Sultans, Patriots win tournament titles
- Updated: March 7, 2020
Cathedral and Santana coaches meet before the championship game on Sunday.
2020 EAST COUNTY PREP BASEBALL
EastCountySports.com staff report
SAN DIEGO – The Santana Sultans were obviously an underrated team coming into the 2020 prep baseball season.
Unranked in the county top 20 by a panel of local coaches, the Sultans won four games against top ten teams in the poll and captured the tourney title by defeating the fourth-ranked Cathedral Catholic Dons for the second time this week with a 6-1 road win in the Hilltop-Lolita’s Tournament championship game on Saturday.
It was the fourth win-in-a-row for the Sultans over a top ten ranked opponent, as Santana improved to 5-1 and would seem a certainty to debut in the first release by the media this week.
Tyler Glowacki got the win going seven innings, allowing one run on four hits while striking out six and walking one.
“I trusted my defense and was trying to throw quality strikes with all my pitches,” Glowacki said. “My defense played really well and I can’t give enough credit to them. I felt this was a huge team win.”
A double by Tyler Fitzgerald in the first inning started the scoring. Fitzgerald went 2-for-4 with three RBI.
Tyler had all three pitches working today,” said Fitzgerald, the catcher. “We are just trying to make every single pitch count and get the best out of every single person on our team.”
A double by Davin Burroughs in the second inning brought home two runs.
“Very proud of the way our team competed today,” Santana head coach Rigo Ledezma said. “It started on the mound with Glowacki, who did a great job making an adjustment after the first inning. His ability to get strike one, and command his secondary stuff throughout the game was very good.”
Santana also scored on a fielder’s choice by Nick Seabrook in the second inning.
“It was a pleasure to see our team grow throughout this tournament,” Ledezma said. “Our kids work hard every day and are starting to gel as a team.”
CHRISTIAN 16, OLYMPIAN 7 – Patriot Isaiah Owens hit a three-run home run in the fifth inning as Christian took a 12-0 in the Sweetwater Tournament final on Saturday.
Christian opened the scoring in the first when Carson Stroman hit a sac fly. Stroman had three runs, two hits and two RBI.
“This was a great win for our team after they walked us off in our last matchup,” Stroman said. “We all were having success at the plate as we put up a crooked number in each inning.
“In my first at bat, I had runners in scoring position so I made sure to put the ball in play and it brought in the first run of the game which started up our day.
“I know that hitting is contagious so I just tried to keep it going so the next man can come to the plate. We are playing smart baseball for the first time in a while so it seems that everything is going our way due to our execution.
“On the defensive side, I felt we were getting the job done, infield, outfield, and the pitching was a main part of the win. The play I had on third was a ground ball to my left in the gap, I had a good jump on the ball which allowed me to dive and make the throw across the diamond.
“As a team, we are headed in a great direction as it seems that we are improving and gaining more confidence as each game passes. We know that this next tournament is going to be tough, so we have to enter it with the same intensity.”
Braeden Ross earned the win, as he went five innings, striking out three and walking one.
“A great job to Braeden Ross and then when we ran into trouble, bringing Andrew Carlock to close it out,” Stroman said.
Hunter Kaul had two hits, two RBI and a pair of runs scored for CHS.
Vaughn Major had a hit and two RBI for the Pats.
Junior Andrew Young had two hits, two RBI and scored a run for Christian High.
“We have definitely learned to play each inning as if it were 0-0,” Christian High’s Clay Wehsener said. “Today’s game was an especially fun one to be a part of and it was special to kick off the action with a diving catch in the first inning.
“Olympian had a big kid up at the plate who could definitely put some power behind the ball so we were playing deep but he hit a little blooper to the left-center gap that I was able to lay out for and make the grab.”
MOUNTAIN EMPIRE 6, HIGH TECH SAN DIEGO 2 – The RedHawks won on Friday at the East Clairemont Sports Complex against the Storm behind four RBI from sophomore Michael Thing.
Sophomore Christian Corona went four innings, allowing one run, while junior Jacobe Noland pitched three hitless innings, striking out five and allowing one run.
CENTURY 13, EL CAJON VALLEY 4 – Mario Jacobs had two hits and an RBI for the Braves against the visitors from Santa Ana.
