Warhawks edge hustle of Wolf Pack
- Updated: March 28, 2021
2021 EAST COUNTY PREP BASEBALL
By Nick Pellegrino
ECS staff writer
CLAIREMONT MESA – The bats of the Madison Warhawks were shackled to a mere two hits through five innings. But when they quickly pieced three consecutive hits in the sixth inning, it was enough to rally and slip past West Hills, 3-2, in Sweetwater Tournament action Saturday (Mar. 27).
Wolf Pack pitcher Kyle Dobyns was practically uninhabitable, but a hit-by-pitch upset the senior just enough to allow Madison to sandwich a single around a pair of doubles to overcome a 2-0 deficit.
Gavin Lass took the fastball in the back, moving to third on a double by sophomore Jake Jackson. A base hit by Marland Jorgensen halved the lead, then senior co-captain Joey Iglesia delivered a 2-run double for what turned out to be the game-winning RBI.
Meanwhile, a quartet of Madison pitchers combined to also tossed a 5-hitter. Josh Villegas, another sophomore, tossed two innings to gain the victory. Victor Arreola fired a perfect 1-2-3 seventh to garner the save, striking out two batters.
West Hills opened the scoring in the third on a sacrifice fly by Connor Evans, scoring Jacob Villanueva (walk, to third on a Ryan Parker single; see below).
In the sixth, Evans singled to left, taking an extra base when the defender booted the ball. He eventually came home on a clutch, two-out basehit by sophomore Eron Drake,the the right fielder.
Dobyns carried a two-hitter into the sixth. The ground ball specialist coaxed nine outs to his infielders along with three pop outs. He also posted a pair of strikeouts in his complete-game effort.
Villanueva shows hustle to give Wolf Pack run
By Nick Pellegrino
ECS staff writer
CLAIREMONT MESA —- When the late Mickey Deutschman was coaching the West Hills High varsity baseball team, he would often go the junior varsity field to speak to his underclassmen. Basically, “Mickey D.” only asked for two things: hustle and pay attention to the ballgame.
Such attention to detail came to fruition in a small, innocent play which was hardly notices and would near appear in a boxscore. Still, such a play could’ve spelled the difference in a Sweetwater Tournament contest against Madison on Saturday (Mar. 26).
One of those youngsters listening, Jacob Villanueva, kept his head up on a routine play to take an extra-base which resulted in a run to break a scoreless contest.
Villanuea, now a senior, opened the third inning with a lead walk. What he did moments later turned the ballgame around when the next batter, senior Ryan Parker, sent a hard grounder into left field for a base hit.
Runner to second base, correct? Wrong.
With the baseball in front of him, Villanueva saw the defender allow the ball to roll to him rather than charging it. Thus, Villanueva hustled, kept runing, and was safe at third base.
It may not be a big deal, but when Connor Evans came to bat next and lofted an outside fastball to right field, Villanueva easily tagged up and raced home for a run on a sacrifice fly that may have not otherwise scored.
How many coaches are posting this story on their clubhouse wall?
