in Monday’s (Mar. 31) City Conference Tournament game against St. Augustine at Hickman Field.

Mitchell assigned freshman utilityman MICHAEL POTEET to start at third base and bat cleanup. A tall order for the 5-foot-10, 160-pound Patriots yearling, considering Poteet entered the game with only three hits in 20 at-bats.

“He’s been swinging the bat well the last couple of games,” Mitchell insisted.

Poteet made his coach look good as he drove in 6 runs with a pair of doubles and a single helping Christian outslug St. Augustine, 12-8. That victory not only raised Christian’s record to 10-3 overall, it assured the Patriots a berth in Saturday’s (Apr. 5) tournament semifinals at Cathedral at 10 a.m.

Once again Christian followed its modus operandi, jumping out to a 6-0 advantage by the 4th inning only to hand the Saints (8-6) five unearned runs to create an 8-8 tie in the bottom of the 6th inning.

Poteet played a major role in Christian’s 4-run rally in the 7th inning. Credit (or discredit) St. Augustine for fueling that late-inning uprising. The Saints offered two walks and a pair of hit batters to give Christian a 9-8 edge. Then it was Poteet’s turn, as he cleared the bases with a 3-run double to center field.

Patriots junior right-hander BRAD ROBERTSON, who was victimized by some shoddy play an inning earlier, held on to post his San Diego CIF-leading 6th victory.

The Saints put up a fight though. Carlos Carriedo and Alex Perry began the bottom of the 7th with back-to-back singles. Robertson then worked a full count on Alan Aguilar. Robertson has been a magic man for the Patriots all season, but he did his best Houdini in this situation.

It was quite a turnaround, considering Robertson was only one ball away from bringing the tying run to the plate with nobody out. But then when you’re 6-0 with a 3.10 ERA, the breaks tend to go your way.

Christian hosts Hoover in the final round of pool play on Wednesday (Apr. 2). That game has no bearing on the Patriots’ fate in the City Conference Tournament.