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Hillers avoid demons, defeat Granite Hills
- Updated: April 21, 2026
2026 EAST COUNTY PREP BASEBALL
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East County Sports.com
FLETCHER HILLS — The naysayers were in perfect position to say, “We told you so.”
The situation seemed so obvious.
After committing their fourth error of Tuesday’s (Apr. 21) important Grossmont Hills League ballgame, the Grossmont Foothillers say their narrow lead was trimmed to a single marker in the sixth inning.
Indeed, here comes defending CHL champion Granite Hills, on the march to deliver another heartbreaking loss.
No wonder. Grossmont, which trails the rest of the GHL lineup and was holding below a .500 record, has a resume with few quality wins, and hasn’t been a contender for several seasons under several coaches.
However, something different happened.
Instead of folding with a 1-run advantage, the Hillers took advantage of the narrow dimensions of Gizoni Field.
In the home-half of the sixth, three-run homers by Logan Struck and Trey Crawford translated into a 7-run explosion, delivering the first-place Hillers to a 12-4 verdict over the Eagles.
For Grossmont (10-8 overall, 3-0 GHL), the 12 runs were their highest total against Granite Hills since 2021; since then, the Eagles won 9-of-11 in the series entering this week.
Game stuff
Grossmont starting pitcher Jesse McCormick must’ve felt alone on an island — better known as the pitching mound — after allowing just one earned run in six solid innings.
McCormick’s lone mistake was a first-inning, two-run homer by Eurijah Schutza, but even one of those runs was unearned.
However, following the Hillers’ 7-run outburst, reliever Reid Barnett was able to close out the surprise victory.
Grossmont rallied from the 2-0 deficit, partially on a solo home run by Tyler Holmes. Then in the fourth, Struck cleared the bases with a triple for a 4-2 lead.
Struck finished with six RBI. His previous season high was two, just twice this season, although the consistent Struck has driven home runs in more than half of Grossmont’s contests on the year,
In the sixth, Granite Hills was poised for one of its patented rallies when Preston Hendry blasted a lead double, taking third on an outfield error. Moments later, Hendry, the lone Eagles batter with two hits, came home on a sacrifice fly by Ball 1 (Curveball) .
Helix 8, El Capitan 3
At Hostetler Field, Lakeside, The Helix Highlanders ended a pitchers’ duel by posting five runs in the fifth inning, completing a two-game series sweep of El Capitan in, 8-3 on Tuesday, (Apr. 21).
Helix (10-10 overall, 3-1 GHL) remains a half-game behind front-running Grossmont. El Capitan (7-13-1, 2-4) dropped its fourth straight after briefly holding the GHL lead.
The Vaqueros held a 1-0 lead in the first, but the entire batting order all seemed to wake up at once in the fifth.
With the bases, Angel Watkins walked to force the game-tying run, then everyone else contributed.
Catcher Rory Kleiner lined a basehit to left for a 3-1 lead, second baseman Josh Rivera lifted a sacrifice fly, then Kei Smith singled for a 5-1 cushion.
And when the Scotties added two additional runs in the sixth, Helix pitcher Ben Williams was able to finish his complete-game triumph. Williams struck out three El Capitan batters in tossing a 4-hitter.
Watkins, Bryan Herman, and Kleiner all finished by driving in two runs, as seven of the nine starters posted hits, RBI, or both.
El Cap’s Kasen Baker opened the scoring on a fielder’s choice, but the Vaqueros did not add on until the sixth.
Mountain Empire 17, CVKCC 9
At Luckie Waller Field, south San Diego: The RedHawks blew a 5-0 lead by the second inning, but then tallied seven times in the third to tame the first-place Cobras in Summit League action.
By handing Chula Vista Learning Community Charter (9-2-1 overall, 4-1 Summit) its first league setback, Mountain Empire (8-5, 2-0) is in a mathematical deadlock (via “games behind”) for first with the Cobras after winning their fourth straight ballgame.
Individual statistics were not reported.
— Nick Pellegrino
