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© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (5-22-09) — Battling pitch-for-pitch against an opponent already with a ticket to San Diego State next season, Christian High right-hander CODY POTEET was officially placed on a variety of college watch lists Thursday (May 21).

The Patriots freshman yielded just three basehits all afternoon, but Mira Mesa senior Justin Bellez did even better, as his 1-hit shutout was enough to clinch the Eastern League pennant outright in a 1-0 nailbiter at Christian.

"It might have been the most well-pitched game I've ever seen in my life at this level," said Patriots coach MIKE MITCHELL. "Bellez has the best slider I have ever seen from a pitcher his age."

Many of Mitchell's ballplayers would have to agree.

Bellez retired the first 14 batters he faced, finishing with 11 strikeouts. The lone hit was from the No. 9 spot in the order, when Patriots right-fielder MICHAEL STOWERS flared a basehit over the head of the Mira Mesa second baseman with one out in the 6th inning.

Otherwise, Bellez was considered unhittable in leading the Marauders to their second staright Eastern crown.

"I knew what was on the line and I gave my all," said Bellez. "The fact that St. Augustine lost the other day gave us the opportunity to win it ourselves. And I had my good stuff and felt confident."

Good stuff? Try outstanding, especially a slider which buckled several Patriots hitters.

"He would get behind 2-0 then he would throw a slider that would start at our hitters' hands, then just drop," explained Mitchell, pointing toward the outside of the plate to visually describe the tremendous movement on Bellez' slider. "It was totally untouchable."

"He was enjoyable to watch as much as it hurts to lose. It's really neat to see a kid pitch when he can dominate like he did."

The lone run, as expected in a pitcher's duel, came in less than exciting fashion.

A sacrifice fly by Dillon Haupt brought home A.C. Herrera, who walked, then moved around on a Julian Figueroa basehit and a wild pitch.

Stowers helped keep the ballgame scoreless in the 4th inning.

Haupt, a second-generation Marauder and nephew of 1984 SDCIF boys basketball player of the year Mike Haupt, reached third base following his walk, then an error and another walk to load the bases. He tried to come home on a fly ball to right, however, Stowers zinged a Poteet-like strike to Patriots catcher MICHAEL GRUBER for the inning-ending double play.

Both ballclubs were impressed with their opponents.

"I'm shocked and surprised how good Christian is, being a Division IV school, but I'm glad I was up for the challenge," added Bellez. "I tip my hat to the kid -- he's a great pitcher with a lot of potential in him and I look forward to seeing good things from him."

At San Diego State, Bellez is expected to take the place of former Valhalla High pitcher RYAN O'SULLIVAN, who could move up to the position to be vacated when STEPHEN STRASBURG gets selected early in the Major League Baseball first-year player draft next month.

And Poteet holds expectations of following a similar course.

"Right now, I'm just trying to stay healthy and go wherever God takes me," Poteet noted. "I want to play in the Big Leagues someday, but right now I'm trying to get a (college) scholarship -- but I want to go higher than that."

Right now, the Patriots' attention is eyeing next week's SDCIF playoffs.

"If we can compete like this, we can win our division," noted Poteet. "There's nobody who can play like that (Mira Mesa) in Division IV, there's no pitcher that throws like Bellez in Division IV."

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (5-21-09) — They had a head coaching change at Grossmont High School this season. The Foothillers also lost the majority of their starters that set a San Diego CIF record by capturing an unprecedented four consecutive Division II championships.

Sure, JIM EARLEY, who took over at the Hiller helm, was no neophyte when it comes to Grossmont High baseball. An alum himself, Earley also spent the last 15 seasons as an assistant coach in debatably the SDCIF’s most successful baseball program in the past decade.

After an 8-1 beginning of Earley’s inaugural season, the Foothillers – who were tabbed to finish second behind El Capitan – started to sputter. Grossmont suffered losing streaks of three and four games, which nearly derailed their playoff aspirations.

However, when you have pitchers the caliber of veterans LEVI STEVENS and AARON GRIFFIN along with newcomers STEVEN BRAULT and NICK GASPAR, there is always a chance to rebound.

And so the Foothillers have. Finishing the season with seven straight victories, Grossmont celebrated its fourth straight GNL title and now has eyes for a 5th consecutive SDCIF Division II crown.

Criticized for not having much firepower, the Foothillers (21-9, 10-2 GHL) proved that they are a little bit underestimated when it comes to swinging the bat. The Hillers battered three El Capitan pitchers for 18 hits in Wednesday’s (May 20) regular season finale at Joe Gizoni Field, clobbering the Vaqueros 16-4.

Griffin proved to be a double threat as he pitched six innings against the Vaqueros to post his 7th win without a loss.

“I mixed it up,” said the 6-foot-5, 195-pound senior. “El Cap is a good fastball hitting team. I threw a lot of curveballs and stayed ahead of the count most of the game.”

While Griffin was effective pitching, he gouged the Vaqueros with his bat, clubbing his 3rd and 4th home runs while finishing 3-for-5 with 6 RBI.

“I really do love to hit, especially when I am pitching,” Griffin said. “I didn’t get to hit much last year so it’s nice to swing the bat now. My first home run was a fastball I hit to right center. The second homer was a curveball I was able to pull to left field. It’s nice to have some home runs with runners on base. Our first three games with El Cap we hit six solo home runs.”

In Wednesday’s finale Brault belted a 3-run homer, while CONOR MEREDITH and WILL SOTO each hit a solo shot.

“It boosted our team morale to go out with a bang against El Capitan ,” said Brault, who fouled five more pitches on a 3-2 count before he hit his rocket on the 11th pitch. “On my home run I was up and fouling pitches off – I finally got a changeup I could handle and hit it out in right center. Playing behind Aaron is nice. When he’s pitching it sure makes our job easier. I have been in a little slump lately; it’s nice to pull out of it today.”

El Capitan countered with a solo home run by TANNER RUST in the 6th inning.

“This was a good finish to the regular part of our season,” Earley said. “We did everything well – pitched well, played good defense. We hit the heck out of the ball, 1 through 9.

“I’ve been telling the kids all year we might not hit 10 home runs as a team. They let me know this week we have 27 home runs. It’s a tribute to their hard work. We found a lot of guys that can get it done.”

No wonder Earley is excited about the postseason.

“It looks like we’re going to be the No. 1 seed,” Earley said confidently. “Back in January or February I wasn’t sure of that. We played a tough schedule though and we deserve it.”

El Capitan’s STEVE VICKERY just hopes to make the playoffs.

“Grossmont just proved to our kids why they are the league champs,” Vickery said. “They made quality pitches and had quality at-bats. That was the difference in our clubs today. Their bats have woken up in the second half of the season, and their pitching throughout the season gave their bats a chance to mature.”

Vickery doffed his cap to Earley.

“Jim had a plan, had some things he wanted to bring into the club. I’m impressed with the way he has handled his club,” Vickery said.

STEELE CANYON 7, MOUNT MIGUEL 3 – The season was hardly a week old when DANNY MacINTYRE suffered a broken hand. That malady was not only upsetting to MacIntyre – one of the Cougars’ top hitters – it also caused second-year head coach TODD SNYDER to shuffle his pitching staff.

Keep in mind that MacIntyre’s primary position is third base for the two-time Grossmont South League champion Steele Canyon Cougars. But MacIntyre had also figured into the pitching plans prior to his injury.

“Not having Danny available to pitch for at least half – or more – of the season caused us to look elsewhere,” Snyder admitted.

MacIntyre seems to have regained his grip on the baseball. The 6-foot, 175-pound senior pitched his best game of the year in Wednesday’s (May 20) GSL regular season finale against Mount Miguel in Spring Valley .

He limited the Matadors to three hits, walked none and struck out 11 in a complete game performance.

“Mac threw the baseball very well,” Snyder said. “He couldn’t find a better time to be getting back to his old self.”

Pitching is definitely a Steele Canyon strength, which bodes well for the Cougars, who will most likely earn the No. 1 seed in the Division II playoffs.

Asked which of his two GSL championship teams has been the strongest, Snyder hesitated for a second then said, “They both have different strengths. When we won it for the first time last year – after having been picked to finish third – I guess you could say was the most satisfying.”

But Snyder admits that being able to repeat as the defending champion is probably more challenging.

“You certainly don’t sneak up on anybody,” he said. “I think we saw everybody’s No. 1 (pitcher) in almost every game this year.”

Having good fortune doesn’t hurt, either. The Cougars scored three runs in the 1st inning at Mount Miguel with only one hit that didn’t figure into the scoring.

Mount Miguel pitcher JULIO ORTIZ, who hit five batters in as many innings, plunked three in the opening frame. All three of them came around to score.

The Matadors scored single runs in the 1st and 5th innings on a Steele Canyon throwing error and a dropped pop fly.

In spite of the fast start, Snyder acknowledged that even though his team led 3-2 after five innings, his heart was beating a little faster than normal.

In the 6th inning Steele Canyon (21-7, 12-3 GSL) finally took command of the game. BRAD BOEHMKE keyed the 3-run rally with a lead double. He advanced to third on MICHAEL WINTER’s ground out and scored on MICHAEL CASTRO’s single.

The Cougars lowered the hammer on the Matadors (8-21, 2-13 GSL) when pinch hitter ANDREW BELLATTI belted a 2-run home run to provide MacIntyre with a fatter cushion and Snyder with a little more oxygen.

Both teams scored single tallies in the final frame, with Mount Miguel ’s score coming on RUDDY ACOSTA’s leadoff triple.

Wabbit Hunting

It's rabbit season for Valhalla's Bryce Mosier. (Photo by Mark A. Gonzales)

Granite Hills Eagles at Valhalla Norsemen (Slideshow by Mark A. Gonzales)

Turns out the Eagles’ title hopes were pure folly. A pipe dream.

Valhalla (11-18, 7-8 GSL) fused together four doubles, two singles, a walk and a hit batsman into a 7-run 4th inning that broke a 1-1 tie and forced the Eagles (15-13, 10-5 GSL) to accept second place.

Meanwhile, Steele Canyon skipped past Mount Miguel 7-3 to lock up its second straight GSL title in as many seasons.

Valhalla sophomore BRYCE MOSIER’s three-run double was a knockout blow in the big inning for the Norsemen, who believe they are longshot to snag a berth in the San Diego CIF Division II playoffs. The playoff pairings will be announced on Saturday (May 23).

CISCO TELLEZ, a sophomore southpaw who missed the majority of his pitching turns due to injury this season, unleashed his finest outing of the year to deny Granite Hills. He escaped a 1st inning jam when BRIAN CARROLL doubled, stole third and DYLAN GARCIA walked and swiped a base, putting two runners in scoring position. Tellez served up two groundball outs and a strike out to leave the Eagles wanting.

A walk and a pair of throwing errors gave Granite Hills a game-tying run in the 3rd inning. The Eagles have not been blanked all season.

“Today I came out with the same attitude I’ve had in the past two or three games, pounded the zone and let my defense work behind me,” said Tellez, who posted his first win in five decisions. “My 2-seamer was getting guys to roll over, chop it into the ground.”

Tellez allowed only two hits and no earned runs while striking out four.

“I’m hoping we can get into the playoffs because we have a great group of seniors and I don’t want them to go out like this.” Tellez said. “I don’t want this to be their last game.”

It was a long day for Granite Hills, which stranded eight base runners – 5 in scoring position. Lead off hitter BRIAN CARROLL reached in all four of his at-bats for the Eagles, scoring his club’s lone tally after a walk in the 3rd.

Despite seeing his team lose for the first time in its last six starts, Granite Hills coach JAMES DAVIS believes his Eagles are playoff caliber. His problem is the Eagles are vying for a playoff position against the SDCIF Division I giants.

“I think we are playing pretty good, not boxing the ball the way we were a few games ago,” Davis said. “We’ve been swinging it well, but just kind of ran into a buzzsaw today. Then we started pressing a little bit when we got down.”

But what about those playoffs?

“I think we’ve got a chance to do well,” Davis said. “La Costa Canyon was seeded No. 11 (out of 12) last year and they made it all the way to the finals. So that’s something we can look at. I think we’ll be seeded 10 or 11, so who knows what we can do.”

The Usual Suspects

Senior Day for the Valhalla Norsemen. (Photo by Mark A. Gonzales)

Even coach COLE HOLLAND, now in his 8th season, had his doubts whether the Highlanders could turn things around.

Perhaps Holland underestimates his own talent to bring out the best in his players.

Sure, Helix was right on the verge of winning the Grossmont South League title, but came up short. But the Highlanders managed to finish 19-11 overall and tied with Granite Hills for second place in the Grossmont South.

Closing the regular season with a resounding victory over visiting Monte Vista on Wednesday (May 20) was something that Holland stressed to his players as one of the most important games of the season.

“It was a game we had to win,” said Holland , who hopes the Highlanders can draw a first round bye. To earn the precious bye means Helix has to be included in the Top 4 seeds. “We have good momentum going into the playoffs. We picked a good time to turn things around. Last year we were 8-19 and this year we’re 19-11.”

Helix wasted little time in making its intentions known, hooking together back-to-back 4-run innings to take an 8-0 lead over Monte Vista after two frames.

That was more than enough for Helix starter DYLAN NICKERSON (8-2) and reliever MICHAEL ANDRADE. Nickerson celebrated his 8th win in 10 decisions, blanking the Monarchs on two hits over four innings. Andrade finished the job to pick up his second save.

Arguably the key offensive blow for the Highlanders was ANTHONY DIAZ’ 2nd inning grand slam.

“I’ve been working on my swing very hard,” said Diaz. “I had two strikes on me so I was just trying to hit the ball where it was pitched. (NICK SABO) gave me a fastball down the middle and I hit it good. Today was a turnaround game. Dylan was on top of his game today. He threw a lot of strikes and coaxed a lot of ground balls. It was fun to play behind him today. I can’t wait for playoffs – I think we have a good chance to win.”

It was a relatively easy day for Nickerson, who usually finishes what he starts, as evidenced by his seven complete games.

“I was able to get all my pitches working today,” said Nickerson. “I was a little off early, had several 3-ball counts, but was able to make key pitches when I had to. It was nice to get an early lead. I was able to concentrate on just throwing strikes. I’m happy with an 8-2 record.”

Of course he’d like to tack on a trio of post-season victories if given the chance.

WEST HILLS 6, EL CAJON VALLEY 2 – The way West Hills third-year coach CHRIS BAUM sees it his Wolf Pack squad is worthy of a position in the San Diego CIF Division II playoffs.

The Pack finished with wins in five of its final six regular season games to tie El Capitan for third place in the Grossmont North League at 6-6. A big plus for West Hills is it won two of the three league meetings from the Vaqueros.

“Our hands are in the fate of the baseball gods now,” Wolf Pack coach CHRIS BAUM said.

El Cajon Valley almost took matters into its own hands, forging to a 2-0 lead after 2½ innings.

The Braves (1-26, 0-12 GNL) broke a scoreless tie in the 2nd inning when DAVID SANCHEZ doubled and scored on a single by GAVINO PINAL.

Sanchez came up big again in the 3rd with an RBI single, putting the Braves in a primary position to be spoilers.

West Hills refused to roll over, realizing that if it did, it’s season would be over. The Pack cut the Braves’ advantage in half in 3rd inning on a double by CHRIS ALLEN and a basehit by SAM LINDAHL.

With one out in the 4th, ROBBY ROBLES hammered his first home run of the season over the right-center field fence, giving West Hills a 3-2 edge. A bases-loaded single by Allen made it 4-2 with three innings remaining.

West Hills loaded the bases again in the 5th on basehits by BRENNAN TAYLOR, COLE BUDVARSON and a walk to MICHAEL LOBAUGH. Robles and KYLE HOOPER followed with back-to-back singles, extending West Hills’ advantage to 5-2.

The Pack tacked on one more in the 5th when Allen ripped a shot at the shortstop, who knocked the ball down but make a tardy throw to first base.

“Chris is one of the fastest guys in the county,” said Baum. “Last year at the Showcase in the 60-yard dash he ran both heats under seven seconds.”

The Knights clouted a series of three inside-the-park home runs, including a pair by third baseman JOE CANTOR, to paste the host Royal Knights in Wednesday's (May 20) Citrus West League contest held at Olympian High.

The contest was called in the top of the 4th inning, after Foothills Christian had scored four times and still had the bases loaded with no one out; Calvary Christian waved the white flag and offered its resignation.

The field at Olympian is located on a plot of land that paces to approximately 500-feet by 480-feet, with left field enclosed by a designer fence (not the type used for athletic competition), while right field ends with a 10-foot dirt bluff which climbs to the Olympian fastpitch softball diamond.

In other words, there is plenty of room for the ball to roll and roll.

Cantor went racehorse for a 2-run homer in the 2nd, then added a 3-run drive in the 4th. In between, he walked with the bases loaded to complete a 6-RBI performance.

Also between Cantor's sprints, No. 8 hitter DILLON WALSH posted his own inside-the-park scamper around the bases in the 3rd, when Foothills scored nine times to expand its lead to 15-5 to give the Knights a sweep of the home-and-home series between the schools.

Walsh was matched by No. 9 hitting ZACH CUMMINGS, the catcher, with a pair of RBI, as the bottom third of the Knights batting order continues their torrid pace. The trio, which included A.J. HOFFMAN, went a composite 5-for-9 with four runs and five RBI.

Meanwhile, TRAVIS GEORGE and JR ATTERBURY each batted 3-for-4, as Foothills collected 20 hits in 3-plus innings in officially clinching second place in the CWL standings.

© East County Sports.com
MIRA MESA (5-20-09) — Christian High’s flickering chance of earning a share of the Eastern League championship was snuffed out by host Mira Mesa Tuesday afternoon (May 19).

Patriots coach MIKE MITCHELL didn’t pinpoint why Christian’s title hopes went up in smoke, but he had plenty of choices. Leaving the bases loaded in three different innings was the first thing that popped into Mitchell’s mind.

“That’s something we’ve been doing all year,” he mused after Mira Mesa escaped with a 9-8 victory. Four errors by the Patriots handed the Marauders (19-9, 8-3 EL) an additional four unearned runs.

Thanks to Scripps Ranch’s 7-6 win over St. Augustine on Tuesday, Mira Mesa owns a one-game lead in the league with one game remaining. That regular season finale will be played on Thursday (May 21) at Christian (15-10, 6-5 EL) at 3 p.m.

In their first go-round with Mira Mesa, the Patriots were down 5-0 before they could get an out in the 1st inning. It was 6-0 after two frames.

“And that was after we loaded the bases in the 2nd inning with nobody out and then had three guys strike out in a row,” Mitchell said.

Christian thundered back in the 3rd inning on the strength of two-run home runs by TAYLOR EICHHORST and CODY POTEET.

“Eichhorst hammered a shot into a strong end wind,” said Mitchell, of Eichhorst’s county-high 10th homer. “Poteet’s poke was hit pretty well as well.”

A two-base error helped Mira Mesa push across a pair of runs in the 4th inning to make it 8-4. Once again, the Patriots left the bases loaded in the top of that inning.

Christian kept pecking away with three runs in the 6th inning. Once again, the Patriots loaded the bases with nobody out. JOSH WOLFSON drew a walk to force in a run and MICHAEL GRUBER’s RBI single cut the deficit to 9-6. A Mira Mesa error allowed another run to score. Still, there were no outs with the bases loaded.

“We just couldn’t get that key hit,” said Mitchell, who saw the Patriots leave the sacks full for the third time.

A one-out double by SHAUN DAY gave Christian one last chance in the 7th. A two-out error by Mira Mesa allowed Day to score and left Wolfson at second base with the tying run. And that’s where Wolfson would be when the game ended.

“I’m not saying we should have won it, but I will say we could have won it,” Mitchell said.

Now it’s back to playing spoiler for the Patriots who send undefeated freshman phenom Cody Poteet against Mira Mesa in the regular season finale.

Day paced the Patriots with three hits and three runs scored. Haupt hoisted his 9th home run and a double while raising his RBI total to 41 to guide Mira Mesa.

© East County Sports.com
LAKESIDE (5-19-09) — About three weeks ago, Grossmont first-year head coach JIM EARLEY wasn’t sure whether his Foothillers had enough firepower to continue what has been a Foothillers tradition. Both Santana and El Capitan were believed to have better chances at capturing the Grossmont North League title than Earley’s youthful Foothillers.

Two weeks ago it appeared that Santana had a lock on the league title. Three straight losses and four out of five setbacks down the stretch cost Santana its chance of being league champion.

Regardless of what Grossmont does in Wednesday’s (May 20) finale against El Capitan, the Foothillers will reign as league champions for the fourth consecutive season with thoughts of shooting for an unprecedented fifth straight SDCIF Division II crown.

EL CAPITAN 4, SANTANA 2 – An overpowering relief pitching performance by ANTHONY VIGIL, who was celebrating his 17th birthday on Monday (May 18), allowed El Capitan to spoil Santana’s bid for the GNL championship.

This was no small task, considering the Vaqueros (15-12, 6-5 GNL) scored four runs in the 1st inning and then sacked up the bats. It was all up to senior starter CAMERON MACKY and Vigil from then on.

Vigil blanked the Sultans on one hit over the final 3 2/3 innings to earn his 6th win in nine decisions.

“I thought we came out ready to play,” said El Capitan coach STEVE VICKERY. “My hat’s off to Vigil. He came into the game in the 4h inning and pounded the strike zone with quality strikes. He has done a great job for us – he’s had a great year. He has pitched in over half of our ballgames.”

El Capitan received two clutch hits in the 1st inning – a two-run double by CRAIG LEAVITT down the left-field line and a two-run single to left by KORBIN KRUGER.

Scoring four runs against Santana junior KYLE HAYES in a week is rare; to do it in one inning is almost unheard of. Hayes also supplied half of Santana’s offense with a solo home run in the 1st inning.

Hayes sparked the Sultans’ 3rd inning rally with a two-out single to right. DALLAS SEIDEL singled up the middle and JAMES NEEDY walked to load the bases. PRESTON CULVER then singled to left, scoring Hayes.

ZACH BREIDT hit a ball that appeared to be headed up the middle for a game-tying basehit. It didn’t happen. Vaqueros second baseman KYLE MILLS made a headlong dive to catch it, hopped up and tossed the ball to shortstop TYRONE WIGGINS for an inning-ending double play.

“That was the turning point of the game,” Vickery said. “It got us out of a bases loaded jam.”

The regular season is over for Santana, which at one time, had a chance to be the No. 2 seed in the SDCIF Division III playoffs. Who knows where the Sultans will light when the playoff pairings are drawn up on Saturday (May 23).

“We had a chance to get back into it and just couldn’t get anything going,” said Sultans coach JERRY HENSON. “It’s been that way for a couple of weeks. We are just are not hitting as a group. Hitting is contagious; I guess not hitting is contagious, too. We’ll take a little time off and get back after it. We’ve got to refocus.”

GRANITE HILLS 11, STEELE CANYON 6 – There was obviously tension in the air from the previous two games between these two Grossmont South League rivals. But those who came to see more fireworks in Monday’s (May 18) rubber game between these two were probably disappointed.

What took place at Granite Hills on this day was all baseball.

For the host Granite Hills Eagles (15-12, 10-4 GSL), the victory left the door open for a possible GSL co-championship.

No. 9 ranked Steele Canyon (20-7, 11-3 GSL) has already locked up at least a share of the league laurels, but must beat Mount Miguel in Wednesday’s (May 20) regular season finale to win the Grossmont South outright for the second straight year.

“It was a good East County showdown, and we were able to prevail today,” said Eagles coach JAMES DAVIS. “We still have an outside chance but we have to beat our big rival Valhalla on Wednesday.”

The Eagles and Norsemen have split their previous two games.

Trailing 5-4 entering the bottom of the 5th inning, Granite Hills scored six runs to take control of the game. TRAVIS HOPPER, who hit two home runs in the Eagles’ previous game, drilled a grand slam home run to break open a one-run game. Hopper had not previously hit a home run during his three-year career.

Freshman DANIEL STARWALT and senior reliever DEAN MILLER handled the pitching for the Eagles, with Miller earning his 5th win in eight decisions.

Perhaps the most surprising factor in the game was Granite Hills’ ability to batter Steele Canyon ace ANDREW BELLATTI for nine runs and nine hits over 4 1/3 innings.

JARED HUNT, who missed the first half of the season due to a hip injury, has come on to be one of the Eagles’ top hitters. He was 4-for-4 with a double, a home run and three runs scored against the Cougars. That effort raised his season average to .400.

CLAYTON ROYER was 2-for-4 with three RBI for the Cougars.

Steele Canyon can nullify anything that Granite Hills does by winning Wednesday’s finale at Mount Miguel.

VALHALLA 2, HELIX 1 (11 inn.) – It’s been a wacky season for the Valhalla Norsemen. When the campaign began pitching was regarded to be the Norsemen’s strength. Of course that’s been tradition at Valhalla. But early-season injuries to the starting staff suddenly created a different look

The majority of the year Valhalla has come out swinging, scoring as many as 11 runs in seven games. In Monday’s (May 18) Grossmont South League contest it was back to vintage Valhalla. It was all about pitching.

After nine scoreless innings the visiting Helix Highlanders (18-11, 9-5 GSL), who still had eyes for the GSL championship, took a 1-0 lead in the 10th. BRONSON RUNIONS doubled and advanced to third on JAKE REED’s single.

Valhalla sophomore reliever NINO TUTINO struck out the next Highlander and intentionally walked ANTHONY DIAZ to load the bases. ARMANDO RODRIGUEZ drove in Runions with a sacrifice fly to centerfield.

Saddled with the spoiler’s role, Valhalla fought back to tie in the bottom of the 10th. With one out BRYCE MOSIER, who was 3-for-3 in the game, doubled and scored on single by CISCO TELLEZ.

And the game continued into the 11th.

Once again the Norsemen staged a one-out rally. JOSH AUSTEL singled and advanced to third when the Highlanders muffed a ground ball by JOHN AGUIRRE-RUIZ. MATT GONZALES walked to load the bases and Helix reliever MIKE LOPEZ then plunked ANTHONY GONZALES with a pitch to allow Austel to score the winning run.

"Today was a great day to watch baseball,” said Valhalla coach MIKE WILSON. “It was a great pitchers’ duel with (DANNY) HAWKSLEY and Reed throwing today. They both had good stuff and were lights out."

Hawksley, whom Wilson was hoping would be his closer when the season began, was forced into a starting pitcher’s role due to injuries of some his teammates. The junior right-hander limited the Highlanders to four hits while striking out six in seven shutout innings.

Tutino, who began the season on the junior varsity, rationed the Highlanders to two hits, one run and struck out four as he registered his first varsity victory.

"I couldn't be happier with the performance we got from Danny, but was also very pleased with the outing we got from Nino today,” Wilson added. “He stepped up and jumped right in the mix and was outstanding. He gave us 4 solid innings today."

"It looked like we were falling into the same pattern of leaving guys on base, but we finally got some timely hits to link together and were able score."

Helix’ offense sputtered throughout.

“We had some opportunities, just didn’t take advantage of them,” said Highlanders’ coach COLE HOLLAND. “We just didn’t do a good job offensively. We had bases loaded in the 6th inning and nobody out, and couldn’t score a run. We didn’t deserve to win this game.”

Reed has thrown 14 consecutive scoreless innings.

MOUNT MIGUEL 7, MONTE VISTA 5 – Neither of these Spring Valley teams is going to the playoffs. But that hasn’t curbed their spirit as they proved in Monday’s (May 18) Grossmont South League game.

“We’re making these last few games seem like our playoff games,” Mount Miguel coach BYRON GRIGSBY said. “(Pitcher) EDUARDO HIGUERA was our star today.”

Higuera was a double threat. At the plate, he was 3-for-3 with four RBI. On the mound he pitched 4 1/3 innings as he logged his second win in eight decisions.

“His hits were all key blows,” Grigsby said. “He pitched outstanding baseball today. He worked out of some difficult spots. I’m proud of his effort.”

An RBI single by Higuera gave Mount Miguel a 1-0 advantage in the 2nd inning. He slugged a two-run double in the 4th inning and singled another tally in the 6th.

“The team was really fired up today,” Higuera said. “We wanted to come out and leave some momentum in these last few games for next year’s team. It felt like a playoff game out there. I love to bat when I’m pitching. It keeps me really involved in the game. It was nice to have all those runners on base when I batted.”

Higuera said his curveball was his best pitch today. He also praised teammates RUDY BURRUEL for pitching 2 2/3 innings of clutch relief to earn the save.

“Rudy Burruel pitched great when he took over for me,” Higuera said. “I was really cheering for him from out in left field when he was out there pitching.”

GROSSMONT 20, EL CAJON VALLEY 3 – For the third time is as many Grossmont North League meetings, the Foothillers turned in a rout of the El Cajon Valley Braves.

Grossmont (20-9, 9-2), which outscored the Braves by a composite 55-6, broke open Monday’s (May 18) final meeting with a 10-run 2nd inning. Two-run doubles by CONOR MEREDITH and LEVI STEVENS and a 2-run single by DANIEL FORD were the key blows in the big inning.

“It was kind of rough today because we didn’t play last Friday and now we have to play El Capitan on Wednesday,” said Grossmont coach JIM EARLEY. “The kids played well today although I don’t think we were ready to play at the beginning of the game. Every game we’ve played on a Monday has been a challenge. They usually are a struggle.”

This one was no exception as the Braves took a 1-0 lead in the 1st inning. ABEL CERVANTES opened the inning with a walk and scampered to third on NERLIN CARREON’s hit-and-run single. Cervantes eventually scored on a stolen base.

After that it was all Grossmont. One of the key blows for the Foothillers was a pinch-hit 3-run home run by KEVIN KLEIS in the 7th inning.

Thirteen Foothillers contributed to Grossmont’s 22-hit attack.

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 15, CV-CALVARY CHRISTIAN 3 — Perhaps Knights head coach STEVE PERDUE should re-think the arrangement of the Knights' batting order after the bottom third again produced big numbers in Monday's (May 18) Citrus West League ballgame.

After going a combined 6-for-12 with five RBI in the team's previous victory over San Diego Jewish Academy, the "Not Ready for the Top of the Lineup" players went a composite 7-for-16 with 5 RBI and seven runs to whip the visiting Royal Knights at Stars Field.

The teams complete their home-and-home series -- and the regular season -- on Wednesday (May 20) at Olympian High.

After a walk and a pair of hit batsmen loaded the bases in the 1st inning, the south-siders delivered to propel Foothills Christian to a fast lead.

JR ATTERBURY, who would get the pitching win with four solid innings, grounded to the right side to get the first run home. DEREK DEYLING followed with a 2-run double, DILLON WALSH doubled home another, then BRANDON JAROSIN's RBI basehit made it 5-0.

Jarosin later scored on a four-base play, hitting a triple to right field. But when the throw to third base skipped into the dugout, the Knights’ left-fielder was awarded home.

The Knights would score in all six of their at-bats, as Deyling, Jarosin and ZACH CUMMINGS all collected two hits, part of the team total of 12 safeties.

© East County Sports.com
RANCHO SAN DIEGO (5-16-09) — It’s no secret that parity has engulfed East County baseball. Seems nothing is a sure thing this season.

Heading into the final week of the regular season only one thing is certain – Steele Canyon will repeat as the Grossmont South League champion. Whether the Cougars of second-year head coach TODD SNYDER will capture this year’s pennant outright remains to be seen.

No. 9-ranked Steele Canyon (20-6, 11-2 GSL) holds a two-game lead over Helix (18-10, 9-4 GSL) and Granite Hills (14-12, 9-4 GSL) with two games remaining in the league campaign. The Eagles host SC on Monday (May 18) before closing out the regular season Wednesday (May 20) at Valhalla.

Helix has games remaining against Valhalla and Monte Vista.

Meanwhile, El Capitan (14-12, 5-5 GNL) is struggling just to earn a decent seed in the San Diego CIF Division II playoffs. While the Vaqueros hardly have an ‘E’ ticket to the postseason they surely could use a pair of wins to finish off the regular season.

On top of that, El Capitan is in position to decide whether Grossmont (19-9, 8-2) or Santana (20-7, 8-3 GNL) claims the league laurels. A co-championship is also a possibility since the Vaqueros face both contenders. Santana plays its final regular season game in Lakeside on Monday and Grossmont hosts the Vaqueros on Wednesday. Regardless of which team finishes on top, slumping El Capitan needs a sweep to stand any chance of opening the SDCIF Division II playoffs at home.

Santana, meanwhile, is fighting for a top four seed in the SDCIF Division III playoffs.

STEELE CANYON 12, MONTE VISTA 0 – The Cougars are perfect entry for the postseason playoffs. Not just because of their impressive record and back-to-back league championships, but for their consistency.

Only once have they lost as many as two games in succession and that was the second week of the season.

Steele Canyon is all but assured of drawing a first round bye, thus the Cougars should do well in the double-elimination playoffs. SC has won 13 of its last 15 games.

The Cougars received a sterling performance by junior NATHAN O’TOOLE and freshman left-hander FRANK CALIFANO in blanking the visiting Monarchs (7-18, 4-9 GSL). O’Toole surrendered just two hits in five innings as he rolled his record to 4-1. Califano, who has not allowed a hit in 4 1/3 varsity innings, finished the job.

“O’Toole needs to trust his stuff more, because he has great stuff,” Snyder said. “He needs to reach back and throw the ball. Cut loose. When he does that like he did today, he’s very effective.”

Another newcomer – sophomore left fielder JAKE WRAGG – made his varsity debut with a bang for Steele Canyon. Wragg was 2-for-4, including a grand slam in the Cougars’ 7-run 5th inning that turned the game into a blowout.

An inning later Wragg also displayed his speed. Monte Vista third baseman IVAN PARMA made a diving stop of a ball that appeared headed into left field, but Wragg beat the throw to first.

“I was happy for Wragg to be able to come up (from the junior varsity) and contribute,” Snyder said.

Clinging to a 1-0 lead, the Cougars began to pull away with three runs in the 4th inning. NOLAN MURRAY’s two-run single was the key blow. CLAYTON ROYER also pitched in with a run-scoring single.

ANDREW BELLATTI belted a two-run homer – his 6th of the season – in the 5th inning.

“Both of the home runs we hit came on 0-2 pitches,” Snyder noted.

The top third of Steele Canyon ’s batting order was a collective 8-for-14.

The Cougars were also 9-for-9 in stolen base attempts. Murray had three of those thefts.

WEST HILLS 1, SANTANA 0 – On the surface Friday’s (May 15) Grossmont North League battle of Santee was an obvious pitching duel.

The biggest play in the game, however, did not belong exclusively to the men who toe the pitching rubber. It was a heads up peg by West Hills senior catcher MICHAEL LOBAUGH that snuffed out a 7th inning comeback bid by the scrambling Sultans.

Sophomore CHRIS CAMARDA drew a leadoff walk to begin the 7th. When pinch hitter ZACH OEDEWALDT attempted to advance Camarda to second base with a sacrifice bunt, he failed to make contact on a high fastball.

“I think Camarda thought Oedewaldt put the bunt down.” West Hills coach CHRIS BAUM said.

Lobaugh knew better and fired a “backdoor” throw to first baseman COLE BUDVARSON, who slapped a successful tag on Camarda for the first out in the final frame.

“Just a great play by Lobaugh,” Baum said.

He received plenty of help from Wolf Pack reliever BRENNAN TAYLOR, who came on in relief of Budvarson in the 6th inning,

“ Taylor ’s pitch, which was in on his hands, seemed to handcuff Oedewaldt,” Baum said. “Lobaugh bounced up out of his crouch and had a clear throw to first. Camarda was out by five feet. You can’t do that any better in practice.”

Not surprisingly, that sucked all the wind out of Santana’s sails.

“Had Oedewaldt bunted successfully, (Santana) would have had the tying run at second base with one out and the top of their order coming up,” Baum said.

Santana, which has lost three of its last five, mustered only one hit – a single by MATT CHARLEBOIS – off starter Budvarson, who worked the first five frames for the win.

“It was an emotionally exhausting game,” Baum said. “I was drained when it was over.”

Less than three weeks ago West Hills (11-15, 5-6 GNL) was a team ready to sack up the bats and call it quits. Since then the Pack has bounced back to four of its last five on the field (and 5 of 6 counting a forfeit win over Otay Ranch).

“I told the boys this is a must-win for us,” Baum recalled of his pregame chat. “They wanted to see JAMES NEEDY today.”

And so they did.

Needy scattered 7 hits and allowed only one earned run, while striking out 7 and walking 4.

The only run of the game came in the 5th inning when SAM LINDAHL singled and bolted home on a double by Taylor.

“Needy is absolutely legit,” Baum said. “He has to be one of the best high school pitchers I’ve seen. When you can have Santana’s top five hitters go 0-fer you have had a really good day.”

Freshman DANIEL STARWALT led off the 6th inning by rifling a solo home run – his 6th of the season – over the left field fence to tie the score at 2-2.

Pinch hitter TRAVIS HOPPER, who has accepted a baseball scholarship to Vanguard University , drilled an RBI single in the pivotal 6th inning, giving Granite Hills a 3-2 lead it wouldn’t lose.

Helix played into the Eagles’ hands in the 6th, allowing one run to score on a error and walking in a second.

In the top of the 7th once again it was Starwalt who provided the spark with a lead-off single. DYLAN GARCIA and DEAN MILLER followed with basehits, cashing in Starwalt for a 6-2 advantage.

Freshman DOUG BRANNVALL then put the game on ice with a 2-run single.

“We keep getting a little bit better every game,” said Granite Hills coach JAMES DAVIS. “I’d like to think we’ve kinda got it going on right now.”

Miller pitched three powerful innings in relief to log his fourth win in seven decisions. He held the Highlanders to one hit and no runs while striking out four.

“Our pitchers did a good job today and there was some pretty good defense on our part,” added Davis.

The previous El Capitan record for consistency was shared by NIK GARCIA (2002) and PAUL WARDELL (1997) at 18 games apiece.

No question it was one of El Capitan ’s best offensive outputs of the season as 13 Vaqueros contributed to a 25-hit attack.

“TYRONE WIGGINS’ 4-for-5 hitting today gave him 8-for-9 on the week,” said Vaqueros coach STEVE VICKERY. “He’s really swinging a hot bat right now.”

KYLE MILLS, who bats behind Wiggins in the El Cap batting order, had a good day, going 4-for-4 with 3 runs and 3 RBI.

“He just absolutely hit the ball hard today,” said Vickery.

“I thought we had a good focus in the game, we were very disciplined at the plate,” Vickery said. “I was happy that we kept our focus.”

VALHALLA 11, MOUNT MIGUEL 4 – The traditionally pitching laden Norsemen have had to change their game focus away from the blue-chip pitching to upstart batting.

Yes, Valhalla, for a change, ranks in the upper echelon of East County batting. Trouble is the Norsemen’s injury-riddled pitchers have been unable to carry their share of the load. However, Valhalla (9-18, 5-8 GSL) used its might to muscle the Matadors (6-20, 1-20) in this one.

CISCO TELLEZ drove in three runs with a single and a double, while AUSTIN HENSLEY pushed across two tallies with a double and his third home run of the year. JOSH AUSTEL added a 2-run home run in the 4th inning.

Christian High pitcher Cody Poteet defeated Eastern League leading St. Augustine, raising his pitcher record to 7-0. The freshman also homered against the Saints. (Photo by Mike Jones)

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (5-15-09) — Few baseball aficionados expected the Christian High Patriots to make a serious run for the Eastern League pennant. However, now with two games left in the regular season, the Patriots are locked in a three-way tie for second place – one game behind co-leaders St. Augustine and Mira Mesa.

It gets better. The Patriots (15-9, 6-4 EL) close the season with games against Mira Mesa (17-9, 7-3 EL) on Tuesday (May 19) in the city and Thursday (May 21) at Christian. A sweep of the Marauders would give Christian a shot at a co-championship.

The Patriots' problem all season is they’ve split nearly every two-game league series — except a sweep over last-place Serra.

“If we wouldn’t have lost to Morse we’d be right there,” Christian coach MIKE MITCHELL said.

In their latest conquest, the Patriots’ freshman pitching phenom CODY POTEET was roughed up by the visiting Saints but held on to post his 7th win without a loss.

“No way did Cody have his best stuff,” Mitchell said. “He struggled throwing his curveball for strikes. He was behind in the count all day (as indicated by his 6 walks).”

Sophomore MICHAEL POTEET came on in the 7th inning with the bases loaded and one out to record his second save. He was supported by a game-ending double play initiated by first baseman TAYLOR EICHHORST.

“That was a great play by Eichhorst,” Mitchell said. “He made an over-the-shoulder catch of a pop fly in foul territory. The runner at third tagged and bluffed like he was coming to the plate. But he stopped. The runner at second base kept coming.”

Eichhorst fired to catcher MICHAEL GRUBER, who in turn wheeled and pegged the ball to shortstop SHAUN DAY. Day then completed the double play by tagging the Saints’ runner between second and third for the final out.

Day and Cody Poteet contributed three hits apiece to Christian’s 12-hit total. One of Poteet’s pokes was his 7th home run of the season.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (5-14-09) — Steele Canyon is finding out that repeating as Grossmont South League champions is no small task. Fact is, the Cougars need a 3-game sweep over the final days of the regular season to assure themselves of a second straight championship outright.

If they stumble once, they could wind up with a co-championship. If they stumble twice, they could be without a championship.

Maintaining their current one-game lead over the upstart Helix Highlanders requires their full attention. Although those two teams don’t play again, the No. 9 ranked Cougars (19-6, 10-2 GSL) can hang onto first place in the GSL by sweeping their final three games against Monte Vista, Granite Hills and Mount Miguel.

“Our destiny is in our own hands,” said Steele Canyon ’s second-year head coach TODD SNYDER. “We’re not taking anything for granted because we know that any team in this league is capable of beating the others.”

The Cougars played the great escape in Wednesday’s (May 13) GSL game at Valhalla. Steele Canyon took a 6-0 lead into the bottom of the 4th inning but found itself behind 7-6 after six frames.

“We’re just not closing out games the way we should,” Snyder said. “It’s not that we’re playing bad baseball, we just have too many rough spots.”

Instead of sinking into the oblivion, the Cougars, who have won 12 of their last 14, rebounded for two runs in the 7th inning to pull out the victory over Valhalla (8-18, 4-8 GSL).

ANDREW BELLATTI keyed the comeback with a leadoff double. CLAYTON ROYER followed with a single to put runners at the corners. BRAD BOEHMKE tapped into a fielder’s choice scoring Bellatti with the tying run.

MICHAEL CASTRO followed with a single to right, scoring Boehmke with the winning run. It was Castro’s third game-winning RBI.

“I realized when I was in the on-deck circle what was at hand,” said Castro, who carries a .333 batting average. “I freed my mind and waited until it was my turn to bat.”

Castro, who a week earlier defeated Mount Miguel with a last-inning RBI single, hoisted a soft line-drive over the head of the second baseman to score Boehmke, giving Steele Canyon an 8-7 lead.

“It was a curveball on a 2-strike pitch,” Castro said. “All I wanted to do was put my bat on it, put it in play.”

Valhalla , which has long since been eliminated from playoff contention due to injuries, scrambled back to cut the deficit to 6-4. The key blow was CISCO TELLEZ’ grand slam that followed singles by JOHN AGUIRRE-RUIZ, ANTHONY GONZALES and BRYCE MOSIER in the 5th inning.

The Norsemen continued the momentum into the 6th inning, scoring three runs to take a 7-6 lead. This was an extra-basehit bonanza for Valhalla started with Aguirre-Ruiz’ one-out double.

JOHN CSUKRAN followed with an RBI double, as did Gonzales.

Valhalla picked up the go-ahead run on a wild pitch.

Steele Canyon fought back to turn the tide in the top of the 7th.

“You have to give Valhalla credit for coming back like they did,” Snyder said. “We made it a little bit easier for them because we kept popping the ball up.”

Bottom line: Steele Canyon maintains the lead, which is up to Helix or Granite Hills to take.

GROSSMONT 5, SANTANA 1 – The way the Grossmont Foothillers look at it, Grossmont League championships begin with “Grossmont” for a reason.

Sure, the Foothillers’ record-breaking former head coach ROB PHILLIPS handed the reins to long-time assistant JIM EARLEY at the outset of the 2009 season. Under Phillips’ tutelage, the Foothillers had won three consecutive Grossmont North League titles and an unprecedented four straight SDCIF Division II crowns.

Even though Earley doesn’t admit publicly that he was sliding into some pretty tall shoes, he has to be pleased that a rebuilding band of Foothillers are all but assured of nothing less than a share of the Grossmont North League laurels.

Hmmm… Despite the changing of the guard, the Foothillers’ domination continues.

Grossmont closes the regular season with games against El Cajon Valley and El Capitan, while Santana finishes with contest against West Hills and El Capitan.

In spite of the obvious advantage in the schedule, Earley is taking nothing for granted.

“We’re not going to dazzle anybody with our style,” Earley said. “But I’d have to say I like our chances of finishing on top. When we play the way we know we can, I think we can hang with anybody. It’s just a matter of doing it.”

Grossmont’s main man was LEVI STEVENS. The senior left-hander was never better, firing a complete game 4-hitter while striking out 10 on 90 pitches in the Foothillers’ pivotal win over the visiting Sultans Wednesday (May 13) at Joe Gizoni Field.

“Levi is doing it all for us,” Earley said. “I can tell you this, in conference games he’s the only guy on our team that’s hitting above .300.”

Early was being modest. Stevens is batting .600 against conference competition and .462 overall.

“I guess you could say he’s burning it up in conference play,” Earley said.

After PRESTON CULVER gave Santana a 1-0 lead with a home run in the 2nd inning, Stevens put the clamps on. He struck out the side in two innings and retired the last eight batters he faced.

Stevens proved he’s a prime time pitcher as he closed out two Grossmont victories against El Capitan.

“If we win this thing, Levi’s gotta be the player of the year,” Earley said.

Santana coach JERRY HENSON might not go that far, but does recognize Stevens is a quality hurler.

“Levi threw a heckuva ballgame and swung the bat pretty well too,” Henson said. “It was all Levi – he did a nice job today. His pitches were working – he had a good curve ball. When a pitcher is on, there’s not much you can do. We scored six runs off him the last time we faced him.”

Should the Foothillers (19-9, 8-2 GNL) and Sultans (20-6, 8-2 GNL) end up in a deadlock for a co-championship it wouldn’t really matter. That’s because the Foothillers will advance to the SDCIF Division II playoffs, while Santana advances to the Division III playoffs. Thus both would be looked upon as champions, which will further tangle the playoff seeding puzzle.

“We’re still hanging in there. If things stay the same that’s fine and if not, we’re still going to play ball next week,” Henson said.

Stevens, who was 2-for-2 against Santana ace KYLE HAYES, slugged a solo home run on a 3-2 pitch to tie the game 1-1 in the bottom of the 2nd. Stevens’ blow – his 3rd of the season – was well over 400 feet to the right side of the batter’s eye at Gizoni Field.

Hayes rebounded by striking out the next two Foothillers before surrendering a single to AARON GRIFFIN. CODY SOS then slashed a 3-2 pitch over the left-center field fence, giving Grossmont a 3-1 lead.

A Santana error in the 3rd inning left the door open for Grossmont and Stevens slammed it with an RBI single up the middle. All of Grossmont’s run-scoring at-bats came on 3-2 pitches.

It was a rare loss for Santana’s Hayes, who entered the game with an East County-best 0.69 ERA. Grossmont nicked him for four earned runs and his 3rd loss in 12 decisions.

“I guess we’ve kinda got their number,” said West Hills senior pitcher ROBBY ROBLES, who scattered 8 hits and posted his second straight complete game victory over the Vaqueros on Wednesday (May 13) at El Capitan.

Half of Robles’ victories have been at El Capitan ’s expense. In an earlier 8-1 romp over the Vaqueros, Robles spun a five-hitter and did not allow an earned run.

Truth of the matter is West Hills came within one out of executing a three-game sweep of its Lakeside neighbor. The Vaqueros avoided that by scoring two runs in the bottom of the 7th in a 5-4 win on April 22.

“They are a big fastball hitting team like a lot of teams are,” Robles said. “So I make sure to change seeds a lot. I got a lot of first-pitch strikes and that makes all the difference.”

And maybe a little psychological advantage.

“I’m sure that’s part of it,” Robles agreed.

West Hills coach CHRIS BAUM focused on Robles’ pitching performance.

“Robby throws really, really well against them,” Baum said. “He got ahead of about 75 percent of the batters today on strike one. I told him we’re in must-win mode if we are to have any shot at the playoffs.”

BRENNAN TAYLOR sparked a 13-hit West Hills assault by going 4-for-4, including a two-run home run in the 1st inning.

“That home run kind of surprised me,” Taylor admitted. “I haven’t hit a ball that solid in I don’t know how long.”

Taylor’s circuit clout came off El Capitan’s ANDREW RIGGINS.

“I took the first pitch,” Taylor said. “Then I chased a high fastball and fouled it off. I figured he’d bring his fastball another step up the ladder and he did. I was ready for it and put a pretty good swing on it.”

It was Taylor ’s second home run and scored CHRIS ALLEN (single) ahead of him.

“Taylor used the whole field,” Baum said. “He was so confident at the plate today. Every ball he hit was hit hard. That was the case across the board. All but two guys got a hit today.”

As well as Taylor swung the bat, he also made a sparkling defensive play in right center field. He flagged down a fly ball while falling backwards for one out. Then jumped to his feet and fired to first base to complete a double play.

“You can’t make plays better than that,” Baum said.

El Capitan (13-12, 4-5 GNL) tied it in the bottom of the 1st. TYRONE WIGGINS singled and eventually scored on TANNER RUST’s double. CHARLES MOORMAN singled in Rust to make it 2-all.

The hit by Rust extended his East County-leading hitting streak to 18 games.

West Hills (10-15, 4-6 GNL) edged in front with a two-out rally. Taylor provided the spark with a one-out single. With two out, he scored on COLE BUDVARSON’s double. TONY SPEARS cashed in Budvarson with a base hit to right center.

The Pack packed away the victory with three runs in the 7th. Budvarson plated the first one with a sacrifice fly. Pinch hitter DAVID BRYAN laced a two-run single up the middle to give Robles a comfortable cushion heading into the bottom of the 7th.

“We came over here without much to lose,” Robles said. “But we picked it up and now making the playoffs seems to be a reality. If we get in, we start with a fresh plate and who knows what can happen.”

West Hills closes the season against Santana on Friday (May 15) and El Cajon Valley (May 20). The Pack needs a sweep to stand a realistic shot at earning a San Diego CIF Division II playoff spot.

“Our guys showed signs of the way we are capable of playing,” Baum said. “If we get into the playoffs, you throw out the regular season. This was definitely a big one. To go over to El Capitan where they play very, very well was a big confidence booster and hopefully will swing the momentum towards us.”

Meanwhile, El Capitan suffered its third straight loss and fourth in five starts.

“I kinda feel bad for some of the guys on our team,” El Capitan coach STEVE VICKERY said. “It is so much pressure that kids put on themselves and we don’t do well with it.”

Thus, even though El Capitan is out of the race for the league title the lights have not gone dark in Lakeside.

“We’ve come in first or second in our league for 18 or 19 years,” Vickery said. “The only time we came in third, we won CIF (2003).”

There is one shining ray of hope that could help enhance the Vaqueros plight. Freshman left-hander TROY CONYERS could possibly make his way back into the Vaqueros rotation. That could be as soon as Friday (May 15).

“He’s supposed to see his doctor (Thursday) and maybe he’ll be cleared to play,” Vickery said.

Conyers has been hampered by hip and hamstring injuries all season.

“We’re going err on the side of caution,” Vickery said. “This young man has a great future, so we’re not going to rush anything.”

HELIX 8, MOUNT MIGUEL 2 – When it comes to statistics not many members of the Helix Highlanders rank at the top of the list.

Yet, Helix (18-9, 9-3 GSL), which has won seven in a row and nine of its last 10, is stalking defending Grossmont South League champion Steele Canyon with a vengeance. The Highlanders trail the Cougars by only one game with three to play.

The one major strike Helix has is Steele Canyon won the season series 2-1. That could come into play should the teams tie for the league championship. In most cases a co-championship is just that. However, Helix and Steele Canyon will compete in the SDCIF Division II playoffs. Thus the Cougars, pending disaster, will be seeded ahead of the Highlanders, regardless of the regular season finish.

One of the recent bright spots for the Highlanders has been the pitching of sophomore right-hander MAURO OLIVARRIA.

“I was impressed with Olivarria,” said Helix coach COLE HOLLAND. “It was his second consecutive start of the year. Up until now he’s thrown 21 innings. I think we have definitely found our No. 3 pitcher. You need to have a guy who can come out of the pen, and we’ve found that guy in Olivarria.”

Olivarria blanked the Matadors on two hits over five innings while striking out seven and walking none in Wednesday’s (May 13) GSL contest.

Helix scored all the runs it needed in the 2nd inning, and once again Olivarria was front and center with a 2-run single to break a scoreless tie.

TYLER SOTO also singled in a pair, while ANTHONY DIAZ plated a fifth run with a base hit.

Helix concluded its scoring in the 4th inning. A key blow were an RBI triple by Diaz and a run-scoring double by ARMANDO RODRIGUEZ.

Mount Miguel avoided a shutout by pushing across two runs against the Helix bullpen in the 6th inning.

Singles by RUDY BURREUL and JOSH GOLDEN got the Matadors (6-19, 1-11 GSL) started. One out later a dropped pop fly allowed Burruel to score.

TONY ALVAREZ singled to keep the rally alive. JULIAN CHARLES plated Mount Miguel ’s final run with a sacrifice fly.

What was a bit stunning was how Hopper handled the bat against three Monarchs pitchers. Batting in the No. 8 spot, Hopper accounted for seven runs as he went 2-for-3.

His two hits were what memories are made of – a solo home run in the 5th and a 2-run rocket in the 6th.

“What are the odds of that – Hopper hitting two home runs in the same game,” Granite Hills coach JAMES DAVIS pondered.

Davis likened it to “having two royal flushes in back-to-back hands.”

It was the third straight victory for the Eagles (13-12, 8-4 GSL).

“It’s been a long time coming, but we’re finally over .500 for the first time all year,” Davis said. “We’re scoring some more runs and doing more things well.”

Granite Hills put this one on ice by scoring seven runs in the 3rd inning. BRIAN CARROLL’s 2-run single was the key hit.

Monte Vista fueled the Eagles’ big inning by issuing six walks.

Although it is unlikely that Granite Hills can bypass both Steele Canyon and Helix to claim a league title, the Eagles’ primary focus is on making the playoffs.

“If we win two of our last three, I think we’re in,” Davis said. “But we have to win at least one.”

The playoffs are out of reach for Monte Vista, thus leaving the Monarchs to play a spoiler’s role over the final three games.

Against the Eagles, sophomore catcher CARLOS OCHOA was 4-for-4 with 2 RBI for Monte Vista (7-17, 4-8 GSL).

ADAM TIMANUS also hit his 6th home run of the campaign for the Monarchs.

© East County Sports.com
CLAIREMONT MESA (5-13-09) — Christian High senior TAYLOR EICHHORST posted the best individual performance, but St. Augustine demonstrated why the Saints are the leaders of the Eastern League pack.

Despite several comeback attempts by the Patriots (14-9, 5-4 EL), including Eichhorst's second home run of the contest to tie the game in the 6th inning, St. Augustine second baseman Ed Trovato countered with a 2-run double in the home half of the inning, the difference in the Saints’ 7-5 triumph Tuesday (May 12) at Hickman Field.

"They hit the ball well and peppered the lines," noted Eichhorst. "They have some power and hit the ball all over the place."

The UC San Diego bound Eichhorst provided most of the Patriots' offense with his 8th and 9th home runs of the year. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Eichhorst is tied with Ramona’s Alex Muren for the section lead.

The Saints (18-9, 8-2 EL) countered with run production throughout their batting order, taking advantage of the spacious ballpark.

"You can't think about pulling the ball or else you'll over-swing," noted Trovato. "If you go to the opposite field, good things will happen."

Including's Trovato's game-deciding hit.

Following Eichhorst's second 2-run homer in the top of the 6th to pull the Patriots even at 5-all, St. Augustine placed its first two runners on base on a Carlos Carriedo double to the right-field corner, then Cody Schiele reached on a sacrifice bunt when the ball was mishandled.

Trovato then followed Carriedo's lead with another shot down the right-field line.

"My focus was just to get the guy in from third and I happened to get a double," noted Trovato.

Meanwhile, Christian's run production came exclusively from the top of the order. The top of the Patriots’ lineup went 6-for-9 with five runs and five RBI. But the rest of the team went a collective 3-for-20.

"We need a whole lot more hitting, not just from the top three hitters," noted Eichhorst, who went 2-for-4 with four RBI. "And we made a couple of mental mistakes on the basepaths.

"But we'll be fired up when we play them at our place Thursday (May 14)."

Trovato also collected an RBI double in the 2nd to grab a 2-0 lead, but the first Christian rally saw the team get even on Eichhorst's first homer, a shot to center field which scored SHAUN DAY (walk).

The Saints' Matt Brown doubled in a run in the 3rd, stretching the lead to 4-2. However, Christian trimmed the margin in half on a solo homer to right-center by Day.

For the contest, the Patriots slugged three homers. St. Augustine did better by collecting six doubles and a triple.

The rematch wasn’t close. The Knights (11-5, 7-3 CWL) expanded a 3-0 lead with 8 runs in the bottom of the 5th, turning the game into a rout. Play was halted after 5 ½ innings due to the 10-run mercy rule.

Freshman right-hander AJ Hoffman needed only 65 pitches to blank the Patriots (4-10, 2-7 CWL) over six innings. He struck out six and did not issue a single walk.

“This kid is special,” Foothills Christian coach STEVE PERDUE said. “He is not overpowering but he is baseball savvy, moving the ball in and out. He rarely strikes out at the plate. He is probably the most coachable kid I have ever had.”

Sophomores BRANDON JAROSIN and JR ATTERBURY were each 3 for 3 with 2 RBI.

“Jarosin had been struggling at the plate but he is such a great kid, he continues to listen and work hard,” Perdue said.

“Atterbury is learning to be patient and take the ball where it is pitched.”

The Knights probably won’t win the Citrus West championship, but they are certainly playoff qualified in Division IV of the San Diego CIF.

“It is getting tough to pick the starting nine the last few weeks,” Perdue said. “Everyone on this team has stepped up his game. The last two wins have been very gratifying for all – players and coaches.”

© East County Sports.com
LA MESA (5-12-09) — Suddenly, the Grossmont Conference’s two leagues have put together a pair of potential photo finishes.

Not too long ago it appeared that Steele Canyon was a lock to nail down its second straight Grossmont South League crown. Albeit not in quite so solid of a position, Santana seemed to have the Grossmont North League flag in hand.

Little more than a week remains in the regular season and both championships are still up for grabs.

HELIX 4, STEELE CANYON 0 – The Helix Highlanders have thown the Grossmont South League and the San Diego CIF Division II rankings into a tizzy.

After beginning the season 2-5 the Highlanders are now looking at a possible Grossmont South League championship. Winners of six straight – and eight out of nine – Helix stunned No. 9 ranked Steele Canyon (18-6, 9-2 GSL) on Monday (May 11) in La Mesa.

The victory by the Highlanders (17-9, 8-3 GSL) has created some suspense for the final three games of the regular season. Unfortunately, the Cougars and Highlanders will not meet again, thus other teams in the 6-team circuit will play a major role in determining the champion.

Furthermore, Helix’ win could possibly cost Steele Canyon a No. 1 seeding in the San Diego CIF Division II playoffs.

Sophomore right hander JAKE REED continued to be one of the driving forces in the Highlanders’ late surge for the Grossmont South League championship.

After struggling earlier in the year Reed has become one of the top pitchers in East County.

“Reed did a great job throwing a complete game shutout,” said Helix coach COLE HOLLAND. “He’s 4-3 but his numbers aren’t indicative of how he’s performed. He’s thrown against a lot of good pitchers. Reed is only a sophomore, but he likes the opportunity to throw against somebody else’s best.”

Reed did more than just pitch, which is not uncommon for the multi-talented athlete. After a one out error by the Cougars and a base hit by BRONSON RUNIONS, Reed slashed a single to put Helix in front 1-0 in the 3rd.

An RBI single by BENNY GUERRERO made it 2-0 in the 4th.

In the 6th inning with two outs, KEVIN SCOTT hit a double, followed by an RBI single by AUSTIN GONZALEZ. Guerrero then followed with a single and got into a rundown on purpose between first and second, allowing Gonzalez to score.

“Guerrero did a good job of staying in the rundown,” said Holland. “That’s the first time we’ve executed that all year, and it worked out well.”

“The bottom half of our order – Nos. 6 through 9 – accounted for all but one RBI today. They have been doing a great job over the last four or five games,” Holland added.

Steele Canyon , which has split its last four decisions after having won nine straight, was shutout for the first time all season.

NOLAN MURRAY, the Cougars’ valuable leadoff hitter, saw his 11-game hitting streak halted.

ANDREW BELLATTI, Steele Canyon ’s ace, pitched well enough to win as he posted his 6th complete game.

Starwalt struck out six batters and allowed just five hits, with a 6th-inning error eventually costing him a shutout. Nevertheless, he finished strong, getting the last two outs on strikes thanks to a curveball which kept Mount Miguel 's lineup off-balance throughout.

"I'm a little tight right now, but I felt good today. I just threw the ball in there and good stuff happened," said Starwalt, who suffered a concussion on April 29th in a game against Steele Canyon. He missed three games but seems to be back on stride.

It may have been a meat-and-potatoes performance, but Starwalt found success mixing a curve with his fastball. Nothing fancy – nor did he need to be, allowing just one extra-base hit, as Mount Miguel never had more than one runner on base until breaking the shutout attempt.

Another underclassman, sophomore NATHANIEL HUFF, then pitched a perfect 7th to cap the victory for the Eagles.

Late-season pitching help is exactly what Granite Hills needs in its quest for a postseason berth.

"We're fighting for a playoff spot, so we had to come out strong for this game," noted DEAN MILLER, who paced the offense with four RBI in a 4-for-4 outing at the plate. "We didn't waste any time to get going."

Starwalt and Miller each drove in runs in the 1st for a 2-0 lead, then Miller kept adding on.

The senior added a 2-run double in the 4th, a run-scoring single in the 5th, then belted another double in the 7th. Miller also walked once, reaching base on all five of his plate appearances.

"Dean's a stud," added Starwalt. "There's just one word for him: 'stud.'"

Miller also appreciated Starwalt's effort on the mound

"He got us in-and-out of the dugout – kept us off the field," said Miller. "It was a quick game."

Centerfielder BRIAN CARROLL and catcher DYLAN GARCIA also added three hits each, part of 14 collected by the Eagles.

The Matadors ended their scoring drought in the 6th when RUDY ACOSTA reached on an error when the defender double-pumped, then tossed the ball over the head of the first baseman.

TONY ALVAREZ reached on an infield single, then Acosta scored from second on an opposite-field basehit to right field by ANTHONY ORTEGA.

Mount Miguel closed strong despite the loss, as reliever JOHN DIAMOND tossed two shutout innings out of the bullpen.

A 10-run 4th inning propelled Santana on its way to its 20th victory in Monday’s (May 11) rout of visiting El Cajon Valley (1-23, 0-9 GNL).

Only Poway (22), Horizon (21), Cathedral Catholic (20), La Costa Canyon (20) and Vista (20) have won as many games as the Sultans.

Santana (20-7, 8-1 GNL) holds a one game lead over Grossmont with three games remaining. The Foothillers (18-9, 7-2 GNL) host the Sultans on Wednesday (May 13) at 4 p.m.

“We had good, quality at-bats,” Santana coach JERRY HENSON said. “We had to make some plate adjustments due to the type of pitcher we faced. El Cajon Valley threw a lot of off-speed pitches rather than fastballs. The guys responded and we started hitting some line drives.”

Credit the Braves for making the Sultans earn their latest victory. El Cajon Valley took a 1-0 advantage in the 2nd inning as GAVINO PINAL singled, advanced to second on a groundout by CASEY RIVERA and scored on a single by ESTABAN HERRERA.

Santana tied it in the bottom of the 2nd on JOSE NUNEZ’s RBI single.

A three-run double by TRAVIS REYNOLDS and a two-run home run by JAMES NEEDY were the key blows when Santana turned the game into a blowout in the 4th inning.

DALLAS SEIDEL raised his team-leading batting average to .488 when he slugged a pair of doubles and two singles in five at-bats to pace Santana’s 16-hit assault. Nunez added three hits to the Sultans’ total.

RYAN STUTZ rationed the Braves to two hits and one run through four innings to pick up the pitching win.

Pinal produced two of the Braves’ three hits. ABEL CERVANTES, however, went hitless, halting his 14-game hitting streak.

Griffin, a 6-foot-5, 190-pound right-hander, twirled a complete-game 2-hitter on Monday (May 11) while rolling his record to 6-0, leaving the Foothillers (18-9, 7-2 GNL) just one game behind front running Santana in the race for the Grossmont North League pennant.

West Hills (9-15, 3-6 GNL) was all ready to spoil the Foothillers’ party, hoping to catch Grossmont looking ahead to Wednesday’s showdown against Santana.

The Hillers, however, maintained their focus and positioned themselves for at least a share of the league laurels.

A lead triple by LEVI STEVENS and a sacrifice fly by CRAIG SOGGIE-HENDERSON gave Grossmont a 2-1 edge in the 4th inning.

BRETT ETHERTON’s RBI single extended Grossmont’s advantage to 3-1 in the 6th.

Walks and errors furnished by West Hills helped the Hillers pad their cushion with three runs in the 7th.

COLE BUDVARSON accounted for both of West Hills’ hits.

Batting at a .286 clip entering the contest with 18 hits in 63 at-bats, the left-hand hitting junior crushed Monte Vista pitching for four hits – two of them doubles – and drove in six runs as the Norsemen generated their season-high scoring output.

“We did a good job hitting the ball hard and putting the ball in play today,” Valhalla coach MIKE WILSON said.

Freshman AUSTIN HENSLEY, one of several candidates for East County Sports.com Rookie of the Year honors, was 2-for-4 with 4 RBI for the Norsemen.

"Hensley and Coombs had a HUGE day in the RBI field today,” Wilson said. “They had 10 combined and one of Austin 's hits was about 3 feet short of the wall to just miss two more."

Coombs helped Valhalla (8-17, 4-7 GSL) take a 3-0 lead in the 1st inning with a two-run single. He stroked an RBI double in the 2nd and doubled home two more runs in the 5th. Coombs finished his onslaught with a run-scoring single in the 6th.

Hensley’s best shot with a two-run double in the 6th.

JOHN AQUIRRE-RUIZ drilled a two-run homer in Valhalla’s 7-run 2nd that erased a 4-3 deficit. JOHN CSUKRAN cranked out his first varsity homer in the 4th inning.

DANNY HAWKSLEY pitched the first four innings to log his 5th win in seven decisions.

Monte Vista (7-16, 4-7 GSL) was led by ADAM TIMANUS, who was unofficially 3-for-4 with a double and four RBI.

© East County Sports.com
LAKESIDE (5-9-09) — See the ground ball. Catch the ground ball. Throw to first base.

It may sound simple, but with Friday's (May 8) ballgame on the line, El Capitan twice failed to execute a seemingly simply play for the game's final out.

Instead, visiting Grossmont collected a pair of unearned runs to force extra innings, as the Foothillers went on to nip the Vaqueros in 9 innings for the second time in 48 hours, this time accepting a 6-5 victory at Hostetler Field.

It may be a ballgame El Cap threw away, but from the Grossmont perspective, the expectations are to battle until one can battle no more.

"We keep fighting – that's what we do," said Hillers shortstop EVAN POTTER. “We scratch for everything we get and we expect to win every game, every time."

Potter decided the contest with an RBI single in the 9th, handing Grossmont (17-9, 6-2 GNL) its fifth consecutive league triumph.

"I was just looking for a pitch to drive up the middle," noted Potter. "They were playing with infield in, so I just looked for a hard line drive and I got the pitch and I swung.”

Catcher ALEX OHLSON, who doubled to start the inning, scored the winning run. It capped a breakout performance for the (previously) slumping senior.

"I've been struggling lately, so I tried to simplify everything and just put the bat on the ball," explained Ohlson, who earlier slammed a solo homer in the 3rd to tie the contest. "I just tried to stay calm and hit what they gave me."

Ohlson finished with a season-best 3-for-3 outing at the plate, plus a base on balls to reach on all four of his plate appearances.

The Potter-Ohlson combination would never have happened unless Grossmont rallied in the 7th to overcome a 5-2 deficit.

Designated hitter CODY SOS, with a swing similar to that of his uncle, San Diego Stars veteran BRIAN SOS, started the late march with a one-out home run to the parking lot beyond left field.

Ohlson followed with a walk, CONOR MEREDITH singled, then the Vaqueros' defensive problems blossomed.

On a grounder to the right side by Potter, MARK VASQUEZ, the pinch-runner for Ohlson, was out on a fielder's choice at third. But when the throw for the game-ending double play sailed wide of first base, Meredith came around to score.

Still, with two outs, El Capitan should've escaped when the next batter also hit a routine grounder. However, the ball was misplayed and landed in shallow right field. Potter, running from second base with two out, easily came home and the game was tied.

"Those are plays that need to be made," said disappointed El Cap coach STEVE VICKERY. "If we just get in front of the ball, we're fine, but it didn't happen."

The rest was left to Grossmont reliever LEVI STEVENS, who tossed four innings of shutout ball to gain the victory. Stevens allowed just a pair of basehits, striking out four to shut down El Capitan 's offense.

"We were just trying to get runners on and everyone did their job – we fought like crazy," noted Potter. "We got runners on and came through in the clutch."

"Then Levi goes in and was throwing like crazy – he was battling and they couldn't hit him at all. His curveball was working great."

Stevens was aided by a nice defensive stop by Hillers third baseman CRAIG SOGGIE-HENDERSON in the 9th. He charged a high chopper, grabbing and throwing the ball in a single motion to nail leadoff batter TANNER RUST.

Rust, however, blooped a single to right field in the 6th inning to extend his East County leading hitting streak to 17 games.

An El Cap error allowed Grossmont to score an unearned run in the 4th to take a 2-1 lead. However, the Vaqueros answered with three runs in the home-half of the inning.

Included was a game-tying, sacrifice fly by BROOKS NOBLE to bring home KORBIN KRUGER, followed by consecutive RBI doubles by RYAN McBURNEY and TYRONE WIGGINS.

An inning later, pinch-hitter SHELDON GABRIELS stroked a two-out double, bringing home CHUCK MOORMAN, who led off the 5th with a double.

Vaqueros starting pitcher CAMERON MACKY went 6 1/3 innings, but was left with no decision despite a strong effort. Macky struck out seven and allowed just two earned runs.

“He pitched a beautiful game,” Vickery said of Macky. “The two home runs he gave up were golf shots that traveled about a half a foot over the 314 sign in left-center. He made two good pitches – both low and inside. If I had it to do over again I wouldn’t have changed the pitch locations because they were that good.”

El Capitan (13-11, 4-4 GNL) suffered its third league loss in four decisions.

“It’s really frustrating,” Vickery said, “because we’re so close to playing well. We’re one play away from getting at least a couple more wins, and that is something we need to fix down the stretch run here to get a good seeding in the playoffs.”

WEST HILLS 11, EL CAJON VALLEY 1 – For the first time all season, the Wolf Pack posted back-to-back victories on Friday (May 8), knocking off El Cajon Valley in a Grossmont North League contest on the Braves’ field.

West Hills (9-14, 3-5 GNL) edged the Braves 6-2 on Wednesday (May 6) to create the opportunity for consecutive victories. By bopping the Braves two times in a row, West Hills kept its slim SDCIF Division II playoff hopes alive.

“We get to run through the gauntlet next week,” said Wolf Pack coach CHRIS BAUM, referring to his team’s final joust with Grossmont (Monday), El Capitan (Wednesday) and Santana (Friday). Of the three only Grossmont is a home game for the Pack.

“If we can snake two wins next week we’ll be in pretty good shape as far as the playoffs go,” Baum added.

The Wolf Pack wasted little time in jumping on the Braves on Friday. A 2-run double by freshman ALEX PARSONS was the key blow in a 4-run 1st inning. COLE BUDVARSON cashed in two of El Cajon Valley ’s 13 walks with a 2nd inning single that made it 6-0.

A 2-out single by BRENNAN TAYLOR added a run in the 3rd, and CONOR BROWN’s sacrifice fly gave West Hills an 8-0 lead after four innings.

West Hills produced three more runs after two outs in the 5th inning. The Braves pitchers chipped in with three walks. AARON STARNS and Brown pitched in with run-scoring singles.

El Cajon Valley (1-22, 0-8 GNL) avoided the shutout in the 6th when DAVID SANCHEZ tripled to center and scored on GAVINO PINAL’s groundout.

Braves senior ABEL CERVANTES collected a pair of singles in three at-bats, raising his hitting streak to 14 games.

© East County Sports.com
DEL CERRO (5-8-09) — When the cameras from a local television station rolled up prior to Thursday’s (May 7) Eastern League game at Patrick Henry, the host Patriots probably thought they were going to be featured on the 11 o’clock news.

After all, only two days earlier Henry crushed Christian, 23-1.

However, the crew of television reporters walked past the Patrick Henry dugout down to the Christian High bullpen where freshman right-hander CODY POTEET was warming up.

As the lenses focused in on the Patriots’ 14-year old phenom – the East County Sports' prep baseball athlete of the week – Poteet continued to go about his business of preparing to make the start against heavy-hitting Henry. Make no mistake about it, the reporters broke up Poteet’s pre-game routine by deciding to conduct an interview on the spot.

“I’d be a nervous wreck if they interviewed me right before a game like that,” said Christian’s junior catcher, MICHAEL GRUBER.

The impromptu chat didn’t seem to faze Poteet though, as he went on to pitch his fourth consecutive complete game, leading Christian to a 5-2 victory over Patrick Henry.

Christian gave Poteet a 1-0 lead in the 1st inning when SHAUN DAY opened the game with a walk, advanced to third on a single by JOSH WOLFSON, and scored on a groundout by Gruber.

Henry answered back with two runs in the bottom of the 1st. Kevin Meriwether singled up the middle with one out and Myles Dempsey followed with a walk. The runners moved up 90 feet on an error and scored on a single by Andrew Katz.

“That’s got to be the hardest infield surface that we’ve played on all year,” said Christian coach MIKE MITCHELL. “Katz hit the ball into the ground and it bounces way over the third baseman’s head.”

Henry (15-9, 5-3) produced four of its six hits in the first two innings.

After that Poteet was lights out. The 6-foot, 160-pounder retired 14 of the next 15 batters, including the last 11 in a row to post his 6th win without a loss.

Christian tied the game on Day’s solo home run to centerfield in the 3rd inning.

Christian put together its winning rally with three runs in the 5th inning. MICHAEL STOWERS provided the spark with an infield single. He advanced to second on Day’s hit-and-run groundout. Stowers scampered to third when Wolfson grounded out. After TAYLOR EICHHORST walked, Gruber singled to left to score Stowers with what proved to be the winning run.

MICHAEL POTEET, Cody’s sophomore brother, pounded a 2-run double to right-centerfield.

“I heard one of their fans or coaches holler over at us “It was a fluke,” Mitchell said. “I don’t know which game he was talking about – the first game or this one.”

“But I guess they found out that we’re not as bad as they thought we were.”

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 14, LUTHERAN 4 (5 inn.) – Sophomore JR ATTERBURY was a one man wrecking crew as Foothills Christian crunched Lutheran in Wednesday’s (May 7) Citrus League West contest at Stars Field on the Barona Indian Reservation.

Atterbury was 3-for-3, including two triples, 3 RBI and 3 runs scored for Foothills Christian (10-5, 6-3 CWL). Atterbury now leads East County with six triples.

None of the runs allowed by Atterbury during his complete 5-inning stint were earned. He struck out four and walked two while raising his season record to 4-0.

TRAVIS GEORGE was 2-for-2 with a triple and two RBI for the Knights. HENRY LUSCHEI also had two hits, 2 RBI and three runs scored.

Lutheran’s Willie Heien, the state’s leading batter and a resident of La Mesa, had a pair of singles in three at-bats.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (5-7-09) — For one of the few times this year, two East County baseball teams played a game that could be labeled a “classic.”

In reality, El Capita’s visit to Grossmont’s Joe Gizoni Field on Wednesday (May 6) was a game of survival. The winner would have a decent shot at catching Santana in the run for the Grossmont North League pennant. The loser would be a longshot for the title.

Grossmont, a perennial home run hitting powerhouse in the past, had not flexed its muscles very often this season. However, the Foothillers, who had clubbed only 14 home runs in 24 games, used the longball to send the visiting Vaqueros packing. In fact, Grossmont hit four home runs against El Capitan – all of them solo shots.

The deciding blow in this 9-inning skirmish was provided by CONOR MEREDITH, who hoisted a fly ball over the right-centerfield fence, giving Grossmont a 4-3 victory.

It was Meredith’s fourth game-winning RBI and was the only hit allowed by El Capitan senior TANNER RUST, who pitched 3 1/3 innings in relief.

“It was a fastball he left up over the plate,” Meredith said. “I wasn’t trying to hit a home run, I was just trying to get on base. It just kinda squeaked outta here to right field.”

For Meredith, it was his second home run of the game and sixth of the season.

“It was a changeup and I just pulled my hands in and kinda turned on it,” Meredith said of the drive that hugged the line and left the ballpark in the left-field corner.

The first round-tripper came in the 5th inning to tie the game 3-3. Not all involved believed Meredith’s ball was inside the left-field foul pole. Even the plate umpire was confused. At first the umpire waved the ball foul; seconds later he changed his mind.

That did not sit well with El Capitan coach STEVE VICKERY, who protested Meredith’s home run vehemently.

“I don’t know what the big fuss was about,” said Meredith. “I could tell it was a fair ball on my way to first base.”

Even though Vickery chewed on the plate umpire for a good five minutes, he admitted later that the man in blue made the right call. Vickery’s beef was that the umpire was indecisive, and he was hoping to get the call swayed El Capitan ’s way.

“It was a controversial call,” Vickery acknowledged.

Grossmont took the early lead on STEVEN BRAULT’s two-out solo home run in the 1st inning. CRAIG SOGGIE-HENDERSON led off the 2nd inning with a home run, making it 2-0.

The Vaqueros loaded the bases in the 4th inning on a single by KYLE MILLS, a walk to Rust and a basehit by CHARLES MOORMAN.

Credit Grossmont pitcher AARON GRIFFIN for not buckling at that point. CRAIG LEAVITT’s sacrifice fly scored Mills but that’s all the Vaqueros (13-10, 4-3 GNL) would get during that frame.

An inning El Capitan was once again in Griffin ’s face. A one-out double by RYAN McBURNEY set the stage for a 2-run home run by Mills, giving El Capitan a 3-2 edge. Meredith’s controversial homer tied it in the bottom of the 5th.

Griffin pitched the first seven innings for Grossmont but left with no decision.

“I was pitching out the stretch a lot,” admitted Griffin , who gave up eight hits and three runs to the Vaqueros. “I had to come from behind a lot and had to really muscle-up to get out of jams and give our team a chance.”

Senior southpaw LEVI STEVENS picked up for Griffin and was overpowering in relief. He allowed one hit and struck out five as he earned his 4th win in seven decisions.

To a man, Grossmont – players and coaches – were surprised by the Foothillers’ sudden power burst.

“We have 10 guys who have gone yard on this team, it’s just that nobody does it all the time,” said Griffin.

Grossmont coach JIM EARLEY is aware that the Foothillers have had a power outage most of the season.

“I don’t think we’ve hit four home runs in a month, let alone in one game” Earley said. “So that was nice, even though a couple of them were Grossmont Specials (over the short right-field fence).”

The Foothillers (16-9, 5-2 GNL) trail league-leading Santana by 1½ games. Instead of focusing on catching the Sultans the Hillers must make sure they beat El Capitan Friday (May 8) in Lakeside. If they falter there, Santana will probably lock up the championship.

WEST HILLS 6, EL CAJON VALLEY 2 – For the Wolf Pack, being on the threshold of a SDCIF playoff berth is a two-way street. And it's a pathway the ballclub can conceivably cross, but only with some additional wins.

The final stretch of roadway to gain at least a double-figures total in victories began Wednesday (May 6), when three West Hills pitchers – paced by starter ROBBY ROBLES – combined to allow just four basehits in downing El Cajon Valley in Grossmont North League play at West Hills.

"It should have happened a little bit earlier, but we're starting to come together now, so we should be alright to make the playoffs," said Wolf Pack leadoff batter CHRIS ALLEN, who singled and scored in his first pair of at-bats to jump-start the offense. "I feel like a lot of our players are picking it up and working together."

With five games left in the regular season, the Pack (8-14, 2-5 GNL) may need at least three additional victories to gain any scrutiny from the SDCIF seeding committee.

"If everyone does the job and we take care of business, we can get there," added Robles, who pitched the opening four frames, allowing just two hits.

The Allen-Robles combination ignited the offense to build a 5-1 advantage through the opening two innings.

Allen, the designated hitter, opened the 1st with a basehit, then promptly stole the first of four bases by the Wolf Pack. A wild pitch moved the senior to third, then Allen waltzed home on a sacrifice fly by Robles.

"I knew I needed to hit a pop fly, but luckily I did for the RBI," noted Robles. "I got deep into the count then got ahold of the ball."

On his next at-bat, Robles doubled in Allen to cap a 4-run rally.

"Chris has been getting on base a few times so I could drive him in," added Robles. "Everything went good."

The inning started with a pair of walks, with outfielder SAM LINDAHL eventually driving home both MICHAEL LOBAUGH and TONY SPEARS with a basehit. Lindahl scored on Allen's basehit, as the Wolf Pack registered half of their 8 hits in the inning.

For El Cajon Valley (1-21, 0-7 GNL), pitcher EFREN PADILLA batted 2-for-4, driving in ESTABAN HERRERA in the 5th.

The other run for the Braves saw DAVID SANCHEZ walk, later scoring on a smart ground ball to the right side by GAVINO PINAL.

West Hills' final run came on consecutive 5th-inning doubles by freshman pinchhitter ALEX PARSONS and Lobaugh.

STEELE CANYON 26, MOUNT MIGUEL 3 (5 inn.) – The Grossmont South leading and No. 10-ranked Cougars (18-5, 9-1 GSL) set three school records as they massacred Mount Miguel Wednesday (May 6) in Spring Valley.

Steele Canyon ’s scoring total, which was achieved in just four turns at bat, broke the Cougars’ previous high water mark of 23. The Cougars’ 22 hits were also the best in the school’s brief history, as were the five home runs they hit against four Mount Miguel pitchers.

Remember now, this is the same Mount Miguel team that the Cougars edged 4-3 only two days earlier.

“We told our kids they were going to throw the same style pitches that they did the last time we faced them,” Cougars coach TODD SNYDER said. “When we faced them the first time it seemed like all of our hitters were hitting off their front foot and popping the ball up. We were overly aggressive.”

So what was the big change in Wednesday’s rematch?

“We weren’t chasing pitches, and we stayed back and had a great approach,” explained Snyder.

DANNY MacINTYRE, who has been on a hitting bender since recovering from a broken hand, was 4-for-4 with a grand slam to pace the Cougars. Overall he accounted for 10 runs.

But his was no solo act. Leadoff man NOLAN MURRAY was 2-for-2 with a double and a 3-run homer. He accounted for nine runs, scoring five times himself.

CLAYTON ROYER, the Cougars’ shortstop, was 3-for-4 with a double and a solo home run.

“We moved Royer into the No. 4 spot because we felt he could really help us there,” Snyder said.

Talk about a gamble. Royer began the season with only two hits in 24 at-bats.

“Clayton played only five games for us last year because of a torn labrum,” Snyder said. “He’s made an incredible turnaround.”

BRAD BOEHMKE drove in four runs – half of them coming on a 2-run circuit clout in the opening frame.

JESSE JENNER also slugged a 2-run homer in the 1st and finished 2-for-3 with 3 RBI.

As lopsided as the score wound up, Mount Miguel actually took a 1-0 lead in the top of the 1st. However, by the time Matadors scored again they trailed 17-1 entering the 3rd inning.

SANTANA 3, RAMONA 2 – A pair of teams in line to capture a league championship took a break from the heated action of doing that to face off in a non-league encounter Wednesday (May 6) in Ramona.

In soccer, they call it a “friendly.”

It was something of a reunion of old acquaintances – Santana skipper JERRY HENSON and Ramona’s father and son tandem of head coach DEAN WELCH and his father and first base coach CHUCK WELCH. Dean Welch is a graduate of Santana, and the Welsh duo were assistant coaches for Henson a decade ago.

“Some players that don’t get to play a whole bunch got to play,” Henson said. “It was a very competitive ballgame.”

No. 9-ranked Santana (19-7) broke a 2-2 tie in the top of the 7th. KYLE HAYES was hit by a pitch and advanced to second on a single by DALLAS SEIDEL. The Sultans were unable to execute a sacrifice bunt, as Hayes was cut down at third base for the first out. JAMES NEEDY kept the Santana rally rolling with a single that loaded the bases with one out.

Ramona (14-7) made things easy for the Sultans after that as reliever Kyle Snyder uncorked a wild pitch allowing Seidel to score the decisive run. Twice Santana had to come from behind.

Santana tied the game 1-1 when CHRIS CAMARDA doubled over the center fielder’s head and scored on a double by RYAN STUTZ in the 5th inning.

It was more of the same in the 6th as Santana staged a two-out rally. KEVIN FERREIRA walked and advanced to second on Camarda’s single. That set the stage for Stutz’ second RBI double that knotted the score 2-2.

“We were coming off a tough loss to El Capitan (8-6) on Monday, so it was important for us to come back and get back on the horse,” said Stutz, a four-year veteran. “This is the most talented team I’ve been on, and I think we can go a long ways.”

HELIX 3, MONTE VISTA 1 – Junior right-hander DYLAN NICKERSON may be the best unheralded pitcher in East County. Perhaps not the flashiest, but the record shows he ranks among the elite for getting the job done.

Nickerson (7-1) fired a complete-game 3-hitter to win a pitching duel over Monte Vista sophomore NICK SABO (4-4) in Wednesday’s (May 6) Grossmont South League action in Spring Valley.

It was the fifth complete game for Nickerson, who struck out 7 and walked 2.

“Nickerson did a great job on the mound,” Helix coach COLE HOLLAND said.

And thanks to some airtight pitching by Sabo, he did not receive much offensive support.

“In our five innings we did a very good job of swinging the bats,” Holland said. “Our problem was we hit a bunch of line drives at people.”

Sabo rationed Helix (16-9, 5-3 GSL) to four hits as he logged his East County-best 6th complete game.

The Highlanders scored all the runs they would need in the 2nd inning. KEVIN SCOTT was the catalyst with a one-out single. AUSTIN GONZALEZ doubled home Scott and scored on Nickerson’s sacrifice fly.

Helix extended its advantage to 3-0 in the 4th inning without benefit of a hit.

Singles by ADAM TIMANUS and CARLOS OCHOA coupled with a Helix error enabled the Monarchs (7-15, 4-6 GSL) to avoid a shutout with a tally in the bottom of the 5th.

“This was a game we had to have,” said Holland , whose Highlanders trail front-running Steele Canyon by two games.

Helix has won five in a row and seven of its last eight.

Senior DEAN MILLER was arguably the standout for the Eagles as he pitched three perfect innings in relief to earn his second save while striking out four. He was also 3-for-4 with four runs scored.

“Miller really picked us up,” noted Granite Hills coach JAMES DAVIS. “It was nine up and nine down. He looked like the pitcher we envisioned he’d be all year.”

Freshman DOUG BRANNVALL drove in three runs with a single and a double for the Eagles (11-12, 6-4 GSL), who won for only the third time in seven games.

Valhalla (7-17, 3-7 GSL) grabbed a 2-0 lead on RBI singles by AUSTIN HENSLEY and JOSH AUSTEL in the 1st inning.

Granite Hills took control with five runs in the 2nd inning. Brannvall laced an RBI double and BRIAN CARROLL plated two more runs with a 2-base hit. A dropped fly ball by the Norsemen handed the Eagles two more tallies.

TYLER PONCIANO’s RBI single made it 6-2 in the 3rd.

Granite Hills broke the game open with five runs in the 6th. JARED HUNT’s 3-run double was the key blow.

“Realistically we are playing for a playoff spot,” Davis said. “We need victories.”

One of the strong suits for Granite Hills this year is a strong freshman crop. DANIEL STARWALT returned to the lineup after recovering from a concussion a week earlier to go 2-for-5.

“I know we have a great group of freshmen,” Davis said. “And there’s a whole horde of freshmen in East County that are going to blossom into stars. It’s probably the best group of freshmen that I’ve ever seen in East County.”

© East County Sports.com
CARMEL VALLEY (5-6-09) — Apparently, the Foothills Christian Knights hadn’t been reading Michael Fagan’s press clippings.

Fagan, a junior left-hander at the San Diego Jewish Academy, came into Tuesday’s (May 5) Citrus West League game with 114 strikeouts in 54 innings. Do the math – that’s more than two strikeouts per inning.

Fagan struck out only four in five-plus innings against the visiting Knights (9-5, 5-3 CWL), who pulled out an 8-6 victory over the league leaders.

“He had a decent fastball and slider,” Foothills Christian coach STEVE PERDUE said of Fagan. “But we hit him pretty good. Actually, we’ve hit almost every team we’ve played good. I think he was a little burned out at the end. I know he threw at least 120 pitches.”

Trailing 5-4 after 5 innings, the Knights produced four runs to take command in the 6th. HENRY LUSCHEI reached on a throwing error and DEREK DEYLING walked.

TRAVIS GEORGE hit a booming ground rule double that went under the fence, scoring Luschei to tie the game. IAN MURPHY followed with a two-run single, scoring Deyling and George. Murphy advanced on a passed ball and eventually scored on a throwing error.

That was the second Foothills Christian comeback in the game. Trailing 4-1 in the top of the 3rd, George walked and Murphy was plunked by a pitch. JR ATTERBURY singled in George. Murphy and Atterbury moved up 90 feet on a wild pitch and paraded home on a ZAC CUMMINGS single to tie the game 4-4.

“Cummings’ single sparked us in the 3rd and his circus catch at third base also energized us,” Perdue said.

“We’ve always played hard, but the difference in this game is we played with emotion, too,” Perdue said. “The intensity was high. This game proved that our guys are finally getting it. Guys were diving for balls. They were cheering for each other. It was a gratifying experience for all of us. It was like the light finally went on.”

PATRICK HENRY 23, CHRISTIAN 1 – Head coach MIKE MITCHELL summed up Tuesday’s (May 5) Eastern League disaster at Patrick Henry best.

“Their linescore was like a telephone number,” he said.

And so it was – 733-8101. That was dialing up the wrong number for the Patriots (13-8, 4-3 EL), to be sure.

Nine Christian errors and 23 hits by Patrick Henry (15-8, 5-2 EL) made for a long day at the eastern end of Madison Avenue in El Cajon. Myles Dempsey, Jacob Rebelo and Anthony Perez combined for 12 hits, nine RBI and 10 RBI to pace the second-place Henry Patriots. Rebelo and Dempsey had a double and a triple each, while Perez doubled twice.

“A loss like this means no more than any other loss in the standings,” Mitchell reminded his players. “That’s the neat thing about baseball. You play a bad game one day and the next day you’re right back out there with a fresh start.”

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (5-05-09) — Just when it appeared that Santana and Steele Canyon were going to be runaway winners in the Grossmont North and Grossmont South League races, respectively, things tightened up a bit during Monday’s (May 4) action. In addition, Christian, thanks to some last-inning heroics, remained in contention in the Eastern League title chase.

EL CAPITAN 8, SANTANA 6 – In what figured to be a series dominated by the pitchers, visiting El Capitan had the No. 9-ranked Sultans pinned down 8-2 heading into the bottom of the 3rd inning.

Turns out, pitching was the difference. El Capitan reliever ANTHONY VIGIL retired 12 batters in a row to post his 5th win in seven decisions while helping the Vaqueros keep their slim hopes for a league title alive.

“I just pounded the strike zone,” said Vigil. “This was a bounce-back game for me. I got hit around pretty good last time out and wanted to make up for that.”

Mission accomplished.

“It doesn’t take me long to get ready down in the bullpen,” Vigil said. “I throw a few fastballs and a few breaking balls and I’m usually ready to go. I love the challenge of being a closer. I feel being a left-hander gives me an advantage. My ball moves differently than others’ and I’m able to spot it well for strikes. This was a big game for us because Santana is a very good team.”

El Capitan (13-9, 4-2 GNL) jumped out in front early, pushing across two runs in the opening frame. CHARLES MOORMAN’s two-out double broke the ice. The freshman catcher then rode home on CRAIG LEAVITT’s single.

Santana cut that lead in half without garnering a hit. DALLAS SEIDEL logged the RBI with a sacrifice fly. The Sultans tied it in the 2nd. ZACH BREIDT singled, moved up 90 feet on CHRIS CAMARDA’s sacrifice bunt and scored on a single by RYAN STUTZ.

A two-run single by RYAN McBURNEY and a two-run double by KYLE MILLS keyed El Capitan’s 6-run 3rd inning.

Once again, Santana’s downfall was on defense. A two-out error undermined the pitching by Sultans senior pitcher JAMES NEEDY and led to five unearned runs.

“In the 3rd there was only one run that would have scored if we don’t make that throwing error,” Santana coach JERRY HENSON lamented.

Needy, who began the day with an East County-best 0.69 ERA, surrendered 10 hits to the Vaqueros.

“He was getting the ball up,” said El Capitan coach STEVE VICKERY. “I’m sure there was a lot of pressure on him because there were tons of scouts there. But I have to give credit to my guys for taking some healthy cuts against a quality pitcher.”

Despite surrendering three earned runs in five innings, Needy struck out 10.

“We had a hiccup today,” said Henson. “That’s what makes it such a good game – anybody at any time can win a ballgame. Today they outhit us.”

El Capitan was 6-for-14 with runners in scoring position.

“We need to be aggressive like we were today, in every game,” Vickery said.

To Vickery’s way of thinking, this was a must-win.

“We had to have this game if we are to have any vision at making a run for the league title,” he said.

CHRISTIAN 7, SERRA 4 – The Christian High Patriots nearly kicked themselves out of the Eastern League race Monday (May 4) at Serra.

That is, the Patriots committed six errors, which handed the Conquistadors four unearned runs and nearly spoiled the 2-hit pitching of MICHAEL POTEET and MICHAEL KAUFMAN.

“We have one bad inning in every game where we are just awful,” said Patriots coach MIKE MITCHELL.

Trailing 4-2 entering the bottom of the 7th, the Patriots tied the game on an RBI single by CODY POTEET and a groundout by JOSH SUFFERIDGE. That set the stage for senior MICHAEL STOWERS’ last-minute heroics.

With runners at first and third Stowers hammered a 1-0 pitch from Dane Leyva over the left-centerfield fence for a walk-off home run.

“That’s one of the hardest balls I’ve ever hit,” said Stowers of his first home run of the season. “When I went to the plate my thoughts were I wanted to elevate the ball, and I was able to turn on this one. I think I had to hit it 380 feet.”

It was Stowers’ third game-winning hit of the season.

“I’ve been hitting the ball pretty solid all year,” he said. “Being a senior, I want to be the guy in that situation. The main thing is not trying to do too much. I just try to do what the team needs at the time. Sometimes a walk is just like a home run to me, if that’s what we need.”

Stowers, who was 2-for-2 with 4 RBI against Serra (7-14, 1-5 EL), has been one of the Patriots’ top run producers in league play.

“I don’t actually keep track of the numbers but I think I have like,10 RBI since we started league,” Stowers said.

The come-from-behind win by the Patriots (13-7, 4-2 EL) left them a half game behind the front-runners in the Eastern League race.

“We did a good job of battling back,” said Mitchell. “We didn’t give up on ourselves – we played to the end. We probably win two games a year in the last inning because we didn’t give up.”

A six-run 2nd inning by the Norsemen in Monday’s (May 4) battle between league rivals seriously damaged Granite Hills’ hopes of landing a post-season berth.

“It is always a big win beating your rival,” said Valhalla coach MIKE WILSON. "We got some key hits today that allowed us to score some runs. We also did something we haven't done very well so far this year and took advantage of a few mistakes by the other team in the second inning."

DANNY HAWKSLEY, who rationed the Eagles to four hits and one run over six innings, also provided the spark to Valhalla’s big inning with a lead single. AUSTIN HENSLEY followed with a base hit, and a one-out walk to WILL COOMBS loaded the bases.

NICK BROWN lined a shot off of Eagles pitcher TRAVIS HOPPER that caromed over to first baseman DEAN MILLER. Miller fired the ball home to catcher TYLER PONCIANO, who dropped the throw. Hawksley was safe and the game was tied at 1-1.

JOHN AGUIRRE-RUIZ singled home Hensley to put Valhalla in front to stay. A sacrifice by ANTHONY GONZALES plated Coombs. A Granite Hills throwing error handed the Norsemen two more tallies. An RBI by CISCO TELLEZ capped one of Valhalla ’s biggest innings of the season.

"Danny had a great game both on the mound and at the plate today," said Wilson , noting Hawksley’s 3-for-3 effort with the bat.

The coach was also pleased with the performance of Aguirre-Ruiz, who was 2-for-3.

"We look for our 9 hole to be someone who gets on base and can run,” said Wilson. “John did exactly that today. He got on base with the top of the order coming up a couple of times." “We now have to put this behind us and get ourselves ready to go to battle again on Wednesday."

Granite Hills took a 1-0 lead in the opening frame. After a single by BRIAN CARROLL and a walk to JARED HUNT, the Eagles (10-12, 5-4 GSL) appeared to have the makings for a big inning.

Carroll and Hunt executed a double steal but the Eagles could not get the big hit. They settled for one run on Miller’s RBI groundout.

Had it not been for a Valhalla error in the 7th inning, Granite Hills would have not scored again.

Granite Hills helped cause its own demise by committing five errors, which handed the Norsemen four unearned runs.

STEELE CANYON 4, MOUNT MIGUEL 3 – Ranked No. 10 in the San Diego CIF and seemingly in command of the Grossmont South League race, the visiting Cougars blew a 3-0 lead Monday (May 4) at Mount Miguel, and nearly saw their once comfortable cushion chopped to a single game.

Thanks to some clutch hitting by senior MICHAEL CASTRO, the Cougars (17-5, 8-1 GSL) escaped with their 10th win in 11 starts.

With the score knotted at 3-3, BRAD BOEHMKE led off the 7th inning with a walk. He advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by MICHAEL WINTER and scored the game-winner when Castro stroked a single into left field.

“For some reason we don’t play well over there,” Steele Canyon coach TODD SNYDER said. “We went extra innings with them last year in a game that could have cost us the league title. We wound up winning like we did today. But we were kind of sketchy in both of those games.”

Things started out smoothly enough for Steele Canyon , which scored three runs in the 3rd inning. Winter ignited the rally with a lead single. Castro followed with a bunt single. One out later, NOLAN MURRAY singled to score Winter. JESSE JENNER capped the inning with a two-run double.

DANNY MacINTYRE, Steele Canyon ’s starting pitcher, was struggling with his control. Much of that was no doubt due to his coming back from a broken hand. Yet, the senior right-hander allowed only one earned run in 4 1/3 innings.

That one run was a tape-measure home run by RUDDY ACOSTA in the 4th inning. It was Acosta’s fifth home run of the season.

“I’m not sure if I’ve seen a ball travel farther than that bomb,” Snyder said. “It might have landed on the 125 (freeway).”

The Matadors (6-16, 1-8 GSL) added a second run in that frame without benefit of a hit. MacIntyre plunked TONY ALVAREZ with a pitch. Alvarez wasted little time stealing second and then third. He scored on one of Steele Canyon ’s four errors.

Mount Miguel pushed across the tying run without hitting the ball in the 6th inning. JULIAN CHARLES struck out but was awarded first base when the ball ricocheted off the catcher and wound up in Matadors’ dugout.

Charles stole second. He was then caught off base by winning pitcher TREVOR McKINLEY. Instead of taking his chances in a rundown, Charles headed full speed toward third base. McKinley then threw wide of the mark and Charles kept on coming to tally the tying marker.

In the bottom of the 7th, Mount Miguel loaded the bases with two outs, but McKinley got a game-ending line out to collect his 4th win without a loss.

The second-place Highlanders (15-9, 6-3 GSL) trail the first place Cougars by two games with six to play. The frontrunners have one more head-to-head meeting, so the Highlanders will need help from another league source if they are to catch the Cougars.

Helix received superior pitching from starter JAKE REED and reliever MIKE ANDRADE. Reed work the first four frames to balance his record at 3-3, before Andrade came on to blank the Monarchs (7-14, 4-5 GSL) on one hit over the final three innings to notch the save.

“I was a little flat at the start,” said Reed. “But I was able to get my fastball over for strikes and stay ahead in the count consistently.”

Reed allowed four hits and struck out 7.

“I’m happy with the way our defense played today (no errors),” Reed said. “They made all the plays behind me. That makes my job easy.”

Reed was 3-for-3 with a double, a triple and one RBI for the Highlanders, who posted their fourth consecutive victory. He also scored twice.

“I love to bat in the games I pitch,” he said. “It feels good to get on base, score runs and drive in runs. It helps our cause.”

AUSTIN GONZALEZ laced a two-run triple (his fourth) in the 2nd inning to give Helix a 3-0 edge. He scored on BENNY GUERRERO’s sacrifice fly. Reed put the exclamation point on the 4-run 2nd inning with an RBI single.

Sophomore NICK SABO accounted for Monte Vista’s only run when he slugged his 4th round-tripper leading off the 4th inning.

“I know we were pretty far behind,” Sabo said. “But baseball is fun to play no matter what the score is.”

Helix coach COLE HOLLAND likes the Highlanders’ chances of grabbing the league title.

“We still have a good shot at the league – I think it’s wide open,” he said.

In Monday’s (May 4) Grossmont North League game against visiting El Cajon Valley at Joe Gizoni Field, Ford drove in four runs with a double, a single and a walk. He has riddled the Braves (1-20, 0-6 GNL) for four hits and 10 RBI. On the season, Ford has five hits and 13 RBI.

CRAIG SOGGIE-HENDERSON also teed off on the Braves, driving in four runs with his first varsity home run and a double. He scored three runs and pitched 2 1/3 innings.

Grossmont’s MATT BARANOWSKI also got into the act, picking up his first varsity RBI.

Pinch-hitter AARON GRIFFIN, known more for his pitching, slugged a solo home run in the 6th inning for the Foothillers (15-9, 4-2 GNL).

El Cajon Valley was victimized by 11 walks – eight of which were generated into runs.

Senior ABEL CERVANTES of El Cajon Valley clubbed a pair of doubles to extend his East County-leading hitting streak to 12 games. DAVID SANCHEZ accounted for the Braves’ other two hits.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (5-3-09) — Grossmont made a strong showing, but couldn’t pull off the upset in Saturday’s (May 2) non-league duel with No. 3-ranked Cathedral Catholic at Joe Gizoni Field.

“This was quite a game today,” Grossmont coach JIM EARLEY said. “It was a real test for us – the type of game that will help us this coming playoff time.”

The Foothillers (14-9) gave the veteran Dons (16-4) plenty of competition. RBI singles by AARON GRIFFIN and CODY SOS provided Grossmont with a 2-1 edge in the 2nd inning. The Dons bounced back to erase that brief advantage by pouring across three runs in the 3rd.

Grossmont made a run for it by scoring three runs in the bottom of the 6th that sliced Cathedral’s lead to 6-5. EVAN POTTER and STEVEN BRAULT each drove in a run with a base hit. The third marker crossed on a wild pitch.

Sos and WILL SOTO punched out two hits apiece for the Foothillers.

El Capitan's Tanner Rust with the head-first slide, scoring the Vaqueros' lone run on a wild pitch. Covering home plate for Santana is Kyle Hayes. (Slideshow by Mark Gabriels)

© East County Sports.com
LAKESIDE (5-2-09) — Pitching and hitting may have propelled Santana High into the Grossmont North League lead and a Top 10 ranking, but the obstacle of playing consistent defense has been a stumper.

This single problem area, which could prevent the Sultans from successfully competing for its first SDCIF championship since 1994, may have been solved.

"We came into league knowing our weakness was our defense," said Santana second baseman ZACH BREIDT. "But during league, we've had just one or two errors."

With the glove-work of Breidt starting a pair of double plays over the first two innings – along with several other fine stops – Santana rode the arm of junior right-hander KYLE HAYES to drop host El Capitan, 11-1, in GNL action Friday (May 1) at Hostetler Field.

"It's always good when you can fire pitches in there and count on your defense to make the plays," said Hayes, who struck out six and yielded just five singles over six innings of work. "We took it to heart and worked on defense a lot – there's a lot more focus out there."

Breidt's defensive effort in the early innings maintained an early 1-0 lead.

He ranged to his left to collect a hot grounder, spinning 180 degrees to get the ball to shortstop RYAN STUTZ to start the first double play. An inning later, Breidt ranged up the middle to flag another hot roller for a step-and-throw twin killing.

"There's a lot of plays an average team can't make that we are making," noted Breidt, who also stopped two other grounders ticketed for centerfield to register outs. "We're stepping it up since league started."

Meanwhile, Hayes gained strength as the contest proceeded as Santana again lowered its team ERA after allowing just a single run when TANNER RUST scored on a passed ball and a wild pitch.

"It was another awesome game by one of our pitchers," added Breidt. "They only got one run and it may not even be earned. Between him and JAMES (NEEDY), with a sound game on defense – and, of course, our bats – we're going to be tough to beat."

Santana's offense uncorked in the middle innings, scoring 10 times in the 4th-through-6th frames.

A pair of lead walks in the 4th set-up RBI singles by CHRIS CAMARDA and Stutz. An inning later, Santana sounded off on the El Capitan bullpen with three straight run-scoring hits by Needy, PRESTON CULVER (double) and Breidt.

Then in the 6th, Needy walked with the bases loaded to make it 8-1. Culver followed with an infield single for a run, but when the throw skipped out of play, two additional runs came home.

The offense was aided by Hayes going 3-for-3 and scoring twice, plus a marker by pinch-runner MATT CHARLEBOIS, while CODY SMITH and Culver posted two hits each.

"Everything seemed to go our way today," added Hayes.

El Capitan received a pair of basehits by Rust and second baseman KYLE MILLS.

"Hayes is the real deal," noted Vaqueros coach STEVE VICKERY. "We couldn't do anything with him all day."

GRANITE HILLS 7, STEELE CANYON 5 — The Cougars appeared to be on their way to a second straight Grossmont South League championship in runaway fashion.

Until they ran into a Granite Hills crew that refused to roll over in Friday’s (May 1) GNL encounter in Rancho San Diego.

The Eagles (10-11, 5-3 GSL) scored three runs in the top of the 1st inning on an RBI double by DYLAN GARCIA, a run-scoring single by DEAN MILLER and a ground rule double by TYLER JOWORSKI.

Seemingly undaunted by Granite Hills fast start, Steele Canyon (16-5, 7-1 GSL) countered with three runs of its own. JESSE JENNER drove in the Cougars’ first run with a double and then scored on ANDREW BELLATTI’s 5th home run of the year to make it 3-3 after one inning.

Granite Hills edged in front 4-3 on an errant Steele Canyon pick-off throw.

The Eagles, who are on the brink of being eliminated from playoff consideration, doubled their lead in the 4th inning when BRIAN CARROLL singled and JARED HUNT hammered his 4th home run of the season.

Steele Canyon fought back in the 5th inning with RBI doubles by DANNY MacINTYRE and Jenner to make it a 1-run game.

A leadoff home run in the 7th by Garcia – his 4th – gave the Eagles a little more breathing room at 7-5.

Nevertheless, things got pretty dicey in the bottom of the 7th. Granite Hills’ Miller drilled Jenner, who was 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles and two RBI, in the back with his first pitch to bring the tying run to the plate. That blow upped the intensity and had the Steele Canyon fans screaming at the Eagles’ senior right-hander.

“Miller’s first pitch hit Jenner square in the back,” said Cougars coach TODD SNYDER. “Was he throwing at my guy? Absolutely. He didn’t mess around.”

Granite Hills saw it differently.

“I guess they thought he did it intentionally,” said Eagles coach JAMES DAVIS, who noted that his players were angry when the Cougars’ sophomore catcher made an aggressive tag at the plate on Granite Hills freshman DANIEL STARWALT in Wednesday’s (Apr. 29) game between the two GSL contenders. Starwalt will be out of action with a concussion for at least a week.

In terms of logic, the fact that Miller hit Jenner – which brought up Bellatti with a chance to tie the game – doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Bellatti had already hit a 2-run homer in the 5th inning.

“It doesn’t make much sense, does it? Why would we hit a guy to bring the tying run to the plate?” Davis said.

Snyder gave no indication that his Cougars would retaliate when these teams meet for the final time on Monday (May 18) at Granite Hills.

“I’ve never told any of my pitchers to throw at anybody,” Snyder said. “From my perspective Miller is a senior, a three-year varsity guy. That’s why I think it was intentional because he knows the game and knows what he was doing.”

More irritating than Miller hitting Jenner was Granite Hills’ impromptu celebration following the victory.

“I know I didn’t like it and I our kids didn’t either. It was like they had won the world series – on our field,” Snyder said.

HELIX 4, VALHALLA 2 — Coach COLE HOLLAND of Helix wasn’t sure just who to start on the mound in Friday’s (May 1) Grossmont South League game against Valhalla.

He decided to go with MAURO OLIVARRIA, whose varsity pitching career up until then consisted of nine relief appearances.

A 5-foot-9, 158-pound left-hander, Olivarria made the most of his first varsity start against the Norsemen (6-16, 2-6 GNL). He toiled five innings, allowing just four hits and one earned run.

“Mauro Olivarria did a great job,” said Helix coach COLE HOLLAND. “We used all our pitching against Valhalla in a 9-inning game on Wednesday (Apr. 29), so Mauro had to come back on short rest. We were hoping to get four innings, but he gave us five – and he’s only a sophomore.”

DYLAN NICKERSON finished the job and was awarded with his sixth win in seven decisions.

“Dylan Nickerson did a great job coming out of the pen,” said Holland. “In the 6th and 7th innings he went three up and three down.”

Victory did not come easy for Helix, as Valhalla took a 1-0 lead in the top of the 1st inning on a double by ANTHONY GONZALES and an infield groundout.

Helix countered in the bottom of the frame when BRONSON RUNIONS singled, advanced to second on a JAKE REED sacrifice bunt and eventually scored on a KEVIN SCOTT ground ball.

Valhalla regained the lead in the 3rd inning. Once again it was Anthony Gonzales in the forefront with a leadoff single. When Gonzales’ hit eluded the Helix outfielder he raced around to third. He might have been stuck there had the Highlanders not booted an infield grounder that brought him home, staking Valhalla to a 2-1 lead.

Helix pulled a reversal on Valhalla with three runs in the bottom of the 6th. ANTHONY DIAZ provided the spark with a basehit and jogged to second base on a wild pitch. ANTHONY RODRIGUEZ followed with an infield hit that was scooped up by Valhalla pitcher RYAN PETERSEN, and in a bang-bang play at first base, Rodriguez and Valhalla first baseman CISCO TELLEZ collided. The ball kicked away, allowing Diaz to score.

AUSTIN GONZALEZ singled to put runners at the corners. He then stole second. Nickerson put down a perfect suicide squeeze bunt, allowing Rodriguez to score the go-ahead run. Gonzalez then scored on a wild pitch, giving the Highlanders a 2-run lead.

Nickerson set the Norsemen down in order in the 7th to keep Helix (14-9, 5-3) in playoff contention.

“Another good game on both sides – we just couldn't put this one away today,” said Valhalla coach MIKE WILSON. “They took a risk and it paid off."

“We've been hitting the ball well overall as a team,” he added. “We've been getting some good pitching. We're just leaving too many on base and really need to pick up our fielding.”

MONTE VISTA 11, MOUNT MIGUEL 5 – Monte Vista probably won’t capture the Grossmont South League pennant this spring, but the Monarchs will most likely have a say in who does claim the league laurels.

The Monarchs (7-13, 4-4 GSL) are in 4th place, three games behind front running Steele Canyon at the midway point of the league race.

In their crosstown battle with Spring Valley rival Mount Miguel (6-15, 1-7 GSL), the Monarchs made it clear that they are going to raise havoc with the upper echelon in the GSL.

Monte Vista took an early 6-1 lead and then let pitchers IVAN PARMA and SHAWN LaBOUBE take over from there. The Monarchs duo limited the Matadors to 10 hits and two earned runs.

As a batter Parma accounted for five runs for Monte Vista, including a two-run double in the 2nd inning, ADAM TIMANUS followed with his 5th home run and suddenly the Monarchs were sitting on a 6-0 edge after 1 ½ innings.

Mount Miguel helped create its own demise by committing nine errors. Those boots sabotaged the pitching of JULIAN CHARLES and JUWUN McCRAY, who were victimized by six unearned runs.

Given more playing time in Friday’s (May 1) Grossmont North League contest at El Cajon Valley, Ford had a game he’ll probably never forget.

The 5-foot-11, 210-pound Ford went 2-for-3, driving in six runs with a grand slam and a triple. He now has nine RBI in 10 official at-bats this season.

LEVI STEVENS was 2-for-2 with a double, a triple and three RBI. He also scored a pair of runs for the Foothillers (14-8, 3-2 GNL).

Junior pitchers BRIAN PAZNOKAS and MARK VASQUEZ combined to spin a 7-hit shutout, totaling 7 strikeouts between them. Paznokas pitched the first five frames to pick up the pitching nod.

EFREN PADILLA accounted for two of El Cajon Valley’s seven hits.