The Nation's Only FREE Recruiting Service Double-Click HERE or logo for Information HOME RUN LEADERS (Regular Season Final) Player School HR Terese Diaz Helix 8 Alyssa Dronenburg Jessie Owens Helix Santana 7 Amanda Carpenter Lorena Klopp Jesika Perea Santana Steele Canyon Monte Vista 6 Kelsey McIlonie Santana 5 Rachel Failla Jenny Lahitte Ashley Renaldi Jessica Schatz Santana Granite Hills Grossmont Granite Hills 4 Britty Balough Amber Beebe Jazmin Daigle Leslie Kuhne Alex Miller Kelley Seitz Jayme Talmich Lauren Vallely Santana Santana Steele Canyon El Capitan West Hills Valhalla Grossmont Grossmont 3

PITCHING WIN PCT. (Regular Season Final) Player School W-L Jessie Owens Santana 12-0 Britty Balough Santana 16-2 Jenny Lahitte Granite Hills 12-2 Lorena Klopp Steele Canyon 9-2 Terese Diaz Helix 16-6 Torrey Rook Valhalla 6-3 Brittani Bertussi Granite Hills 9-5 Kristy Valles West Hills 9-7 Ashley Renaldi Grossmont 5-4 Sarah Grohman El Capitan 4-4 Chelsea Velovich West Hills 4-5 Julianna Duncan El Capitan 6-8 Briitany Fishtrom Grossmont 6-9 Whitney Mullins Monte Vista 8-11 Others of note -- Jessica Alderson (WH) 4-0, Gabrielle Beasley (SC) 4-0, Irene Blumenstock (SC) 6-1, Ricki Gentry (Chr) 4-2, Megan McGirr (Val) 3-2, Angela Uy (Val) 3-3.

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LINDA VISTA (5-16-08) -- In an alignment process which closely matched game results and various rankings from throughout the region, the CIF-San Diego Section released the team seedings and playoff pairings for all four divisions of the fastpitch championships. Among the 52 schools advancing to postseason play, nine hail from East County, including four among the top seeds in Santana, Steele Canyon, Christian and Granite Hills.

As expected, Santana (28-2), which owns the second-best overall record in the section, received the top seed in Division III. The Sultans received a first-round bye into next Tuesday's (May 20) quarterfinals, hosting the winner from Saturday's (May 17) opening contest between No. 9 seeded Mount Miguel (10-18) and No. 8 Valley Center (12-14).

Two-time Division III titlist Steele Canyon has been elevated in classification, now competing in the highly charged Division II tournament field. The Cougars (20-5-1), the three-time winners of the Grossmont South League, also gained a first-round bye as the No. 3 seed. They will host the winner among No. 6 West Hills (17-12) and No. 11 Hilltop (18-9), which gained the home-field berth as a league champion to force the Wolf Pack to play on the road.

Also gaining a No. 3 seed is Christian in Division IV, which carries a field of 16 teams. Thus, none of the schools gain a bye, with the Patriots (11-12) hosting Vista's Guajome Park Academy (13-6) in Saturday's first round. Game time against the Frogs will be 2 p.m. at Roma Dawson Field.

The biggest surprise among the top seeds may belong in Division I, where Granite Hills (21-7-1) nosed out Rancho Bernardo for the No. 4 spot. The Eagles gained a bye, but their opponent is not guaranteed.

Despite RB's Broncos being placed fifth, they will travel for the playoff opener at Eastlake, the bottom seed at No. 12, which won a coin flip with Mesa League co-champion Bonita Vista to be declared league champion and gain an automatic first-round home contest (even though the seeding committee placed the Barons higher -- No. 11 -- in the tournament bracket).

Also in the upper half of the Division I bracket, Helix (19-9-1) gained a home berth, as the No. 8 Highlanders entertain No. 9 Mira Mesa. The teams met earlier this season when the Marauders were guest entrants to the Grossmont Conference Tournament, taking a 7-2 decision over the Scotties.

In Division II, Grossmont (13-14-1) is seeded 8th, and will host No. 9 Ramona (15-15), while No. 5 Valhalla (16-15) will need to conquer the heat of the Imperial Valley with a game at El Centro-Southwest (18-8). The Eagles are at home due to capturing the Imperial Valley League crown.

In Division III, El Capitan (13-15) was disappointed at its No. 10 seed, but actually gained a very winnable contest to reach the quarterfinals, as the Vaqueros open at Clairemont (10-14-1).

Official CIFSDS brackets are here: DIV-1, DIV-II, DIV-III, DIV-IV.

Double-Click for Further Information

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SANTEE (5-14-08) -- The old "good news, bad news" adage tipped the way of the Grossmont Foothillers to close the regular season on Tuesday (May 13).

LAUREN VALLELY slugged a pair of home runs, helping Grossmont build a mammoth 9-1 lead before West Hills scored seven times to move within a run. But in the 7th, the Hillers' ASHLEY RENALDI belted the second home run in as many days, giving Grossmont some momentum entering Saturday's (May 17) postseason opener with three victories in four outings.

"We scored a bunch of runs in the first game (a 7-6 win), then we got blasted (a 12-1 loss) in the next game," Grossmont coach JERRY LERUD recalled. "Then today, both things happened."

The Hillers offtset a 1st-inning run by the Wolf Pack with nine consecutive runs. Included was a 4-run, 2nd-inning rally, featuring a 2-run double by MADI HILL. Grossmont then scored three times in the 4th, with KAITLYN NICKS, JAYME TALMICH and Renaldi all collecting an RBI each,

However, Renaldi countered with her homer, then she pitched the final inning to close out the victory.

Vallely finished the day by batting 3-for-4, with three RBI and three runs scored.

Santana 6, El Cajon Valley 0 -- The Sultans completed their 12-game sweep through the Grossmont North League behind the fourth 1-hitter of the season by JESSIE OWENS. The junior struck out 16 Braves, coming within two batters of a no-hitter until DEENA FORD lifted a clean single to left field in the 7th inning.

Owens also walked just one (also Ford), running her season record to 12-0 (with two saves), leading Santana to the league's first undefeated league champion since Grossmont in 1999.

AMANDA CARPENTER ran her hitting streak to 12 straight contests (11 were multiple-hit outings), going 2-for-4 on Tuesday (May 13) to make her 14-for-18 in her last five ballgames. The leadoff batter once again opened the scoring on her first at-bat, this time setting the table with a single, eventually scoring on a KELSEY McILONIE basehit.

Carpenter and McIlonie were joined by RACHEL FAILLA and AMANDA GRABLE by going 2-for-4 at the plate.

Meanwhile, the Braves said goodbye to four players on Senior Day -- all honors students -- in COREY RAINEY, a 4-year varsity starter, and 3-year varsity performers in KARI SATROM and JESSICA GIBSON. All three will attend San Diego State, while the fourth senior, DALIA SERRANO, heads for cosmetology school.

Senior Day at Santana featured a 4-0 victory over West Hills to celebrate its GNL crown. The Sultans need one additional victory to become the first undefeated GNL titlist since Grossmont in 1999. (Photo by Carla Sunudo)

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (5-13-08) -- A long season plagued by nagging injuries may leave the Grossmont Foothillers on the fence in acquiring an SDCIF playoff berth when pairings are announced Thursday afternoon. But for one day at least, some of the walking wounded can look back at one solid performance.

On Monday's (May 12) Senior Day at "the top of the Grossmont summit," senior ASHLEY RENALDI not only pitched a 4-hitter, she drove in all of her team's runs with a grand slam, powering the Foothillers past El Capitan, 4-1, on the penultimate day of the Grossmont North League season.

"It's not a coincidence -- Ashley is healthy and she pitched well," said Hillers coach JERRY LERUD. "Everything was working today."

Renaldi kept painting the generous outside corner, striking out nine Vaqueros for the contest.

"The umpire called a lot of outside strikes, which helped," noted Renaldi, who became the first East County player to slug two grand slams this season by parking a 2nd-inning shot over the centerfield fence.

"Both grand slams came to put us ahead in games we needed to win," she added. "Maybe she lost a little concentration after the error, so she hit a batter then she had to throw one to me."

Earlier in the season, similar scoring situations failed to materialize. But on this occasion, a pair of breaks set up the bases-loaded situation.

Following a clean single by senior ADRIANNA NAU, an error and a hit batsman would load the bases for Renaldi, who then jumped on a 1-0 pitch.

"I was on second base, and I just saw it sail over the fence -- I knew it was gone the second Ashley hit it," said third baseman JAYME TALMICH. "Now if we do well against West Hills, then we can do well in the playoffs."

El Capitan, which was playing its regular season finale with a bye date on Tuesday's schedule, got one run back with a pair of two-out hits in the 4th inning.

Following a lead walk to catcher CATHERINE BROWN, Renaldi nearly left her stranded with a pair of strikeouts. However, HEATHER BREWER beat out a scratch single on a ball in the hole which was deflected by the third baseman to the shortstop, but the throw was a touch late.

JULIANNA DUNCAN then collected the RBI with a basehit up the middle, allowing Brown to score from second base.

Following the contest, all four Grossmont seniors confirmed their college plans.

Renaldi will play for the Lady Braves of Ottawa University, an NAIA program located in Kansas; HANNAH ESCALANTE is ticketed for Olivet Nazarene University of Illinois (52-10 record), which just gained its fifth NAIA World Series appearance since 1997; Nau reaffirmed her move to San Francisco State; and Talmich will play for Grossmont College, the reigning Pacific Coast Conference champions.

Santana 4, West Hills 0 -- The Wolf Pack would prefer to no longer play at Santana High anymore. After suffering a loss by no-hitter in their first appearance of the season at their Santee neighbor, Sultans pitcher BRITTY BALOUGH this time delivered a 1-hitter to again blank the Pack.

Junior centerfielder AMANDA CARPENTER, who leads the Grossmont North League in hitting (based on an unofficial survey of league coaches) at .486, ended this contest early.

Carpenter opened the bottom of the 1st inning with a solo homer -- her 6th of the season -- with senior catcher BRITTANY FENN following with a double off the top of the rail in centerfield.

KELSEY McILONIE singled home another run en route to a 3-0 lead, so by the time AMBER BEEBE -- another senior -- belted a solo homer in the 4th, Balough was cruising to her 16th victory of the season to maintain her deadlock with Terese Diaz of Helix for the East County lead.

Balough finished with six strikeouts without a walk; the lone West Hills hit was a single collected by CASSIDY BAGGETT.

Grossmont South League
Helix 2, Mount Miguel 0 -- In the teams' first meeting, the Matadors scored twice in the 6th inning for a 2-0 victory. In Monday's (May 12) rematch, the visiting Highlanders used a similar script, scoring twice in the 1st to avenge Mount Miguel at Jane Trude Field.

The road victory allowed Helix to snap the tie between the ballclubs in the Grossmont South League standing, as the Scotties finished tied for third place with Valhalla.

TERESE DIAZ spun a 2-hitter for the triumph, striking out nine batters, while ALYSSA BRITSCHGI paced the offense with two hits.

Helix started quickly when NATALIE SMITH reached on an error, replaced by ALYSSA DRONENBURG on a fielder's choice. Diaz walked, followed by a run-scoring basehit by Britschgi, then an RBI double by SHALEY MADRUGA.

Steele Canyon 10, Monte Vista 3 -- The frustrated Monarchs, winless in GSL competition this season, were in perfect position for a plum win to close the regular season when locked in a tie contest through six innings.

However, LORENA KLOPP and KELLY CASH each homered when the Cougars scored seven times in the 7th inning to ruin the storybook ending for Monte Vista.

The rally started on consecutive singles by the BEASLEY sisters -- MICHELLE, then GABRIELLE -- with JAZMIN DAIGLE breaking the tie with an RBI single to right field which resulted in a second run on an error.

Klopp followed with her 6th homer of the season (15th career) -- a 2-run shot well over the centerfield fence -- for a 7-3 lead, then Cash later belted a 3-run blast.

Steele Canyon scored twice in the 1st on an error and a sacrifice fly by JAYME JARVIS. The Monarchs immediately answered with a pair of runs, scoring on an error and an RBI single by JESIKA PEREA.

Michelle Beasley batted 4-for-5 to lead a 12-hit attack, while Gabrielle Beasley, Cash (4 RBI) and NICOLE RANDEL all went 3-for-4. Gabrielle Beasley also was the winning pitcher, tossing three shutout innings of relief.

Granite Hills 12, Valhalla 0 -- The neighborhood duel went the Eagles' way after they scored in each of their six at-bats to overwhelm the Norsemen. It was the second 3-hit shutout win in the series by Granite Hills, as JENNY LAHITTE posted the complete-game triumph.

Lahitte also belted a pair of home runs, part of four roundtrippers slugged by the Eagles.

Lahitte hit a 2-run shot in the first to jumpstart Granite Hills to a 2-0 advantage. She later added the second of back-to-back homers, following a 3-run shot stroked by KELLEY SEITZ for a 9-0 lead through three innings.

Then in the 4th, left-fielder KYLEE WILSON hit a solo shot in the 5th as part of her 3 RBI for the contest. Wilson added a run-scoring basehit in the 2nd and a sacrifice fly in the 5th.

In a day for the catchers, Seitz finished with 5 RBI, also garnering a 2-run double. Meanwhile, Valhalla senior backstop JESSICA SCHATZ collected all three Norsemen hits.

© East County Sports.com
SANTEE (5-11-08) -- Santana High shortstop RACHEL FAILLA went into Saturday's (May 10) contest knowing the Sultans could clinch the Grossmont North League title, but she had more pressing issues on her mind.

An hour before the opening pitch, her father, assistant coach JOHN FAILLA, was called away on an emergency after receiving a call on his cell phone that his wife was in a traffic accident while on her way to the ballgame.

"John immediately left for the scene of the accident, but asked Rachel to remain at the field," said Santana scorekeeper MARK OWENS. "Apparently, someone ran a red light and collided with her SUV, deploying the airbags."

"John returned during the bottom of the 1st," added Owens. "The SUV was totaled, but Mrs. Failla was safe and sound."

The good news proved inspirational for the younger Failla, who channeled her stress into her batting.

As been expected for the last three weeks, Santana (26-2, 10-0 GNL) clinched the league title. The Sultans need two additional victories to close the regular season to become the first undefeated league champion in a decade (Grossmont, 12-0 in 1999).

AMANDA CARPENTER aided the cause with a pair of doubles and scored three times, while CARA CARILLO, AMANDA GRABLE and JESSIE OWENS went 2-for-4 each.

Miller, a sophomore, slugged a 3-run homer in the 3rd inning, doubling the West Hills advantage to 6-0. Then in the 5th, she lifted her third blast of the season to lead off the frame, followed by a back-to-back shot by CASSIDY BAGGETT. Both Miller and Baggett batted 2-for-3 in the morning ballgame.

KRISTY VALLES went a declared three innings in the rout to receive credit for the victory, with JESSICA ALDERSON going the final four frames for the save.

El Cajon Valley snapped the shutout bid with an unearned run in the 6th.

COREY RAINEY walked to open the inning, then took third on a DEENA FORD basehit, then scored on a passed ball.

© East County Sports.com
RANCHO SAN DIEGO (5-10-08) -- The challenge proved deeper and more intense, yet Steele Canyon High found a way to capture a third consecutive Grossmont South League crown.

Backed by another shutout by LORENA KLOPP, the Cougars skated past visiting Helix, 4-0, Friday (May 9), becoming the first Grossmont Conference school to capture three outright league titles in a decade.

West Hills last completed the "3-peat" in the Grossmont North League from 1996-98, while Valhalla took three pennants -- one was a co-championship -- from 2003-05.

"It's been amazing -- and it's been the toughest of the three because so many teams are so much better," said third baseman JAZMIN DAIGLE, one of the Cougars' team captains. "Granite Hills is tough and Helix got a lot better. Every game is tough."

Hard-luck losing pitcher TERESE DIAZ dropped her third decision in four starts in May despite carrying a no-hitter through three innings. However, she trailed 1-0 at the time on an unearned run, then allowed two additional runs in the 4th despite the ball barely clearing the infield just once as Steele Canyon continues to discover ways to win.

"I like how my team grows as the season goes on and we peak at the end, as opposed to some teams which peak too soon," noted Cougars head coach JULIE BOHE. "It's all about (winning) league and CIF."

"This league title was the toughest of the three, absolutely -- this is not an easy league."

IRENE BLUMENSTOCK registered the first Cougars hit on a one-out bunt. Left-fielder JAYME JARVIS walked, with both advancing on a grounder to the right side by catcher KELLY CASH.

Diaz thought she escaped the 4th-inning jam by inducing a ground out by MICHELLE BEASLEY. But Diaz' run of recent bad luck continued when a 2-hopper to the second baseman bounded high for a bad-hop single. And with two outs, the runners were both moving and scored easily, giving Beasley a pair of RBI.

Meanwhile, Klopp finished with 11 strikeouts, giving her 28 over the past two ballgames. Diaz collected seven