Grossmont College shortstop Robby Scott (8), who was being heavily recruited by UCLA and Kansas State among others, chose Chico State. (4-30-05/Photo by Adolfo Villanueva)
Griffins moving on to next phase of collegiate
careers
EastCountySports.com.com
EL CAJON - Even though the Grossmont Griffins finished
two games out of the money rounds last spring, first-year head
coach RANDY ABSHIER can take pride in knowing that he helps
the majority of his players advance to the next level of baseball
competition.
According to Abshier - Grossmont College's academic adviser -
Grossmont is considered a strong recruiting college for baseball
with a 100 percent transfer rate and more than 45 percent graduation
rate.
At the moment, 11 Griffins have made plans to move on. At the
top of the list is Pacific Coast Conference home run leader BRANDON
RAUCH (.319. 12 HRs, 34 RBI) who is leaning heavily toward
signing with NCAA Division II power Chico State. Rauch is also
considering an offer from Division I power USD.
Shortstop ROBBY SCOTT, a two-time All-PCC first-team pick,
has signed with Chico State after batting .432 as a sophomore.
Scott was also wooed by UCLA and Kansas State.
A third Grossmont College product - catcher JARED BIRRENKOTT
- is headed for Chico State after spending his junior season at
San Jose State.
Other Grossmont sophomores moving are: JAMESON HESTER
(LHP, Concordia University); WESTON SCOTT (RHP, William
Penn (Iowa); GABE WARD (LHP, Cal Lutheran); outfielder
ALBERT GENOVESE (Cal State-San Bernardino); KEITH NESTER
(OF, San Francisco State); BRIAN MAIHACK (RHP, Sonoma State);
catcher CODY ROLF (Cal State San Bernardino or St. Edwards
(Texas) University); and catcher-first baseman CLAY COULTER
(offer from Charleston Southern, S.C.).
The list of Grossmont College success stories doesn't stop there.
Freshmen JOHN LOWE (RHP); NICK COOPER (C); RYAN
ALTSHULER (2B); and BRANDON ABELL (RHP) all have scholarships
on the table to attend Cal State Monterey Bay where the Division
II Otters are launching their first baseball program.
(06-28-05)
All -PCC team
Scott caps GC career with second-straight first
team selection; Mazzola, Coulter also earn top honors
EastCountySports.com
EL CAJON - Sophomore shortstop ROBBY SCOTT of Grossmont
College was named to the All-Pacific Coast Conference first team
for the second straight season. He was one of three Griffins selected
to the 22-player first unit, while three other Grossmont players
received honorable mention recognition in balloting conducted
by the six conference head coaches.
Scott, who posted the top overall batting average among PCC hitters
at .432, was a measure of consistency as he batted at a .426 clip
against PCC pitching. Of his 63 hits, 19 went for extra bases.
He also scored 43 runs and drove in 21 more in 37 games.
Freshman outfielder JOSH MAZZOLA (.313, 9 HRs, 28 RBI)
and sophomore designated hitter CLAY COULTER (.328, 5 HRs,
29 RBI) also represented Grossmont College on the first team.
First baseman BRANDON RAUCH (.319, 12 HRs, 34 RBI), outfielder
CHARLES BAIRD (.331, 4 HRs, 20 RBI) and freshman
pitcher SHANE KAUFMAN (3-2, 3.25) gained honorable mention
for Grossmont.
Another East County player named to the All-PCC first team was
Southwestern outfielder Oscar Ochoa (El Cajon Valley High).
Honorable mention went to former Mount Miguel High standout pitcher
Mike McLaughlin (Southwestern) and Valhalla High first
baseman David Dennis (San Diego CC).
PCC Player of the Year honors went to Southwestern sophomore infielder
Carlos Ibarra (.401, 10 HRs, 46 RBI)
PCC Coach of the Year honors were bestowed upon Palomar's Bob
Vetter.
SO. CAL REGIONAL PLAYOFFS: No. 2 seed Palomar (26-8) hosts
No. 15 seed Santa Barbara CC (24-13) in the Best-of-Three series
beginning Saturday (May 14) in San Marcos at 1 p.m. Game
two is set for Sunday (May 15) at 11 a.m. If necessary, a third
game will follow immediately. Meanwhile, No. 16 seed Southwestern
(20-16) travels to top-seeded Oxnard (28-7) for a Best-of-Three
weekend set.
(05-10-05)
2005 All-Pacific Coast Conference Baseball Team
Player of the Year
Carlos Ibarra, Southwestern
Coach of the Year
Bob Vetter, Palomar
First Team
Pitchers
Brandon Adams, Palomar
Kyle Owsley, San Diego Mesa
Brendan McNamara, Palomar
Relief Pitcher
Chris Duke, San Diego City College
Catchers
Dylan Parzyk, Palomar
Cody Willis, San Diego City
First Baseman
Cameron Penney, Palomar
Infielders
ROBBY SCOTT, GROSSMONT
Kyle Martin, San Diego Mesa
Erich Kemp, Palomar
Joey Burke, Palomar
Jason Gallegos, Imperial Valley
Kyle Smith, San Diego City
Outfielders
Carlos Ibarra, Southwestern
Kenoli Fonseca, Palomar
Derek Harmes, San Diego Mesa
Jeremy Wells, San Diego City
Terry Moritz, Palomar
JOSH MAZZOLA, GROSSMONT
Oscar Ochoa, Southwestern
Designated Hitter
CLAY COULTER, GROSSMONT
Utility
David Lievanos, Southwestern
Honorable Mention
Palomar - Takane Suzuki, Derek Simper, Tristan Gale.
Southwestern - Arturo Reyes, Mike McLaughlin.
SD Mesa - Brandon Peters, Keith Johnson, Michael Chipp, Joe
Cunningham, Steven Sanchez
GROSSMONT - BRANDON RAUCH, CHARLES BAIRD, SHANE KAUFMAN
SD City - Eric Billings, Johann DeVilliers, David Dennis,
Pedro Robles, Lorenzo Church
Imperial Valley - Joel Aguirre, Eduardo Castro, Ray Magana
Grossmont College freshman Josh Mazzola
(9) hit home runs in each of his final four games of the season,
helping the Griffins push their Pacific Coast Conference above
the .500 mark. (Photo
by Adolfo Villanueva)
Mazzola finishes hot, Hester deals season-ending
gem
EastCountySports.com
El CAJON - Few players in the Pacific Coast Conference finished
the season in a bigger rush than Grossmont College freshman right
fielder JOSH MAZZOLA. For the fourth consecutive
game, Mazzola launched a home run Thursday (May 5) as the Griffins
concluded the season with a 6-1 victory over San Diego City College
at Morley Field.
Mazzola, who finished with nine home runs - second only to teammate
BRANDON RAUCH's conference-best 12 - batted .600 over the
Griffins' final four games. Of Mazzola's 9 hits during that
stretch, 6 went for extra bases. He also logged 8 RBI and scored
5 runs.
In his final outing, Mazzola was 2-for-4 with a triple and three
RBI. It was his three-base hit that scored ROBBY SCOTT
and gave Grossmont a 2-1 edge in the 3rd inning.
For the second year in a row, Grossmont's JAMESON HESTER
turned in a powerful season-ending performance against the Knights
(16-19, 9-16). The sophomore southpaw rationed the Knights to
three hits and did not allow an earned run in his 8-inning stint.
BRIAN MAIHACK blanked SDCC on one hit in the final frame.
The Griffins won 6 of their final 7 games to wrap up what had
been a dismal season on the high side. Grossmont's 13-12 PCC mark
left the Griffins two games out of second place and just one step
from third place. They were 16-21 overall.
THURSDAY, MAY 5, 2005 EastCountySports.com Pacific Coast Conference GRIFFINS 6, KNIGHTS 1 GROSSMONT ab r h bi SAN DIEGO CITY ab r h bi Baird cf 4 0 1 0 Wells lf 4 0 0 0 Coulter dh 3 1 0 0 KSmith 2b 4 0 0 0 R.Scott ss 4 2 1 1 Willis c 3 0 0 0 Rauch 1b 4 1 1 1 Dennis 1b 4 0 1 0 Mazzola rf 4 2 2 3 Bailey dh 4 0 0 0 Nester lf 4 0 0 1 Reynolds cf 4 1 2 0 Genovese lf 0 0 0 0 Cronin 3b 2 0 0 0 Rolf c 3 0 0 0 Luna 3b 2 0 0 0 Busalacchi 3b 3 0 2 0 Billings ss 4 0 0 0 Beechler 3b 1 0 0 0 Garza rf 0 0 0 0 Altshuler 2b 3 0 0 0 Reynolds rf 2 0 1 0 TOTALS 33 6 7 6 TOTALS 33 1 4 0 Grossmont (16-21, 13-12) 011 020 200 - 6 7 3 San Diego City (16-19, 9-16) 010 000 000 - 1 4 0 GWRBI: Mazzola. E: RScott, Rolf, Rauch. DP: GC 1. LOB: GH 8, SDCC 7. 2B: Busalacchi. 3B: Mazzola, RScott. HR: Mazzola (9) 5th, one on. SB: Mazzola, Busalacchi, MReynolds, RScott, Rauch. SF: Rauch. PITCHING SUMMARY GROSSMONT ip h r er bb so Hester W(2-1) 8.0 3 1 0 1 3 Maihack 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 SAN DIEGO CITY Church L(2-5) 7.0 7 6 6 5 7 Duke 2.0 0 0 0 1 2 HBP: by Church (Rolf), by Hester (Garza). WP: Church. BK: Hester. (05-05-05)
Champion Comets bring end to Griffins' winning
streak
EastCountySports.com
SAN MARCOS - Grossmont College saw its season-best five-game winning
streak come to an end Wednesday (May 4), as the Griffins dropped
a 6-3 Pacific Coast Conference decision to circuit champion Palomar.
Palomar (25-8, 20-4) took a 3-0 lead in the 1st inning and continued
on to beat the Griffins for the fourth time in five meetings.
Freshman left fielder JOSH MAZZOLA maintained his torrid
hitting pace for the Griffins, punching out 3 hits in 5 trips.
He doubled and scored in the 5th inning and whacked his 8th home
run of the season in the 9th. Mazzola has mashed home runs in
each of the last three games.
Grossmont (15-21, 12-12), which concludes the season against San
Diego City College at Morley Field at 2 p.m. Thursday (May 5),
leads the PCC in home runs with 40. Conference-champion Palomar
is second with 24.
The Griffins have an outside shot at finishing tied for third
place in the conference. They need to beat SDCC and hope Mesa
loses to Southwestern in Thursday's regular season finales.
TUESDAY, MAY 4, 2005 EastCountySports.com At Palomar Pacific Coast Conference COMETS 6, GRIFFINS 3 GROSSMONT ab r h bi PALOMAR ab r h bi Baird cf 4 0 1 0 Burke 2b 4 0 2 2 Coulter c 3 0 0 0 Penney 1b 4 1 1 0 RScott ss 4 0 0 0 Kemp 3b 4 0 1 0 Rauch 1b 3 1 1 0 Parzyk c 3 1 1 1 Mazzola lf 5 2 3 1 Clement c 0 0 0 0 Mirvis dh 4 0 1 1 Moritz rf 3 1 1 0 Bishop rf 5 0 0 1 Gale cf 3 1 2 1 Busalacchi 3b 3 0 0 0 Hernandez dh 3 0 1 1 Altshuler 2b 4 0 3 0 Stevens dh 1 1 0 0 Simper ss 3 1 0 0 Fonseca lf 3 0 0 0 TOTALS 35 3 9 3 TOTALS 31 6 9 5 Grossmont (15-21, 12-12) 000 020 001 - 3 9 1 Palomar (20-4, 25-8) 300 002 01x - 6 9 1 GWRBI: Parzyk. E: Kemp, RScott. DP: Pal 1. LOB: GC 13, Pal 8. 2B: Mazzola, Moritz. 3B: Gale. HR: Mazzola (8) 9th, solo. SB: Penney, Moritz, Burke. S: Simper, Fonseca. SF: Burke. PITCHING SUMMARY GROSSMONT ip h r er bb so Ward L(1-3) 1.0 5 3 3 1 2 Abell 5.0 5 2 2 1 4 Woods 2.0 0 1 0 1 1 PALOMAR Adams W(8-3) 6.0 8 2 1 3 1 Duffy 1.0 0 0 0 2 3 Suzuki 2.0 1 1 1 0 4 HBP: by Adams (Baird, Coulter), by Suzuki (Coulter), by Abell (Penney). (05-04-05)
Season ending too soon for suddenly hot
Griffins
EastCountySports.com
EL CAJON - Too bad the season is coming to an end. The Grossmont
Griffins are playing their best baseball of the campaign at the
moment. JOSH MAZZOLA (Santana) keyed a 5-run fifth inning
with his 7th home run Tuesday (May 3) as the Griffins concluded
their home season with a 9-4 Pacific Coast Conference victory
over San Diego City College at Noel Mickelsen Field. It was a
season-best 5th straight win for the Griffins (15-20, 12-11),
who have a shot at finishing third on the PCC ladder. Two games
remain - Wednesday (May 4) at Palomar and Thursday (May 5) against
San Diego City College at Morley Field. Both games start at 2
p.m.
Grossmont shortstop ROBBY SCOTT (University City) continues
to wield a hot bat for the Griffins. He was 3-for-4 against the
Knights (16-18, 9-15), including a two-run single in Grossmont's
pivotal 5-run 5th. Scott now owns a .449 average (62-for-138)
with 41 runs scored and 20 RBI.
WESTON SCOTT (Granite Hills) pitched 2 innings of relief,
scattering four hits and allowing one run to earn his first collegiate
win for the Griffins.
SDCC reliever AARON BAILEY (Helix) pitched three impressive
innings in relief, surrendering only SAL BUSALACCHI's (Patrick
Henry) solo home run in the 8th inning. Bailey struck out 5 and
walked none.
TUESDAY, MAY 3, 2005 EastCountySports.com Pacific Coast Conference GRIFFINS 9, KNIGHTS 4 SAN DIEGO CITY ab r h bi GROSSMONT ab r h bi Wells lf 3 0 0 0 Baird cf 6 2 2 0 Smith ss 4 0 0 0 Coulter c 4 2 2 1 Willis c 3 1 1 0 Rolf c 0 0 0 0 Dennis 1b 4 0 1 0 R.Scott ss 4 0 3 3 Luna 2b 4 1 1 0 Rauch 1b 4 0 0 1 Reynolds cf 4 2 2 3 Mazzola lf 3 1 1 2 Corey dh 1 0 0 0 Mirvis dh 4 0 1 0 M.Sepulveda ph-dh 3 0 1 1 Busalacchi 3b 3 2 1 1 Cronin 3b 4 0 1 0 Altshuler 2b 5 1 2 0 Reynolds rf 4 0 1 1 Blake rf 2 0 1 0 Bishop rf 3 1 1 1 Genovese rf 0 0 0 0 TOTALS 34 4 8 4 TOTALS 38 9 14 9 San Diego City (16-18, 9-15) 000 301 000 - 4 8 1 Grossmont (15-20, 12-11) 110 150 01x - 9 14 1 GWRBI: Mazzola. E: R.Scott, K.Smith. DP: GC 1. LOB: SDC 5. 2B: M.Reynolds. HR: M.Reynolds 4th, two on; Mazzola (7) 5th, solo; Busalacchi (6) 8th, solo. S: Wells. SF: R.Scott. PITCHING SUMMARY SAN DIEGO CITY ip h r er bb so Billings L(3-5) 4.2 10 8 8 5 5 Church 0.1 1 0 0 2 0 Bailey 3.0 3 1 1 0 5 GROSSMONT Garner 4.0 3 3 3 1 2 W.Scott W(1-0) 2.0 4 1 1 0 0 Janke 2.0 1 0 0 1 1 Lowe 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 WP: Billings 4. BK: Billings 2. (05-03-05)
Olsen's number retirement day capped with
upset win of Palomar
Griffins respond after ceremony for
former head coach
Special to EastCountySports.com
By John O. Rollo
EL CAJON - Saturday (Apr. 30) proved
to be a red letter day for the Grossmont College baseball program.
The day began ceremoniously for the Griffins with the retirement
of long-time former head coach ED OLSEN's uniform No.12.
The afternoon concluded with the Griffins 3-2 victory over Pacific
Coast Conference champion Palomar at Noel Mickelsen Field.
"It was an exciting day," Olsen said, reflecting back
on the pre-game ceremony which included his son, Ed Jr., who surprised
his dad by traveling from Santa Barbara for the event. "I
was thrilled with the entire event, and to top it off with a victory
over Palomar makes the day really special."
It took a gut-wrenching pitching performance by the Grossmont
hurlers (starter SHANE KAUFMAN and relievers TIM ARNOLD
and GARRETT VIGIL) and a pair of long home runs (by BRANDON
RAUCH and JOSH MAZZOLA) to create the Griffins' victory
over the Comets.
"I was looking forward to pitching this game all week,"
said Kaufman, a freshman from Santana. "I knew this game
belonged to Coach Olsen and I wanted to pitch it as a tribute
to him."
Kaufman, whose record improved to 4-2, pitched 7 innings against
Palomar. He allowed 2 runs on 4 hits while stranding 10 Palomar
baserunners. Arnold, a freshman left-hander from Fallbrook, pitched
a perfect 8th inning, including 2 strikeouts.
That left it up to Vigil to close out the 9th inning for his third
save. It took Vigil 21 pitches to escape a bases-loaded
jam. A right-hander from Mira Mesa, Vigil struck out Chris Poirier
on a full-count curve ball to end the afternoon.
Trailing 1-0 entering the bottom of the 2nd, the Griffins pulled
even when Rauch, an El Capitan High graduate and transfer from
SDSU, Rauch leveled the score with his PCC-leading 12th home run
of the season, a massive opposite-field blast to right.
The score was tied at 2-2 when Mazzola led off against Palomar
sophomore right-hander Brendan McNamara (3-2) in the bottom of
the 7th inning. Mazzola, a freshman out of Santana, blasted McNamara's
2-2 delivery over the fence in right center for his sixth home
run of the season.
The run gave the Griffins a 3-2 lead. It was an advantage they
would not surrender.
The enormity of the day was not lost on first-year head coach
RANDY ABSHIER.
"It was a great day for everyone involved with Grossmont
College baseball," Abshier stated. "From the start of
the day, through the ceremony for Coach Olsen, to the way the
team played today, everything was very special. I'm very proud
of the team today."
As was Olsen.
"I'm pleased with everything that happened today," he
said. "It was a great day."
The Griffins (14-20 overall, 11-11 PCC) will conclude their 2005
season with three contests next week. Tuesday (May 3) San Diego
City College visits Noel Mickelsen Field for the final Grossmont
home contest of the season. Wednesday (May 4) the Griffins travel
to San Marcos to oppose Palomar. The Griffins conclude their season
on Thursday (May 5) by opposing San Diego City at Morley Field.
All three contests are scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.
(04-30-05)
Grossmont College first baseman Brandon
Rauch (18) hit his Pacific Coast Conference-leading 12th home
run in the 2nd inning as the Griffins downed Palomar 3-2. (4-30-05/Photo by Adolfo Villanueva)
SATURDAY, APR 30, 2005 EastCountySports.com Pacific Coast Conference GRIFFINS 3, COMETS 2 PALOMAR ab r h bi GROSSMONT ab r h bi Burke 2b 2 1 0 0 Baird cf 3 0 0 0 Penney 1b 3 0 2 0 Coulter dh 4 0 1 0 Kemp 3b 5 0 1 0 R.Scott ss 4 1 1 0 Poole pr 0 0 0 0 Rauch 1b 3 1 1 1 Parzyk c 3 1 0 0 Mazzola rf 3 1 3 2 Wilson pr 0 0 0 0 Nester lf 3 0 0 0 Moritz rf 3 0 1 1 Genovese lf 0 0 0 0 Fonseca lf 4 0 2 1 Rolf c 3 0 0 0 Way dh 3 0 0 0 Busalacchi 3b 3 0 1 0 Poirier dh 2 0 0 0 Altshuler 2b 2 0 0 0 Simper ss 4 0 0 0 Stevens cf 3 0 0 0 TOTALS 32 2 6 2 TOTALS 28 3 7 3 Palomar (23-8, 18-4) 100 010 000 - 2 6 3 Grossmont (14-20, 11-11) 010 100 10x - 3 7 0 GWRBI: Mazzola (4). E: Penney 2, Kemp. DP: Pal 1. LOB: Pal 14, GC 2. HR: Rauch (12), 2nd, solo; Mazzola (6), 7th, solo. SB: Burke, Penney, Baird. S: Altshuler, Moritz. PITCHING SUMMARY PALOMAR ip h r er bb so McNamara L(3-2) 8.0 7 3 2 1 9 GROSSMONT Kaufman W(4-2) 7.0 4 2 2 7 1 Arnold 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 Vigil Sv(3) 1.0 2 0 0 0 1 HBP: by Kaufman 2 (Penney 2), by Vigil (Fonseca). WP: McNamara. PB: Rolf. (04-30-05)
Rauch's power swing in groove after recovering
from injury
EastCountySports.com
EL CAJON - BRANDON RAUCH heard someone was trying to override
his bid to become the Pacific Coast Conference's most prolific
home run hitter this season. Although an injury cost him a few
swings, Rauch made it clear on Tuesday (Apr. 26) that he was not
about to relinquish his shot at the home run crown. The Grossmont
College sophomore first baseman belted his 10th and 11th home
runs -- both massive blasts over the scoreboard in left center
-- as part of a 3-for-3 effort that plated 5 runs in the Griffins
13-2 romp over the visiting Arabs.
Rauch is 5-for-5 with three home runs and 7 RBI in his last two
games.
It was the third straight win for the Griffins (13-20, 10-11),
who moved ahead of San Diego City College into fourth place in
the PCC standings. Grossmont trails second place Southwestern
by two games with five games remaining.
The top two finishers in the PCC are guaranteed invitations to
the Southern California Regional playoffs. Palomar has wrapped
the conference championship. Southwestern has the inside track
on second although the Griffins and third place San Diego Mesa
(14-17, 11-10) aren't out of the picture just yet.
CLAY COULTER and CHARLES BAIRD also clubbed Grossmont
home runs off IVC pitching as the Griffins completed a 5-0 season
series sweep from the Arabs (8-22, 3-18).
The Griffins travel to Palomar on Thursday (Apr. 28) at 2 p.m.
and then host the Comets on Saturday (Apr. 30) in a game that
will feature the retiring of long-time Grossmont coach Ed Olsen's
No. 12 jersey, followed by a carne asada barbecue.
TUESDAY, APR 26, 2005 EastCountySports.com At Grossmont College Pacific Coast Conference GRIFFINS 13, ARABS 2 IMPERIAL VALLEY GROSSMONT ab r h bi Snyder lf 4 0 0 0 Baird cf 5 2 2 2 Chase 1b 4 0 0 0 Coulter dh 3 4 2 1 Gallegos 4 1 2 0 R.Scott ss 4 2 2 1 Castro dh 4 0 1 0 Rauch 1b 3 2 3 5 Stevens pr 0 1 0 0 Mazzola rf 3 0 1 1 Magana 3b 3 0 0 1 Mirvis ph 0 1 0 0 Bolden cf 3 0 1 1 Genovese rf 0 0 0 0 Hill pr 0 0 0 0 Nester lf 5 0 2 1 Garcia c 4 0 1 0 Rolf c 4 1 0 1 Jacques 2b 3 0 0 0 Busalacchi 3b 3 0 0 0 Adams rf 3 0 1 0 Blake 3b 2 0 0 0 Altshuler 2b 2 1 1 0 TOTALS 32 2 6 2 TOTALS 35 13 13 12 Imperial Valley (8-22, 3-18) 000 000 101 - 2 6 3 Grossmont (13-20, 10-11) 103 021 06x - 13 13 1 GWRBI: Coulter. E: Garcia, Rolf, Gallegos, LOB: IVC 5, GC 7. 2B: Altshuler, Bolden. HR: Coulter (5) 1st, solo; Rauch 2(10,11): 5th, one on, and 8th, two on; Baird (4) 6th, solo. SB: Baird 2, Coulter 2, Gallegos, Mazzola, R.Scott. SF: Mazzola, Magana. PITCHING SUMMARY IMPERIAL VALLEY ip h r er bb so Miller L(0-1) 7.2 12 13 11 4 3 Martinez 0.1 1 0 0 0 0 GROSSMONT Garner W(3-2) 7.0 4 1 0 0 5 Arnold 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 Vigil 1.0 2 1 1 0 1 HBP: Miller (Coulter, Rauch, Altshuler, R.Scott, Mirvis); by Garner (Bolden). WP: Miller 2. BK: Miller. (04-26-05)
Griffins mounting late charge for postseason
with another win
EastCountySports.com
(Revised) IMPERIAL - Grossmont College continues its quest for
a berth in the Southern California playoffs Tuesday (Apr.26) when
the Griffins host last-place Imperial Valley in a must-win Pacific
Coast Conference contest that begins at 2 p.m.
Only a week ago it appeared that Grossmont College had nothing
more to play for than the end of the season. But now, after a
couple of wins in a row, the Griffins find themselves only two
games out of second place with five to play. The Pacific Coast
Conference is guaranteed two berths to the Southern California
Regionals, and PCC champion Palomar has already claimed one spot.
The Griffins (12-20, 9-11) need to sweep their final five games
to stand any chance at a second-place finish. Grossmont's remaining
slate includes two games against champion Palomar and a pair against
San Diego City.
In its latest conquest, Grossmont (12-20, 9-11) broke a 2-2 tie
when ROBBY SCOTT doubled and BRANDON RAUCH rifled
his PCC-leading 9th home run of the season to stake BRANDON
ABELL (2-3) to a 4-2 lead in the 5th inning.
ALBERT GENOVESE's RBI single capped a 2-run rally in the
6th and CODY ROLF's RBI single made it 7-2 for the Griffins
in the 7th.
Rolf finished 3-for-5, with each of his hits driving in a run.
A last-minute starter, Abell pitched perhaps his strongest 7 innings
of the season as he earned his second win in five decisions.
SATURDAY, APR 23, 2005 EastCountySports.com At Imperial Valley Pacific Coast Conference GRIFFINS 8, ARABS 3 GROSSMONT ab r h bi IMPERIAL VALLEY ab r h bi R.Scott ss 4 2 2 0 Aguirre cf 5 0 4 1 Mazzola lf 5 0 0 0 Jacques 2b 2 0 0 0 Rauch 1b 2 4 2 2 Adams ph 2 0 0 0 Coulter dh 5 0 1 1 Chase ph 0 0 0 0 Rolf c 5 0 3 3 Gallegos ss 5 0 0 0 Busalacchi 3b 1 0 0 0 Castro p-dh 3 1 2 0 Blake 3b 3 1 0 0 Santos pr 0 0 0 0 Nester lf 2 1 0 0 Magana 3b 4 0 0 0 Setzer lf 0 0 0 0 Bolden lf 4 1 1 0 Beechler 2b 4 0 1 1 Miller lf 0 0 0 0 Genovese cf 4 0 1 1 Garcia c 2 1 1 2 Snyder rf-2b 3 0 0 0 Zelman 1b 3 0 0 0 TOTALS 35 8 10 8 TOTALS 34 3 9 3 Grossmont (12-20, 9-11) 101 022 101 - 8 10 0 Imperial Valley (8-21, 3-17) 020 000 100 - 3 9 4 GWRBI: Rauch. E: Garcia 2, Zelman 2. DP: GC 1, IVC 3. LOB: GC 7, IVC 9. 2B: R.Scott. HR: Rauch (9) 5th, one on. SB: R.Scott, Rauch, Aguirre, Blake, Nester. S: Zelman. PITCHING SUMMARY GROSSMONT ip h r er bb so Abell W(2-3) 7.0 7 3 3 3 8 Maihack 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 Wiley 1.0 1 0 0 1 1 IMPERIAL VALLEY Castro L(4-4) 7.1 7 7 4 5 5 Gonzalez 2.0 3 1 1 0 1 HBP: Castro (Nester, Blake); by Abell (Garcia). WP: Castro, Gonzalez. PB: Rolf 2, Garcia. (04-23-05/Rev. 04-25-05)
Griffins end losing streak by tagging contending
Jaguars
EastCountySports.com
EL CAJON - The Grossmont College Griffins aren't going to win
the Pacific Coast Conference championship this spring, but they
will be able to look back on this disappointing year and take
pride in knowing they had something to say about which team did
claim the pennant.
Grossmont snapped a 7-game losing streak Thursday (Apr. 21), overcoming
a 4-2 deficit to dump visiting Southwestern College 8-5.
Not only did that victory snap a losing streak, it gave the Griffins
a 3-2 advantage over Southwestern in the season series. The Jaguars
(16-14, 11-8) remain tied with San Diego Mesa (11-8, 14-15) for
second place in the PCC race. The two teams trail front-running
Palomar (21-7, 16-3) by five games with six remaining.
Back-to-back Southwestern fielding miscues with two outs in the
bottom of the 6th inning set the Grossmont offense into motion.
KYLE MIRVIS walked to load the bases, setting the stage
for KEITH NESTER's two-run single to left-center. That
tied the score at 4-4.
The Griffins barged in front in the 7th inning. CHUCK BAIRD
ripped an 0-2 pitch over the right field fence for his 3rd
homer of the season and a 5-4 Grossmont lead.
Base hits by PCC batting leader ROBBY SCOTT and CLAY
COULTER put Griffins at the corners with nobody out in the
7th. Coulter stole second. Scott scored on JOSH MAZZOLA's
groundout and Coulter made it home on Southwestern's 3rd error
in two innings.
Scott added an RBI single in the bottom of the 8th to help secure
the Grossmont victory.
Middle reliever SHANE KAUFMAN picked up the pitching win,
stranding runners at 2nd and 3rd in the 6th inning with Southwestern
on the brink of breaking the game open. Kaufman allowed only one
hit and one run in 2 2/3 innings as he rolled his record to 3-2.
GARRETT VIGIL pitched a scoreless 9th to earn his first
save for Grossmont.
Another high point for the Griffins was they were able to beat
Southwestern's MIKE McLAUGHLIN for the second time this
season. Grossmont jumped on the Mount Miguel High alum for 9 hits
and 7 runs (4 earned) in 6 1/3 innings on Thursday.
OSCAR OCHOA, an El Cajon Valley High graduate, slugged
an RBI triple for Southwestern giving the Jaguars a 3-2 edge in
the 5th.
Grossmont travels to Imperial Valley College on Saturday (Apr.
23) to take on the Arabs at noon. The same teams meet a final
time on Tuesday (Apr. 26) at Noel Mickelsen Field at 2 p.m.
THURSDAY, APR 21, 2005 EastCountySports.com Pacific Coast Conference GRIFFINS 8, JAGUARS 5 SOUTHWESTERN ab r h bi GROSSMONT ab r h bi Ibarra cf 4 2 2 1 Baird cf 4 2 3 1 Reyes 2b 4 1 1 1 R.Scott ss 4 1 2 1 Ochoa rf 3 0 1 1 Rauch 1b 5 0 1 0 Lievanos ss 4 0 1 0 Coulter c 4 3 3 2 Velazquez dh-p 5 0 0 0 Mazzola lf 4 1 0 1 Perez 3b 4 1 1 0 Mirvis dh 3 0 0 0 Quintero 1b 3 0 0 0 Nester rf 2 0 1 2 Alvarez c 3 1 2 0 Genovese rf 0 0 0 0 Hinton lf 3 0 1 1 Busalacchi 3b 4 1 1 0 McLaughlin p-lf 1 0 0 0 Altshuler 2b 3 0 0 0 TOTALS 34 5 9 4 TOTALS 33 8 11 7 Southwestern (16-14, 11-8) 101 011 010 - 5 9 3 Grossmont (11-20, 8-11) 200 002 31x - 8 11 3 GWRBI: Baird. E: Busalacchi, Nester, Lievanos 2, Reyes, R.Scott. DP: SWC 2, GC 1. LOB: SWC 9, GC 9. 2B: Baird, Perez, Alvarez. 3B: Ochoa. HR: Coulter (4), 1st, one on; Ibarra (7) 4th, one on; Baird (3) 7th, solo. SB: Alvarez, Ochoa, Coulter. S: Quintero, Altshuler. PITCHING SUMMARY SOUTHWESTERN ip h r er bb so McLauchlin L(4-2) 6.1 9 7 4 2 5 Velazquez 1.2 2 1 1 0 1 GROSSMONT Hester 5.1 8 4 4 0 0 Kaufman W(3-2) 2.2 1 1 1 3 3 Vigil 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 HBP: McLaughlin (Nester). BK: Kaufman. (04-21-05)
Close shave this time for Griffins results
in elimination from race
EastCountySports.com
CHULA VISTA - It doesn't seem to be getting better for the Grossmont
College Griffins. Another close call, another tough loss. The
visiting Griffins were sitting on a 3-1 advantage at the midway
point of Tuesday's (Apr. 19) Pacific Coast Conference contest
at Southwestern College. Didn't end that way, though, as the Jaguars
used a 4-run scoring burst in the 5th inning to steal a 5-4 verdict
from the slumping Griffins.
An RBI single by CLAY COULTER capped a 2-run 1st inning
as Grossmont (10-20, 7-11) gained the initial advantage.
Grossmont's ROBBY SCOTT, who is being recruited by Kansas
State and UCLA among others, lined an RBI double to give Grossmont
a 3-1 edge in the top of the 5th inning.
Southwestern bounced back with a 4-run outburst in the bottom
of the 5th inning. Carlos Ibarra smacked a two-run double and
Grossmont errors handed the Jaguars the go-ahead deuce.
The Griffins shaved Southwestern's 5-3 advantage 5-4 on a balk
by Arturo Reyes in 7th inning, but their offense stalled from
there.
By virtue of Palomar's 2-1 win over San Diego City on Tuesday,
the Griffins have been mathematically eliminated from the PCC
pennant race. They trail the front-running Comets (20-7, 15-3)
by eight games with seven remaining.
Based on the remaining schedule and how the Griffins have been
playing of late, it would appear that Grossmont is headed for
its poorest finish since 1982. The Griffins were 11-21-1 that
season. Ironically, that was ED OLSEN's rookie campaign
as the Grossmont skipper. Olsen, of course, went on to become
the winningest baseball coach in Grossmont College history.
Some good news for Grossmont was the return of BRANDON RAUCH
to the lineup on Tuesday. Rauch, the PCC's premier home run hitter,
has caught the eye of some pro scouts and may be selected in the
June draft. Rauch was struck by a pitch on the hand a few weeks
back, but managed a 1-for-4 effort against pitching-rich Southwestern.
Grossmont hosts Southwestern on Thursday (Apr. 21) at Noel Mickelsen
Field at 2 p.m.
TUESDAY, APR 19, 2005 EastCountySports.com Pacific Coast Conference JAGUARS 8, GRIFFINS 3 GROSSMONT ab r h bi SOUTHWESTERN ab r h bi Baird cf 4 1 1 0 Ibarra rf 4 1 1 2 R.Scott ss 4 1 2 1 McLaughlin cf 3 1 0 0 Rauch 1b 4 0 1 0 Lievanos ss 3 0 0 1 Coulter dh 4 0 1 1 Quintero 1b 4 0 0 0 Mazzola lf 4 0 0 0 Alvarez c 3 0 1 1 Busalacchi 3b 4 0 0 0 Perez 3b 4 0 2 0 Altshuler 2b 4 0 0 0 Velasquez dh-p 3 1 0 0 Nester rf 4 2 2 0 Hinton lf 3 1 1 0 Rolf c 3 0 0 0 Pimental 2b 3 1 1 0 TOTALS 35 4 7 2 TOTALS 30 5 6 4 Grossmont (10-20, 7-11) 200 010 100 - 4 7 4 Southwestern (15-13, 11-7) 000 140 00x - 5 6 1 GWRBI: Ibarra. E: Rolf, R.Scott, Busalacchi, Perez, Altshuler. DP: GC 1. LOB: GC 5, SWC 5. 2B: R.Scott, Ibarra, Rauch. SB: Lievanos. S: Rolf. PITCHING SUMMARY GROSSMONT ip h r er bb so Ward L(1-2) 5.0 5 5 3 2 2 Arnold 3.0 1 0 0 0 3 SOUTHWESTERN Reyes W(4-1) 8.0 7 4 2 0 9 Velasquez 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 HBP: by Ward (McLaughlin, Velasquez); by Arnold (Perez). WP: Reyes. PB: Alvarez. BK: Reyes. (04-14-05)
Early lead doesn't last for Griffins against
Mesa
EastCountySports.com
EL CAJON - Mired in a quagmire of defeat, the Grossmont College
Griffins thought they had found a window for escape when sophomore
catcher CLAY COULTER followed a CHUCK BAIRD single
with a 1st inning home run in Thursday's (Apr. 14) Pacific Coast
Conference encounter against visiting San Diego Mesa College.
The Griffins (10-19, 7-10) mustered just two hits over the final
8 innings as Grossmont suffered its 6th straight loss.
Mesa claimed a 4-1 season series edge, the first time since 1991
that the Olympians bested the Griffins.
The good news is Grossmont draws a bye on Saturday (Apr. 16) before
resuming PCC action on Tuesday (Apr.19) at Southwestern at 2 p.m.
THURSDAY, APR 14, 2005 EastCountySports.com Pacific Coast Conference OLYMPIANS 8, GRIFFINS 3 SAN DIEGO MESA ab r h bi GROSSMONT ab r h bi Martin ss 5 0 4 1 Baird cf 4 1 1 0 Sanchez dh 4 0 0 0 R.Scott ss 4 0 0 0 Jennings ph 0 0 0 1 Coulter c 4 1 1 2 Foret pr 0 0 0 0 Mazzola lf 4 0 0 0 Johnson rf 5 0 0 0 Mirvis 1b 4 0 1 0 Peters 1b 4 3 2 0 Busalacchi 3b 4 1 0 0 Bush 2b 3 2 1 0 Altschuler 2b 4 0 0 0 Cunningham c 3 1 2 2 Rolf dh 2 0 1 0 Lennan 3b 3 0 1 1 Bishop rf 3 0 0 1 Callison lf 4 1 1 0 Harms cf 4 1 2 1 TOTALS 35 8 13 6 TOTALS 33 3 4 3 San Diego Mesa (13-15, 10-7) 020 102 012 - 8 13 3 Grossmont (10-19, 7-10) 200 000 100 - 3 4 2 GWRBI: Cunningham. E: Bush, Busalacchi, Lennan 2, Mazzola. LOB: SDMC 6, GC 4. 2B: Peters, Martin 3. HR: Coulter (3) 1st, one on. SB: Baird, Cunningham. S: Bush 2, Rolf. SF: Cunningham, Lennan. PITCHING SUMMARY SAN DIEGO MESA ip h r er bb so Chipp W(6-0) 9.0 4 3 2 0 1 GROSSMONT Arnold L(0-2) 6.0 7 5 3 0 3 Kaufman 2.0 2 1 0 1 0 Vigil 1.0 3 2 1 0 0 HBP: by Vigil (Jennings). WP: Arnold. PB: Coulter. (04-14-05)
Grossmont can't deliver again in fifth-straight
defeat
EastCountySports.com
SAN DIEGO - Grossmont College's late-season slumber continued
Tuesday (Apr. 12) as the Griffins succumbed to host San Diego
Mesa College 14-10 in a Pacific Coast Conference slugfest. It
was the 5th straight loss for Grossmont (10-18, 7-9), which is
staring at its first losing season since 1995.
Starting pitching has been a major weakness for Grossmont. In
17 PCC games, Grossmont starters have lasted less than 4 2/3 innings.
As a staff, Griffins hurlers are making 165 deliveries per nine
innings. Those numbers don't lend themselves to winning.
Six Grossmont starting pitchers have toiled 3 2/3 innings or less.
Three haven't been able to get out of the 3rd inning.
The Griffins were down 6-0 after 2 innings at Mesa. JOSH MAZZOLA
brought Grossmont back into contention with a grand slam in the
3rd.
Mazzola's blow - his 5th home run of the season - was swiftly
rubbed out by the Olympians (11-15, 9-7) who scored once in the
bottom of the 3rd and then broke the game open with 7 runs in
the 4th.
Still, Grossmont made a late challenge with 5 runs in the 8th
and could have scored more.
ROBBY SCOTT, the conference's top hitter, keyed the comeback
bid with a leadoff double. CLAY COULTER followed with an
RBI single. After Mazzola walked, CHUCK BAIRD doubled over
the head of the left fielder allowing Grossmont to cut the deficit
to 14-7. Walks, hit batters and an RBI single by CODY ROLF
pulled the Griffins to within 4 runs.
That's where the rally stalled.
Grossmont hosts Mesa on Thursday (Apr. 14) at 2 p.m. before taking
Saturday (Apr. 16) off.
GRIFFIN GRAFITTI: Sophomore outfielder BRANDON RAUCH,
the PCC's leading home run hitter with 8, hopes to return the
Griffins lineup next week. Rauch was hit on his left hand by a
pitch earlier at San Diego City on Apr. 7. The Grossmont trainers
believe Rauch's return is more wishful thinking than reality.
(04-12-05)
TUESDAY, APR 12, 2005 EastCountySports.com Pacific Coast Conference OLYMPIANS 14, GRIFFINS 10 GROSSMONT ab r h bi SAN DIEGO MESA ab r h bi Altshuler 2b 4 1 1 0 Martin ss 5 2 2 3 Bishop rf 5 0 0 0 Sanchez dh 3 3 1 2 R.Scott ss 3 2 1 0 Brigham ph 1 0 0 0 Coulter c 3 2 1 2 Johnson rf 3 2 2 1 Mazzola lf 4 2 1 4 Bahno rf 1 0 0 0 Baird cf 4 1 3 1 Peters 1b 5 1 4 5 Busalacchi 3b 1 0 0 0 Bush 2b 5 1 1 0 Beechler 2b 1 1 0 0 Cunningham c 5 0 0 0 Mirvis 1b 3 0 1 1 Wood c 0 0 0 0 Rolf dh 4 1 1 1 Lennon 3b 4 2 2 0 Callison lf 3 2 2 1 Harms cf 3 1 1 2 TOTALS 32 10 9 9 TOTALS 36 14 15 14 Grossmont (10-18, 7-9) 104 010 050 - 10 9 2 San Diego Mesa (12-14, 9-1) 241 700 08x - 14 15 2 GWRBI: Johnson. E: Busalacchi, Janke, Lennon 2. DP: GC 2, SDMC 4. LOB: GC 5, SDMC 5. 2B: Lennon, R.Scott. 3B: Johnson. HR: Callison (5) 2nd, solo; Mazzola (5) 3rd, grand slam; Peters (4) 4th, two on; Martin (4) 4th, two on. PITCHING SUMMARY GROSSMONT ip h r er bb so Janke L(2-3) 2.0 7 6 4 0 0 Abell 1+ 4 5 5 2 0 Hester 4.0 4 3 3 1 0 Maihack 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 SAN DIEGO MESA Owsley W(4-3) 7.0 5 5 0 2 9 Silva 0.0 3 5 5 1 0 Miller 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 Tye 1.0 0 0 0 1 0 Abell pitched to 4 batters in the 4th inning; Silva pitched to 5 batters in the 8th inning. HBP: by Owsley (Coulter); Silva (Beechler); by Miller (Mirvis). WP: Janke. BK: Abell. (04-12-05)
Scott runs bases, but loss drops Griffins
further from top of PCC race
EastCountySports.com
SAN DIEGO - The stumbling Grossmont College baseball team fell
further out of the Pacific Coast Conference race Saturday (Apr.
9) as San Diego City College pinned a 4-3 loss on the visiting
Griffins at Morley Field.
Grossmont's offense took on an anemic hue as ROBBY SCOTT's
two triples accounted for half of the Griffins 4 hits.
SDCC's DAVID DENNIS (Valhalla) doubled in the tying run
to key a 4-run 4th inning for the Knights. Mike Reynolds followed
with an RBI single to give SDCC a 2-1 lead it wouldn't lose.
Grossmont's SHANE KAUFMAN pitched a complete game for the
Griffins (10-17, 7-8), surrendering 8 hits and logging 6 strikeouts.
The Griffins have lost four in a row and have no chance of qualifying
for post-season play.
Mission Bay alum Lorenzo Church struck out 11 and twirled a complete
game 4-hitter for the Knights.
Next up for Grossmont is a road game at San Diego Mesa on Tuesday
(Apr. 12) at 2 p.m.
SATURDAY, APR 9, 2005 EastCountySports.com Pacific Coast Conference KNIGHTS 4, GRIFFINS 3 GROSSMONT ab r h bi SAN DIEGO CITY ab r h bi R.Scott ss 4 2 2 1 Wells lf 4 0 0 0 Blake rf 3 0 0 1 Smith 2b 4 0 0 0 Mazzola lf 4 0 0 1 Robles ss 3 0 0 0 Coulter c 4 0 0 0 Willis c 4 1 3 0 Mirvis 1b 3 0 1 0 Dennis 1b 4 1 1 1 Baird cf 4 0 0 0 Reynolds cf 3 1 1 1 Altshuler dh 2 0 0 0 Luna ss 3 1 1 0 Busalacchi 3b 4 1 1 0 Corey dh 3 0 2 1 Beechler 2b 2 0 0 0 Reynolds rf 3 0 0 0 TOTALS 30 3 4 3 TOTALS 31 4 8 3 Grossmont (10-17, 7-8) 100 020 000 - 3 4 1 San Diego City (14-11, 7-8) 000 400 00x - 4 8 1 GWRBI: Reynolds. E: Baird, Willis. DP: GC 1. LOB: GC 5, SDCC 4. 2B: Dennis. 3B: R.Scott 2. SB: Baird, Blake. S: Beechler. PITCHING SUMMARY GROSSMONT ip h r er bb so Kaufman L(2-2) 8.0 8 4 3 0 6 SAN DIEGO CITY Church W(1-3) 9.0 4 3 3 3 11 HBP: by Kaufman (Robles); by Church (Baird). (04-09-05)
Rauch injured in Griffins' loss to City
EastCountySports.com
EL CAJON - A pair of former Grossmont League athletes beat up
on the Grossmont College Griffins, helping visiting San Diego
City College to a 10-5 Pacific Coast Conference victory Thursday
(Apr. 7) at Noel Mickelsen Field.
First baseman DAVID DENNIS (Valhalla) was 2-for-4 with
a double and 3 RBI, while MATT LUNA (West Hills) was 2-for-4
with a pair of doubles and an RBI for the Knights (13-11, 6-8).
Grossmont's biggest loss did not come on the scoreboard. Sophomore
power-hitting outfielder BRANDON RAUCH was hit by a pitch
from SDCC's J.J. DeVilliers and could have suffered a broken
hand. Rauch finished the game, but the swelling in his hand led
him to the hospital were he underwent X-rays Thursday night.
Prior to his injury, Rauch doubled and scored in the 3rd inning.
The Griffins (10-16, 7-7), who lost their third straight, were
never in this game as they trailed 7-0 and 9-2 before mounting
a belated comeback.
CHUCK BAIRD clubbed his second home run of the season and
finished 2-for-4 with the bat for the Griffins.
These same two teams meet Saturday (Apr.9) at Morley Field for
a PCC contest beginning at noon.
GRIFFIN GRAFFITI: Grossmont College alum JEFF KARSTENS
has been named the No. 2 starter for the New York Yankees' Trenton
(N.J.) Thunder of the Double-A Eastern League . . . The
Griffins had beaten SDCC five times in a row dating back to Mar.
19 of last year.
THURSDAY, APR 7, 2005 EastCountySports.com Pacific Coast Conference KNIGHTS 10, GRIFFINS 5 SAN DIEGO CITY ab r h bi GROSSMONT ab r h bi Wells lf 6 0 1 0 Altshuler 2b 5 0 1 0 Smith 2b 4 2 1 0 Blake rf 5 2 2 0 Robles ss 2 4 1 0 R.Scott ss 4 1 1 1 Willis c 5 2 3 4 Rauch 1b 2 1 1 1 Dennis 1b 4 1 2 3 Setzer 1b 1 0 0 0 Luna 3b 4 1 2 1 Coulter c 5 0 1 1 Corey dh 5 0 2 2 Mazzola lf 4 0 0 0 Sepulveda rf 5 0 0 0 Baird cf 4 1 2 1 Reynolds cf 4 0 1 0 Busalacchi 3b 4 0 0 0 Mirvis dh 3 0 2 0 TOTALS 39 10 13 10 TOTALS 37 5 10 4 San Diego City (13-11, 6-8) 304 200 010 - 10 13 3 Grossmont (10-16, 7-7) 002 001 200 - 5 10 0 GWRBI: Willis. E: Willis, Luna, Robles. DP: SDCC 2. LOB: SDCC 8. 2B: Smith, Dennis, R.Scott, Willis, Luna 2, Rauch, Corey. 3B: Coulter. HR: Baird (2) 6th, solo. SB: Baird, Blake, Smith, Robles 2, Mazzola. PITCHING SUMMARY SAN DIEGO CITY ip h r er bb so DeVilliers W(5-1) 7.0 10 5 4 2 6 Duke 2.0 0 0 0 1 1 GROSSMONT Abell L(1-3) 2.1 5 7 7 1 2 Garner 1.2 3 2 2 1 2 Ward 3.2 5 1 1 1 2 Wiley 1.1 0 0 0 0 1 HBP: by Abell (Robles 2); by Garner (Smith); DeVilliers (Rauch). WP: DeVilliers. (04-07-05)
Lineup may be juggled after another Grossmont
loss
EastCountySports.com
SAN MARCOS - Things were looking pretty good for Grossmont College
after JOSH MAZZOLA mashed a game-tying 3-run home run in
the 6th inning of Tuesday's (Apr. 5) Pacific Coast Conference
contest at Palomar. That blow tied the game at 4-4. After that,
the Griffins faltered on offense and plummeted in pitching, which
added up to an 11-4 loss to the PCC-leading Comets.
Mazzola finished 2-for-4 with 4 RBI.
Palomar tattooed the Grossmont (10-15, 7-6) bullpen for 7 runs
in the final 3 innings to drop the Griffins 4 games behind the
pace-setting Comets (16-6, 11-2).
"I'm really disappointed with my team's effort in these last
two games," Grossmont coach RANDY ABSHIER said. "Outside
of Mazzola, nobody has swung the bat. I'm seriously thinking of
making some lineup changes."
Grossmont begins a two-game series against San Diego City College
beginning Thursday (Apr. 7) at Noel Mickelsen Field at 2 p.m.
TUESDAY, APR 5, 2005 EastCountySports.com Pacific Coast Conference COMETS 11, GRIFFINS 4 GROSSMONT ab r h bi PALOMAR ab r h bi Altshuler 2b 4 0 2 0 Burke 2b 4 1 1 1 R.Scott ss 3 2 1 0 Penney 1b 4 0 1 1 Rauch 1b 4 0 0 0 Kemp 3b 5 1 1 3 Coulter c 4 1 1 0 Parzyk c 5 2 2 1 Mazzola lf 4 1 2 4 Moritz rf 5 2 4 1 Baird cf 3 0 0 0 Gale cf 3 1 1 1 Bishop cf 1 0 0 0 Fonseca lf 4 1 1 1 Busalacchi 3b 4 0 1 0 Simper ss 3 1 0 1 Genovese pr 3 0 0 0 Stevens dh 3 2 0 0 Setzer ph 1 0 0 0 Mirvis dh 4 0 1 0 TOTALS 35 4 8 4 TOTALS 35 11 11 10 Grossmont (10-15, 7-6) 000 103 000 - 4 8 2 Palomar (16-6, 11-2) 001 301 15x - 11 11 0 GWRBI: None. E: Busalacchi, Altshuler. DP: GC 1. LOB: GC 5, PC 1-. 2B: Kemp, Parzyk, Moritz. HR: Mazzola (4) 6th, two on. SB: Stevens, Fonseca, Gale. PITCHING SUMMARY GROSSMONT ip h r er bb so Janke 4.0 4 4 3 3 0 Vigil L(0-3) 3.0 3 2 1 1 5 Lowe 0.1 2 1 4 2 1 W.Scott 0.0 2 1 1 1 0 Woods 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 PALOMAR Adams W(4-3) 7.0 7 4 4 1 7 Suzuki 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 Noe 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 W.Scott pitched to 3 batters in the 8th. HBP: by Janke (Suzuki). WP: Vigil. (04-05-05)
It's the little things that cost Griffins
in loss to Comets
EastCountySports.com
EL CAJON - With three home runs, Grossmont College outslugged
Pacific Coast Conference-leading Palomar, while its pitching staff
yielded fewer earned runs than the Comets. Yet for some reason,
the Griffins continue to hold the short end to this longtime rivalry,
falling to the visiting Comets 10-8 Saturday (Apr. 2) at Mickelsen
Field.
The explanation, though, is obviously from the Palomar side of
the equation.
"We may only play one base at a time," said Comets first
baseman Cameron Penney. "But we force the defense to catch
the ball and throw it."
A variety of small mistakes of inexperience on defense and pitching
kept the Griffins from moving back into pennant contention Saturday
(Apr. 2), as three errors, three wild pitches and a controversial
balk allowed Palomar to snap Grossmont's three-game winning streak.
The Griffins (10-14 overall, 7-5 PCC) slipped three games behind
Palomar (15-6, 10-2) as the conference schedule hit the midway
point.
"That's what happens when you have 20 freshmen on your roster,"
noted Griffins skipper RANDY ABSHIER. "On days when
we make two or more errors, we always seem to lose and if it's
under two, we have a good chance at winning. But it was the other
mistakes, too."
Grossmont's first wild pitch led directly to a run, while a second
errant pitch in the dirt setup a run. However, one pitch away
from escaping a jam in the 7th, a balk was called to allow the
Comets' Tristan Gale to score an important insurance; the batter
struck out on the next pitch.
"Avoiding stuff like that is critical if we want to win the
PCC," added Abshier. "Basically, we gave up five free
runs to them."
The Grossmont bats were in catch-up mode all afternoon, but only
once did the team pull even.
Down 3-0 early, designated hitter KYLE MIRVIS opened his
5-for-5 outing at the plate with an RBI single in the 2nd inning.
BRANDON RAUCH clouted his PCC-leading 8th homer of the
season to tie the game in the 3rd.
However, the Comets would gain the lead utilizing "small-ball,"
successful on three of four sacrifice bunts to move runners into
scoring position. Terry Moritz and Penney would follow with two
run singles, as Moritz lined a shot to center in the 5th, then
Penney sent a blooper to right in the 6th.
Grossmont fought back each time, as SAL BUSALACCHI boomed
a two-run homer to left in the 5th -- his fifth of the season.
JOSH MAZZOLA crushed a solo shot to straight-away center
field in the 8th for this third of the campaign.
The Griffins also placed additional baserunners aboard over the
final two innings, but the Comets escaped each time with two of
their three double plays.
However, the hosts also came up with some strong defense, especially
from shortstop ROBBY SCOTT, who converted a trio of plays
to assist the pitching staff.
Scott demonstrated his range to grab hot grounders and still throw
batters out. He ranged behind second base for an out in the 1st,
backhanded a ball in the hole and made the long throw to retire
a batter in the 2nd, then charged a ground ball and made a sidearm
throw on the money in the 6th.
"We've been playing pretty well lately," said Scott,
a University City High product who has gained the attention of
schools such as Cal State Fullerton. "It's been just a couple
of errors that have been killing us."
Both starting pitchers were on short leases by their respective
coaches, both lasting just two innings. In the battle of bullpens,
Grossmont's SHANE KAUFMAN (Santana) was called for five
sturdy frames of duty, but took the loss, with Palomar's first
reliever, Kevin Wilson, collecting the victory with three innings
of work.
The teams conclude this two-game series at 2 p.m. Tuesday (Apr.
5) in San Marcos.
GRIFFIN GRAFFITI -- Head coach Randy Abshier announced that
ceremonies to retire the number of former coach ED OLSEN
will be held on Sat., April 30, at 11:30 p.m., prior to Grossmont's
rematch with Palomar. All former players, other alumni, supporters
of the program and the general community are invited to attend,
as Olsen's No. 12 will be placed on the outfield fence. A carne
asada lunch will be held immediately following the game. Donations
for the meal are requested.
SATURDAY, APR 2, 2005 EastCountySports.com Pacific Coast Conference COMETS 10, GRIFFINS 8 Palomar ab r h bi Grossmont ab r h bi Burke 2b 1 1 0 0 Altshuler 2b 5 0 1 0 Boucher 2b 3 0 0 0 Blake rf 4 0 0 0 Penney 1b 4 1 3 2 RScott ss 3 1 0 0 Kemp 3b 5 1 1 0 Rauch 1b 3 1 2 2 Parzyk c 5 0 0 0 Coulter c 5 0 0 0 Moritz rf 4 1 1 2 Mazzola lf 3 2 1 1 Clement dh 3 2 1 1 Baird cf 5 2 3 0 Gale cf 3 2 1 0 Busalacchi 3b 5 2 2 2 Fonseca lf 4 1 2 0 Mirvis dh 5 0 5 2 Simper ss 4 1 1 1 Genovese pr 0 0 0 0 TOTALS 36 10 10 6 TOTALS 38 8 14 7 Palomar (15-6, 10-2) 120 122 101 - 10 10 1 Grossmont (10-14, 7-5) 012 020 210 - 8 14 3 GWRBI: Simper. E: Busalacchi 2, Kaufman, Simper. DP: PC 3, GC 1. LOB: PC 11, GC 11. 2B: Simper. HR: Clement (2) 2nd, solo; Rauch (8) 3rd, 1 on; Busalacchi (5), 5th, 1 on; Mazzola (3), 8th, solo. SB: Baird. S: Penney, Fonseca, Altshuler, Clement. PITCHING SUMMARY PALOMAR ip h r er bb so Preisendorfer 2.0 2 2 2 3 1 Wilson W(2-0) 3.0 6 3 3 2 2 Suzuki 2.0 4 2 2 0 3 Duffy 0.2 1 1 1 0 0 Cueva 1.1 1 0 0 0 0 GROSSMONT Arnold 2.0 1 3 2 1 0 Kaufman L(2-2) 5.0 7 6 5 2 3 Garner 2.0 2 1 0 1 1 HBP: by Preisendorfer (Rauch), by Wilson (Blake), by Arnold 2 (Burke, Simper), by Kaufman (Boucher). WP: Preisendorfer, Arnold, Kaufman, Garner. Balk: Kaufman. (04-02-05)
Griffins move into second place tie after
beating Imperial Valley again
EastCountySports.com
IMPERIAL - The Griffins would no doubt like about a dozen more
games with Imperial Valley College. Seems no matter where these
teams meet, the Griffins come out on top. Grossmont clobbered
the Arabs 9-1 in a Pacific Coast Conference game Thursday (Mar.
31) in the desert. It was Grossmont's seventh straight win over
IVC and it enabled the Griffins (10-13, 7-4) to move into a tie
for second place with Southwestern.
As was the case in Wednesday's win over IVC, the Griffins were
led by ROBBY SCOTT and JOSH MAZZOLA. The two sluggers
combined for 10 hits in 15 at-bats during the two-game sweep.
BRANDON ABELL pitched six shutout innings to earn his first
collegiate win. The right-hander out of Christian High scattered
4 hits, walked none and struck out 5. Three Grossmont relievers
finished the job. One key statistic is the Griffins hurlers did
not issue a single walk.
Grossmont hosts PCC-leading Palomar Saturday (Apr. 2) at noon.
THURSDAY, MAR. 31, 2005 Pacific Coast Conference At Imperial Valley EastCountySports.com GRIFFINS 9, ARABS 1 GROSSMONT ab r h bi IMPERIAL VALLEY ab r h bi Altshuler 2b 4 1 3 0 Aguirre cf 4 1 1 0 Beechler 2b 1 0 0 0 Jacques 2b 4 0 0 0 Blake rf 3 1 1 0 Leimgruber 2b 0 0 0 0 Genovese pr-rf 0 0 0 0 Gallegos ss 4 0 2 1 R.Scott ss 4 2 3 2 Castro dh-1b 4 0 1 0 Rauch 1b 4 0 0 1 Magana 3b-p 4 0 0 0 Mirvis pr-1b 1 0 0 0 Bolden lf 3 0 0 0 Coulter dh 4 1 1 2 Miller lf 1 0 0 0 Mazzola lf 3 2 2 0 Garcia c 3 0 1 0 Nestor lf 1 0 0 0 Adams c 0 0 0 0 Baird cf 5 1 2 1 Zelman 1b 0 0 0 0 Busalacchi 3b 5 0 0 0 Chase 1b 2 0 0 0 Rolf c 3 1 1 1 Snyder 3b 1 0 0 0 Stevens rf 2 0 1 0 Hill rf 0 0 0 0 TOTALS 38 9 13 7 TOTALS 32 1 6 1 Grossmont (10-13, 7-4) 010 223 100 - 9 13 1 Imperial Valley (5-14, 1-10) 000 000 010 - 1 6 5 GWRBI: None. E: Magana, Garcia 2, Bolden, Snyder, Abell. DP: IVC 1 . 2B: Gallegos, R.Scott, Castro, Garcia. SB: Altshuler, Baird 2, Stevens. PITCHING SUMMARY GROSSMONT ip h r er bb so Abell W(1-2) 6.0 4 0 0 0 5 Garner 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 Woods 1.0 2 1 1 0 0 Kaufman 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 IMPERIAL VALLEY Martinez L(0-4) 5.1 11 8 4 3 2 Magana 3.2 2 1 1 1 2 HBP: by Woods (Stevens). WP: Martinez, Magana 2. (03-31-05)
Griffins get healthy as usual against whipping
post IVC
EastCountySports.com
EL CAJON: The Grossmont Griffins erupted for seven runs
in their final two turns at bat Wednesday (Mar. 30) and continued
on to rout visiting Imperial Valley College 12-4 in a Pacific
Coast Conference game at Noel Mickelsen Field. Playing the Arabs
has always been profitable for the Griffins (9-13, 6-4), who defeated
Imperial Valley for the 43rd time in the last 45 meetings. Grossmont
stands third in the PCC race, two games behind front-running Palomar.
A 3-run home run by Grossmont's ROBBY SCOTT broke open
a one-run game in the 7th inning. JOSH MAZZOLA muscled
a solo shot for the Griffins in the 8th inning. Mazzola finished
with three hits, including a double. CLAY COULTER also
had 3 hits, two of them doubles.
While the Griffins were pounding out 14 hits, half of them of
the extra-base variety, the key point in the game was some crafty
relief pitching by GARRETT VIGIL in the 7th inning. Grossmont
was clinging to a 5-4 lead when Vigil entered the game. The Arabs
(5-13, 1-9) had the tying run at third and the go-ahead run at
second with one out. Vigil struck out the first man he faced and
coaxed the second into tapping into an inning-ending groundout.
Grossmont travels to Imperial Valley on Thursday (Mar. 31) for
a 2 p.m. encounter.
WEDNESDAY, MAR. 30, 2005 Pacific Coast Conference At Grossmont College EastCountySports.com GRIFFINS 12, ARABS 4 IMPERIAL VALLEY ab r h bi GROSSMONT ab r h bi Aguirre cf 5 1 1 0 Altshuler 2b 3 0 0 1 Snyder rf 4 0 1 0 Blake rf 5 0 0 1 Gallegos ss 4 1 1 0 R.Scott ss 4 2 2 3 Castro p-dh 3 0 1 1 Rauch 1b 5 1 2 0 Leimaruber 2b 1 0 0 0 Coulter c 4 2 3 2 Magana 3b 5 1 3 1 Mazzola lf 4 2 3 1 Bolden lf 3 1 0 0 Baird cf 3 2 1 1 Chase 1b 4 0 0 0 Busalacchi 3b 5 2 2 1 Jacques 2b-p 4 0 2 1 Mirvis dh 3 1 1 0 Garcia c 3 0 0 1 TOTALS 36 4 9 4 TOTALS 36 12 14 10 Imperial Valley (5-13, 1-9) 100 002 100 - 4 9 3 Grossmont (9-13, 6-4) 012 020 43x - 12 14 2 GWRBI: None. E: Aguirre, Chase, Snyder, Busalacchi, Altshuler. DP: IVC 2, GC 2. LOB: IVC 10, GC 12. 2B: Mazzola, Coulter 2, Mirvis, Rauch, Gallegos. HR: R.Scott (3) 7th, two on; Mazzola (2) 8th, solo. SB: Aguirre. S: Snyder, Baird, Altshuler. PITCHING SUMMARY IRVINE VALLEY ip h r er bb so Castro L(3-4) 4.2 8 5 4 3 4 Gonzalez 2.1 4 4 0 1 0 Jacques 1.0 2 3 3 0 0 GROSSMONT Janke W(2-2) 5.1 6 3 3 2 6 Maihack 1.0 3 1 1 0 0 Vigil 1.2 0 0 0 0 2 W.Scott 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 HBP: By Janke (Gallegos, Garcia); by Castro (Blake, Coulter, Baird); by Gonzalez (Mirvis); by Jacques (Mirvis, Altshuler). WP: Janke. (03-30-05)
Griffins power past Fullerton behind two
home runs from Rauch
EastCountySports.com
FULLERTON: Based on face value, the Grossmont Griffins'
resounding victory over host Fullerton College on Friday (Mar.
25) may be their biggest conquest thus far this season. Powered
by home runs by BRANDON RAUCH and SAL BUSALUCCHI,
the Griffins dusted the Hornets, 11-1 in the final round of the
Fullerton College Tournament.
Rauch slugged his 6th and 7th home runs of the season and drove
in 6 runs as the Griffins routed Fullerton (15-6), the No.11-ranked
team in Southern California.
Rauch's 2-run blast in the 1st inning gave Grossmont (8-13) a
2-0 lead it wouldn't lose. Finishing 3 for 4 for the day, Rauch
ripped a two-run shot during a 6-run 5th inning. Busalucchi clubbed
his 4th home run of the season with a man aboard in the big inning.
"Those home runs were blasts, the kind you know are gone
when they leave the bat,"
Grossmont coach RANDY ABSHIER said. "There were a
lot of scouts at the game and from what I could tell, they liked
what they saw."
Grossmont catcher CLAY COULTER was also 3 for 5 at the
plate and was bullish on defense, nailing three would-be base
stealers.
Freshman right-hander SHANE KAUFMAN allowed one run and
scattered 5 hits during his five-inning stint and was rewarded
with his second win in three decisions.
TIM ARNOLD and BRANDON ABELL each twirled two shutouts
innings of relief for the Griffins, who won two of three tournament
games. Arnold fanned four of the seven batters he faced.
Grossmont resumes Pacific Coast Conference activity on Tuesday
(Mar. 29) with a trip to Imperial Valley College for a 2 p.m.
game.
FRIDAY, MAR 25, 2005 EastCountySports.com Fullerton College Tournament At Fullerton College GRIFFINS 11, FULLERTON 1 Grossmont (8-13) 201 061 001 â¤" 11 11 0 Fullerton (15-6) 000 100 000 â¤" 1 7 2 Kaufman, Arnold (6), Abell (8) and Coulter; Dietz, Guzman (5), Manassero (5), Biresak (7) and Conigro. HR: Rauch (G) 2: 1st,one on and 5th, one on (#6,7); Busalacchi (G), 5th, one on (#4); Randle (F), 4th,solo. W: Kaufman (2-1). L: Dietz. (03-25-05)
Woes continue as Griffs routed by Riverside
EastCountySports.com
RIVERSIDE: BRANDON RAUCH and JOSH
MAZZOLA were a combined 6 for 8 as Grossmont College fell
to host Riverside City College 14-5 in Wednesday's (Mar.23)
second round of the Fullerton College Tournament.
Rauch rifled 3 doubles, while KYLE MIRVIS drove in two runs.
(03-23-05)
WEDNESDAY, MAR 23, 2005 EastCountySports.com Fullerton College Tournament At Mt. San Antonio College RIVERSIDE 14, GRIFFINS 5 Grossmont (7-13) 003 001 100 - 5 14 5 Riverside (13-7) 204 210 23x - 14 18 2 Garner, Wiley (3), Vigil (6), Lowe (8) and Rolf; Quinowski, Fallon (4), Simmons (7), Dumont (8) and Kelley. W: Fallon. L: Garner 2-2. (03-23-05)
Griffins dodge raindrops to beat Colorado
team
EastCountySports.com
WALNUT - Even four innings of dancing in the rain could not deny
the Grossmont Griffins a nifty non-conference 10-6 victory over
Northeastern Colorado in Tuesday's (Mar.22) opening round of the
Fullerton College Tournament at Mount San Antonio College.
KYLE MIRVIS drove in 5 runs to spark the Griffins (7-12).
(03-22-05)
TUESDAY, MAR 22, 2005 EastCountySports.com Fullerton College Tournament At Mt. San Antonio College GRIFFINS 10, NORTHEASTERN COLORADO 6 (8 inn.) Grossmont (7-12) 001 300 51 - 10 12 1 Northeastern Colorado 101 003 10 - 6 12 1 Game called after 8 innings - rain. Hester, Maihack (6) and Rolf; Hendrickson, Johnson (7), Dixon (7) and Jacobson. (03-22-05)
Lasers zap Griffins again
EastCountySports.com
EL CAJON - Perhaps, in the future, when the Grossmont College
coaches are pondering what team to play as part of their non-conference
schedule, they look someplace other than Irvine Valley College.
Lasers and Griffins are like oil and water - they don't mix.
For the second time this season and the fifth time in a row dating
back to 2003, the visiting Lasers buzzed the Griffins 6-0 Saturday
(Mar. 19) at Noel Mickelsen Field.
Irvine Valley riddled three Grossmont pitchers for a dozen hits,
scoring 4 runs in the first inning and never looking back.
Next up for the Griffins (6-12) is the Fullerton Tournament, which
begins Tuesday (Mar. 22) at Mount San Antonio College where Grossmont
meets Northern Colorado at 2 p.m.
(03-19-05)
SATURDAY, MAR. 19, 2005 At Grossmont College EastCountySports.com LASERS 7, GRIFFINS 0 IRVINE VALLEY ab r h bi GROSSMONT ab r h bi Gutierrez lf 5 0 1 0 Bishop lf 4 0 2 0 B.Latino rf 4 2 2 0 Beechler 2b 4 0 0 0 Williams ph-rf 1 0 0 0 R.Scott ss 4 0 1 0 Flanagan cf 5 0 0 0 Rauch 1b 4 0 0 0 K.Smith ss 4 2 3 4 Baird cf 2 0 0 0 Mier c 5 1 3 1 Blake ph-rf 1 0 0 0 R.Latino dh 4 1 1 0 Mazzola 2b 3 0 1 0 Hindman 1b 4 0 1 1 Setzer dh 3 0 1 0 Carrier 3b 3 0 0 0 Rolf c 3 0 1 0 Erickson 2b 4 1 1 0 Genovese rf-cf 3 0 0 0 TOTALS 39 7 12 6 TOTALS 31 0 6 0 Irvine Valley (5-12, 2-8) 400 000 201 - 7 12 1 Grossmont (6-12, 5-5) 000 000 000 - 0 6 3 GWRBI: K.Smith. E: Mier, Rolf, R.Scott, Bishop. LOB: IVC 7, GC 4. 2B: K.Smith. HR: K.Smith #3 (1st, one on). SB: Carrier, Bishop, Mier 2. PITCHING SUMMARY IRVINE VALLEY ip h r er bb so McMaster W(3-1) 9.0 6 0 0 0 9 GROSSMONT Ward L(0-1) 6.2 10 6 5 1 4 Wiley 1.1 0 0 0 1 0 W.Scott 1.0 2 1 0 0 1 (03-19-05)
Griffins protest defeat to Jaguars after
squandering 5-run lead
EastCountySports.com
EL CAJON -- The Grossmont College Griffins thought the umpiring
duo had done them wrong in Thursday's (Mar.17) Pacific Coast Conference
contest against visiting Southwestern College. For the record,
the Jaguars beat the Griffins 7-5 at Noel Mickelsen Field.
Grossmont (6-11, 5-4) blew a 5-0 lead in the final 5 innings.
Yet, the Griffins believe they have a beef and hence have protested
this game.
Here's what happened:
With Southwestern closer Arturo Reyes in to pitch in the 9th inning,
the first two Grossmont hitters made outs.
The Grffins' ROBBY SCOTT blooped a double to left in front
of a diving DALLAS HUBBARD.
With BRANDON RAUCH batting and a count of 2-1, Southwestern
head coach Jerry Bartow came out to visit his pitcher.
After the plate umpire⤙s visit to the mound,
Bartow left, crossed the foul line, ending the visit.
Two steps into foul territory, Bartow turned around, crossed the
foul line again and started back to the mound.
At that point Grossmont College coach RANDY ABSHIER ran
out to the umpire, complaining about the second visit; when the
umpires refused to remove Reyes (on the "second-visit-in-one-inning
rule"), Abshier protested the game. An appeal is pending
with Pacific Coast Conference commissioner FELIX ROGERS.
The Griffins were upset that the umpires did not know or follow
the rules.
Grossmont started out strong as BRANDON RAUCH's RBI single
gave the Griffins a 1-0 lead in the first frame.
SAL BUSALACCHI was 2-for-4 with a two-run run in the 4th
inning.
The Griffins are slated to host non-conference fie Irvine Valley
Saturday (Mar.19) at noon.
THURSDAY, MAR. 17, 2005 At Grossmont EastCountySports.com JAGUARS 7, GRIFFINS 5 SOUTHWESTERN ab r h bi GROSSMONT ab r h bi Ibarra 2b 5 1 1 2 Altshuler 2b 5 1 0 0 Reyes ss-p 4 2 2 1 Blake rf 5 1 1 0 Ochoa rf 4 1 1 1 R.Scott ss 4 1 1 0 Lievanos 1b 3 1 1 0 Rauch 1b 5 0 1 1 JCPerez 3b 5 0 1 2 Coulter c 4 0 0 0 Alvarez c 4 0 1 0 Baird cf 3 1 0 0 Hernandez lf 2 0 0 1 Mazzola dh 4 0 1 0 Hubbard lf 0 0 0 0 Busalacchi 3b 4 1 2 2 McLaughlin cf 4 1 1 0 Bishop lf 4 0 2 0 Quintero dh 4 1 2 0 Pimental ss 0 0 0 0 TOTALS 35 7 10 7 TOTALS 38 5 8 3 Southwestern (10-5, 6-3) 000 050 400 - 7 10 4 Grossmont (6-11, 5-4) 102 200 000 - 5 8 0 GWRBI: Perez. E: Velasquez, Ibarra, Hernandez, Reyes. LOB: SWC 7, GC 8. 2B: Quintero, R.Scott. HR: Busalacchi (#3) 4th, one on; Ibarra (#5) 5th, one on; Reyes (#1) 5th, solo. SB: Ochoa, Lievanos. SF: Hernandez. PITCHING SUMMARY SOUTHWESTERN ip h r er bb so Velasquez W(2-0) 8.0 7 5 3 1 8 Reyes Sv(4) 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 GROSSMONT Abell 6.0 6 3 3 1 4 Janke L(1-2) 0.1 2 3 3 1 0 Garner 2.2 2 1 1 0 2 HBP: by Abell (Hernandez, Ochoa), by Velasquez (Baird); by Janke (Reyes). WP: Velasquez. PB: Alvarez. Game protested by Grossmont in 9th. (03-17-05)
Baird helps Griffins bash Jags
EastCountySports.com
CHULA VISTA -- For only the second time in 10 starts this season,
the Grossmont Griffins won a road game Tuesday (Mar. 15)
afternoon at Southwestern College. It had a major Pacific Coast
Conference impact since it pulled the Griffins into a second place
tie with Southwestern, just one game behind front-running Palomar.
CHUCK BAIRD sparked the Griffins (6-10, 6-3) with 2 triples,
a double and a pair of singles in 5 at-bats, as Grossmont defeated
Southwestern 10-4.
Baird, a Grossmont High alum, also drove in 3 runs and scored
3 times.
Freshman right-hander SHANE KAUFMAN blanked the Jaguars
on 1 hit over 3 innings in relief as he earned his first collegiate
win.
JOHN LOWE pitched a scoreless 9th inning, throwing
10 pitches, nine of which were strikes, to seal the deal for Grossmont.
El Cajon Valley alum OSCAR OCHOA was 3 for 4 with a triple
and 3 RBI for Southwestern (9-5, 5-3).
Yet, for the second time in as many starts, the Griffins treated
the pitching-proud Jaguars rudely.
Grossmont continues its PCC pursuit by hosting Southwestern (9-6,
5-3) on Thursday (Mar.17) at 2 p.m.
TUESDAY, MAR 15, 2005 EastCountySports.com GRIFFINS 10, JAGUARS 4 GROSSMONT ab r h bi SOUTHWESTERN ab r h bi Altshuler 2b 4 0 1 2 Ibarra 2b 4 0 1 0 Blake rf 5 0 0 0 Reyes ss 5 0 1 0 R.Scott ss 5 0 2 0 Lievanos 1b 5 0 1 0 Rauch 1b 4 2 1 0 Velasquez rf 2 1 0 0 Coulter c 4 0 2 2 Julio p 0 0 0 0 Rolf c 0 0 0 0 Chavira p 0 0 0 0 Baird cf 5 3 5 3 Quintero ph 1 0 1 0 Mazzola dh 3 1 1 1 Martinez dh 2 1 0 0 Setzer ph 1 0 0 0 McLaughlin p-cf 2 0 0 0 Busalacchi 3b 4 0 2 2 Alvarez c 2 1 0 0 Bishop lf 4 1 0 0 Hinton ph 1 0 0 0 Genovese lf 0 0 0 0 JCPerez 3b 2 0 1 0 Hernandez ph 1 0 0 0 Cordeiro 3b 1 0 0 0 Hubbard lf 4 1 1 1 Ochoa cf-rf 4 0 3 3 TOTALS 39 10 14 10 TOTALS 36 4 9 4 Grossmont (6-10, 5-3) 032 003 200 - 10 4 0 Southwestern (9-5, 5-3) 000 040 000 - 4 9 2 GWRBI: Coulter (3). E: Cordeiro, Velasquez. DP: SWC 2. LOB: GC 6 , SWC 10. 2B: Busalacchi 2, Baird, Ibarra. 3B: Rauch, Baird 2, Ochoa. SF: Altshuler. PITCHING SUMMARY GROSSMONT ip h r er bb so Arnold 4.1 5 2 2 4 4 Woods 0.2 2 2 2 1 0 Kaufman W(1-0) 3.0 1 0 0 0 1 Lowe 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 SOUTHWESTERN McDole L(1-3) 3.0 6 6 6 2 3 McLaughlin 3.0 3 2 0 2 1 Julio 1.0 4 2 2 0 0 Chavira 2.0 1 0 0 0 1 HBP: by Arnold (Ibarra) (03-15-05)
Griffins lose on walk-off home run
EastCountySports.com
SAN DIEGO - The Grossmont College Griffins missed a chance to
create a three-way tie for the Pacific Coast Conference lead on
Saturday (Mar. 12). They can thank San Diego Mesa College's Steven
Sanchez for that.
Sanchez, who was 0-for-4 when he stepped into the batter's box
with one down and the score tied in the bottom of the 9th, belted
a game-winning two-run home run to turn the PCC title bout into
a six-team race.
BRANDON RAUCH hit his 5th, team-leading home run for the
Griffins in the 4th inning, a solo shot. ROBBY SCOTT also
hit a two-run homer in the inning following.
Grossmont (5-10, 4-3) is one game behind co-leaders Southwestern
and Palomar.
The Griffins' primary problem is they can't win away from home.
The giveaway at Mesa dropped Grossmont's road record to 1-9.
Grossmont travels to Southwestern on Tuesday, (Mar. 15) for a
2 p.m. game.
SATURDAY, MAR 12, 2005 EastCountySports.com OLYMPIANS 8, GRIFFINS 7 GROSSMONT ab r h bi SAN DIEGO MESA ab r h bi Altshuler 2b 4 1 1 1 Martin ss 4 1 2 1 R.Scott ss 5 2 3 2 Sanchez 3b 5 1 1 2 Blake rf 3 1 1 0 Johnson rf 2 0 0 1 Rauch 1b 2 1 1 1 Peters 1b 4 0 1 1 Baird cf 4 0 1 1 Cunningham c 4 0 1 0 Coulter c 5 0 2 1 Jennings dh 4 0 1 0 Mazzola dh 4 0 1 0 Tyler 2b 3 2 2 2 Busalacchi 3b 3 0 0 0 Callison lf 3 2 1 1 Bishop lf 3 1 0 0 Harms cf 3 2 1 0 TOTALS 33 7 10 6 TOTALS 32 8 10 8 Grossmont (5-10, 4-3) 000 130 300 - 7 5 4 San Diego Mesa (6-8, 3-4) 002 120 003 - 8 10 1 GWRBI: Sanchez. E: Bishop, Sanchez. LOB: GC 8, SDMC 4. 2B: Martin 2, Harms. HR: Tyler 2: 3rd, solo, and 4th, solo; Callison 3rd, solo; Rauch 4th, solo; R.Scott 5th, one on; Sanchez 9th, one on. SB: Blake 2, Rauch, Harms, Martin. S: Busalacchi, Altshuler, Blake. SF: Johnson, Martin. PITCHING SUMMARY GROSSMONT ip h r er bb so Janke 6.0 6 5 3 1 5 Garner L(2-1) 2.1 4 3 3 0 3 SAN DIEGO MESA Yaeger 4.2 7 4 4 1 3 Foret 2.1 2 3 3 3 2 Doss W(1-1) 2.0 1 0 0 1 0 HBP: by Janke (Johnson, Harms), by Garner (Callison). WP: Janke. BK: Yaeger. (03-12-05)
THURSDAY, MAR. 10, 2005 At Grossmont EastCountySports.com OLYMPIANS 11, GRIFFINS 9 SAN DIEGO MESA ab r h bi GROSSMONT ab r h bi Martin ss 6 2 2 2 Altshuler 2b 5 1 2 0 Sanchez 1b 6 1 1 2 R.Scott ss 5 2 3 0 Johnson rf 6 1 4 3 Blake rf 5 0 0 0 Jennings dh 6 2 3 2 Rauch 1b 2 1 0 0 Tyler 2b 3 1 1 0 Beechler pr 0 1 0 0 Cunningham c 4 1 1 1 Baird cf 5 1 2 0 Lennon 3b 3 2 0 0 Coulter c 5 2 3 6 Callison lf 3 0 0 0 Mazzola 3b 5 1 3 2 Harms cf 3 1 0 1 Busalacchi dh 4 0 0 0 Roenick cf 1 0 0 0 Bishop lf 3 0 1 0 Mirvis ph 1 0 0 0 TOTALS 41 11 12 11 TOTALS 40 9 14 8 San Diego Mesa (5-8, 2-4) 001 512 200 - 11 12 1 Grossmont (5-9, 4-2) 400 002 003 - 9 14 5 GWRBI: Cunningham. E: R.Scott 2, Altshuler, Mazzola, Kaufman, Chipp. DP: SDMC 1. LOB: SDMC 10, GC 8. 2B: R.Scott, Coulter, Mazzola 2, Johnson, Martin. HR: Coulter (GC, 2) 1st, 3 on. SB: Cunningham, Harms, Johnson. S: Callison, Tyler. SF: Cunningham. PITCHING SUMMARY SAN DIEGO MESA ip h r er bb so Chipp W(2-1) 5+ 9 6 6 1 4 Ramirez 3.1 3 2 1 1 1 Tye 0.2 2 1 0 0 1 GROSSMONT Abell L(0-2) 3.2 5 6 5 3 3 W.Scott 2.0 4 3 0 3 0 Kaufman 3.1 3 2 0 0 5 Chipp pitched to two batters in the 6th. HBP: by Abell (Cunningham), by Ramirez (Rauch), by Chipp (Bishop, Rauch). WP: Ramirez. BK: W.Scott. (03-10-05)
Griffins bobble chance for road win against
Comets
EastCountySports.com
SAN MARCOS -- There is something about playing on the road that
seems to haunt the Grossmont Griffins. Four crucial errors handed
host Palomar College 3 unearned runs in Wednesday's (Mar. 9) Pacific
Coast Conference showdown that added up to an 8-7 victory for
the Comets.
Palomar (7-4, 4-1) scored 2 runs in the bottom of the 9th inning
to spoil the Griffins (5-8, 4-1) unblemished PCC mark and create
a three-way tie with Palomar and Southwestern for the conference
lead.
Grossmont, which is 4-0 in the friendly confines of Noel Mickelsen
Field, dropped its 7th decision in eight road games.
A dropped foul pop-up by the Grossmont catcher and a throwing
error by the Grfifins' third baseman handed Palomar 2 unearned
runs and the key victory. The winning tally scored on a
wild pitch.
It was a stunning defeat for the Griffins, who received home runs
from JOSH MAZZOLA, SAL BUSALACCHI and CLAY COULTER.
Grossmont hosts San Diego Mesa on Thursday (Mar.11) at 2 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, MAR 9, 2005 EastCountySports.com COMETS 8, GRIFFINS 7 GROSSMONT ab r h bi PALOMAR ab r h bi Altshuler 2b 3 0 0 0 Simper ss 4 0 1 0 R.Scott ss 5 0 0 0 Burke 2b 4 0 1 0 Blake rf 5 0 0 0 Boucher 2b 0 0 0 0 Rauch 1b 4 0 0 0 Clement dh 5 0 1 0 Baird cf 4 1 1 0 Poole pr 0 1 0 0 Coulter c 4 2 2 2 Parayk c 3 1 1 0 Mazzola dh 3 2 1 1 Moritz rf 5 1 1 0 Busalacchi 3b 4 1 1 3 Stevens pr 0 1 0 0 Nester lf 2 0 0 0 Kemp 3b 3 3 2 0 Bishop lf 0 1 0 0 Gale cf 3 1 2 1 Hernandez 1b 4 0 1 1 Fonseca lf 2 0 1 1 TOTALS 34 7 5 6 TOTALS 33 8 11 3 Grossmont (5-8, 4-1) 010 401 001 - 7 5 4 Palomar (7-4, 4-1) 023 001 002 - 8 11 5 GWRBI: None. E: Boucher, Coulter, McNamara, Busalacchi, Simper, Kemp Parzyk. DP: GC 1, Pal 2. LOB: GC 4, Pal 10. 2B: Gale, Baird. HR: Mazzola (1) 2nd, solo; Busalacchi (2) 4th, two on; Coulter (1) 6th, solo. SB: Bishop,l Stevens. S: Burke, Gale, Altshuler, Parzyk. PITCHING SUMMARY GROSSMONT ip h r er bb so Arnold 3.0 5 5 4 2 0 Maihack 3.0 1 1 1 1 1 Vigil L(0-2) 2.1 5 2 0 1 1 PALOMAR McNamara 4.0 4 5 5 2 6 Suzuki 4.0 1 1 1 1 0 Cueva W(2-0) 1.0 0 1 0 1 2 HBP: by Arnold (Kemp), by Maihack (Fonseca), by Cueva (Altshuler). WP: Arnold 2, McNamara, Suzuki, Vigil. (03-09-05)
Garner's solid relief gives Griffs fourth-straight
conference win
EastCountySports.com
EL CAJON -- Freshman right-hander MATT GARNER pitched
four innings of shutout relief Tuesday (Mar. 8), guiding Grossmont
College past San Diego City College 6-4 at Noel Mickelsen Field.
It was the fourth straight win for the Pacific Coast Conference-leading
Griffins, who are unbeaten at home.
Grossmont (5-7, 4-0), which is only 1-7 on the road, will test
its mettle when the Griffins travel to San Marcos to face Palomar
(6-4, 3-1) on Wednesday (Mar. 9) at 2 p.m.
Garner, a product of University City High, limited the Knights
to 3 hits as he logged his second win against no losses.
The Griffins mustered up only five hits on the offensive end,
but capitalized on five SDCC errors for 4 unearned runs.
Trailing 3-1 entering the bottom of the 3rd inning, the Griffins
pushed across 4 runs and were never headed thereafter. ROBBY
SCOTT ignited the rally with a one-out triple. That would
be the only hit of the inning. The Knights committed three errors,
uncorked two wild pitches to score runs and walked in a third
run.
(03-08-05)
TUESDAY, MAR. 8, 2005 At Grossmont EastCountySports.com GRIFFINS 6, KNIGHTS 4 SAN DIEGO CITY ab r h bi GROSSMONT ab r h bi Wells lf 5 0 1 1 Altshuler 2b 2 1 0 0 Smith 2b 5 0 2 0 Perez ph 1 0 0 0 Robles ss 5 0 0 0 Beechler 2b 0 0 0 0 Dennis 1b 5 0 0 0 RScott ss 2 1 1 0 Purcel dh 3 0 0 0 Blake rf 3 1 0 1 Holm ph 0 0 0 0 Rauch 1b 3 0 1 0 Willis c 3 1 1 0 Baird cf 3 1 1 1 Luna 3b 4 1 2 0 Rolf c 3 1 0 0 Garza rf 4 1 2 0 Mirvis dh 2 0 0 0 Reynolds cf 4 1 3 3 Setzer ph 1 0 0 0 Busalacchi 3b 3 1 1 0 Nester lf 3 0 0 0 Bishop ph 1 0 1 0 Genovese lf 0 0 0 0 TOTALS 38 4 11 4 TOTALS 27 6 5 2 San Diego City (6-5, 1-3) 030 000 010 - 4 11 5 Grossmont (5-7, 4-0) 104 000 01x - 6 5 2 GWRBI: None. E: Altshuler, Dennis, Billings, Robles, Reynolds, Willis, Busalacchi. LOB: SDCC 9, GC 9. 2B: Smith, Reynolds. 3B: RScott. HR: Reynolds, 8th, solo. SB: Baird 2. S: Blake, RScott, Baird. PITCHING SUMMARY SAN DIEGO CITY ip h r er bb so Church L(0-3) 3+ 2 5 2 5 3 Billings 5.0 3 1 0 2 6 GROSSMONT Hester 3.0 7 3 3 1 4 Garner W(2-0) 4.0 3 0 0 1 2 Janke S(1) 2.0 1 1 1 0 0 Church pitched to one batter in the 4th. Mirvis reacheded on catcher⤙s interference in the 3rd. WP: Church 2. PB: Willis. (03-08-05)
Griffins find their niche when entering
conference play
EastCountySports.com
EL CAJON -- How about those Grossmont Griffins! A listless
lot at the start of the season, coach RANDY ABSHIER's crew
has opened the Pacific Coast Conference season with three straight
wins. The latest conquest was a 13-7 romp over visiting Imperial
Valley College.
Grossmont's BRANDON RAUCH ripped a pair of solo home runs,
giving him 4 for the season and three in the last two days.
The Griffins (4-7, 3-0) erased a 1-0 Imperial Valley advantage
with 5 runs in the bottom of the 1st inning. SAL BUSALACCHI
followed RBI singles by CLAY COULTER and SEAN SETZER
with a 2-run double.
After the visiting Arabs (4-6, 1-2) closed the deficit to 8-7,
Grossmont broke the game open with 5 runs in the 7th inning. CHARLES
BAIRD's 3-run triple was the key blow.
GARRETT VIGIL hurled 2 1/3 innings of shutout relief to
earn his first collegiate save for the Griffins.
Grossmont returns to the road on Saturday (Mar. 5) to take on
the Palomar Comets at noon.
(03-03-05)
THURSDAY, MAR. 3, 2005 At Grossmont EastCountySports.com GRIFFINS 13, ARABS 7 IMPERIAL VALLEY ab r h bi GROSSMONT ab r h bi Aguirre rf 6 4 4 0 Altshuler 2b 2 1 1 0 Snyder lf 4 1 0 0 Beechler 2b 1 1 0 0 Gallegos ss 4 1 2 4 RScott ss 6 1 4 1 Castro dh 5 0 2 2 Blake rf 4 1 0 2 Bolden cf 5 0 1 0 Rauch 1b 3 3 2 2 Magano 3b 3 0 0 1 Perez 1b 0 0 0 0 Chase 1b 4 0 1 0 Baird cf 5 1 2 3 Jacques 2b 5 0 1 0 Coulter c 5 1 1 1 Garcia c 4 1 1 0 Rolf c 0 0 0 0 Adams ph 0 0 0 0 Setzer dh 5 2 2 1 Busalacchi 3b 2 1 1 2 Mazzola ph-3b 0 0 0 0 Nester lf 2 0 1 0 Bishop lf 2 1 1 1 Genovese lf 0 0 0 0 TOTALS 40 7 12 7 TOTALS 37 13 15 13 Imperial Valley (4-6, 1-2) 101 201 200 - 7 12 3 Grossmont (4-7, 3-0) 301 020 50x - 13 15 2 GWRBI: Coulter (2). E: Kaufman, RScott, Jacques, Magano, Martinez. DP: IVC 2, GC 1. LOB: IVC 14, GC 10. 2B: Altshuler, Busalacchi, Aguirre, Gallegos. 3B: Baird. HR: Rauch 2(3,4) 3rd, solo and 5th solo. SB: Aquirre, Gallegos, Adams. S. Blake, Bishop. PITCHING SUMMARY IMPERIAL VALLEY ip h r er bb so Martinez L(0-2) 7.0 15 13 9 3 3 Silva 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 Stevens 0.1 0 0 0 2 0 Santos 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 GROSSMONT Kaufman 4.0 5 4 2 3 5 Ward W(1-0) 2.2 6 3 2 2 2 Vigil S(1) 2.1 1 0 0 0 1 HBP: by Martinez (Rauch, Busalacchi), by Kaufman (Chase), by Vigil (Adams). WP: Martinez 2, Stevens. PB: Coulter. (03-03-05)
Blake steps up and sends everybody home
with game-winning hit
EastCountySports.com
EL CAJON -- SHAUN BLAKE (El Capitan HS) wasn't having the
best of days batting in the No.3 spot in the Grossmont College
batting order. In fact, he was 0-for-5 when he stepped into the
batter's box with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 11th and
the score tied in Wednesday's (Mar. 2) Pacific Coast Conference
contest against San Diego Mesa at Noel Mickelsen Field. Blake
blasted the first pitch from reliever Danny Silvas off the right-center
field fence to score pinch runner GEROME TEMPLETON (Poway
HS) with the winning run in a 5-4 victory.
Grossmont reliever LANCE JANKE (University City HS) limited
the Olympians (3-6, 0-2) to a single run and 3 hits over the final
5 innings to pick up the win. He struck out 3 and walked none.
Griffins starter BRANDON ABELL (Christian HS) held Mesa
hitless for 4 1/3 innings en route to a six-inning stint.
BRANDON RAUCH (El Capitan HS) gave Grossmont a jump start
when he followed a ROBBY SCOTT (University City HS) double
with his second home run of the season in the 1st inning.
RYAN ALTSHULER (Carlsbad HS) stroked a solo home run to
give Grossmont a 3-1 edge in the 5th inning.
But Mesa roughed Abell up for 2 runs in the 6th inning to knot
the score at 3-all. The Griffins regained the lead in the bottom
of the inning as CLAY COULTER (West Hills HS) doubled
and eventually scored on CHRIS PEREZ's (Escondido HS) infield
out.
Mesa tied the game on Jason Roenicke's RBI single in the 9th inning.
The Griffins' winning rally began on a one-out throwing error.
Pinch-runner Templeton advanced to second on JASON BISHOP's
(John F. Kennedy) and to third on a passed ball. Altshuler
walked and Scott was intentionally passed to set the stage for
Blake's game-winning hit.
The Griffins (3-7, 2-0), the early leaders in the PCC, host Imperial
Valley Thursday (Mar. 3) at 2 p.m.
(03-02-05)
WEDNESDAY, MAR. 21, 2005 At Grossmont EastCountySports.com GRIFFINS 5, OLYMPIANS 4 (10 innings) OLYMPIANS ab r h bi GROSSMONT ab r h bi Martin ss 4 0 1 0 Altshuler 2b 5 1 1 1 Johnson lf 5 0 1 1 RScott ss 5 1 3 0 Sanchez 3b 5 0 0 0 Blake rf 6 0 1 1 Peters 1b 5 1 1 1 Rauch 1b 4 1 2 2 Cunningham c 5 0 1 0 Baird cf 5 0 0 0 Jennings dh 4 2 2 1 Coulter c 5 1 3 0 Harms ph 0 0 0 0 Mirvis dh 2 0 0 0 Bahno rf 5 0 0 0 Perez ph-dh 2 0 0 1 Roenicke cf 5 1 2 1 Busalacchi 3b 5 0 0 0 Bush 2b 4 0 0 0 Templeton pr 0 1 0 0 Nester lf 3 0 1 0 Genovese lf 0 0 0 0 Setzer ph 1 0 0 0 Bishop pr-lf 1 0 0 0 TOTALS 42 4 8 4 TOTALS 44 5 11 5 SD Mesa (3-6, 0-2) 000 012 010 0 - 4 8 4 Grossmont (3-7, 2-0) 200 011 000 1 - 5 11 2 GWRBI: Blake (1). E: Busalacchi, RScott, Martin 2, Cunningham Sanchez. DP: SDMC 1. LOB: SDMC 7, GC 9. 2B: RScott 2, Nester, Coulter, Jennings, Cunningham. HR: Rauch (2) 1st, one on; Altshuler (1) 5th, solo; Peters 6th, solo; Jennings 6th, solo. SB: Roenicke, Martin. S: Bush, Harms. PITCHING SUMMARY SAN DIEGO MESA ip h r er bb so Chipp 6.0 8 4 4 0 1 Yaeger 2.0 1 0 0 0 3 Tye 2.0 1 1 0 1 1 Silvas L(0-2) 0.2 1 1 0 1 1 GROSSMONT Abell 6.0 5 3 3 1 3 Janke W(1-1) 5.0 3 1 1 0 3 WP: Chip 2. PB: Cunningham. BK: Abell. (03-02-05)
Griffins come in like lion to open conference
season with win
EastCountySports.com
EL CAJON -- New month. New season. Familiar venue. Better start.
After a dreadful preseason, the Grossmont Griffins opened the
Pacific Coast Conference campaign with a 5-3 victory over defending
circuit champion Southwestern Tuesday (Mar. 1) at Noel Mickelsen
Field.
Grossmont snapped a 3-3 tie on an RBI single by CLAY COULTER
with two outs in the bottom of the 7th. Coulter, a product
of West Hills High, blooped a 3-0 pitch to right-center to score
ROBBY SCOTT. A University City High alum, Scott began the
inning as he was hit by a MIKE McLAUGHLIN (Mount
Miguel HS) pitch. McLaughlin also plunked BRANDON RAUCH
(El Capitan HS) to move Scott into scoring position.
McLaughlin was tagged with the loss, his first in three decisions.
MATT GARNER, another University City graduate, blanked
the Jaguars (5-4) on 2 hits over the final 2 2/3 innings to earn
his first collegiate win.
Grossmont's freshman starter TIM ARNOLD (Fallbrook HS)
did some nifty work in the 3rd inning with one out and the bases
loaded. The 6-foot-4 left-hander recorded a key strikeout and
then induced an inning-ending groundout.
"Both Arnold and Garner pitched outstanding ball," said
Grossmont coach RANDY ABSHIER. "I'm sure you're going
to hear a lot more from them."
The Griffins (2-7), who snapped a 5-game losing streak in their
first home game of the season, jumped on Southwestern starter
MIKE CROOKS (McDole) for three runs in the 2nd inning.
Crooks, a sophomore out of Monte Vista High, served up 3 walks
to load the bases with one out. KEITH NESTER (Patrick Henry
HS) singled in Coulter to tie the score 1-1.
Scott's infield single scored KYLE MIRVIS (Patrick Henry
HS) to put the Griffins in front, 2-1. Crooks then hit SHAUN
BLAKE (El Capitan HS) to force home SAL BUSALACCHI
(Patrick Henry HS) for a 3-1 lead.
"This was by far our best overall performance of the season,"
Abshier said.
The Griffins host San Diego Mesa on Wednesday (Mar. 2) and Imperial
Valley on Thursday (Mar. 3). Both games start at 2 p.m.
GRIFFIN GRAFFITI: Robby Scott, the Grossmont shortstop,
was dubbed the player of the game. He was 2-for-4, with one RBI,
a stolen base, a run scored and 8 fielding assists . . . Former
Grossmont infielder DAVE JOLLIFF has signed as a free agent
with the San Diego Padres and will play for Peoria of the Arizona
Rookie League.
(03-01-05)
TUESDAY, MAR. 1, 2005 At Grossmont EastCountySports.com GRIFFINS 5, JAGUARS 3 JAGUARS ab r h bi GROSSMONT ab r h bi Ibarra 2b 4 1 2 2 Altshuler 2b 2 0 0 0 Ochoa cf-lf 3 1 1 0 Beechler 2b 3 1 1 0 Hubbard lf 2 0 0 0 RScott ss 4 1 2 1 Hinton ph 1 0 0 0 Blake rf 2 0 1 2 Reyes p 0 0 0 0 Rauch 1b 4 0 1 0 Lievanos 1b 4 0 2 1 Baird cf 4 0 0 0 JCPerez 3b 4 0 0 0 Coulter c 1 1 1 1 Velasquez rf 4 0 1 0 Mirvis dh 2 1 0 0 Alvarez c 3 0 0 0 CPerez ph 0 0 0 0 Olsen ph-c 1 0 0 0 Busalacchi 3b 3 1 0 0 Cordeiro dh 3 0 0 0 Nester lf 4 0 1 1 McLaughlin p-cf 1 0 0 0 Genovese lf 0 0 0 0 Pimental ss 2 1 0 0 TOTALS 32 3 6 3 TOTALS 29 5 7 5 Southwestern (5-4, 1-1) 100 000 200 - 3 6 1 Grossmont (2-7, 1-0) 030 000 11x - 5 7 0 GWRBI: Coulter (1). E: Alvarez. 2B: Blake, Ochoa, Velasquez, Lievanos. HR: Ibarra (2) 7th, one on. SB: Beechler, RScott. S: Ochoa, Blake. SF: Blake. PITCHING SUMMARY SOUTHWESTERN ip h r er bb so Crooks 5.0 4 3 3 5 4 McLaughlin L(2-1) 1.2 1 1 1 0 1 Reyes 1.1 2 1 1 1 2 GROSSMONT Arnold 6.1 4 3 3 4 4 Garner W(1-0) 2.2 2 1 1 1 0 HBP: by Arnold (Ochoa), by Crooks (Blake), by McLaughlin (RScott, Rauch). BK: Arnold. (03-01-05)
Road-weary Griffins have early lead
EastCountySports.com
RANCHO CUCAMONGA - It would be easy to criticize Grossmont College's
1-7 start to the 2005 season. But keep in mind, the Griffins have
done little more than look at their rain-soaked field. No home
games to date. No full-fledged practices in nearly a month. Thus,
the jury is still out.
The Griffins thought they were on their way to an easy victory
when they pushed across 6 runs in the top of the 1st inning on
Friday (Mar.25) at Chaffey. They all but put their bats in storage
thereafter as the host Panthers clawed back for a 12-7 non-conference
victory.
SAL BUSALACCHI capped the Griffins early burst with a 3-run
home run in the first.
Three innings later, the Griffins were trailing 8-6. Chaffey put
the game on ice with 4 runs in the bottom of the 8th.
Grossmont opens the Pacific Coast Conference season on Tuesday
(Mar.1) at Southwestern College at 2 p.m.
(02-25-05)
FRIDAY, FEB 25, 2005 EastCountySports.com PANTHERS 12, GRIFFINS 7 GROSSMONT ab r h bi CHAFFEY ab r h bi Bishop cf 4 1 0 0 Kono 2b 5 1 1 0 RScott ss 4 0 0 0 Munoz ss 5 2 2 2 Blake rf 4 1 2 0 Alegria dh 3 2 1 2 Rauch 1b 4 1 2 1 Wolfe 1b 5 0 1 1 Baird lf 3 1 1 0 Rice c 4 2 3 3 Morris dh 4 1 1 2 Bastia cf 4 1 0 0 Rolf c 3 1 0 0 Dansey rf 4 1 1 2 Busalacchi 3b 4 1 1 3 JTaylor 3b 4 2 2 1 Beechler 2b 3 0 0 0 Sanderlin lf 3 1 1 0 Altshuler 2b 1 0 0 0 TOTALS 34 7 7 6 TOTALS 37 12 12 11 Grossmont (1-7) 600 010 000 - 7 7 3 Chaffey 041 300 04x â¤" 12 12 1 GWRBI: Wolfe. E: Rolf, Bishop, Arnold, Kono. 2B: Mirvis. HR: Busalacchi (1) 1st, two on. SB: Bishop, Rice, Kono. PITCHING SUMMARY GROSSMONT ip h r er bb so Woods 1.0 3 4 3 1 0 Vigil L(0-1) 2.1 3 4 3 0 0 Kaufman 4.1 5 4 4 0 3 Arnold 0.1 1 0 0 0 0 CHAFFEY Snider W 5.0 5 7 7 0 3 Stevens S 4.0 2 0 0 2 0 Woods pitched to 8 batters in the 2nd. HBP:P by Woods (Bastio), by Vigil (Alegria, Rice), by Stevens (Blake). WP: Kaufman. (02-25-05)
Pirates pound Griffins, who help with errors
EastCountySports.com
COSTA MESA -- It's been a season of on-the-job training
for the Grossmont Griffins in this rain-spattered season. The
results have been less than impressive. Three Grossmont errors
led to 10 unearned runs Thursday (Feb. 24) as the Griffins were
pummeled 16-5 at Orange Coast College.
The Pirates (6-3) built a 12-0 lead before the Griffins (1-6)
could find the plate on CHUCK BAIRD's solo home run in the 5th.
Ryan Clear, the nephew of former Anaheim Angels reliever Mark
Clear, limited the Griffins to 5 hits and one earned run over
7 innings to earn the win.
Grossmont travels to Rancho Cucamonga to face Chaffey College
on Friday (Feb. 25) at 2 p.m.
(02-24-05)
THURSDAY - FEB 24, 2005 EastCountySports.com PIRATES 16, GRIFFINS 5 GROSSMONT ab r h bi ORANGE COAST ab r h bi Blake rf 3 0 0 0 Cline ss 4 2 1 0 Nestor lf 1 0 0 0 Jasper 3b 1 0 0 0 RScott ss 4 1 2 0 Blauer 1b 5 2 2 4 Altshuler 2b 4 1 2 0 Real 1b 1 0 1 0 Rauch dh 4 1 0 0 Banda c 4 0 2 0 Baird lf-rf 4 2 2 1 Brown cr-lf 0 2 0 0 Coulter c 1 0 0 0 Schmidt c 1 0 0 0 Genevose cr 0 0 0 0 Beck lf 4 2 2 4 Rolf c 2 0 1 2 Schneider dh 3 1 2 3 Busalacchi 3b 4 0 0 0 Gattis 3b-ss 4 1 2 0 Setzer 1b 4 0 0 0 Cope cf 4 2 1 0 Templeton cf 2 0 1 0 Stoker rf 5 3 3 1 Bishop cf 1 0 0 0 Gonzales 2b 4 1 2 1 Slater 2b 1 0 0 0 TOTALS 34 5 8 3 TOTALS 41 16 18 13 Grossmont (1-6) 000 012 002 - 5 8 3 Orange Coast (6-3) 118 204 00x - 16 18 3 GWRBI-Beck. E-Templeton, Baird, Blake, Cline, Beck, Gonzales. DP-GC 1, OCC 2. LOB-GC 5, OCC 8. 2B-Gattis, Cope, Stokes, Gonzales, Schneider. 3B-Schneider. HR-Blauer 3rd, two on; Beck 3rd, one on; Baird (1) 5th, solo. SB-Stokes. PITCHING SUMMARY GROSSMONT ip h r er bb so Wiley L(0-1) 1.0 1 1 1 3 0 Janke 1.2 4 7 0 2 1 Maihack 0.1 6 4 1 0 0 Garner 2.0 1 0 0 0 1 Lowe 0.2 5 4 4 1 0 WScott 1.1 1 0 0 0 0 ORANGE COAST Clear W(2-0) 7.0 5 3 1 1 2 Rizor 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 Peterson 1.0 3 2 2 0 2 Maihack pitched to 3 batters in the 4th. WP-Janke, Maihack, Lowe. PB-Coulter. BK-Maihack. (02-24-05)
No alibi for sloppy play by Griffins
EastCountySports.com
TORRANCE - It was a soggy Thursday (Feb.
17) afternoon for the
visiting Grossmont Griffins, who made the 2-hour, 30-minute trek
north only
to slosh through five-plus innings resulting in a sloppily played
11-4
loss to host El Camino College. UGLY!
Three innings into the debacle the Griffins
found themselves trailing
11-0. Grossmont (1-5) scrambled back for 3 runs in the 4th inning.
CHUCK
BAIRD's 2-run double keyed that brief flurry.
It was a virtual slip-and-slide for the
pitchers. After Grossmont
reliever GABE WARD sailed a pitch to the backstop with one out
in the bottom
of the 6th, the umpires decided they had seen a enough. Game over.
To his credit, though, Ward did hurl 3.1
shutout innings for the
Griffins.
Three Grossmont errors led to 5 unearned runs for El Camino (2-5).
Grossmont is slated to face Orange Coast
on Sunday (Feb. 20) at noon,
weather permitting. All six of the Griffins' games to date have
been
played on the road.
(02-17-05)
THURSDAY FEB 17, 2005 EastCountySports.com WARRIORS 11, GRIFFINS 4 GROSSMONT ab r h bi SANTA ANA ab r h bi Blake rf 3 0 0 0 Brunson lf 3 2 2 0 RScott ss 1 1 1 0 Cauley ss 3 2 0 1 Rauch dh 3 1 0 0 Gomez rf 3 1 2 3 Coulter c 3 1 1 0 Nunn dh-p 3 1 0 0 Mazzola 3b 1 0 0 0 Zaunich 1b 4 0 1 2 Busalacchi 3b 0 0 0 0 Fox cf 3 1 2 0 Nestor lf 0 1 0 0 Braunecker 3b 3 1 1 0 Baird lf-rf 3 0 2 2 Aguilar c 2 2 1 0 Mirvis 1b 3 0 0 1 Moretti 2b 1 1 0 1 Altshuler 2b 3 0 0 0 Bishop cf 2 0 0 0 TOTALS 22 4 4 3 TOTALS 25 11 9 7 Grossmont (1-5) 000 301 - 4 4 3 El Camino (2-5) 065 000 - 11 9 2 Game called bottom of 6th inning, one out: rain. GWRBI-None. E-Brunson, Mazzola 2, Bishop, Zaunich. DP-GC 11, ECC 1. LOB-GC 4, ECC 8. 2B-Gomez, Baird. SB-Gomez, Aguilar. S-Moretti. PITCHING SUMMARY GROSSMONT ip h r er bb so Abell L(0-1) 1.2 3 6 2 2 3 Vigil 0.1 2 5 4 3 0 Ward 3.1 4 0 0 2 1 EL CAMINO McKinley W(1-0) 3.0 3 3 1 2 1 Nunn 3.0 1 1 1 1 0 Vigil pitched to 5 batters in the 3rd. HBP-by Abell (Aguilar, Brunson); by McKinley (Busalacchi); by Nunn (Baird). WP-Abell, Ward. (02-17-05)
SANTA ANA - The Grossmont Griffins faced
their toughest preseason
test to date Wednesday (Feb. 16) at Santa Ana College. Given that
the Dons
are 7-0 and ranked No. 2 in Southern California and No. 5 in the
state,
Grossmont's performance would have to be considered impressive.
Santa Ana escaped with a 6-3 win, dropping
the Griffins' season
record to 1-4.
"We had our chances," said Grossmont
coach RANDY ABSHIER. "We
battled them right to the end."
Santa Ana shut down a budding Grossmont
rally in the 9th inning.
Trailing 6-1 with two runs across and two runners on base, the
Griffins
brought the tying run to the plate in their top hitter, ROBBY
SCOTT, with
one out.
Scott belted a deep drive to dead center
field for the second out. JOSH
MAZZOLA followed with a long drive to left field for the third
out.
Earlier in the 9th, pinch-hitter CLAY COULTER
laced an RBI double and
SAL BUSALACCHI plated a run with a ground ball out.
Four Grossmont pitchers limited Santa Ana to 5 earned runs and 7 hits.
The Griffins hit the road for the third
day in a row when they venture
to Torrance to take on El Camino Thursday (Feb. 17) at 2 p.m.
WEDNESDAY â¤" FEB 16, 2005 EastCountySports.com DONS 6, GRIFFINS 3 GROSSMONT ab r h bi SANTA ANA ab r h bi Blake rf 2 0 0 0 Skaggs 2b 3 2 1 0 Nestor lf 2 0 0 0 Waninger lf 3 1 1 2 RScott ss 4 1 1 0 Vasquez c 4 0 1 0 Mazzola 3b 5 0 1 0 Taloa 1b 3 1 1 2 Rauch 1b 4 0 1 1 Rice rf 4 0 0 0 Messick dh 4 0 0 0 Forman dh 3 1 1 1 Baird 1b-rf 4 1 2 0 Estrella ph 0 0 0 0 Rolf c 2 0 0 0 Morris cf 4 0 1 0 Coulter ph 1 1 1 1 Siegmond 3b 3 0 0 0 Bishop cf 2 0 0 0 Echaves ph-3b 1 0 0 0 Setzer ph 1 0 0 0 Chavez ss 3 1 1 0 Templeton cf 0 0 0 0 Busalacchi ph 1 0 0 1 Beechler 2b 2 0 0 0 Altshuler ph-2b 1 0 1 0 TOTALS 35 3 7 3 TOTALS 31 6 7 5 Grossmont (1-4) 100 000 002 - 3 7 3 Santa Ana (7-0) 130 020 00x - 6 7 1 GWRBI-Waninger. E-RScott 2, Arnold, Eschaves. DP-GC 1. LOB-GC 9, SAC 5. 2B-MPMorris, Mazzola, Baird 2, RScott. HR-Forman 2nd, solo; Taloa 5th, one on. SB-MPMorris, Chavez, Estrella. PITCHING SUMMARY GROSSMONT ip h r er bb so Arnold L(0-1) 4.0 5 4 3 1 1 Kaufman 2.0 2 2 2 1 0 Garner 1.0 0 0 0 1 0 Woods 1.0 0 0 0 1 0 SANTA ANA Rieck W(1-0) 6.0 3 1 1 1 6 Trainor 2.1 4 2 1 1 2 Tyson 0.2 0 0 0 1 0 HBP-by Tyson (Nestor). WP-Rieck, Arnold, Trainor. PB-Rolf. (02-16-05)
Griffins out of sync after two weeks off
EastCountySports.com
IRVINE - Two positive things happened to the Grossmont College
baseball team Tuesday (Feb.15) at Irvine Valley College. Sophomore
shortstop ROBBY SCOTT continued his torrid hitting and
coach RANDY ABSHIER was able to play 24 of the 31 men on
his roster. Other than that it was a day to forget.
IRVINE VALLEY 12, GROSSMONT 0 - Robby Scott accounted for
half of the Griffins' 6 hits, ripping three singles in 4 at-bats.
It was Grossmont's 3rd loss in 4 decisions, as the Griffins played
their first game in 16 days.
Scott is batting at a .750 clip (12 for 16). The remainder of
the Griffins are batting a paltry .150 (17-for-113).
Weather permitting, Grossmont is slated for road games at Santa
Ana (Wednesday, Feb. 16), at El Camino in Torrance (Thursday,
Feb. 17) and against Orange Coast (Sunday, Feb. 20) in Costa Mesa.
The first two games start at 2 p.m. The Sunday matinee begins
at noon.
GRIFFIN GRIFFITI: Former Grossmont catcher NICK GUERRA
has signed with the San Diego Surf Dawgs of the independent Golden
State Baseball League. The Surf Dawgs, managed by former Padres
catcher Terry Kennedy, will play a 90-game schedule beginning
in May. Home games are at SDSU's Tony Gwynn Stadium.
Guerra, a USDHS graduate who also played at San Jose State,
was an All-Pacific Coast Conference pick for the Griffins in 2002.
(02-15-05)
Great Scott sparks Abshier
to milestone win
EastCountySports.com
(Modified) EL CAJON - Sophomore ROBBY SCOTT is off to a fast start
with the bat for the Grossmont Griffins. Capped by a 5-for-5 effort
in the Griffins 8-3 win at Oxnard on Sunday afternoon (Jan. 30),
Scott finished the three-game Ventura Tournament with 9 hits in
12 at-bats. Scott scored 3 runs in the Oxnard game as the Griffins
pounded out 21 hits to present Grossmont first-year head coach
RANDY ABSHIER with his initial victory.
SANTA BARBARA 6, GROSSMONT 2 -- It was a long
Sunday morning for the Griffins, who were blanked until the 9th
inning when BRANDON RAUCH (El Capitan High) blasted a 2-run home
run to spoil the Vaqueros' shutout bid.
GROSSMONT 8, OXNARD 3 - Freshman KYLE MIRVIS (Patrick
Henry) was 3-for-5 with 3 RBI, and SHAUN BLAKE (El Capitan) belted
2 doubles and a pair of singles in 5 at-bats as the Griffins grounded
the Condors in the final round of the Ventura Tournament.
CODY ROLF (Hilltop) ripped off 3 hits -- one of them a double
-- in 5 trips for the Griffins (1-2). JUSTIN BISHOP (Kennedy HS)
collected three hits (2 on bunts) and scored twice.
Grossmont's JAMESON HESTER (Mission Bay) pitched the first 8 innings,
scattering 7 hits without allowing an earned run. GARRETT VIGIL
(Mira Mesa) allowed one hit in a scoreless 9th.
Scott's impressive offensive totals of a .750 batting average
and an .867 slugging percentage included 7 runs scored, a home
run and a double.
The Griffins will take the next 10 days off before hosting El
Camino in Friday's (Feb. 11) first round of the Jaguar Classic.
(01-30-05/Modified 01-31-05)
Griffins' bullpen freezes up with late lead
EastCountySports.com
VENTURA - For eight innings, Grossmont College first-year head
coach RANDY ABSHIER thought things were going pretty well
in the Griffins season opener against Los Angeles Mission College
in Saturday's (Jan. 29) 1st round of the Ventura College Tournament.
The Griffins took a 4-3 lead into the 9th inning only to have
their bullpen collapse as the Eagles scored 5 runs to steal an
8-4 victory.
"They didn't win, we lost," said Abshier. "It was
freezing and the wind was howling."
Freshman left-hander TIM ARNOLD had a 2-0 lead and a no-hitter
going into the 4th.inning when the Eagles generated their first
2 hits and scored 3 runs (2 of them unearned).
Sophomore shortstop ROBBY SCOTT was 3-for-4 with a solo
home run, a double and 3 runs scored for Grossmont. But
the remainder of the Griffins generated just 4 hits. One of those
was an RBI double by BRANDON RAUCH.
"The middle of our line-up didn't do a thing," Abshier
said. "I'm disappointed with our effort. We made rookie mistakes,
especially on the base paths. We have 21 freshmen on our 31-player
roster. Today they played like it."
VENTURA TOURNAMENT Saturday, Jan. 29 EAGLES 8, GRIFFINS 4 L. A. Mission (1-0) 000 300 005 - 8 10 2 Grossmont (0-1) 101 110 000 - 4 7 3 Solis, Rizo (6). Arnold, Maihack (5), Ward (9), Garner (9) and Coulter. W-Rizo (1-0). L-Maihack (0-1). (01-29-05)
Cupboard not necessarily full, but Griffins
are known for restocking
Special to EastCountySports.com
EL CAJON - RANDY ABSHIER is anxiously awaiting his first season
as Grossmont College baseball head coach.
If everything turns out the way Abshier expects, 2005 will be
a season to remember.
Abshier, who spent the past four seasons as the Griffins' pitching
coach, takes the reins from long-time Grossmont coach ED OLSEN,
who retired following the 2004 season after compiling a record
of 519-373-7 in 22 seasons as the Griffins "skipper."
Abshier realizes the task facing him will be challenging.
"I know the job ahead of me is not an easy one," Abshier
said. "After all, I'm replacing a legend, the man who was
'Grossmont Baseball.' I expect there will be people peeking over
my shoulders, checking out our every move. It's a daunting task
but one that I welcome."
Abshier has put together a roster of 31 players that includes
just eight returning lettermen. Twenty players are freshmen.
"I know we are a fairly young team," Abshier stated.
"We will have power up and down the lineup and we will feature
good speed. Defensively, I feel we can compete successfully with
any club we will play."
Three freshmen and a returning sophomore will comprise what Abshier
feels is a strong pitching rotation.
The freshmen are right-hander LANCE JANKE (University City), 6-foot-4,
195-pound left-hander TIM ARNOLD (Fallbrook) and right-hander
ROBERT WOODS (Pt. Loma).
Janke posted a 1.93 ERA as a senior, while Arnold compiled a 10-3
record, a 2.45 ERA and struck out 73 while leading Fallbrook into
the SDCIF Division I championship game.
The returning sophomore is left-hander JAMESON HESTER (Mission
Bay). Abshier expects to limit his starters to four innings per
outing early, so each starter should get sufficient work.
The bullpen will be a Grossmont stronghold. Abshier will count
on the quartet of sophomore right-hander BRIAN MAIHACK (Cupertino
Homestead), right-hander MATT GARNER (University City), sophomore
left-hander GABE WARD (Granite Hills). Right-hander GARRETT VIGIL
(Mira Mesa) will handle the set-up role. A pair of right-handers,
freshman JOHN LOWE (a transfer from Southwestern College) and
sophomore WESTON SCOTT (Granite Hills) will be handed the closers'
role.
Freshman BRANDON ABELL, a Christian High right-hander who pitched
a no-hitter en route to compiling a 10-3 record and an East County-best
1.15 ERA, has to figure in the plans some place.
Another unheralded freshman who should find a way to contribute
is Santana graduate SHANE KAUFMAN (8-4, 2 saves, 3.29 ERA, and
64 strikeouts in 68 innings).
"I like the composition of the pitching staff," Abshier
says. "The starters are ready and in great shape. Any of
the relievers could step up into the starter's role, if necessary."
The top returning hitter from last year's 19-17 club is ROBBY
SCOTT, an all-Pacific Coast Conference first-team pick who will
figure in the infield defensive structure.
A pair of freshman right-handed swingers is expected to handle
the designated hitter's role. In infielders SHAUN BLAKE (El Capitan)
and SEAN SETZER (Portland, Ore.) Abshier has, in his words, "a
couple of hitters that really attack the baseball."
Blake, who played for two El Capitan SDCIF Division II championship
teams, has been a pleasant surprise with the bat. He batted at
a .400 clip as a prep senior and could match that effort in his
first year for the Griffins.
Another addition welcomed by Abshier is San Diego State University
transfer CLAY COULTER. The West Hills graduate, who sat on the
Aztecs' bench after batting .436 with 9 home runs and 29 as a
senior for the Wolf Pack, will take over the catching chores at
Grossmont. As a freshman, Coulter batted only .240 in 50 at-bats
for the Aztecs.
Other swingers who could give Grossmont some punch include infielder
DUSTIN BEECHLER (West Hills), a redshirt freshman who led East
County hitters with a .495 average and 6 triples along with 32
RBI two years ago.
Another SDSU transfer and El Capitan High graduate BRANDON RAUCH
will be stationed at first base. Rauch batted .357, with 15 home
runs and 43 RBI in his final season for the Vaqueros. Last year
at SDSU, Rauch was allowed only 35 at-bats in 64 games.
Freshman JOSH MAZZOLA (Santana) should earn a shot at third base.
Mazzola batted .366 with 8 home runs and 30 RBI for the Sultans
a year ago.
Abshier has his players doing anti-rain dances as the season is
slated to begin this weekend.
"I feel good about this team," Abshier said.
Grossmont opens at Oxnard on the first leg of the Ventura Tournament
Friday (Jan 28) at 2 p.m. Game two is slated for Ventura College
against Los Angeles Mission Saturday (Jan.29) at Ventura College
at 2 p.m. The final round is Sunday (Jan. 30) at Santa Barbara.
(01-25-05)
Blake wins scrimmage with grand slam in
ninth
Special to EastCountySports.com
By John O. Rollo
EL CAJON -- The onset of the 2005 season is just around the corner
for the Grossmont College baseball team. The Griffins took the
first of what may be many steps on Saturday (Jan. 22) when they
took to the diamond at Noel Mickelsen Field on the Grossmont College
campus.
The occasion was the inaugural Green-White Classic, a split-squad
event that allowed the members of the 2005 Griffins to showcase
their skills.
In what could prove to be a harbinger of the upcoming season,
the Green team, thanks to a two-out grand slam in the bottom of
the 9th inning by freshman SHAUN BLAKE (El Capitan), claimed
an 8-4 victory over the White team. Sophomore lefthander GABE
WARD (Granite Hills) recorded the victory.
In addition to Blake's heroics, freshman third baseman SAL BUSALACCHI (Patrick Henry) paced the Green team attack by going 2-for-2 at the plate with a double and two walks. Freshman outfielder JASON BISHOP (John F. Kennedy) chipped in with a 2-for-4 effort which included one walk.
The White team attack was paced by a trio of freshmen. Third baseman JOSH MAZZOLA (Santana) went 2-for-3 at bat with a double, while outfielder SEAN SETZER (Portland, OR) was 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Blake was named the Offensive Player of the Game. Sophomore shortstop ROBBY SCOTT (University City) was selected Defensive Player of the Game.
First year head coach RANDY ABSHIER was pleased by the effort.
"I'm very happy with the way the game
was played," Abshier remarked. "It was an exciting game,
one that should get us ready for the upcoming season. I'm very
pleased with their progress thus far."
The Griffins open the 2005 season on Friday (Jan. 28) at the Ventura
College Tournament, an event they won in 2004.
(01-22-05)