ROUNDUP: Norsemen conquer Valley; Sultans share title
- Updated: May 18, 2017
Valhalla seniors on Senior Day.
2017 EAST COUNTY PREP BASEBALL
By Ramon Scott
EastCountySports.com
EL CAJON – The family of O’Sullivan brothers has been delivering in some of Valhalla High’s most important baseball games for nearly 15 years.
Either on the hill or with the bat, O’Sullivans have dotted the school’s baseball landscape for basically two generations.
On Wednesday, senior CASEY O’SULLIVAN tossed 6 2/3 innings, surrendering no runs, two hits, and striking out ten in leading Valhalla to its first Grossmont Conference league championship since former big leaguer SEAN O’SULLIVAN helped the Norsemen to three-straight titles from 2002-05 with a 5-0 shutout of challenger Steele Canyon.
The win gave Valhalla the outright Grossmont Valley League championship, as the Cougars’ late title bid fell just two games short.
It proved a huge turnaround for the Norse following last season’s five-win campaign. Valhalla won the patch with a 13-2 mark and went 17-12 overall.
The Cougars also finished with a marked turnaround, as both teams came over from the tougher Hills circuit, as Steele Canyon finished the regular season 11-4 in the GVL and 19-10 overall after going 12-18-1 last year.
Valhalla grabbed an early lead on a single by CAMERON ZAMUDIO on a 1-2 pitch and an error in the second inning.
In the last of the fifth, COLE HOWARD drove in a pair of runs with a hard ground ball toward short.
Howard came on in the seventh to retire the Cougars’ final hitter on a ground ball after O’Sullivan was done at 110 pitches.
JOSH HEIDER and TANNER SMITH both had two hits for Valhalla.
KYLE CASPER picked up the other RBI with a sac fly in the sixth.
The Norsemen, winners of 15 of their last 19 games, certainly can be considered a sleeper in the Division I playoffs, as they are likely to be rated as one of the division’s lowest seeds.
The Cougars appear ticketed for the postseason, as well, in Division II.
SANTANA 2, EL CAPITAN 1 – The Sultans won a share of the Grossmont Hills League championship by edging the resilient Vaqueros in Santee Wednesday afternoon fittingly on Senior Day.
After dominating the Valley League for the last three seasons, capturing consecutive banners, Santana proved it could win a title in the regarded GHL, as well, for a fourth-straight patch. The Sultans are co-champs with Helix.
Santana senior AIDAN RASMUSSON on Senior Day.
Santana finished 9-3 in the GHL and 19-9 overall. They are considered a top contender for the Division II championship, along with San Marcos.
“The guys are really excited about being (co-)champs of the league,” said Santana coach RIGO LEDEZMA. “It was one of our goals at the beginning of the season.”
The Vaqueros were awesome during the final two weeks of the league season, but it could be a case of too little, too late for El Capitan. They were battling for the final berth in Division II.
NOAH NUNEZ (8-3) showed up in title form, going the distance for a five-hitter, striking out three to get the win.
The Sultans scored in the second inning, but the Vaqueros tied the game in the top of the fourth.
Santana regained the lead in the bottom of the fifth.
Santana seniors on Senior Day.
ANDERS TOLHURST had a RBI for the Sultans, while teammate TRISTEN SALINAS was 2-for-2, including a double, scoring a run.
Junior ANTHONY BENEDETTO drove in the El Capitan run, scoring sophomore AUSTIN BELL.
Hats off to Vaquero junior BLAKE PEYTON, who turned in another stunning pitching performance, holding to mashing Sultans to just three hits, striking out five.
GROSSMONT 8, GRANITE HILLS 4 – JACKSON HULETT singled to drive in a run in the bottom of the fifth to give Grossmont a 5-4 lead. He finished with a pair of RBI.
The Eagles took the lead in the first on a solo home run by senior BRADY JOSLYN, who blasted a 2-2 pitch out of the yard.
In the third, Grossmont’s AUSTIN ODOM countered with a solo blast on an 0-1 count. Odom scored three runs for the Hillers and finished with two RBI.
CHRIS GIOVENGO homered in the fifth inning for the Foothillers and had three RBI in the contest.
DARRIAN COSSIO hit a home run in the third inning for the Eagles. Cossio had two hits and two RBI, as did Joslyn.
JOSH VERDON had two hits and drove in a run for the Eagles.
KANNON ROMERO earned the win, as he tossed five innings, allowing no runs, three hits, striking out three, and walking none.
NOAH LEVIN had two hits, while JESSE GARCIA had two hits, plus a run and an RBI, for Grossmont (7-5 GHL, 15-14).
The Foothillers are a potential top-four seed in the Division I playoffs. Both teams should be considered in the relative mix for the Division I championship.
MONTE VISTA 9, MOUNT MIGUEL 4 – Senior sparkplug KRYSTIAN CAMACHO had four hits and scored three runs as the Monte Vista (9-6 GVL, 18-11) finished off a stellar campaign and is a sure contender in the Division IV postseason.
KRYSTIAN CAMACHO scores for Monte Vista on Wednesday.
The Monarchs practically flipped the script of last year’s 10-17 season and could qualify as a top-four seed when the brackets are announced later this week.
DAVID GARCIA, a senior, clubbed his second home run of the season in the first inning. The team batting leader among regulars (.385) added an RBI single in the second.
Junior DIEGO SANDOVAL, known for his work in the clutch this season, added a RBI in the second as Monte Vista led 5-0 after two. Sandoval had three RBI for the game.
Camacho singled in the first, singled in the second, singled in the fourth, and singled in the seventh. No surprise, the Monarchs scored in all four frames.
Senior ANDREW GONZALES singled and drove in a run, and also riled up his teammates with a pair of stolen bases.
Junior IVAN PLAZOLA delivered three innings as the starter to earn the win, allowing a run. He improved to 5-2 with a 2.26 ERA on the year.
Mount Miguel had a nice three-run rally in the sixth when ANGELO ZERTUCHE doubled on a line drive to center to score Plazola and CAMERON BEAUZEC (3-for-4).
JOSEPH MENDOZA added a run-scoring single which closed the Monarchs’ lead to 8-4 at the time.
Senior ANDREW MONTIJO continued his red-hot hitting with a 3-for-3 performance with an RBI and a run scored in what was likely his final game. Montijo hit a team-high .409 with 28 RBI this season.
The Matadors appear to be on the outside of the Division IV postseason picture.
FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 20, ORANGE GLEN 2 – The Orange Glen Patriots did something few teams have done of late, and that is score a run against the Foothills Christian Knights.
It didn’t matter the Knights crushed another Ocean League opponent and wrapped up the circuit championship for the third-straight year.
The Knights scored a run in the bottom of the second to break a scoreless deadlock, then smashed their way to 11 runs in the third for a 12-0 lead.
Orange Glen finally ended FCHS’ scoreless innings string at 46 with a run in the top of the fourth inning.
Foothills Christian (8-0 Ocean, 22-8) added three in the fourth, three more in the fifth and two in the sixth.
The Knights will pose an interesting threat to playoff rivals in Division IV.
Foothills Christian players, coaches and families celebrate following the game.
“It was Senior Day for our last home game so all of our seniors played the whole game,” said Knights coach DAVE LEWIS. “We had a professional announcer, Steve Eicher, for the game. He announced the starters and had arranged for a jet flyover for our pre-game warm-ups. It was awesome – like being at a Padres game.”
Senior BAILEY LINK had a special day, playing every position on the field. He finished 2-for-3 with 3 runs and 2 RBI. He also had a double, a triple and pitched 2/3 inning.
“He’s probably the best fielder that I’ve ever had in 30 years of coaching, so I played him at every spot just to honor him. He’s a great defensive player.”
Senior TRISTAN BARLING was the hitting star, going 4-for-5 with 3 doubles, 2 runs and 6 RBI.
FCHS used five senior pitchers, led by JOSH GATES.
JUSTIN EICHER pitched one inning and struck out all three batters he faced.
Eicher is going to Bellevue University in Nebraska on a baseball scholarship, while Gates will attend Marian University in Indianapolis on a baseball ride. BRADLEY BROWN will also
BRADLEY BROWN will also scholarship to Cincinnati Christian and play baseball.
“Out of six seniors, I have four so far with scholarships,” Lewis said.
Wed., May 17, 2017
Grossmont Hills League SULTANS 2, VAQUEROS 1 El Capitan ab r h bi Santana ab r h bi Bell c 3 1 1 0 Salinas cf 2 1 2 0 Lindsay ss 3 0 0 0 Rasmusson ss 1 0 0 0 Shenefield 1b 2 0 0 0 NNunez p 3 0 0 0 Zamora cf 3 0 1 0 Simmons dh 3 0 0 0 Benedetto dh 3 0 1 1 Calvert rf 2 1 0 0 Barker lf 2 0 0 0 Allen-Fox c 2 0 0 0 Oliveiri ph 1 0 0 0 Tolhurst 2b 1 0 0 1 Peyton p 3 0 1 0 Alesi 1b 1 0 0 0 Montejano 3b 3 0 0 0 Ellis lf 2 0 1 0 Markle 2b 2 0 1 0 TOTALS 25 1 5 1 TOTALS 17 2 3 1 El Capitan (7-20, 2-10) 000 100 0 – 1 5 0 Santana (19-9, 9-3) 010 010 x – 2 3 2 GWRBI-None. E-Tolhurst, NNunez. LOB-EC 4, Sant 3. 2B-Salinas, SB-Calvert. Sac-Shenefield, Rasmusson 2, Tolhurst. PITCHING SUMMARY El Capitan ip h r er bb so Peyton L 6.0 3 2 2 2 5 Santana NNunez W(8-3) 7.0 5 1 0 0 3 HBP-by Peyton (Alesi). FOOTHILLERS 8, EAGLES 4 Granite Hills ab r h bi Grossmont ab r h bi Joslyn c 3 1 2 2 Ford cf 3 1 0 0 Ross cf 4 0 1 0 Odom rf 3 3 2 2 Verdon 3b-p 4 1 2 0 Lombardo p-1b-c 4 1 1 0 Cassio 1b-3b 3 1 2 2 JGarcia 1 2 1 2 1 Hazelhurst p-3b-1b 3 0 0 0 Hulett lf 3 1 2 2 Omahen ss 3 0 1 0 Giovengo ss 3 1 1 3 Anderson lf 3 1 1 0 Levin 2b 3 0 2 0 Cummings dh 3 0 1 0 Romero dh-1b-p 3 0 0 0 McGrew 2b 2 0 0 0 Parent 3b 2 0 0 0 Bodtke - - - - Ennis 3b 1 0 0 0 BSmith - - - - TOTALS 28 4 10 4 TOTALS 27 8 10 8 Granite Hills (12-16, 3-9) 112 000 0 – 4 10 0 Grossmont (15-14, 7-5) 301 104 x – 8 10 0 E-None. LOB-GH 5, Gro 4. 2B-Ross, JGarcia, Odom. HR-Cossio (2) 3rd, one on; Joslyn (1) 1st, solo; Giovengo (1) 5th, two on; Odom (4) 3rd, solo. SB-Ford. CS-Joslyn, Hulett. SF-Joslyn. PITCHING SUMMARY Granite Hills ip h r er bb so Hazelhurst L 4.1 10 8 7 3 2 Verdon 1.2 17 0 0 0 2 Grossmont Lombardo 2.0 7 4 4 1 1 Romero W 5.0 3 0 0 0 3 Grossmont Valley League MONARCHS 9, MATADORS 4 Monte Vista ab r h bi Mount Miguel ab r h bi Gutierrez cf-2b-p 3 1 0 1 Beauzec 1b-3b 4 1 4 0 DGarcia ss 4 3 2 2 NCamacho d 3 0 0 0 Gonzales 3b 2 0 1 1 Conwright cf 3 0 0 1 DSandoval c 4 0 2 3 Preciado p 1 0 0 0 Sanchez 1b 3 0 0 0 Ortiz ss 3 1 0 0 Plazola p-2b-cf 3 0 0 0 Montijo 3b-p 3 1 3 1 Gulley 2b-lf-ss-3b 0 2 0 0 Mendoza 1b-p-3b 3 0 1 1 Alvarez rf 2 0 1 0 Zertuche 2b 4 1 2 0 Schweizer rf 1 0 0 0 Solis ss-rf 1 0 0 0 Manuel lf-p 0 0 0 0 Harris lf 2 0 0 0 Harlow ss-lf 1 0 0 0 Beas rf-ss-lf 3 0 1 0 KCamacho 2b 5 3 3 0 Schuller 2 0 0 0 TOTALS 30 9 9 7 TOTALS 30 4 11 3 Monte Vista (19-10, 8-6) 230 210 1 – 9 9 2 Mount Miguel (7-22, 4-12) 100 003 0 – 4 11 3 E-DGarcia, Plazola, Conwright, Ortiz, Montijo. DP-MM 1. LOB-MV 10, MM 8. HR-DGarcia (2) 1st, one on. SB-DGarcia, Gonzales 2, Sandoval, KCamacho, Beauzec 2. CS-Beauzec, Montijo. PITCHING SUMMARY Monte Vista ip h r er bb so Gutierrez 3.0 4 3 3 0 3 Plazola W 3.0 5 1 1 0 1 Manuel 1.0 2 0 0 1 1 Mount Miguel Beauzec 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 Preciado L 2.0 5 5 5 3 2 Montijo 3.0 2 1 0 2 1 Mendoza 2.0 2 0 0 1 1 HBP-Gutierrez, Plazola, Preciado, Montijo, Mendoza. NORSEMEN 5, COUGARS 0 Steele Canyon ab r h bi Valhalla ab r h bi Taylor dh 3 0 0 0 Barba 3b 4 0 1 0 Brinkmeier cf 3 0 1 0 Dirkes 2b 2 0 1 0 Esquibel lf 3 0 0 0 RO’Sullivan 1b 4 0 1 0 Arias c 2 0 0 0 Casper cf 2 1 1 1 Tellous 1b 3 0 0 0 Heider c 4 1 2 0 Yanez 2b 3 0 1 0 Dunnam ss-c 0 1 0 0 Mata ss 3 0 0 0 Howard rf-lf-p 2 0 1 2 Navarro 3b 1 0 0 0 TSmith ss 3 1 2 0 Dickey rf 2 0 0 0 Zamudio lf 3 0 1 1 Perot dh-lf-rf 2 1 0 0 TOTALS 23 0 2 0 TOTALS 26 5 10 4 Steele Canyon (19-9, 11-4) 000 000 0 – 0 2 1 Valhalla (17-12, 13-2) 020 021 x – 5 10 0 E-Mata. LOB-SC 4, Val 9. SB-Arias, Yanez, Brinkmeier, Dirkes. Sac-Dirkes, Howard. SF-Casper. PITCHING SUMMARY Steele Canyon ip h r er bb so Luban L 2.0 4 2 1 1 0 Back 2.1 0 0 0 1 0 Schirer 0.2 4 2 2 0 0 Newberry 1.0 2 1 1 1 0 Valhalla CO’Sullivan W 6.2 2 0 0 2 10 WOLF PACK 7, BRAVES 0 (forfeit) West Hills (12-17, 8-7) 7 El Cajon Valley (4-20, 0-15) 0 Ocean League KNIGHTS 20, PATRIOTS 2 Orange Glen ab r h bi Foothills Christian ab r h bi Cardenas 2 3 1 3 0 Link 3b-lf-ss 3 3 2 2 Ibard 3b-p 2 0 1 1 JlniBrown cf 4 2 2 0 Conejo cf 1 0 0 0 Thompson ph 1 0 0 0 Magallanes p-3b 3 0 0 0 Gates p-3b 3 2 3 2 Cisneros ss 3 0 0 0 Eicher lf-p 4 1 0 2 Estrada 1b 2 0 0 0 BBrown 1b-lf 4 3 2 2 Robles lf 3 0 0 0 Lewis dh 2 1 1 0 Lasa rf 3 0 0 0 Smallwood dh 2 0 0 1 Bracamonte 2b 2 1 0 0 Stallard dh 1 0 0 0 Wurts c 0 0 0 0 Nickell c 0 0 0 0 Kang ss-p 5 3 3 1 JlenBrown 2b 4 3 1 1 Barling rf-1b-p 5 2 4 6 TOTALS 22 2 4 1 TOTALS 38 20 18 17 Orange Glen (6-19, 5-5) 0 0 0 101 0 - 2 4 6 Foothills Christian (23-8, 9-0) 01(11) 332 x – 20 18 0 GWRBI-Barling. E-Conejo, Cisneros, Robles, Estrada, Cardenas, Magallanes. LOB-OG 3, FC 8. 2B-Link, BBrown, Kang, Barling 3, Cardenas. 3B-Link, Gates, BBrown. SB-Cardenas 2, Conejo. SF-Eicher, Ibard. PITCHING SUMMARY Orange Glen ip h r er bb so Magallanes L 2.1 7 9 9 1 1 Ibard 3.2 11 11 5 1 3 Foothills Christian Gates W(5-2) 4.0 3 1 1 1 7 Eicher 1.0 0 0 0 0 3 Barling 1.0 1 1 1 1 1 Link 0.2 0 0 0 1 2 Kang 0.1 0 0 0 0 1 HBP-by Magallanes (Link, BBrown), by Ibard (Link), by Barling (Conejo). </pre>
