By Bill Dickens
© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (5-31-13) — When the chips are on the line Granite Hills High head coach JAMES DAVIS doesn’t hesitate to give the ball to senior left-hander TRENTON BROOKS.

Faced with elimination from the San Diego CIF Open Division playoffs on Thursday (May 30), Brooks took the ball and pitched a complete game 3-hitter as the Eagles dismissed La Costa Canyon 3-1 to earn a berth in the Open Division championship game against Rancho Bernardo (29-5) on Saturday (June 1) at USD at 7 p.m.

“I always want the ball when the game is on the line,” said Brooks, who struck out 7 and walked none for his 7th win in 9 decisions. “The bigger the game the more I want the ball.”

“I’d have to say – in terms of magnitude – this is one of the better games I’ve pitched,” Brooks added.

He made one major mistake when he served up a home run ball to Anthony Balderas.

“I threw a change-up for a ball and then I tried to sneak a fastball by him and he blasted it,” said Brooks, which at the time cut the Granite Hills lead to 2-1 in the 4th inning. “All I did was tried to shake that off and move on.”

The Eagles (25-9) took a 1-0 lead in the 2nd inning with a two-out rally. JAYSON ROSE singled to left and advanced to second when the fielder bobbled the ball. JORDAN VERDON followed with a basehit on an 0-2 pitch to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead.

Granite Hills tacked on a second run in the 3rd inning. Brooks led off with a single and advanced to third on a one-out double by JOSH ROSE. After SEAN WALKER was hit by a pitch, Rose scooted home on a groundout by JUSTIN MITCHELL to make it 2-0.

La Costa Canyon cut the lead in half on a booming home by Balderas in the 4th.

In the 5th inning Granite Hills added an insurance run as Josh Rose banged his second double of the game. Two outs later he scored on a base hit by Jayson Rose.

That would be all the runs the Eagles would need to support the pitching of Brooks (7-2).

“Brooks was simply amazing,” said Granite Hills coach JAMES DAVIS. “When the stages are the highest he always comes up with something special.”

© East County Sports.com
ENCINITAS (5-30-13) — Usually when a No. 9 seed faces a No. 1 seed there is no series. That is, the top seed usually wins in one game.

That wasn’t the case when No. 9 Christian tackled top-seeded San Dieguito Academy in the San Diego Section Division III CIF semifinals. Fact is, the Patriots defeated the Mustangs 5-4 in one game after losing 3-1 in the first round.

The two teams locked up again in the fourth round with the Patriots winning 5-4.

Even the tie-breaker between these two teams did not come easily. In fact, it took the Mustangs 11 innings and a check-swing single to claim a 1-0 victory over the Patriots to earn a berth in Friday’s (May 31) Division III finals between San Dieguito Academy (28-8) and No. 11 seed San Ysidro (17-15) at USD at 3:30 p.m.

The Mustangs put together the only run of the contest on a one-out single by Dominic Anguiano and a groundout by Lucas McDowell. Aaron Benedict pinch ran for Anguiano and scored when Zac Cohen took a half swing but managed to roll a ground ball between first and second base.

While the Patriots were scrambling to try to come up with the ball, Benedict raced around third base to score the winning run.

“You’d think they won the World Series when that kid scored,” said Patriots coach MIKE MITCHELL. “I guess they forgot they were the No. 1 seed and we were the No. 9 seed.”

Mitchell said it wasn’t like it was a line shot.

“You couldn’t have thrown a ball to a better place than where the kid hit it,” he said.

Christian (23-12) was outscored by the top-seeded Mustangs 9-5 in three games.

Not to be overlooked was the pitching of STEPHEN JOHNSTON, who blanked the Mustangs on 3 hits over 10 innings.

“If you would have told me at the beginning of the season that we would win 23 games and be only one win shy of reaching the championship round, I would have thought you were loco,” Mitchell said. “We don’t have a lot of strength but we made the most of what we had.”

The Patriots’ future looks pretty good as their final game lineup against the Mustangs included four sophomores, one freshman and two juniors.

“I think our future looks pretty good but I want to say I was pretty proud of the season we had this year,” Mitchell said.

Grossmont's Peyton Lindsay slugs this grand slam in the 5th inning, as the Foothillers held off visiting Valhalla, 8-5, in the CIF Division 1 championship. (Photos by Linda Byerline) ADDITIONAL PHOTOS HERE

By Mark Meadows
© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (5-29-13) — In 1921, the New York Giants and New York Yankees competed in the last best-of-nine World Series. The Giants prevailed 5 games to 3.

In 2013, Grossmont and Valhalla also found themselves in a best-of-nine series.

With Grossmont leading the series 4 games to 3, the Foothillers managed to duplicate the old NY Giants’ feat on PEYTON LINDSAY's grand slam and 5 RBI day and the complete game pitching of JOEY VISKAS to finally eliminate the tenacious Valhalla Norsemen 8-5 in fourth round action of the Division I San Diego Section playoffs.

The win propels Grossmont (25-8) into the CIFSDS Division 1 championship game at USD's Fowler Park at 7 p.m.. on Friday (May 31).

Although Grossmont would eventually earn the berth in the championship, Valhalla (20-16) wasn't about to make it easy.

The Norsemen jumped ahead 1-0 in the 2nd on a Grossmont error and a ground out. The Foothillers tied the score in the 4th on a Valhalla error and a passed ball. At that point, it wasn't very pretty baseball.

The fireworks were reserved for the 5th inning. In Valhalla 's half, CONNOR HOPKINS had a lead single to right field. Two batters later JORDAN QSAR (2-for-4, 3 RBI) smoked a 1-0 fastball to deep right-center for a home run to put Valhalla up by two.

Norsemen starter MITCH COOMBS, who cruised through the first 4 innings giving up only one unearned run, was now staked to a 3-1 lead. Valhalla had seized the momentum.

But Grossmont answered the challenge and then some. With the bases loaded and nobody out, HUNTER STRATTON dumped a single down the left field line to plate NOAH BUCHANAN.

The packed stands at Joe Gizoni Field now found their Hillers down only one run, when up stepped right-handed power hitting junior PEYTON LINDSAY, who quickly fell behind 0-2 in count.

But he would rectify the situation with one mighty swing of the bat. Lindsay took the next Valhalla offering for a ride over the right-center fence and staked Grossmont to a 6-3 lead, providing enough cushion for the Foothillers win.

"He threw me a curve to make it 0-2," said Lindsay. "I was just looking for something up in the zone and got a fastball I could handle."

Valhalla has reached the semifinal round four straight years and has knocked off some of the top teams in the county in 2013, but its season would come to an end at the hands of Grossmont.

"Coombs threw a great game," said coach MIKE WILSON. "He had us in a good spot to win, but that homer was a kick in the side. We battled injuries and obstacles all year, and I'm very proud of our boys."

The last remaining order of business was whether or not ace right-hander Viskas (11-2, 1.70) could record the final out. With 2 runs home and two outs, coach CHAD WILLIAMS strode to the mound.

"I asked Joey if he could get the last out," Williams said. "Flat out, how bad did he want it?"

Viskas was up to the challenge and finished the game for his 11th victory in 13 decisions.

"Coach did ask me how much I wanted it," Viskas confirmed. "I knew it was a huge game for the team and I really wanted to come through for them."

Valhalla had a chance to tie it with a home run in the 7th inning, but Grossmont center fielder Brett Stone make the game-ending catch in from of rhe fence, lined with Foothillers fans

The Norsemen also received a nice sliding catch in the outfield by Jordan Qsar in right. (Photos by Linda Byerline) ADDITIONAL PHOTOS HERE

School's best-ever playoff run ends
Foothills ousted by Calvin Christian

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (5-28-13) — Foothills Christian High came within one win of reaching the San Diego Section Division V finals on Monday (May 27), but came up short against visiting Calvin Christian, 6-4.

The Knights (17-11) built a 3-0 lead after five innings but surrendered 6 runs in the final two frames to come up short despite out-hitting the Crusaders by a 13-8 count.

Foothills Christian was eliminated and Calvin Christian will take on Julian in the Division V final on Thursday (May 30) at Cal State San Marcos at 3:30.

No other information was available.

Botes: Foothills Christian finished with 17 victories, one more than the school mark set last season. It was also the school's deepest CIF playoff run in six seasons of Knights baseball.

© East County Sports.com
KEARNY MESA (5-26-13) — It seems like the Valhalla Norsemen won’t go away. The Norsemen’s short-handed pitching crew ganged up to defeat St. Augustine, 7-4, for the second time in the San Diego Section CIF, Division I third round playoffs on Friday (May 25) at Hickman Field.

The Norsemen won the game in the 9th inning to advance, scoring 3 runs in the top of the inning. The victory will send Valhalla against Grossmont for the 8th time this season on Tuesday (May 28) at 3:30 at Joe Gizoni Field.

With two outs in the 9th Valhalla pulled out a trump card as JORDAN QSAR was hit by a pitch and scored on a double by JEFF HOUGHTBY. SEAN CROSBY then singled in Houghtby and COREY ZIMMERMAN singled to left. When the fielder bobbled the ball, Zimmerman scored to stake Valhalla to a 3-run lead.

Valhalla (20-15) advances to the semifinals for the 4th consecutive year.

“This was a great win but we needed duct tape, smoke and mirrors to pull it off,” Valhalla coach MIKE WILSON said of the second win over St. Augustine . “I think we have too many guys trying to do too much, and that’s why we’ve struggled most of the time. But we came through when we had to and we’re looking forward.”

CHRISTIAN 4, ESCONDIDO 2 (9 inn.) – Christian High coach MIKE MITCHELL wanted to make one thing clear.

“We’ve made it to the semifinals six straight times in three different divisions, but only once have we been seeded (in the top four),” he said.

But the Patriots (22-11) remain alive in postseason play after knocking off the Cougars 4-2 in nine innings in Saturday’s (May 25) elimination bracket at Escondido .

“This is just another case of us being overlooked as a 9 seed to a 4 seed,” Mitchell said.

The Patriots put the game away on a 2-run line drive single to right field by BRANDON TARDIFF in the 9th inning to give Christian the game-winning blow.

Prior to his game-winning hit Tardiff slugged a solo home run in the 3rd inning, which at the time tied the game 1-1.

Tardiff finished with 2 hits and 3 RBI.

CHANDLER COSSIO allowed only 2 runs in seven innings before STEPHEN JOHNSTON pitched two shutout innings in relief to earn the win.

LA COSTA CANYON 6, HELIX 1 – The Scotties collected only 5 hits in its last two playoff games, which led to the Highlanders dismissal from the San Diego Section CIF Open Round playoffs on Saturday (May 25) in North County.

The knockout blow was delivered by La Costa Canyon’s Shayne Davern, which was a 3-run homer in the 1st inning.

Ethan Abrams pitched a complete game 3-hitter with 8 strikeouts for the Mavericks, who will play Granite Hills on Tuesday (May 28) in the semifinals in El Cajon .

“When you only get 5 hits in two straight playoff games, you’re probably not going to last too long,” said Helix coach COLE HOLLAND. “Our pitchers did a great job and our defense was solid, but we couldn’t generate much offense.”

CASTLE PARK 12, MOUNT MIGUEL 1 – San Diego CIF Division IV quarterfinal action saw the No. 8 Mount Miguel Matadors succumb to the No. 1 Castle Park Trojans 12-1 on Saturday (May 25) in Chula Vista .

It marked an end to a very successful Matador season. Mount Miguel (13-19) started their 2013 campaign with a 0-11 record. The Matadors rallied to finish second in the Grossmont Valley League at 8-4.

Mount Miguel would also win an SDCIF play-in game against Escondido Charter and junior pitcher DANIEL RONK threw a no-hitter at this same Castle Park team earlier in the week.

But on Saturday Mount Miguel seemed to be running on empty. The Trojans took advantage of some shoddy Matador defense and added 8 hits of their own in an 8-run 5th inning uprising to push a 3-1 advantage to the final 11-1 bulge.

"We fell short of our goal today", said Matadors coach JASON BABINEAU. "I want to give credit to our young men for all the positive steps they've taken this year. I also want to tip my cap to Castle Park . They are the No. 1 seed for a reason and they played like it today".

The lone Matador run came in the 3rd inning. JACOB CASTILLO (2-for-3) reached on an infield hit and ENRIQUE KELLER singled to left. Castillo would score on a Castle Park miscue.

Mount Miguel will lose only 4 players to graduation, so coach Babineau returns a strong foundation as the Matadors look to build on this year's progress in 2014.

“I give all the credit to the boys for taking this program another positive step forward,” the coach said. “We’ll be back strong next year. I sincerely loved coaching this team.”

“More than anything I’m just sad for the players. We got close to winning league. I’m so proud of them.”

– Mark Meadows

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 8, CV-HIGH TECH 7 (8 inn.) – A sacrifice fly by RYAN QUINN gave top-seeded Foothills Christian a win over Chula Vista High Tech High in Saturday’s (May 25) third round of the Division V San Diego Section playoffs.

DANIEL LUCKETT was 2-for-5 for the Knights and TIM GRAY scored 3 runs without benefit of a hit for Foothills Christian, which improved to 17-10.

	Hillers first baseman Tyler Gardetto (4) skies to grab baseball, thern landed on the bag to retire Valhalla runner Corey Zimmerman in a 10-3 CIF triumph. (Photos by Linda Byerline) ADDITIONAL PHOTOS HERE
	Eagles' Brooks blanks Highlanders By Mark Meadows © East County Sports.com EL CAJON (5-25-13) — Granite Hills High pitcher TRENTON BROOKS seemed to have all the answers. The 6-foot, 170-pound left-hander combined a power performance on the mound with a perfect day at the plate, and catapulted the Granite Hills Eagles (24-8) into the Open Division semifinals with a resounding 6-0 victory over the visiting Helix Highlanders (16-15). On the mound, Brooks (6-2, 1.41) made it clear early that he wasn't playing around. He fanned 5 of the first 6 batters he faced and finished with 12 strikeouts, walking none and yielding only 2 hits. "I felt good warming up in the pen,” said the Nevada bound Brooks. "My approach is to get up there and throw strikes and rely on my defense.” Granite Hills coach JAMES DAVIS echoed Brooks feelings. "Brooks had good life on his fastball today,” said Davis . "He was also throwing all of his pitches for strikes and working at a good pace." The Granite Hills offense was about as balanced as it gets. Eight Eagles starters had hits. Six batters scored runs and six Eagles had RBI. In the 3rd, Brooks was hit by a pitch and scored on a double by NOAH CUMMINGS, who would later score on a sacrifice fly by SEAN WALKER. An inning later, DANIEL VASQUEZ and ROBERT BOSTEDT were both hit by pitches. Brooks (3-for-3, run, RBI) would plate Vasquez with a single to center field. Bostedt would score on a JOSH ROSE RBI single to right. Granite Hills finished its scoring in the 5th. JAYSON ROSE had a safety to left and stole second base. JORDAN VERDON brought him home with a base knock. Bostedt's infield single would be enough to chase Verdon home with a 6th Eagle run. Helix' offense consisted of 2 singles and two batters hit by pitches. Senior catcher ALEX BRITSCHGI had both singles. "Flat out, we just didn't compete today,” said Helix coach COLE HOLLAND. "We weren't competitive on the mound or at the plate. Granite was a much better team than us today." Granite Hills’ victory leaves the Eagles one win away from a spot in the Open Division final. "Obviously this (win) puts us in a good situation," Davis stated. "We like the position we're in, but we're a long ways from the finish line.”
	Valhalla shortstop Jeff Houghtby throws his glove behind his body in hope of knocking down a really bad-hop single. (Photo by Linda Byerline)
	CIF SAN DIEGO SECTION  CHAMPIONSHIPS Fri., May 24, 3:30 p.m., unless noted Round 3 Open Division (1) Rancho Bernardo (28-4) 2, (4) Vista (21-12) 1 (8) RBV (14-17) 3, (5) Poway (14-17) 0 (2) Granite Hills (24-8) 6, (6) Helix (16-15) 0 (3) La Costa Canyon (21-11) 10, (7) Torrey Pines (14-19) 4 Division 1 (1) Carlsbad (25-6) 1, (4) Montgomery (24-7) 0 (8) Mira Mesa (19-14) 3, (5) Cathedral Catholic (20-12) 1 (2) Grossmont (24-8) 10, (6) Valhalla (19-15) 3 (3) St. Augustine (24-8) 2, (10) Patrick Henry (20-14) 1 Division 2 (9) Mission Hills (18-13) 4, (5) El Camino (16-15) 3 (1) La Jolla Country Day (24-6) 12, (4) Hilltop (21-12) 4 (3) Madison (23-8) 9, (10) Westview (22-10) 2 (6) Brawley (20-10) 4, (7) San Marcos (15-16) 3 Division 3 (1) San Dieguito Academy (25-6) 3, (4) Escondido (15-12-1) 2 (9) Christian (21-11) 11, (12) Vista-Calvary Christian (17-12) 5 (11) San Ysidro (16-15) 5, (10) Canyon Crest (13-19) 3 (2) Del Norte (21-9) 8, (3) Serra (22-5) 1 Division 4 (5) Mt. Carmel (11-21) 5, (8) Mount Miguel (13-18) 2 (1) Castle Park 19-11) 5, (4) Imperial (15-11) 2 (6) EC-Southwest (16-10) 10, (7) Olympian (12-20) 5 (7) Orange Glen (15-14) 3, (3) Kearny (16-13) 1

East County pair will reach
CIFSDS semis, but whom?

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (5-25-13) — East County will have at least two teams in Tuesday’s (May 28) semifinals of the San Diego CIF baseball playoffs as Grossmont Hills League co-champions Grossmont and Granite Hills high schools each rolled their playoff records to 2-0 with victories on Friday (May 24).

The Foothillers (24-8) hammered Valhalla 10-3 for the fourth time in seven meetings this season, while Granite Hills dusted off Helix 6-0 as TRENTON BROOKS notched the Eagles’ 9th shutout while striking out 12.

Included in Saturday’s (May 25) elimination round are: an Open Division rematch between Helix (16-15) at La Costa Canyon (21-11) in North County; Valhalla (19-15) visiting St. Augustine (24-8) at Hickman Field in Division I; and Christian (21-11) traveling to Escondido (15-12-1) in Division III. All three games start at 11 a.m.

Meanwhile in Friday’s (May 24) Round 2 action:

Valhalla right fielder Foster McNary fights the sun and the fence to snap the baseball for the out. (Photos by Linda Byerline)

Make no mistake about it, Valhalla came out swinging. After singles by JORDAN QSAR and JEFF HOUGHTBY, GIUSEPPE CASTANOS hammered a 3-run homer way over the left field fence.

Grossmont could easily have folded at that point, but that didn’t happen. The Foothillers came back in the bottom of the 1st on a single by PEYTON LINDSAY, who was sporting a newly bleached “do” of a reddish hue.

But the Foothillers weren’t clowning around, as they proved in the 2nd inning. With one out Grossmont put together consecutive singles by ALEX MARLAY, NOAH BUCHANAN and NICO MAIDA to make it 3-2.

Grossmont took command in the same frame when HUNTER STRATTON laced a 2-run double to chase Valhalla starter FOSTER McNARY, giving Grossmont a 4-3 edge.

Norsemen closer RAMSEY ROMANO was beckoned to the mound unusually early in the game and served up an RBI single to BRETT STONE to make it 5-3. Romano kept the Hillers in check until the 6th inning, when the roof caved in.

After hitting Buchanan to begin the inning, Romano permitted singles to Maida and Stratton and also tossed in a throwing error to allow Buchanan to score. Stone walked and DEREK RUSTICH singled to right to drive in one run. The Valhalla right-fielder let the ball get by him to allow two more runs to score and Rustich to take third.

That spelled the end for Romano on the hill, as Valhalla brought in LOGAN HESS, who gave up an RBI single to Lindsey and then retired the final three Foothillers.

“All we were trying to do was advance,” said Buchanan, who was 3-for-3 with 3 runs scored.

No question Buchanan was the kingpin of the Grossmont offense as the Hillers’ leadoff hitter. He singled the first three times up, was hit by a pitch his fourth time and scored 3 runs.

“We know these guys and they know us, but this was a story about moving to the next round,” he said.

Batting in the No. 1 spot for Grossmont, Buchanan admitted a leadoff hitter takes a different approach than if he hits lower in the order.

“Nine out of 10 times a pitcher is gonna throw you a first-pitch fastball,” Buchanan explained. “Because they’ve seen me so many times and I’ve seen them so many times, I saw a lot of curveballs. They pitched me backwards most of the time.

“Actually my first hit came on a fastball, the second one on a curveball and the third one on a change-up.”

Obviously Valhalla didn’t know what to throw to get Buchanan out.

BRANDON WEED pitched five innings, allowing only the 1st inning 3-run home run as raised his record to 5-0. ZACH SESTAK pitched the final two hitless innings to earn his first save for Grossmont.

Noah Cummings (13) scores for Granite Hills. (Photos by Tony Bordine)

BRYCE JURRIES led the Patriots’ 14 hit attack with a pair of hits and 4 RBI.

TREVOR HOWELL and A.J. GREGOROVIC had 3 hits and 2 RBI apiece. KYLE STOWERS also had 3 hits.

Gregorovic’s 2-run homer in the big 5th inning was his second of the year and Christian’s 3rd as a team.

NICK JARVIS surrendered 11 hits in 5 2/3 innings but kept a lid on the Vista Calvary Christian offense to earn his 6th win against no losses. JOE ROSS came out of the bullpen to blank the Lions on one hit over the final 1 1/3 innings.

Jurries had 2 key hits in the game, including a 2-run in the 2nd inning and a 2-run double in the 5th.

Division 4
MT. CARMEL 5, MOUNT MIGUEL 2 — Few teams have enough pitching to play four games in six days, but Mount Miguel (13-18) will get a chance to test its mettle after falling to host Mt. Carmel (11-21) on Friday (May 24) in the second round of the SDCIF playoffs.

“We’re going to have to piece it together,” said Matadors coach JASON BABINEAU heading into a sudden death duel at Division IV top-seeded Castle Park .

He was referring to his pitching staff, which has shown more depth in the playoffs than it has at any stage in the season.

Case in point was the pitching of ADRIAN MONTIJO, who limited the Sundevils to two earned runs in five innings. Trouble is three Mount Miguel errors handed Mt. Carmel three unearned runs, which added up to a Matadors defeat.

“Montijo did his job, but we simply did not make the plays behind him,” Babineau said. “We didn’t play our usual unselfish brand of baseball. We have to play together, like we have been, or the season is over.”

Mount Miguel out-hit Mt. Carmel 8-7 but SEAN MARX had the Matadors’ only RBI, which cut Mt. Carmel ’s lead to 4-2 in the 4th inning.

Steady BRAD MORENO was 3-for-4 for the Matadors in the losing effort.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (5-24-13) — Foothills Christian High head coach DAVE LEWIS labeled the Knights' 12-11 CIF San Diego Section Division V victory over Maranatha Christian on Thursday (May 23) in 8 innings as one of the most memorable conquests of his coaching career.

“This was one of the greatest games in my 27 years of coaching,” Lewis confirmed, as his Knights advanced to Saturday’s (May 25) third round encounter against Chula-Vista High Tech, also at El Cajon Valley, startibg at 11 a.m. “It was a lot of fun.”

That’s how it ended up, but the Knights were trailing 10-2 entering the 6th inning.

Playing with only 10 players due to illness and injury, Foothills Christian mustered up an 8-run rally to tie the Round 2 game at 10-10 after six.

But Maranatha countered with a go-ahead run in the 7th, but the Knights bounced back to send the game into extra innings.

Foothills Christian managed to continue their season with a winning run in the bottom of the 8th. TREVOR TINNEY walked, stole second and ERIC CANNON was hit by a pitch. Tinney and Cannon then pulled a double steal, setting the stage for RYAN QUINN’s game-winning single.

Quinn finished with 3 hits and 2 RBI in the contest for the Knights (16-10).

But the big bat of the day for Foothills Christian was RYAN DEYLING, who was 5-for-5 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored.

Catcher DANIEL LUCKETT made his pitching debut due to the short-handed Foothills Christian pitching staff. He allowed only 3 earned runs in 4 1/3 innings and was rewarded with the victory.

“I can’t tell you how proud I am of my guys,” said Lewis. “We only had 11 guys today – JUSTIN VRZICH was ill and NOAH GULA tore a quad (muscle). We battled.”

Mount Miguel's Daniel Ronk fired a no-hitter at top-seeded Castle Park during second round action of the CIF Division 4 baseball championship. (Photo by Philip Brents, Chula Vista Star News)

Mount Miguel pitcher Danny Ronk leaps into the arms of his Matadors teammates following his no-hitter against Castle Park. (Photo by Philip Brents, Chula Vista Star News) Ronk rolls in CIF no-hit triumph over C-Park By Bill Dickens © East County Sports.com CHULA VISTA (5-23-13) — Mount Miguel pitcher DANNY RONK can hardly recall those rocky days when the Matadors began the season with 12 consecutive losses. As far as the Matadors are concerned those dismal days are in the past. Since then Mount Miguel has posted 13 wins in 18 starts, the biggest of which was a 3-0 no-hitter by Ronk against top-seeded Castle Park (18-11-1) in Wednesday’s (May 22) San Diego CIF Division IV first round opener. Ronk noted he really wasn’t focused on the fact that he was pitching a no-hitter. “Actually it felt like a regular game to me,” said Ronk, who balanced his record at 4-4. “I went through the order the first time and knew I had a perfect game going, but I really didn’t take it seriously. Then I nicked the guy in the shirt (HBP), but I told myself I still had a no-hitter going. “Around the 5th inning I realized I could still actually get a complete game no-hitter.” Only four runners reached base against Ronk, who walked one and hit two. “I was in a couple of tough situations,” he said. “One was in the 6th inning when I walked a guy and he reached second base with two outs. But I got a ground ball to my third baseman (DOMINIK SAWYER), who made the play.” Ronk needed only 88 pitches to shut down the No. 1 seed Trojans. “The thing about Danny is he trusts his catcher and his defense,” said Matadors coach JASON BABINEAU. “He makes the other team earn everything they get, which in this case wasn’t much.” Mount Miguel scored all the runs it would need in the 4th inning when they hung up a pair of markers. Sawyer singled and one out later CESAR PRECIADO singled. With two outs SEAN MARX singled to drive in Sawyer. The Matadors got a second run when JOEL SANDOVAL’s fly ball to right field was dropped, allowing Preciado to score. In the 7th inning the Matadors tacked on an insurance run. BRAD MORENO singled, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by JACOB CASTILLO and scored on a single by Sawyer. Mount Miguel finished with 10 hits, including 3 by Moreno and 3 by Marx.

By Bill Dickens
© East County Sports.com
CARLSBAD (5-23-13) — Helix Jogh coach COLE HOLLAND said “This is one of the biggest wins I’ve ever been a part of.”

The Highlanders’ skipper was speaking of Wednesday’s (May 22) San Diego Section Open Division 5-4 victory over La Costa Canyon.

“This game had it all and we seemed to come up with the edge in most of the categories,” Holland said. “What we did is going to be memorable for our program.”

The game came down to the 6th inning.

With Helix leading 3-2, singles by DEREK CLARK and DASHAWN KEIRSEY and a hit batter, ALEX BRITSCHGI walked in a run with the bases loaded, and RAY PETERSON hit a sacrifice fly to stretch the Highlanders’ lead to 5-2.

La Costa Canyon countered with 2 runs in the bottom of the 6th, keyed by Colin Winters’ RBI triple.

The Mavericks were on the verge of stealing the victory from the Highlanders in the bottom of the 7th. Shane Potter appeared to hit a leadoff double but was called “out” for missing first base.

LCC kept pecking away on a single by Connor Schenk and got a bonus when Helix made an error to put runners at first and second.

“Our ability to erase that leadoff double was huge,” Holland said. “But we still weren’t out of the mess.”

Although FRANKIE NUNEZ pitched 6 1/3 innings and allowed only 3 earned runs while striking out 5, he needed a bail out from ELIJAH VARELA.

“I can’t say enough about the improvement of Varela,” said Holland .

Varela gained his 2nd save with a pop-up and a strike out to strand two runners on base.

Helix will take on Granite Hills for the 4th time this season on Friday (May 24) on the Eagles’ diamond.

Climbing the ladder for an amazing catch is Granite Hills second baseman Tyler Vinton in a 9-2 triumph over Torrey Pines in CIF Open Division playoff action. (Photos by Kristen Arena)

GRANITE HILLS 9, TORREY PINES 2 – Granite Hills pounded out 14 hits en route to a lopsided victory over Torrey Pines (13-18) in Wednesday’s (May 22) Open Division first round encounter in the SDCIF Playoffs.

The top five batters in the Eagles’ lineup accounted for 11 hits in 19 at-bats, which sort of set the tune for the roll by the No. 2 Eagles (23-8).

NOAH CUMMINGS was 3-for-4 with 2 runs scored and an RBI to lead Granite Hills.

“You’ve gotta win the first game in a double elimination tournament like this, more for momentum than anything else,” said the senior shortstop. “It’s a pretty big deal to get the first game out of the way.”

SEAN WALKER was a two-way star for the Eagles as he allowed one run on six hits in six innings to post his 6th win without a loss. He also contributed as a hitter with a 3-for-4 effort, 2 runs scored and 2 RBI.

“I’m used to being a reliever but I don’t mind starting when they ask me to,” said Walker . “In this game my fastball was working but I had to keep it up because the umpire was making calls at that level. Even when I threw my breaking ball it had to be high in the strike zone, so the key for me was to make adjustments, and I was able to do that.”

After taking the lead on a sacrifice fly by JORDAN VERDON in the 2nd inning Granite Hills batted around in the 3rd inning to produce 4 more runs.

The Eagles turned the game into a blowout with 4 more in the 6th.

“It seems like when one guy hits, we all hit,” said Cummings. “Speaking for myself I try to hit the ball to the opposite field, which causes me to wait deep in the count. But the bottom line is it doesn’t matter where the ball goes as long as it’s a hit.”

Patrick Henry first baseman Travis Lamke gets fully extended to prevent a teammate's error and retire Grossmont's Derek Rustich. (Photo by Linda Byerline) ADDITIONAL PHOTOS HERE

GROSSMONT 2, PATRICK HENRY 0 – The Grossmont Foothillers took the first step towards their ultimate goal with a 2-0 dispatching of the Patrick Henry Patriots at Joe Gizoni field on Wednesday (May 22).

Six-foot 6-inch senior right-hander JOEY VISKAS (10-2, 1.46) finished what he started for his 3rd complete game of the season and has the Grossmont faithful nodding their heads in belief.

Considering the magnitude of the game, this might have been his finest hour.

Make that his finest hour and 18 minutes. Viskas was all business and needed only 78 minutes to send the Patriots packing. He threw only 62 pitches and yielded just 3 singles, while striking out 4 and walking one. Remarkably, Viskas threw only 18 pitches for balls in the entire game.

"I was just trying to block out all the (CIF playoff) hype", Viskas said. "My main focus is throwing strikes and letting our guys handle it on defense."

Foothillers coach CHAD WILLIAMS was impressed but not surprised.

"Wow, 78 minutes and 62 pitches, that's impressive," said Williams. "Joey's outing also saves our staff some innings down the road. He gave us exactly what we needed if we are going to make a run at this.

“He didn’t let a guy even touch second base, the coach added. “He walked just one guy and had one of two 3-ball counts.”

Grossmont (23-8) got on the board in the 3rd inning on a lead single by NOAH BUCHANAN. NICO MAIDA's single to centerfield was bobbled and the runners advanced to second and third. BRETT STONE's harmless grounder to third base forced Buchanan at home, but the Patrick Henry catcher unleashed an errant throw on the attempted double play and Maida cruised home to put Grossmont up 1-0.

Although that would be enough run support for Viskas, the Foothillers delivered a dagger to Patrick Henry (20-13) by adding an insurance run in the bottom of the 6th.

With one out, Stone was hit with the 1-2 pitch, and later advanced to second on a wild pitch.

PEYTON LINDSAY worked the count to 3-1 before delivering an RBI single to put the Foothillers up 2-0.

"He had just thrown me a 2-seamer for a strike, so I figured he'd come back with the same pitch and I was ready for it," said Lindsay (2-for-3, RBI). "Getting that extra run took a little stress off Joey's shoulders, so it was nice to contribute."

"Obviously every win is important at this point", said Williams. "But we're off to a good start and we have a home game on Friday (May 24)."

It will pit the Foothillers – for the 7th time – against Grossmont Conference rival Valhalla .

— Mark Meadows

Patrick Henry junior shortstop Aaron Ping (left), Grossmont senior pitcher Joe Viskas (center), and scoring the Foothillers' first run is Nico Maida (2) in a 2-0 CIF victory in just 79 minutes. (Photos by Linda Byerline)

VALHALLA 4, ST. AUGUSTINE 1 – When the Norsemen are cast in the underdog role they seem to rise the occasion to offset the odds.

And they did it again as they knocked off No. 3 seed St. Augustine in the first round of the Division I SDCIF playoffs on Wednesday (May 22) at Hickman Field.

MITCH COOMBS dazzled favored St. Augustine with a bevy of curveballs as the Norsemen (19-14) stunned the Saints with their second playoff win in as many days, coming through the Play-in round yesterday after eliminating Bonita Vista.

After St. Augustine (23-8) took a 1-0 lead, the Norsemen tied it in the 3rd as RAMSEY ROMANO singled to left, JORDAN QSAR singled to right and CHRIS HUDGINS hit a sacrifice fly to score Romano.

In the 4th inning, SEAN CROSBY reached base on an error. COREY ZIMMERMAN singled to right, sending Crosby to third. FOSTER McNARY then singled to left to score Crosby and giving the Norsemen the 2-1 lead.

In the 5th frame Valhalla kept pecking away as Hudgins singled to left and GIUSEPPE CASTANOS walked. JEFF HOUGHTBY laid down a sacrifice bunt but the Saints pitcher threw it away, allowing Hudgins to score.

Valhalla added its final run in the 7th inning as pinch hitter GINO YOUSIF singled in a run with the bases loaded.

Coombs, who logged his 5th complete game in 10 starts, lowered his ERA to 1.45 with his 4-hitter and six strikeouts.

By winning, Valhalla will face Grossmont Hills League rival Grossmont – for the 7th time this season – on Friday (May 24) in the second round of the playoffs on the Foothillers’ Joe Gizoni Field.

SAN DIEGUITO 3, CHRISTIAN 1 – Not many teams have a better pitching staff than San Dieguito Academy (25-6) this season. Christian got a chance to test that theory in Wednesday’s (May 22) Division III first round of the SDCIF playoffs.

The Patriots were able to take the lead in the 3rd inning. BRYCE JURRIES and BRANDON TARDIFF hit back-to-back singles. Two outs later STEPHEN JOHNSTON doubled in a run.

And that was about it for Christian, which got only one hit the remainder of the contest against San Dieguito’s ace, Marc Vela, who improved to 9-1.

Christian (20-11) hosts Vista-Calvary Christian on Friday (May 24) in an elimination game.

Mount Miguel pitcher Danny Ronk fires a no-hitter against Castle Park. (Photo by Philip Brents, Chula Vista Star News)

By Bill Dickens
© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (5-22-13) — It doesn’t seem to matter where GIUSEPPE CASTANOS bats in the lineup because he always seems to deliver.

The designated hitter-now first baseman is batting .500 with a home run, 3 doubles and 10 RBI for the Norsemen in his last six starts for Valhalla, which eliminated Bonita Vista, 11-3, in Tuesday’s (May 21) CIF San Diego Section Division 1 Play-in game.

Valhalla shortstop Ramsey Romano flags a ball headed for center field vs. Bonita Vista. (Photo by Don DeMars Photogrtaphy) ADDITIONAL PHOTOS HERE

Castanos applied the major blows with a 3-run double in the 1st inning and a 2-run double in the 5th inning as Valhalla (18-14) banished the Barons (17-13).

An injury to freshman first baseman DOMENIC DONATO opened the door for Castanos to become the starting first baseman.

“No matter where I play, I just like baseball,” Castanos said. “Sure I’d rather be on the field and be a hitter, but I’ll take what I can get.”

In his 1st inning bases-clearing double, Castanos said he’d teed off on a change-up.

Valhalla broke the game open in the 5th inning with 7 runs. The Norsemen banged out 6 hits in that frame, including a 3-run triple by SEAN CROSBY. The Norsemen also executed a delayed double steal for a run.

“We’re kind of a strange team – we hit up and down,” Castanos said. “Today we came out swinging and that was a good thing.”

MATT MELANESE, who began the season as the No. 3 starter for the Norsemen, turned in arguably his finest performance as he surrendered only 3 runs and 8 hits in six innings to earn his first win in three decisions.

Melanese said he learned that he was going to be the starting pitcher from coach MIKE WILSON on Monday.

“Did I have any trouble sleeping?” Melanese said. “No. There was nothing to get nervous about.”

Melanese said he struggled with his pitching repertoire early. Bonita Vista pounded his fast ball, but once the senior right-hander developed his breaking ball and off-speed pitches the Barons’ offense went silent.

MOUNT MIGUEL 2, ESCONDIDO CHARTER 0 – When Mount Miguel began the season 0-12, making the playoffs hardly appeared to be a possibility.

But since that time the Matadors have gone 12-5, which includes a 2-0 San Diego Section Division IV Play-in win over Escondido Charter on Tuesday (May 21) at Del Dios Middle School.

This game belonged to Matadors junior right-hander BRAD MORENO, who pitched a 2-hit shutout while striking out 10.

“There’s no question that Moreno put us on his back and carried us,” said Matadors coach JASON BABINEAU. “He’s flat out a bulldog.”

Moreno was also 2-for-3 at the dish and scored in the 7th inning.

Fact is, Mount Miguel (12-17) was in a scoreless battle for five innings, until the 6th inning when ADRIAN MONTIJO doubled, CESAR PRECIADO laid down a bunt but Montijo was thrown out at third. Preciado proceeded to steal second base.

The White Tigers’ shortstop then booted a ground ball hit by SEAN MARX, allowing Preciado to score the first run of the game.

An inning later Moreno singled, advanced to single on a sacrifice bunt by JACOB CASTILLO and scored on a two-out single by DOMINIC SAWYER.

“Sawyer is definitely a senior leader for us,” Babineau said. “In playoff games like these you need that veteran leadership.”

CHRISTIAN 7, CHULA VISTA 1 – BRYCE JURRIES strong-armed host Chula Vista in Tuesday’s (May 21) Play-in round of the Division III San Diego Section CIF playoffs.

The sophomore right-hander fired a complete game 4-hitter as the Patriots (20-10) eliminated Chula Vista (16-14) to advance to the double elimination tournament.

For one of the few times this season Jurries (5-3) was able to pitch with an early cushion. The Patriots took the lead in the opening frame on singles by A.J. GREGOROVIC, NICK JARVIS and an infield groundout by STEPHEN JOHNSTON.

In the 2nd frame Christian staged a two-out rally. CHRISTIAN MEZA singled and JOE ROSS walked. BRANDON TARDIFF singled in Mesa and Gregorovic doubled in Ross, making it 3-0.

Christian’s hunt-and-peck offense continued in the 3rd inning when Johnston was hit by a pitch and TREVOR HOWELL hit the first of his two singles. KYLE STOWERS then doubled in Johnston . DAVID SUDA capped the 3rd inning with a sacrifice fly and suddenly Christian was cruising, 5-0.

The Patriots completed their scoring on RBI singles by Jarvis and Howell in the 6th inning.

CATHEDRAL CATHOLIC 15, EL CAPITAN 3 – In 2012, the CIF San Diego Section Division III title game pitted these two inter-section rivals against one another with Cathedral claiming the championship 3-1.

The 2013 version found El Capitan hosting the Dons in the play-in round in the newly realigned Division I.

The Vaqueros (11-16, 9-3) played the Dons tough for five innings but Cathedral (19-10, 7-5) erased any doubt as to the outcome when they sent 17 batters to the plate in the 6th and turned a 4-2 lead into a mammoth 15-2 advantage and an eventual 15-3 victory.

"Our offense has struggled lately, so it was nice get some confidence back", said Cathedral coach Gary Remiker. "Sometimes it can be a benefit to be in the play-in round to try to gain some momentum moving forward."

Cathedral Catholic jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the 2nd on a grand slam by junior third sacker Sean Bouchard to deep left field. But El Capitan countered with 2 runs of their own on a two out, 2 run double by TRISTAN DUNCAN (1-for-3, 2RBI), plating TRAVIS BAKER and JESSIE BURNS.

"You can't spot (Cathedral starter) Gonsalves 4 early runs and try to play catch-up all day,” said Vaqueros coach JORDAN ABRUZZO. “You also can't give Cathedral free passes and second chances.

“But I was proud of the way our guys battled right back and didn't give in."

A pretty good pitching duel broke out for the next 3 innings as Burns and Gonsalves (6-1, 2.19 ERA) matched each other zero for zero.

But the wheels came off the wagon in the 6th. Cathedral mustered only 5 hits in the inning, but the Vaqueros brought their own gas can to the fire. El Cap contributed 3 walks, 2 hit by pitches and four errors to assist in the Dons uprising.

Abruzzo talked about his postgame words for his team.

"I told our seniors that I loved them and I was really proud of the leadership they showed to the younger players," Abruzzo said. "I told our returning players to keep today's scoreboard in their heads for next year. Be proud of the accomplishments of 2013, but don't forget the way that scoreboard looked and how it felt."

Additionally for the Vaqueros, ERIC LOZANO, TYLER DeGRAFF and NATHAN GEISEL also had safeties.

— Mark Meadows

SAN MARCOS 4, WEST HILLS 3 – Senior Jason Foster slugged a 1-0 pitch from West Hills reliever WILL BENNETT over the right field fence in the bottom of the 7th inning for a walk-off home run and a San Marcos victory in a Division II Play-in game Tuesday (May 21) in North County .

Knights pitchers Wes Powell and Dylan Hedberg scattered eight hits and did not allow an earned run between them.

West Hills (14-15), however, took an early 3-0 lead in the opening frame. A bases-loaded error let in the first run and a two-run single by COLE PENDLETON completed the scoring in that inning.

HAYDEN SCHILLING and JOHNNY ESPINOZA had two hits apiece for the Wolf Pack.

Senior Pack pitcher DANIEL HESSLINK limited San Marcos (15-14) to six hits and no earned runs while striking out 6 in six frames.

EL CAMINO 6, SANTANA 2 – Visiting Santana (14-14) continued its late season struggle on offense and it cost the Sultans in Tuesday’s (May 21) San Diego CIF Division II Play-in loss to El Camino (15-14).

The Sultans produced only two hits and both runs in the 7th inning. BRIAN PARKER doubled in one run to shatter the shutout. The second run scored on a wild pitch.

ALAN STRONG went the distance for Santana, scattering 9 hits and surrendering only 2 earned runs. He struck out 4 and walked 2.

“We have a lot of guys returning so the future looks good,” said Santana coach TIM BARRY.

Chula Vista-HIGH TECH-5, FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 3 – A top-seed ranking apparently didn’t help the Foothills Christian Knights. Fact is, Foothills lost its opening round of the double elimination tournament to Chula Vista High Tech High (10-14) despite outhitting the Bruins 10-5.

Four errors in the San Diego Section Division V opener spoiled the pitching of RYAN DEYLING and JUSTIN VRZICH, who combined to give up only 2 earned runs and struck out 10.

Foothills Christian (15-10) scored in the 1st inning on an RBI single by DANIEL LUCKETT.

The Knights took a 2-1 lead on an RBI double by ERIC CANNON in the 3rd inning.

After that they were playing catch-up.

Luckett tagged on an RBI double in the 7th but it was much too little, too late.

Despite the loss the Knights will get a second chance when they host Maranatha on Thursday (May 23) at El Cajon Valley at noon in a Round 2 game.

By Bill Dickens
© East County Sports.com
BALBOA PARK (5-18-13) — Ten East County teams have earned berths in the San Diego CIF baseball playoffs that begin on Tuesday (May 21) at various sites, as announced by the section office.

Open Division competitors in the elite section eight from the East County are Granite Hills (22-8) and Helix (15-14). They do not have a play-in round as do four of the other five divisions. They draw a bye and do not resume play until Wednesday (May 22) when the No. 2 seeded Eagles host Torrey Pines (13-17) and Helix travels to No. 3 La Costa Canyon (20-10).

All games begin at 3:30 p.m. (until the championships).

Meanwhile in Tuesday’s (May 21) Play-in Round:

Grossmont Valley League champion El Capitan (11-16) hosts Cathedral Catholic (19-10), and Valhalla (17-14) entertains Bonita Vista (17-12) in Division I.

Grossmont (22-8), which is co-champion with Granite Hills in the Grossmont Hills League, will host the Play-in winner of the Patrick Henry-Otay Ranch game on Wednesday (May 22).

In Division II Santana (14-13) travels El Camino (14-14), while West Hills (14-14) visits San Marcos (14-14).

In Division III Christian (19-10) challenges Chula Vista (16-13) in South Bay , while Mount Miguel (11-17) takes on Escondido Charter (14-10) in North County in Division IV.

In Division IV Mount Miguel (11-17) will take on Escondido Charter (14-10) in North County .

In Division V Foothills Christian (15-9) is hosting Chula Vista High Tech (9-14) at Barona in the First Round of the double elimination tournament. There are no Play-in games in Division V.

The winners of the Play-in games become part of the double elimination tournament at each level; the losers go home. The championship games will be played on May 30, 31 and June 1st.