© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (5-21-10) — For the greater part of the season Grossmont senior pitcher STEVEN BRAULT was recognized as a four-inning pitcher. Not that his contributions to the Foothillers’ surge to the Grossmont Hills League championship were minimal. Brault’s work more often than not resulted in a victory.

In Thursday’s (May 20) regular season finale Brault was brilliant, spinning a 2-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts in a 4-0 triumph over visiting West Hills.

Not only was that a pinnacle performance for the senior left-hander it was the last piece in the puzzle for a fifth straight league championship for the Foothillers (23-7, 11-4 GHL).

“This was definitely my best game of the season,” said Brault, who had a no-hitter going for 5 2/3 innings. “It’s kind of a bummer – after we win our game and then have to wait to find out if Helix won or lost.”

Aflac All-America Game returns to Petco Park on Aug. 15

Looking For The Boxscores? See Link In Upper-Left Corner of this Page

“When I was pitching I didn’t want to think about what was going on at Helix,” Brault said. “All I knew was I needed to do whatever it took to win our game.”

TONY SPEARS laced a double to left-center field with two outs in the 6th inning to break up Brault’s no-hit bid.

“That wasn’t a cheap hit,” Foothillers coach JIM EARLEY said. “It was a 3-1 pitch and he really hammered it. But Brault was really on top of his game.”

Brault admitted he was aware he had a no-hitter going. How could he miss it, considering Grossmont has a 9-inning scoreboard with totals for runs, hits and errors.

“We didn’t sit there and talk about it in the dugout but it wasn’t like there was anything secret going on,” Earley said.

An RBI single by JOE MUSGROVE gave Grossmont a 1-0 lead in the 1st inning.

NICK PEASE held the Foothillers at bay after that until the 4th. CODY SOS doubled and JON HOWARTH ran for him. After EVAN POTTER reached on an error, COLTER RIOS slugged the key hit of the game – a 3-run double.

That was a good choice, since Grossmont did not commit an error.

“Winning the league championship is always one of our goals here at Grossmont,” Brault added. “So now it’s on to the playoffs.”

Earley believes Grossmont deserves the No. 1 seed in the San Diego CIF Division II playoffs. He’ll find out if he gets it when the pairings are announced on Saturday (May 22).

EL CAPITAN 14, SANTANA 4 – The Grossmont Valley League championship showdown Thursday (May 20) in Lakeside , for all intents and purposes, was over after two innings.

Two muffs on potential double-play grounders by the Sultans opened the door for an 8-run El Capitan 2nd inning.

That uprising was paced by SHELDON GABRIELS’ 2-run double and a 2-run homer onto Ashwood Street by winning pitcher TROY CONYERS.

That was just the beginning, however, as the Vaqueros raked Santana’s four best pitchers for 14 hits.

Sure, the errors played a major role in terms of changing the momentum, but El Capitan came out swinging from the outset.

“That looked like the classic El Capitan team right there,” said Sultans coach LARRY OEDEWALDT. “They came out swinging and we didn’t have an answer. We threw our best and they scored 14 runs, and that sums it up right there.”

The Vaqueros whacked three home runs. In addition to Conyers’ 5th circuit shot of the year, Gabriels hit his 8th with nobody on in the 3rd, and CHARLES MOORMAN – who has missed the majority of the season due to injury – knocked a 2-run shot over the right-field fence to make it 11-2 after four innings.

Conyers performed double duty for the Vaqueros. He pitched five innings to earn his seventh win in nine decisions while finishing 2-for-3 with 4 RBI at the plate.

“If he’s not the (GVL) Player of the Year, I don’t know what one looks like,” said El Capitan coach STEVE VICKERY. “He’s been a force offensively and on the mound.”

Gabriels finished 4-for-5, falling only a triple short of hitting for the cycle.

Shortstop and leadoff hitter TYRONE WIGGINS was 3-for-5 for the Vaqueros (22-7, 11-1), who captured the league laurels over the preseason favorite Sultans by taking two of the three meetings between the teams.

“The whole game we had one quality at-bat after another quality at-bat,” said Vickery. “When Santana made a bad pitch we didn’t let them get away with it. And that’s the difference in this game than the first time we played them (losing 10-0).”

Vickery noted that El Capitan has had 10 different players hit home runs this season.

“I’m not sure that’s ever happened with me before,” he said. “So that makes it pretty special.”

When asked whether he thought he deserved Player of the Year, Conyers was humble. More than just that, he wanted to talk about his curveball.

“I just learned a new grip for my curveball,” he said. “It hadn’t been my best pitch always but it seemed to be working pretty good now.”

Conyers said he’s been experimenting in the bullpen with the new grip. He brought it in live in the finale against Santana.

“I changed my top fingers higher on the ball so I get over the top of it more,” he said. “It’s helped a ton with location and movement.”

Asked about El Capitan capturing the league championship, Conyers seemed to take the conquest in stride.

“That’s a great accomplishment and one of our goals for the season,” he said. “It’s just a great feeling.”

But Conyers made it clear that the Vaqueros aren’t satisfied yet. There’s one more goal – the SDCIF Division III championship.

Santana (20-9, 10-2 GVL), which received a booming triple and a double from CAMERON BALOUGH, could well collide with El Capitan again in the SDCIF playoffs.

“That wouldn’t surprise me,” said Oedewaldt.

VALHALLA 7, HELIX 3 – Highlanders’ coach COLE HOLLAND saw the Grossmont Hills League championship slip through his fingers in Thursday’s (May 20) regular season finale.

It was the completion of a double strike against the Highlanders (19-9-1, 10-4-1 GHL). Holland had hoped to be allowed to play off an earlier tie with Steele Canyon , but Grossmont Conference rules prevented that from happening.

No question Holland had an empty feeling when Valhalla (14-15, 6-9 GHL) scored three runs in the top of the 1st inning against Helix ace JAKE REED.

CISCO TELLEZ sparked the early rally with a leadoff single up the middle. He scored from first on a subsequent DANNY HAWKSLEY double into the right-center field gap – on a hit and run play. AUSTIN HENSLEY followed with a 2-run homer off the scoreboard in right field to put the pressure on the Highlanders.

Oh boy, do these Norsemen – winner of four of their last five – love to play spoiler.

Helix chipped away against Valhalla starter RYAN PETERSEN with single runs in the 2nd and 5th innings. AUSTIN GONZALEZ doubled down the left field line and eventually scored on a Valhalla fielding miscue in the 2nd inning to get the Highlanders on the board.

The Highlanders’ DYLAN NICKERSON smacked his fifth home run in the 5th inning to make it a 1-run game.

However, Valhalla snuffed out the Helix fire by scoring three runs in the 6th frame.

Pitcher Petersen helped his own cause with a leadoff single and advanced to second on a base hit by WILL COOMBS (3-for-4). Valhalla loaded the bases when Reed plunked BRETT MILLER. Tellez lined a double to center field in an 8-pitch at-bat, driving in Petersen and Coombs. A wild Helix relay from the outfield wound up in the Norsemen dugout, permitting Miller to score.

Valhalla added its final tally in the 7th on doubles by the law firm of Hensley & Coombs.

Helix made a desperate attempt to overcome the Norsemen in the bottom of the 7th. RASHAD HARLIN tripled and scored on an infield out by ARMONDO RODRIGUEZ.

After that Petersen was able to slam the door, finishing with a complete game 6-hitter and nine strikeouts for his third win in five decisions.

“We’ve worked for everything we’ve gotten this season,” said Holland . “And I’m proud to say my kids won every (3-game) series against our league opponents. That gave us a chance to win it all at the end, and that’s all you can ask for.

“To lose by a half game – well, that hurts. But we can’t worry about that now. It’s on to the next hurdle.”

GRANITE HILLS 7, STEELE CANYON 3 – Granite Hills ironman DANIEL STARWALT slapped the clamps on slumping Steele Canyon in Thursday’s (May 20) Grossmont Hills League finale at Rancho San Diego.

Twirling his seventh complete game in 11 starts, the 6-foot-2, 184-pound sophomore right-hander struck out nine as he rolled his record to 6-5.

“He is so calm under pressure,” said Granite Hills coach JAMES DAVIS. “His demeanor during a game is unprecedented for a pitcher his age.”

Steele Canyon tagged Starwalt for 8 hits and attempted to capitalize on 6 walks.

“He almost always finds a way out of jams,” Davis said. “I’ve never seen him get rattled on the mound. He’s just a cool customer out there.”

Clinging to a slim hope of making its annual pilgrimage to the playoffs, Granite Hills (12-15, 8-7 GHL), did all of its scoring in the 3rd inning against the Cougars (14-14-1, 5-9-1).

MIKE CRABB clubbed the key blow in the Eagles’ 7-run 3rd with a two-run triple. DOUG BRANNVALL also doubled in a run and Steele Canyon ’s shaky defense helped the Eagles pad their total.

BRAD BOEHMKE drove in two of the runs for the Cougars, who suffered their fifth straight loss.

“We haven’t been playing sharp baseball the last three weeks. . . today was one of those games,” said Steele Canyon assistant coach MARK BRUDER. “Our pitch selection at the plate was a problem. We were letting good pitches go and swinging at pitcher’s pitches.”

Credit Starwalt for that.

MONTE VISTA 10, EL CAJON VALLEY 3 – One of the best kept secrets in East County this season has been Monte Vista leadoff man IVAN PARMA.

The versatile senior has ranked among the East County batting leaders throughout the regular season, which concluded Thursday (May 20) with the Monarchs’ Grossmont Valley League victory over host El Cajon Valley.

Parma was his usual double-threat against the Braves (3-23, 0-12 GVL), collecting two hits and a pair of RBI in helping Monte Vista (13-15, 5-7 GVL) to the win.

On the hill, Parma posted his 7th win in nine decisions, toiling five innings while allowing just one earned run.

Parma also chipped in with an RBI single as the Monarchs scored 4 runs in the 2nd inning to take a 6-1 advantage. CARLOS OCHOA ripped a two-run triple and managed to complete a circle of the bases when the Braves’ shortstop threw the ball over the 3rd base dugout.

Ochoa later clubbed a solo home run in the 6th inning. It was his first home run of the season in his final regular season at-bat.

“He did the same thing last year,” Monte Vista coach CHAD WILLIAMS said.

Williams believes the Monarchs have good enough credentials to earn a post-season berth for the first time since 2001. Monte Vista was eliminated in the first round of the Division II playoffs that year by Santana.

MOUNT MIGUEL 18, HORIZON 1 – The Matadors concluded the regular season with a scoring high in routing visiting Horizon Thursday (May 20) in Spring Valley .

CHRIS MAPLES was 3-for-3 with a double, four runs scored and two RBI to pace Mount Miguel (8-19, 4-8).

RUDDY ACOSTA chipped in with three hits, two runs and an RBI in this nonleague contest.

Only twice before had Mount Miguel scored more than 9 runs this season – 13 versus El Centro Southwest and 11 against El Cajon Valley.

© East County Sports.com
LA MESA (5-20-10) — There will be no play off involving the Helix Highlanders and Steele Canyon Cougars.

A Grossmont Hills League game matching those teams on April 20 was halted by rain and darkness with the scored knotted at 7-7 after seven innings.

Helix coach COLE HOLLAND thought he had gained clearance to resume the suspended game on Wednesday (May 18). He said SDCIF Commissioner DENNIS ACKERMAN gave him the go-ahead. Whether the Scotties and Cougars finished the suspended game is of no consequence to the SDCIF.

Ackerman has said many times before that it is up to the respective leagues to designate who are their best teams.

In the Grossmont Conference, tie games in baseball are not played off. That is written in the circuit’s baseball by-laws.

Thus, Holland got the word on Wednesday (May 18) that there would be no further action in the April 20 tie.

With one game remaining in the regular season, Helix (19-8-1, 10-3-1 GHL) holds a one-half game edge over Grossmont (22-7, 10-4 GHL) in the race for the league championship.

Both teams close the campaign on Thursday (May 20) – the Highlanders hosting Valhalla (13-15, 5-9 GHL), while Grossmont entertains West Hills (11-15, 4-10 GHL), Both games are at 4 p.m.

GROSSMONT VALLEY SHOWDOWN
LAKESIDE — El Capitan (21-7, 10-1 GVL) hosts Santana (20-8, 10-1 GVL) in a winner-takes-all battle for the Grossmont Valley League pennant on Thursday (May 20) in Lakeside at 4 p.m.

This is the rubber match between the teams. Santana won the first round 10-0 in Santee and El Capitan rebounded for a 7-3 nod at Petco Park.

Helix pitcher Mauro Olivarria registered Tuesday's win over Granite Hills.

Helix Highlanders at Granite Hills Eagles (Photo and Slideshow by Tony Bordine)

© East County Sports.com
LA MESA (5-19-10) — Although the schedule shows that the Helix Highlanders have only one regular season game remaining, there is one piece of business that Scotties coach COLE HOLLAND wants to finish.

It was a Grossmont Hills League game against Steele Canyon on April 20 that was halted by rain and darkness with the scored knotted at 7-7 after seven inning. The umpires brought a halt to the proceedings at that point.

Due to Holland’s persistence in obtaining an OK from SDCIF Commissioner DENNIS ACKERMAN, the Highlanders and Cougars will play that suspended game to conclusion Wednesday (May 19) at Helix a 4 p.m.

“It’s the right thing to do,” Holland said. “I don’t think a championship should be decided by a half-game (which could well be the case if the tie were allowed to stand). Ackerman gave us the go-ahead and we are ready to go for it.”

Thus, Helix will hope to extend its lead to a full game over Grossmont (22-7, 10-4 GHL) heading into Thursday’s (May 20) finale. The Highlanders close against Valhalla, while the Foothillers finish against West Hills.

In Tuesday’s (May 18) misleadingly easy 9-2 romp over Granite Hills in El Cajon, the Highlanders (19-8-1, 10-3-1 GHL) broke open a close game with six runs in the 6th inning.

In that swing frame, ARMONDO RODRIGUEZ, DYLAN NICKERSON and MAURO OLIVARRIA banged two-run singles to put Helix in command.

Olivarria’s contributions extended well beyond the batter’s box.

The junior right-hander pitched his first complete game in five starts, scattering 7 hits while walking 1 and striking out 2.

Granite Hills (11-15, 7-7 GHL) made it look like it was going to be a short outing for Olivarria as MIKE CRABB led off with a single and scored on JARED HUNT’s 7th home run of the season in the opening inning.

TYLER SOTO’s RBI single in the 4th inning cut the Eagles’ lead in half.

Helix took the lead in the 5th when DIEGO REYNOSO singled and coasted home on JAKE REED’s third home run of the season.

the visiting Wolf Pack reared up to snap a 7-game Grossmont Hills League losing streak at the hands of the Norsemen on Tuesday (May 18).

West Hills (11-15, 4-10 GHL) blew a 6-0 lead, but bounced back to snap a 6-6 deadlock with 5 runs in the bottom of the 5th.

What made the Wolf Pack’s final rally so dramatic was it came with two outs and nobody on base.

Senior DAVID BRYAN provided the spark with a base hit. MIKE CARLIN followed suit before TONY SPEARS doubled home Bryan with what proved to be the winning run. AARON STARNS then tripled in a pair of runs before scoring on a wild pitch.

West Hills’ scoring output was the most by the Pack since a 14-run flurry against El Cajon Valley on April 10.

“It was a big game for us,” said Bryan . “We had been losing lately and it helps us to get our confidence back. I was seeing the ball real well today. I got some good pitches to hit and attacked the ball.”

Bryan was 3-for-4 with 3 RBI batting in the leadoff position for West Hills. One of his hits was an RBI triple in the 3rd inning which gave West Hills a 6-0 lead.

“On my triple in the 3rd I jumped on a good fastball and got a good piece of the bat on the ball,” said Bryan . “I really like leading off. I get to look at a lot of pitches early and that helps our team get a good look at what the pitcher is throwing.”

Three West Hills pitchers survived the Valhalla onslaught with JARROD ROWSON spinning 2 1/3 innings of 1-hit shutout relief to earn his second win in three decisions.

“Jarrod really picked us up today,” said West Hills coach JASON FOWLER. “He gave us a strong performance out of the bullpen. He’s been our best bullpen pitcher this season.”

Starns finished 3-for-4 with 3 RBI while DAVID BYRD contributed 2 RBI.

“Bryan and Starns were our big hitters today – they both were clutch when we needed them to be,” Fowler said.

Credit Valhalla (13-15, 5-9) for erasing the early deficit with three runs in the 4th and three more in the 5th.

JOSH AUSTEL hit his 3rd home run with a man aboard in the 4th, and CISCO TELLEZ hit a solo shot in the 5th during the Norsemen’s comeback.

“We hit a lot of hard balls that were caught,” said Valhalla coach MIKE WILSON. “Starting pitching has hurt us this year. The league is so tough – every game is a struggle. This league (championship) is still there for anybody to take.”

SANTANA 8, MOUNT MIGUEL 7 (8 inn.) – CHRIS CAMARDA slugged a game-winning home run in the bottom of the 8th inning to allow the host Sultans to avoid an upset in Tuesday’s (May 18) Grossmont Valley League contest.

Camarada’s 6th home run of the campaign followed a leadoff triple by KYLE HAYES off the right-field fence, who scored the tying run on a wild pitch to set the stage for Camarda’s game winning blow.

CAMERON BALOUGH’s 2-run homer in the 6th inning sent the game into extra innings.

“We talked about finishing the season strong and sending the seniors off with a win,” said Mount Miguel coach BYRON GRIGSBY. “They played the way I know they can actually play. It was one of those good games – it would have been nice to get one more win in league.”

“I think we can all look back on the season and feel good. All in all they went out as champions to me. I tipped my hat to them, told them I’m proud of them.”

Balough led Santana’s assault with a 3-for-4 effort and 4 RBI.

“Mount Miguel played very well,” said Santana coach LARRY OEDEWALDT. “JUWUN McCRAY and JULIAN CHARLES had six hits between them. They caused havoc on us all day long – that, coupled with us being really flat and really sloppy...”

The Sultans will face El Capitan for the Grossmont Valley League championship on Thursday (May 20) in Lakeside at 4 p.m.

Grossmont’s JOE MUSGROVE was a double threat for the Foothillers as he pitched five shutout innings while going 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI. Musgrove struck out eight as he rolled his record to 9-1.

Grossmont broke a scoreless tie in the 3rd inning with six runs. EVAN POTTER’s bad hop single plated two runs to key the inning.

Potter launched a solo home run in the 6th and BRETT ETHERTON stroked a 2-run shot in that frame to account for the Foothillers’ scoring totals.

“Our goal right now is to gain either the No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the Division II playoffs,” said Grossmont coach JIM EARLEY.

Earley also noted that the Foothillers have a unique record – 11-1 on the road and 9-6 at home.

“I have no idea why that is,” Earley said. “I just hope it works in our favor in the end.”

Loose Ball Foul

The baseball is bouncing all over the place during Tuesday's (May 18) Grosmsont Hills League contest at Joe Gizoni Field. (Photos by Tori Mills)

While Conyers has performed admirably on the hill with 6 wins in 8 decisions, he has been a monster at the plate.

“Conyers has been on fire – he is just becoming a tremendous hitter,” said El Capitan STEVE VICKERY. “He’s learning to use the whole field, has made himself into a great offensive threat. He hit a double off the left field fence and a double over the center fielder’s head today.”

“In his last three games he’s 4-for-8 with a double, a home run and 5 RBI,” Vickery said.

That’s pretty good for a guy with his pitching record.

Tuesday (May 18) was Senior Day at El Capitan and all the Vaqueros seniors as well as the Braves seniors were introduced.

Junior shortstop TYRONE WIGGINS enjoyed another banner outing against the Braves, collecting 2 hits, 2 runs – including his 9th home run – and a stolen base in four at-bats.

Over the past four games Wiggins is 11-for-16 (.688) with 2 home runs, 11 runs scored and 5 stolen bases.

“Wiggins is such a leader and such a smart baseball player,” Vickery said. “And he’s going to get better.”

El Cajon Valley’s EFFREN PADILLA extended his hitting streak to 10 games, going 2-for-3 against the Vaqueros. That effort raised his batting average to .384.

“Padilla is a tough out,” Vickery said. “He’s killed us this year. He is a productive hitter.”

El Capitan starting pitcher ANDREW RIGGINS blanked the Braves on 3 hits over four innings while striking out 6 and raising his season ledger to 5-1.

“I was very pleased with the way Riggins pitched,” said Vickery. “And JOSH TULLEDGE had an outstanding game with a 2-for-2 effort, two doubles and 3 RBI. I was glad to see him swing the bat.”

CHRISTIAN 10, CLAIREMONT 6 – Some might wonder why Christian coach MIKE MITCHELL would finish the season with a non-league game. By any account it proved to be a wise move when the visiting Patriots clipped Clairemont on Tuesday (May 18) in their regular season finale.

Not only did beating the Chieftains (16-11) permit Christian (14-13) to push its regular season regular above the .500 mark, it also gave the Patriots three wins in their final four games.

The Patriots scored in each of the first six innings, pounding out 18 hits in the process.

Sophomore CODY POTEET laced 4 hits, drove in 3 runs and stole 2 bases in five at-bats to pace the Patriots. His junior brother MICHAEL collected 3 knocks, 3 runs and a pair of RBI.

JOSH WOLFSON, KYLE HARRIS, JOSH SUFFRIDGE and Gruber had two hits apiece for Christian.

Four Patriots shared the pitching chores with SHANE DILLON earning his first victory. The 6-foot-5 Dillon allowed no hits and one unearned runs in two winnings while striking out two.

© East County Sports.com
SCRIPPS RANCH (5-18-10) — Albeit it was only a non-league game on Monday (May 17), it was a chance for 6-foot-5, 200-pound Monte Vista junior NICK SABO to prove that he still has plenty of giddyup this late in the season.

No question there are many pitchers that get more headlines than Sabo, but the crafty left-hander exhibited that he can throw with the best as he limited the Lancers of Francis Parker to four hits while striking out nine in a complete game, 6-3 Monarchs victory at Alliant International University.

“We were looking at his pitch count and thinking maybe we should take him out after six innings,” said Monte Vista coach CHAD WILLIAMS. “But he told me he wanted to finish the game.”

And so Sabo (5-4) did, as he struck out the side in the final frame.

The Monarchs (12-15, 4-7 GVL) took a 2-0 lead in the 3rd inning.

JOEY GONSALVES led off with a single but was forced out on IVAN PARMA’s ground ball. JOHN BALAJADIA singled to center and Sabo followed with a walk to load the bases. CARLOS OCHOA hammered a sacrifice fly to center field.

After making the catch the Parker center-fielder tried to nail Balajadia going to third, but his throw wound up in the dugout. Balajadia scored on the play.

Errors and walks plus an RBI single by LUIS LEBRON helped Monte Vista take a 4-0 lead in the 5th.

Parker fought back with three runs in the bottom of the inning but the Monarchs answered with two more tallies in the 6th.

Gonzalves led off the 6th with a walk and scampered to second on a single by Parma. With a sacrifice obviously in order, Francis Parker was defending the bunt.

“Parker was charging in on both corners,” Williams said. “We have a verbal call when teams do that. The play changes to more of a slash bunt than a regular bunt.”

John Balajadia delivered as he pushed the ball past the third baseman and pitcher, toward to shortstop. Gonsalves scored and the play left runners at the corners.

Sabo then closed out the scoring with an RBI single.

Monte Vista, which did not have an extra base hit nor a steal, made the most of eight singles and six walks.

ST. AUGUSTINE 6, CHRISTIAN 4 – Visiting Christian was once again victimized by faulty defense as the Patriots blew a 3-run lead in Monday’s (May 17) Eastern League against St. Augustine at Hickman Field in Clairemont.

Michael Coyne’s 2-run triple was the only hit for St. Augustine (16-12, 6-4 EL) during a 4-run 4th inning that gave the Saints a 5-3 lead.

Half of Christian’s four errors came in that inning as did two walks, a hit batter and a sacrifice fly.

Only one of Saints’ six runs was earned.

Four Christian pitchers led by ERICK ALLEN limited St. Augustine to five hits.

The Patriots meanwhile pounded out 11 safeties, including three by MICHAEL POTEET. Allen added two doubles and JOSH SUFFRIDGE contributed a double and a triple in the losing effort.

Christian (13-13, 3-7 EL), which closes the regular season with a non-league game at Clairemont on Tuesday (May 18), left eight men on base – seven in scoring position. In their last two games the Patriots have stranded 15 runners in scoring position.

“You’re not going to win many games doing that,” said Patriots coach MIKE MITCHELL. “Hopefully in the playoffs (SDCIF Division IV) we can do a little bit better in a clutch situation.”

Fact is the Knights (10-14, 7-2 CWL) were one out away from securing a 5-3 victory when back-to-back infield errors opened the door to an 8-run 7th inning for the visiting Lions.

That turnaround allowed SDJA to capture the Citrus West League pennant. Both of Foothills Christian league losses have come at the paws of the Lions. Never the less the Knights will lock down second place in the six-team circuit.

Nine of the Lions 11 runs against Foothills Christian were earned due to six fielding miscues.

“After opening our league season with a loss to SDJA I was proud of how the boys banded together and played well down the stretch giving us a chance at a possible championship,” Foothills coach DAVE LEWIS said. “Then, in that one inning, we just fell apart.”

But Foothills believes it will be a factor in the playoffs.

“That’s our focus now,” Lewis said.

Foothills took a 3-0 1st inning lead over SDJA (11-0, 10-0 CWL). DEREK DEYLING led off with a double and advanced to third on JR ATTERBURY’s basehit. CODY LEWIS cashed in Deyling with a single and Atterbury rode home on JOE CANTER’s single.

BRANDON JAROSIN, who was 4-for-4, capped the inning with a run-scoring single.

The teams traded runs in the 4th and 5th innings. Jarosin slashed his 4th triple and scored on ZAC CUMMINGS’ single, staking the Knights to a 5-2 advantage after five frames.

The Knights, who were facing SDJA’s top pitchers Zev Warhaft and Michael Fagan, outhit the Lions 14-7 yet could not recover from their porous defense.

Cummings was 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI and accounted for one of Foothills Christian’s five stolen bases.

Coin flip call salvages Grossmont

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (5-16-10) — Controversial calls are commonplace in baseball. Those who believe they are short-changed by the “wrong side of a call” end up downright angry, accusing the men in blue of blowing a call that decided the outcome of a game.

Such was the case in Saturday’s (May 15) Grossmont Hills League encounter between visiting Grossmont and host Granite Hills.

A batted ball by the Eagles’ DYLAN GARCIA off the plate in the final frame played the key role in the Foothillers’ 4-2 victory.

When the white smoke billowed, the umpires declared the ball fair.

“That ball was foul – it wasn’t even close,” said Granite Hills coach JAMES DAVIS. “The ball came off Garcia’s bat and hit him in the arm in the batter’s box. That’s a foul ball. I’m livid that those two guys (umpires) did not see that.”

Across the diamond Grossmont coach JIM EARLEY believed the men in blue made the right call.

“I think it was obvious that the ball came off the plate in fair territory,” Earley said. “From where I was standing, I don’t think the ball hit Garcia.”

Grossmont catcher CODY SOS wasn’t taking any chances. The senior receiver pounced on the chopper and fired to third to get a force out.

“That was a heads-up play by Sos,” Earley said. “That’s what we teach our catchers on plays like that – make the play and ask questions later.”

After Grossmont had broken a 2-2 tie on RBI singles by COLTER RIOS and BRETT ETHERTON in the top of the 7th, reliever JOE MUSGROVE put the tying runs on with one-out walks in the bottom of the frame.

Then came the controversy on the Garcia ball.

“There was a lot of weird things happening in this game, and that was probably the biggest,” Earley said.

Grossmont starter STEVEN BRAULT allowed only five hits over six innings to earn his sixth win in seven decisions.

“Some people have thought of him as only a four-inning pitcher,” Earley said. “But he gave us a solid six today.”

Despite serving up a pair of walks Musgrove logged his third save.

The hard-luck loser for Granite Hills was sophomore DANIEL STARWALT. Even though he pitched his 6th complete game in 10 starts, the 6-foot-2, 184-pound right-hander was tagged with his 5th loss in 10 decisions.

“I wasn’t all that impressed by Starwalt until today,” Earley said. “There’s no doubt in my mind now, this guy is legit. We had runners on base all day, but he always managed to deal up the key pitch. He knows how to wiggle out of a jam. I was impressed with him and I think he’s gonna become a big-time guy.”

Starwalt was 3-for-3, including an RBI single that cut Grossmont’s lead in half in the 4th inning.

The Eagles (11-14, 7-6 GHL) tied the game in the bottom of the 6th. Garcia walked. Starwalt and TYLER JOWORSKI singled to load the bases with one out. Garcia scored the tying run when AARON TEJERO hit into a force play.

Grossmont took the early lead on Musgrove’s RBI single with two outs in the 3rd. Sos’s singled made it 2-0 in the 4th.

VALHALLA 5, STEELE CANYON 3 – Battered and bruised during the first third of the Grossmont Hills League season, the Norsemen finally gained solid footing.

Some might say it’s too late. That is true when it comes to winning a league title, but Valhalla is certainly going to be a factor in the San Diego CIF Division II playoffs.

Six-foot-7 right-hander JOSH AUSTEL handcuffed the usually heavy-hitting Steele Canyon Cougars on four hits and no earned runs over 6 1/3 innings as he posted his third win in eight decisions on Saturday (May 15) at Valhalla.

Reliever ROBBIE SCHMIDT came out of the bullpen to record the save in Valhalla ’s third straight win.

Valhalla scored all of its runs in the 4th inning.

WILL COOMBS drew a walk and TREVOR MESSENGER was hit by a pitch. BRETT MILLER laid down a bunt single to load the bases.

Steele Canyon pitcher TREVOR McKINLEY, hoping to protect a 1-0 lead, pitched carefully to CISCO TELLEZ and wound up walking him to force in a run and tie the score. BRYCE MOSIER followed with a sacrifice fly to break the tie.

Two batters later, AUSTIN HENSLEY hammered a 3-run homer over the right-center field fence.

Steele Canyon attempted to make things interesting in the top of 7th by scoring two runs. TAYLOR MISHLER singled with one out and a Valhalla error put Cougars at the corners. JESSE JENNER was then hit by a pitch to load the bases. BRAD BOEHMKE knocked a basehit up the middle, scoring Mishler and CLAYTON ROYER.

After that the Steele Canyon rally stalled, saddling the Cougars with their third straight loss in the last eight games.

“It was a frustrating day for us,” said Cougars assistant coach MARK BRUDER. “Our starting pitching wasn’t sharp – was behind in the count all day.”

Steele Canyon starter McKinley walked six and hit a batter in 3 2/3 innings.

“We didn’t work the count well all day,” Bruder said. “The quality pitches just weren’t there.”

Junior shortstop TYRONE WIGGINS enjoyed a career day in the leadoff spot, collecting five hits and scoring 5 runs in as many at-bats. Even more impressive is Wiggins included a pair of triples and a third hit was a double. He leads East County with 6 triples.

That batting spree hoisted Wiggins’ batting average to .446 (41-for-92).

El Capitan (20-7, 9-1 GVL) scored in six of the seven innings.

Wiggins, who also added three steals to his monumental performance, provided the 1st inning spark with a lead single. He advanced to second when the Mount Miguel left fielder fumbled the ball and scored when SHELDON GABRIELS singled to left. El Capitan tacked on a second run in the opening frame when BROOKS NOBLE lifted a sacrifice fly.

After scoring twice in the 2nd inning, the Vaqueros played long ball in the 3rd as TROY CONYERS and Noble slugged back-to-back homers.

CURREN FACER hammered a 3-run homer during the Vaqueros’ five-run 7th.

RYAN McBURNEY chipped in with a double and a triple in four at-bats.

“We had a sloppy game against Mt. Carmel and I’m glad we got it out of our system,” El Capitan coach STEVE VICKERY said. “We were very efficient today.”

Conyers blanked the Matadors on one hit while striking out four over three innings as the El Capitan starter.

“Conyers was on top of his game,” Vickery said. “He threw the ball really well.”

Gabriels finished with 4 RBI and two steals for the Vaqueros.

RUDDY ACOSTA and ANTHONY ORTEGA had two hits apiece to pace Mount Miguel.

“El Cap was sharp right from the beginning. We were flat the whole game,” said Mount Miguel coach BYRON GRIGSBY.

HELIX 13, WEST HILLS 4 – The Highlanders posted their fifth win in six starts to maintain their half game lead over Grossmont in Saturday’s (May 15) Grossmont Hills League knockout of host West Hills.

DYLAN NICKERSON, CHRIS SALTZMAN and JAMES MILES survived West Hills’ 14-hit attack, allowing the Highlanders to breeze to the lopsided victory.

A 2-run single by DIEGO REYNOSO was the key blow in Helix’ 4-run 2nd inning.

The Highlanders expanded that advantage in the 4th inning as ARMONDO RODRIGUEZ led off with a solo home run to left field, and JAKE REED laced an RBI single.

A primary contributor in each of those rallies was KACY SMITH, who singled in a run in the 2nd and singled and stole a base in the 4th.

Down 6-0, West Hills (10-15, 3-10) tried to fight back in the bottom of the 4th. ALEX PARSONS and BRANDON BYRD (4-for-4) collected back-to-back base knocks. The runners advanced 90 feet on a passed ball. Parsons came home on OSCAR ANDRADE’s groundout and Byrd scored on a basehit by DAVID BRYAN.

Bryan and MIKE CARLIN had three hits apiece for West Hills. Two of Carlin’s hits were doubles.

None of that mattered to the Highlanders, however, as they broke the game open by scoring six runs in the 5th frame.

AUSTIN GONZALEZ launched the Helix onslaught with a leadoff home run to left-center. Two errors, a walk, a passed ball and a 2-run single by MAURO OLIVARRIA gave the Highlanders a 12-2 lead. Helix didn’t have to hit the ball to score its final run as West Hills pitchers hit two batters and walked a pair.

In the bottom of the 7th West Hills added a couple of runs. The Wolf Pack loaded the bases on singles by Carlin, TONY SPEARS and THOMAS HEGNER. AARON STARNS drew a walk to force in a run and Byrd singled in another.

“The important thing is to be playing your best baseball at the end of the season,” said Helix coach COLE HOLLAND. “I think we’re close to that but we still can play better. Bottom line is we control our own destiny. We don’t need any help from anybody. We need to just take care of our own games.”

Camarda was awarded with his fourth win in five pitching decisions as he rationed the Monarchs to three hits.

KYLE HAYES and JAYLEN FLEER followed Camarda to the mound and held the Monarchs (12-15, 4-7 GVL) at bay.

Santana (19-8, 9-1 GVL) retained its share of the GVL lead with El Capitan. Those two teams close the season on Thursday (May 20) in a game that will decide the league championship.

The Sultans wasted little time taking command as they took a 4-0 lead in the 1st inning. Monte Vista committed a critical error – its only error of the game – when the right fielder dropped a fly ball hit by CORY HOSFORD. CODY SMITH followed with a run-scoring double.

After Hayes walked, Camarda hammered his 5th home run of the season over the left-center field fence.

Smith slashed an RBI single in the 2nd inning to make it 5-0.

Santana broke the game open with three runs in the 3rd. Camarda smacked a leadoff single and scampered to third on a double by CAMERON BALOUGH. ZACH BREIDT then singled in Camarda. Balough scored on a sacrifice fly by GEORGE MARTINEZ.

Monte Vista pitching then issued three consecutive walks that ended up with Smith collecting his third RBI of the game.

Santana led 8-0 at that point and the game, for all intents and purposes, was over.

“We had some great at-bats in this game,” Santana coach LARRY OEDEWALDT said.

Two of those were by Balough, who collected his fifth home run of the year with a solo shot in the 4th.

“Balough hit two rockets,” Oedewaldt noted. “Cody Smith is a threat every time he comes to bat.”

LUIS LEBRON was the only Monte Vista player to enjoy a multiple hit game as he generated a pair of singles in four at-bats, including an RBI in the 7th inning.

© East County Sports.com
TIERRASANTA (5-15-10) — Sophomore right-hander CODY POTEET turned in one of his strongest pitching performances of the season Friday (May 14) carrying Christian to a 4-2 Eastern League victory over host Serra.

The Patriots’ hard-throwing right-hander rationed the Conquistadors to seven singles and a double as he posted a team-high second complete game.

“Cody battled today,” said Patriots coach MIKE MITCHELL. “He gave us the pitching effort we needed.”

Christian (13-12, 3-6 EL) swept the season series from Serra. The Patriots jumped in front early, pushing across two tallies in the opening frame.

MICHAEL POTEET tripled off the right-fielder’s glove and scored on MICHAEL GRUBER’s single to left. Gruber stole second and coasted home on Cody Poteet’s double off the right-field fence.

Serra cut Christian’s lead in half in the bottom of the 2nd on Nick Kelly’s RBI single.

In the 3rd Michael Poteet singled, stole second and scored on the only error of the game.

Nevertheless the Conquistadors kept the pressure on with a pair of walks and a fly ball that was lost in the sun, resulting in a double for Dylan Brandon. That plated one run but Cody Poteet, as he did most of the afternoon, found a way to limit the damage.

Things were relatively quiet until the 7th when the Patriots added an insurance run on back-to-back doubles by Gruber and ERICK ALLEN.

“I think the key thing here is we’re starting to play defense,” Mitchell said, noting that his team did not commit an error for only the second time this season.

Christian could have easily added to its scoring totals against Serra as the Patriots pounded out 10 hits – 5 of them for extra bases. They were also successful in swiping 5 bases in 6 attempts.

However, of the nine runners left on base by the Patriots, eight were stranded in scoring position.

“We’re not the greatest of clutch hitting teams,” Mitchell admitted. “But when we play defense and get pitching we can usually scrounge up enough runs to come out on top.”

Even with the dramatic slide, Mt. Carmel never made a throw to the plate, giving El Capitan baserunner Ryan McBurney (16) an easy run. (Photo by Mark Gabriels)

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (5-14-10) — When Valhalla opened the Grossmont Hills League with six straight losses, coach MIKE WILSON’s Norsemen could have easily rolled over and played dead.

Such has not been the case though as the Norsemen (12-14, 4-8 GHL), who were bogged down by injuries, have become the spoilers in the GHL.

Valhalla’s latest knockout was a 7-1 victory over visiting and league-leading Grossmont.

“We’ve had a lot of problems all season,” said Wilson. “We’ve finally gotten healthy and we’re starting to stack up some quality wins.”

Junior RYAN PETERSON stepped to the mound to spin a 5-hit complete game victory.

That in itself was an achievement for Petersen, who was coming off a back injury only to have to nurse a shoulder ailment.

“I think my back’s okay now,” said Petersen. “But my shoulder has been a little bit annoying.”

Despite a throbbing shoulder Petersen managed to weave his way through seven innings against the No. 6 ranked Foothillers.

“I had a pretty good curveball going in the first two innings, but it was causing too much stress on my body,” he said. “I figured we had to win this one and I wanted to stay in there to help us do it. All I said to my coaches was ‘Get somebody ready if I can’t do it.’ But I really wanted to finish this game because I knew it could be key to making the playoffs.”

“Of the 91 pitches I threw, I think about 40 of them were change-ups,” Petersen said. “Everybody knows that Grossmont is a fastball-hitting team, so I think I kinda screwed them up by throwing all that offspeed stuff.

“I know there was one inning where I threw only one fastball – it was probably about 85 mph. My catcher (DANNY HAWKSLEY) came out to the mound and said ‘That thing looked like it came in about 100 mph.’

“I told him ‘Whatever it takes, that’s what I’m gonna throw.’”

The key blow in the Valhalla victory was delivered by WILL COOMBS – a 3-run homer over the 340 mark in right field that capped the Norsemen’s 5-run 3rd inning.

That 7-0 lead certainly rocked the Foothillers (20-7, 8-4 GHL) on their heels, which dropped them into second place in the league.

Valhalla took a 2-0 lead in the 2nd inning. The Norsemen put together five hits in the 3rd inning, ignited by CISCO TELLEZ’ double. Petersen pitched in an RBI single, and JOSH AUSTEL banged in another one with a base hit to left, which set the stage for Coombs 3-run homer.

“I was sitting on a fastball and I got one on the inner half,” said Coombs, who launched his 3-run shot to right-center field. “I know it’s tricky, with the winds in this field, to get one out of here. Fortunately the wind wasn’t blowing very much when I hit mine.”

Coombs believes the Norsemen – now that they are at full strength – are worthy of playoff consideration.

“I think we’re playoff ready,” he said. “I believe, now that we’re healthy, we’re the team we thought we would be. Our goal is to get into the playoffs and prove it.”

Trouble is it’s taken the 6-foot-1, 192-pound slugger 23 games to find the power switch.

“We worked hard with Brannvall the last couple practices and we think we were able to a correct a flaw in his batting style,” Davis said.

Based on Brannvall’s performance in Thursday’s (May 13) Grossmont Hills League romp over West Hills in Santee, it would appear it’s been a lesson learned.

Brannvall banged a 3-run home run in the 2nd inning, allowing Granite Hills (11-13. 7-5 GHL) to erase a 3-1 deficit and continue on to one of its more decisive victories of the season.

Three innings later he hammered a second home run through the powerful West Hills wind blowing left to right.

Brannvall finished the afternoon with four hits, four runs and four RBI. No doubt it was a career day for him.

“You usually don’t think about hitting home runs to left in this ballpark, because of the wind,” Brannvall said. “But I got a pretty good piece of that first one. I think it was the hardest ball I’ve hit all year.”

Home run No. 1 by Brannvall came on a 1-2 serve from West Hills starter ANDREW MOHRE.

“It was middle-in,” Brannvall said.

His second home run came as a surprise. It was more of a high drive than a line drive like the first circuit clout.

“It felt like a pop-up,” Brannvall said. “The pitch was a 2-2 fastball low in the (strike) zone. I took more of an upper cut swing. I thought I hit it off the end of the bat. When I rounded first base I looked up to see the ball was gone.

“I’ll have to admit this was a pretty good day for me.”

And the Eagles.

JARED HUNT and AARON TEJERO also slugged solo home runs for Granite Hills, which came into the game with a team total of only 15 round-trippers in 23 games.

Tejero and Brannvall belted back-to-back homers in Granite Hills five-run 5th inning that turned the game into a 12-3 Granite Hills lead.

“I think we swung it better than we have in quite a while,” said Davis, noting that the Eagles hammered out 17 hits.

BRENDEN NAGER worked five innings to collect his third win in six decisions.

For West Hills (10-14, 3-9 GHL) AARON STARNS and ALEX PARSONS collected three knocks apiece. Parsons pocketed a pair of doubles in his totals.

Things started out well for the Wolf Pack, which forged in front 3-1 in the opening frame.

TONY SPEARS ignited a two-out rally with a base hit. After THOMAS HEGNER walked, Starns slapped a double, scoring both runners to deliver the Pack the early lead. Parsons then singled in Starns.

After that Granite Hills unleashed a surprising long ball assault to take over.

If Granite Hills can win its final three regular season games the Eagles could capture the GHL pennant.

“If we want to go to the playoffs we have to win out,” Davis said. “By doing that we would win our league.”

Helix second baseman Mauro Olivarria (9) sneaks behind Steele Canyon baserunner Jesse Jenner on an attempted pick-off. The Scotties won, 7-4.

Steele Canyon Cougars at Helix Highlanders (Photo & Slideshow by Tony Bordine)

In Thursday’s (May 13) Grossmont Hills League encounter, Reed, the East County ERA leader, struck out 12 and charted his second complete game.

“Jake got down 4-0, but toed the rubber after that and helped us get a huge victory,” Helix coach COLE HOLLAND said.

Huge for the moment anyway, as the Highlanders (17-8-1, 8-3-1 GHL) leap-frogged over Grossmont to regain the GHL by one-half game with three to play.

A dropped fly ball with the bases loaded in the 3rd inning handed the Highlanders two unearned runs which sliced Steele Canyon ’s advantage in half.

Singles by DUSTIN BURKE and DIEGO REYNOSO set the Helix offense in motion again in the 4th. DYLAN NICKERSON was hit by a pitch to load the bases.

MAURO OLIVARRIA then drew a walk to force in Burke.

AUSTIN GONZALEZ delivered the key blow when he singled to center to chase home a pair of runs staking Helix to a 5-4 edge.

In the 5th inning, TYLER SOTO singled and skipped home on RASHAD HARLIN’s first varsity home run to extend the Highlanders’ edge to three markers.

“Reed was outstanding in the clutch,” Holland said. “Half of his strikeouts came in the final three innings.”

For Steele Canyon (14-11-1, 5-6-1) WES JUDISH followed a BRAD BOEHMKE single with his second home run of the season, giving the Cougars a 2-0 lead in the 2nd inning.

The always fast-starting Cougars doubled their advantage an inning later as TAYLOR MISHLER doubled and advanced to third on CLAYTON ROYER’s basehit. A pair of walks along with a throwing error aided Steele Canyon ’s cause.

MONTE VISTA 6, MOUNT MIGUEL 1 – In a showdown of two of the physical giants in the SDCIF — Monte Vista’s 6-foot-5, 200-pound NICK SABO and Mount Miguel’s 6-6, 200-pound RUDDY ACOSTA – the Monarchs (12-14, 4-6 GVL) muscled out 13 hits in Thursday’s (May 13) Grossmont Valley League battle of Spring Valley rivals.

Sabo twirled a 2-hitter and struck out 7 en route to his 4th complete game.

“Sabo faced minimum batters in innings two through seven,” noted Monte Vista coach CHAD WILLIAMS.

The Monarchs broke a 1-1 with three runs in the 2nd.

In that pivotal inning, JOEY GONSALVES drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second on a basehit by IVAN PARMA. JOHN BALAJADIA singled home Gonsalves to give the Monarchs the lead for keeps.

Sabo then doubled in Parma.

An infield miscue plated a third run in the 2nd frame, stretching Monte Vista’s advantage to 4-1.

Monte Vista tagged Acosta for 13 hits including three by John Balajadia.

“Our guys did a good job of making adjustments against Acosta,” Williams said. “We got some good cuts against him today. We learned from facing him earlier.”

Santana pitchers ZACH OEDEWALDT and JIMMY ELIAS combined to pitch a 7-hitter with 12 strikeouts. Oedewaldt logged his 4th win in five decisions, while Elias picked up his first save.

KYLE HAYES and GEORGE MARTINEZ each produced a double, a single and three RBI to pace the Sultans, who built an 8-0 lead and never looked back.

CODY SMITH stroked a double, a single and stole a base to stretch his East County leading batting streak to 19 games.

ANTHONY JACKSON and EFFREN PADILLA had two hits apiece for the Braves (3-21, 0-10 GVL). Padilla extended his personal hitting streak to 9 games.

“The good thing about games like this is I was able to get all of our players into the game,” Santana coach LARRY OEDEWALDT said.

MT. CARMEL 8, EL CAPITAN 7 – Question here is did playing this non-league game hurt El Capitan in its quest for prime seeding position in the SDCIF Division III playoffs.

“The story today was porous defense,” El Capitan coach STEVE VICKERY said. “We lost this game because our defense was pathetic (4 errors). On top of that we didn’t pitch very well. It was the most errors we have had this year.”

Falling behind 4-0 in the top of the 1st inning, the Vaqueros (20-6, 8-1 GVL) chopped the Sundevils’ lead in half on RBI doubles by SHELDON GABRIELS and TROY CONYERS in the bottom of the frame.

No. 7 ranked El Capitan fell behind 5-2 in the top of the 3rd but continued to play chase in the bottom of the inning as TYRONE WIGGINS tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Gabriels.

Not to be overlooked was a clutch 2-run single by JOSH TULLEDGE on an 0-2 pitch in the 4th inning that pulled El Capitan to within 6-5 of leading Mt. Carmel (9-15).

“I appreciate our kids really battling. We came back hard on offense but just happened to hit it right at people,” said Vickery.

In the 6th inning ERIC LOZANO hit a screaming line drive to right center that a Mt. Carmel outfielder dove and caught.

Mt. Carmel had five unearned runs, and El Capitan walked two leadoff batters that scored. The Vaqueros made a two-out error on a routine throw from second to first base.

CHARLES MOORMAN, who has missed the majority of the season with a broken hand, caught for three innings today.

“He’s happy to be back,” said Vickery. “My goal is to catch him again on Saturday (against Mount Miguel).”

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 7, CHRISTIAN LIFE ACADEMY 6 – BRANDON JAROSIN’s RBI triple in the bottom of the 6th inning Thursday (May 13) gave Foothills Christian a key victory that kept the Knights’ Citrus West League championship hopes alive.

“It was a real ugly game, but we needed to win today and we did,” said Knights coach DAVE LEWIS.

CODY LEWIS and Jarosin combined for 12 strikeouts as the Knights (10-13, 7-1 CWL) kept their hopes for a season-ending showdown against San Diego Jewish Academy for the league championship alive.

“Cody had to battle today – he wasn’t as sharp as usual,” said his father, the coach, even though Lewis struck out 10 and walked none.

Jarosin pitched the final frame, striking out 2 to earn his first save.

“Jarosin was the man of the hour,” said coach Lewis. “He had the big hit in the 7th and threw a sharp 7th inning. It was a big save for us.”

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (5-13-10) — Christian High sophomore MICHAEL KAUFMAN is a quiet, unassuming type. He plays the game well but with little fanfare.

The 6-foot-3, 205-pound Kaufman cast himself into the limelight in Wednesday’s (May 12) Eastern League game against visiting Serra.

With the game tied 5-5 in the bottom of the 9th the Conquistadors made a pitching change as Serra coach Scott “Hoppy” Hopgood summoned senior right-hander Dylan Brandon to the mound with bases loaded and one out.

“I knew what I wanted to do but my main focus was watching the new pitcher warm up,” said Kaufman. “He had medium speed but nothing blazing.”

Kaufman hit the first pitch from Brandon into center field, scoring winning pitcher JOSH WOLFSON and giving the Patriots a 6-5 victory.

“It was a fastball, right down the middle,” related Kaufman. “I was just looking for a good pitch to hit and that was a pretty good one. I hit the ball hard enough to get it past their second baseman.”

The victory snapped Christian’s 5-game losing streak. The Patriots (12-12 2-6 EL) have three games remaining in the regular season – Friday (May 14) at Serra, Monday (May 17) vs. St. Augustine at Hickman Field and Tuesday (May 18) at Clairemont. All games are at 3 p.m.

“It felt like we actually wanted to win today,” said Kaufman. “There was just a little more emotion that we haven’t had in the past few games.”

Christian took the early lead by staging a 4-run 2nd inning with two outs.

“That’s something that’s totally new to us,” Patriots coach MIKE MITCHELL said. “We just haven’t been doing it, especially in our league season.”

JOSH SUFFRIDGE laced a two-out double to center field and scored on a base hit to left by PAUL BARRACK. MARTIN RUIZ ran for Barrack and eventually scored on a single by CODY POTEET. Serra handed Christian two more runs by dropping the ball in the outfield.

The Patriots had plenty of chances to turn the game into a blowout but left a total of six runners on base in the 3rd, 4th and 5th innings.

After cutting Christian’s lead to 4-3 in the 5th inning, Serra took the lead in the 7th on an RBI single by Steven Brush and a sacrifice by Thomas McGuire.

Christian scrambled back to tie the game in the bottom of the 7th. Wolfson walked, advanced to second on Gruber’s sacrifice bunt and scored on Allen’s single to center.

Although the Patriots are clearly out of contention for the Eastern League title, their focus now is on the San Diego CIF Division IV playoffs.

© East County Sports.com
RANCHO SAN DIEGO (5-12-10) — Helix High coach COLE HOLLAND shuffled the deck somewhat, asking three of his players to test their skills at an unfamiliar position in Tuesday’s (May 11) Grossmont Hills League rain make-up game.

One of those exploring a new position was Helix starting pitcher ROMELLO CARBUCCIA, who rationed the heavy-hitting Cougars (14-10-1, 5-5-1 GHL) to five hits and one run over five innings to collect his third win against no losses.

“He gave us more than we expected,” said Holland. “We were looking for him to go at least three to four innings. He threw something like 66 pitches, but we had a 6-run lead and I wanted him to leave with a positive experience rather than extend him too far.”

Leading 7-1 at one point, Helix scrambled to hold on to a 7-5 victory over Steele Canyon to close within one-half game of GHL-leading Grossmont.

Helix relievers BRANDON LEWIS and JAKE REED finished the job. It was the second save for Reed, who boasts an East County best ERA of 1.47.

In addition to Carbuccia, MAURO OLIVARRIA made his first start at shortstop and DUSTIN BURKE debuted at third base.

“Sometimes I think the kids think we’re just messing around by having people play different positions,” said Holland. “But we take pride in having versatility – you never know when we’re going to need it. Today was one of those days when we needed it.”

Holland was forced to shuffle his lineup due to a couple of nagging injuries.

Meanwhile Helix leadoff man KACY SMITH extended his hitting streak to 15 games while scoring 3 runs.

“If he’s not the Rookie of the Year in our league, they’re going to have to show me someone better,” Holland declared.

Reed continued to be a double threat for the Scotties. He was 3-for-4 at the plate with an RBI triple off the top of the right-center field fence in the 3rd inning and a run-scoring single in the 5th.

For Steele Canyon, pitcher BRAD BOEHMKE was victimized by five Cougars errors resulting in three unearned runs during his five-inning stint.

Those miscues tagged Boehmke with his fourth loss in nine decisions.

At the plate, however, Boehmke was a terror, going 3-for-3 with RBI singles in the 1st and 6th innings.

Trailing 7-1 entering the bottom of the 6th, Steele Canyon produced two runs including a bases-loaded walk by ANTHONY SORRENTINO.

The Cougars kept clawing back in the bottom of the 7th. After Helix reliever Lewis plunked TAYLOR MISHLER with a pitch, CLAYTON ROYER launched a 2-run homer over the right-field fence.

Reed took over for Lewis after that and got the final two outs for the Highlanders.

EL CAPITAN 6, MONTE VISTA 5 – The No. 7 ranked Vaqueros pulled a narrow escape against upset-minded Monte Vista (11-14, 3-6 GVL) in Tuesday’s (May 11) Grossmont Valley League contest in Lakeside.

Had it not been for a muffed double play relay, the Vaqueros (19-6, 8-1 GVL) most likely would not have scored the winning run in the bottom of the 6th inning to break a 5-5 deadlock.

“This one was pretty frustrating,” Monte Vista coach CHAD WILLIAMS said. “In that last inning with the score 5-5 we did what we wanted to do. We got the ground ball we thought would end the inning and then failed to execute.”

Once again the main man for El Capitan was senior southpaw ANTHONY VIGIL. The 6-foot, 170-pound Vigil came on the get five outs without allow a run to collect his fifth win in as many decisions. Considering he has four saves, Vigil has had a hand in nearly half of El Capitan ’s 19 victories.

“Like I’ve said before, Anthony relishes pitching in pressure situations,” Vaqueros coach STEVE VICKERY said. “If our right fielder makes the catch on a routine flare in the 6th inning, the game never gets tied. But Anthony did his job in that inning and in the 7th, when he retired the side 1-2-3.”

After the Monarchs took a 2-1 lead in the 2nd inning on a double by KEVIN STARLING and a single by JUSTIN AQUINIGOC, the Vaqueros erupted for four runs in the bottom of that inning.

After a leadoff single by BRAD MITCHELL, TYRONE WIGGINS banged a 3-1 pitch over the right-center field fence. The inning continued when ELDEN WHISMAN walked and rode home on a 2-run blast into the student parking lot by TROY CONYERS.

In the 3rd inning Monte Vista countered with a solo blast by NICK SABO that landed in the high end of the El Capitan parking lot.

“Sabo put such a charge in that ball I think it took .2 seconds to get outta here,” said Vickery. “I think it’s still going.”

Sabo’s third homer of the season made it a 5-3 game until the Monarchs produced the tying run in the top of the 6th.

Freshman PAUL O’CONNOR ignited the Monte Vista rally with a base hit. Pinch hitter GORDY JUAREZ doubled to put runners at second and third. O’Connor scored on a groundout by Aquinigoc and Juarez coasted home with the tying marker on a base hit by JOEY GONSALVES.

El Capitan’s winning scenario took place in the bottom of the 6th. Wiggins doubled off the left-center field bank. He scampered to third on BROOKS NOBLE’s groundout to the right side.

The Monarchs elected to intentionally walk Whisman to put runners at the corners. Conyers than rifled a one-hop shot to the Monarch’s second baseman O’Connor, who flipped the ball to shortstop IVAN PARMA for the second out.

Parma, however, in his transfer from the glove to his hand, dropped the ball, allowing Wiggins to score the winning run.

“As tough as it was to lose, we showed we can play with a team of their caliber,” said Monte Vista coach CHAD WILLIAMS. “We’ve improved a lot, considering the first two times El Cap played us we lost 15-3 and 10-3.

“We’re still waiting to play our best game.”

MOUNT MIGUEL 11, EL CAJON VALLEY 2 – Freshman DEANDRE SIMPSON enjoyed a career day as he used his arm and bat to carry the Matadors to Tuesday’s (May 11) Grossmont Valley League victory in Spring Valley.

As a hitter Simpson was 3-for-5 with 5 RBI, including a double and a 3-run homer. As a pitcher Simpson scattered 9 hits and allowed only 2 runs over five innings while striking out 7.

CHRIS MAPLES blanked the Braves over the final two frames to complete the victory.

“It was a good way to get back on track,” said Mount Miguel coach BYRON GRIGSBY.

What impressed Grigsby most was the Matadors defense, which committed only one error.

“For a change we made all the plays,” he said.

The Matadors collected 13 knocks off two El Cajon Valley pitchers.

Matadors leadoff hitter JUWUN McCRAY was 2-for-4 with a double, 2 runs and a stolen base.

Maples was 2-for-2 with 2 RBI and ANTHONY ORTEGA contributed a pair of hits and scored two runs.

For El Cajon Valley EFFREN “Never say quit” PADILLA was 3-for-4 at the plate. He also stole two bases.

The Braves’ CASEY RIVERA also chipped in with 2 hits, including his varsity home run – a solo shot in the 5th inning.

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 9, MIDWAY BAPTIST 3 – Foothills Christian continued on its path to a collision course with undefeated San Diego Jewish Academy with a come-from-behind victory over host Midway Baptist on Tuesday (May 11) in a Citrus West League contest.

The Knights (9-13, 6-1 CWL) posted their fifth straight win as they erased a 3-2 deficit to support the complete game pitching of DEREK DEYLING.

Foothills Christian moved in front with two runs in the 5th inning, which was an odd frame, to say the least.

With two outs BRANDON JAROSIN doubled and stole third. After CODY LEWIS walked, JOE CANTER appeared to hit a 3-run homer as the ball cleared the fence. That blow would have given the Knights a 5-3 lead had Canter not been declared out for missing second base.

Canter’s home run blow was reduced to a single upon appeal by Midway Baptist, thus the umpires determined only the runners on base scored.

It didn’t matter though as Foothills Christian scored 5 runs in the 6th inning.

ZAC CUMMINGS singled and scored on a double by HENRY LUSCHEI. Luschei advanced to third on a wild pitch. AJ HOFFMAN drew a walk and Luschei scored on another wild pitch. JR ATTERBURY had an RBI single and then stole second. Deyling then singled to put runners at the corners and Jarosin brought Atterbury home on a sacrifice fly. Deyling then stole second and third, and scored on a base hit by Lewis.

“I was kind of disappointed because this was a team we should have beaten,” said Knights coach DAVE LEWIS. “We didn’t come out ready to play and fell behind. It was a lesson to our guys that they need to bear down and respect every opponent. It was a game that should have never been in doubt.”

Deyling allowed only 4 hits as he raised his record to 4-5.

You're out!... As easy as 1st, 2nd, 3rd

Defenders registering outs on the basepaths include: Grossmont first baseman Brett Etherton (top), El Capitan second baseman Sheldon Gabriels (middle), and Christian third baseman Erick Allen. (Photos by Tim Soto, Mark Gabriels and Tori Mills)

© East County Sports.com
SAN DIEGO (5-9-10) — Given their druthers, neither El Capitan coach STEVE VICKERY nor Santana’s LARRY OEDEWALDT relished the idea of playing a pivotal Grossmont Valley League at Petco Park.

But they’re not killjoys, either.

“For these kids the chance to play at Petco Park is a once in a lifetime memory,” said Vickery. “Neither Larry nor I would ever want to deny our kids this opportunity, regardless of the stakes.”

And those stakes were extremely high for El Capitan (18-6), which – despite all the hoopla of playing at the home of the Padres – only added to the tension of knowing that a second loss in three days to Santana would cost them the GVL championship.

El Capitan capitalized on four Santana errors, two passed balls and a wild pitch to score four unearned runs in a 7-3 victory Saturday (May 8) at Petco Park.

By winning, the Vaqueros created a tie at the top of the GVL standings with the Sultans at 7-1. These teams figure to meet for the league championship for the third time in their series on the final day of the regular season Thursday (May 20) in Lakeside.

Of course, both teams have to avoid upset losses between now and the slated head-to-head winner-take-all showdown.

“In this game, they made the plays and we didn’t,” Oedewaldt said.

El Capitan received strong pitching from starter TROY CONYERS and closer ANTHONY VIGIL. The duo scattered 7 hits and allowed only 2 earned runs while striking out 7. Conyers was awarded with fifth win in seven decisions, while Vigil logged his fourth save.

Vaqueros junior ELDEN WHISMAN was the only player in the game to collect more than one hit as he finished 2-for-4, including a key RBI single in El Capitan’s 3-run 7th inning.

“We took it to ‘em today,” Whisman said. “We came out with a good attitude knowing that we had to win. That’s why this was such a huge game for us.

“Now it comes down to we hold our own destiny,” he added.

El Capitan took a 2-0 lead in the top of the 2nd inning.

Conyers led off with a single and MIKE WIDDOWSON ran for him. One out later BROOKS NOBLE slashed a single to left field. With two outs CURREN FACER hammered a single to left, allowing Widdowson to score easily. When the Santana left fielder had trouble coming up with the ball Noble scored, making it 2-0.

In the bottom of the inning Santana cut the lead in half. CAMERON BALOUGH laced a leadoff ground rule double that skipped over the 357 sign in left-center field. In any high school ball park, that would have been a home run.

Nonetheless the Sultans managed to escort Balough home. He advanced to third on a fly ball by COREY POE and scored on a fly ball by JIMMY ELIAS.

The two starting pitcher created silence thereafter until the 6th inning.

Santana’s KYLE HAYES, who limited the Vaqueros to 4 hits and 2 earned runs over 5 2/3 innings while striking out 11, was tagged with the loss. He could accept part of the blame by uncorking a two-out wild pitch in the 6th inning, which wound up costing the Sultans two runs.

El Capitan’s TYRONE WIGGINS scored on the errant pitch as the ball rattled around the Petco Park backstop. Senior catcher KEVIN FERREIRA finally retrieved it and threw wildly, allowing Whisman to score from second base.

That escapade gave El Capitan a 4-1 lead. Santana fought back in the bottom of the frame.

CODY SMITH led off with a single and CHRIS CAMARDA reached on a two-base throwing error. Hayes plated both runners with a single to right to once again make it a one-run game.

That’s when Vigil replaced Conyers on the mound. East County’s premier relief specialist slammed the door on the Sultans over the final two innings.

“You know something, it wasn’t very pretty,” acknowledged Vickery. “They are a great team over there. But I think we put ourselves in position to score a couple of cheap runs. Hopefully we both take care of business and it comes down to the last game of the season.”

No doubt Vickery had to do some fancy rebuilding after Santana smacked the Vaqueros 10-0 on Thursday (May 6).

“We got shellacked by them 11-1 last year and bounced back to beat them 8-6,” Vickery said. “Our guys are resilient. Luckily their memories are a lot shorter than mine.”

Conyers rationed the Sultans (17-8) to 4 hits and 2 earned runs in five innings.

“I thought Conyers threw the ball well. He struggled a little bit with his offspeed pitch early but he gave us an opportunity to win the game,” Vickery said.

Coach JIM EARLEY’s Foothillers have won 8 of their last 9 GHL contests and are in prime position to lock up the league title.

“In our league every game is like a playoff atmosphere,” said Earley. “You can’t afford to take a day off.”

The visiting Foothillers (20-6, 8-3 GHL) took a 7-2 lead after three innings and let 6-foot-5, 230-pound junior JOE MUSGROVE take care of the rest.

Musgrove scattered 7 hits, walked none and struck out 6 as he charted his second complete game in nine starts. He retired 13 of the last 16 batters he faced while improving his record to 8-1. He also has 2 saves and a tidy 2.18 ERA.

“The last time Joe faced Helix they cuffed him around a bit,” said Earley. “But he settled in after the first couple of innings and was in command all day.”

Earley is pleased that the final four games of the regular season will be divided over a two week span.

“Those 3-game weeks are really tough,” he said. “It really puts a stress on your pitching staff.”

While Musgrove was taming the Highlanders, Grossmont was slapping around three Helix pitchers for a dozen hits, including a 2-run home run by ROBBY NESOVIC and a solo shot by BRETT ETHERTON.

Etherton, who was 3-for-4, drove in Grossmont’s first run with a base hit in the opening frame and then coasted home on Nesovic’s line drive homer to left field.

The Hillers remained on the attack in the 2nd inning, loading the bases on singles by COLTER RIOS, WILL SOTO and STEVEN BRAULT. They came away with only one run however, as EVAN POTTER plated Rios with a sacrifice fly.

After Etherton led off the 3rd with his fourth home run of the season, the Foothillers capitalized on two Helix errors to make it 7-1. TYLER TIMMER, who has been on the shelf due to injury the last couple of weeks, served as Grossmont’s designated hitter.

Timmer doubled and scored on a single by Rios in the 5th. Rios eventually scooted home on a wild pitch, staking Grossmont to a 7-run lead it would not lose.

It was not the kind of game Helix coach COLE HOLLAND was expecting. After all, his Highlanders leaped into the limelight by stunning the Foothillers with victories of 5-4 and 9-8 (in 9 innings) to begin league activity.

The Highlanders had little to cheer about in their bid to sweep the Foothillers. Their first run scored on a wild pitch and DYLAN NICKERSON whacked a solo home run to account for the other marker. Four errors and 10 walks helped lead to Helix’ demise.

VALHALLA 2, GRANITE HILLS 1 – When the injury-riddled Norsemen dropped their first six Grossmont Hills League decisions, first-year head coach MIKE WILSON pretty much realized that Valhalla was going to be cast in a spoiler’s role this season.

Albeit not a major knockout, the Norsemen pulled off a noteworthy upset on Saturday (May 8) by edging Granite Hills behind the stalwart pitching of 6-foot-7 right-hander JOSH AUSTEL.

Austel (2-5), who has been the victim of some hard-luck losses, was efficient against the Eagles (10-13, 6-5 GHL). He needed only 78 pitches to log the complete game victory. He got 11 ground ball outs and fanned three. He did not walk a batter.

Speaking of hard-luck losers, Granite Hills sophomore DANIEL STARWALT turned in his fifth complete game in nine starts, but was tagged with his fourth loss in 9 decisions. The 6-foot-2, 184-pound right-hander made only 66 pitches during his six-inning stint, which included four strikeouts and no walks. Starwalt surrendered only six hits.

Valhalla did all its scoring in the 2nd inning in a game that lasted only an hour and 27 minutes.

AUSTIN HENSLEY singled to left-center. One out later Austel grounded a single through the 5.5 hole and KYLE ZIMMERMAN loaded the bases with an infield hit. Starwalt then plunked BRETT MILLER, allowing Hensley to score. It was the fourth time in 35 plate appearances that Miller has been hit by a pitch.

Designated hitter CISCO TELLEZ, returning to Valhalla’s lineup for the first time in nearly three weeks, grounded out to first base but managed to score Austel from third in the process, making it 2-0.

Granite Hills cut the lead in half in the 3rd inning. CHARLIE ST. CLAIR and MIKE CRABB smacked singles to begin the frame. LOREN GREENWOOD advanced the runners on a sacrifice bunt and a Valhalla throwing error allowed St. Clair to score.

Neither team posted a serious scoring threat thereafter although Valhalla missed a scoring chance in the 1st inning.

With one out BRYCE MOSIER, who was 2-for-4 against Helix on Thursday (May 6), doubled. DANNY HAWKSLEY followed with a base hit to left, however Mosier was cut down at the plate by a spot on throw from NATHAN HUFF to catcher JARED HUNT.

STEELE CANYON 12, WEST HILLS 1 – For the second straight game Steele Canyon pounded out 14 hits Saturday (May 8) as the visiting Cougars ran down the Wolf Pack in a Grossmont Hills League game.

Cougars’ junior catcher JESSE JENNER was 3-for-4 with a home run and 3 RBI as he raised his season batting average to .525 (32-for-61). His numbers continue to be impressive across the board with a .600 on base percentage and a slugging percentage of .738.

Jenner ignited a 1st inning rally for Steele Canyon with a two-out single. BRAD BOEHMKE followed with a base hit, and WES JUDISH drove both runners in with a double.

In the 2nd inning the Cougars (14-9-1, 5-4-1 GHL) loaded the bases with nobody out on walks to ANDREW KING and JAKE WRAGG, plus a single by VINNY SORRENTINO.

West Hills starter ALEX PIERCE looked like he was going to snuff out any plans Steele Canyon had for a big inning when he coaxed TAYLOR MISHLER to bang into a double play. Despite the twin killing the Cougars extended their lead to 3-0 and were hungry for more.

CLAYTON ROYER singled in Wragg and then Jenner capped the scoring with his third home run of the season over the left-field fence.

Steele Canyon’s hitting parade continued in the 4th. Mishler tripled and scored on a double by Royer. Jenner plated Royer with a base hit, making it 8-0.

For good measure ANTHONY SORRENTINO led of the Cougars’ 5th with his sixth home run of the season and Wragg whacked a 3-run triple with two outs in the 6th.

The Wolf Pack (10-13, 3-8 GHL) avoided the shutout on a pair of walks and a single by ANDREW MOHRE in the 7th inning.

Steele Canyon starter TREVOR McKINLEY (6-2) gave a dominating pitching performance, checking West Hills on 2 hits over five innings while walking none and striking out 7.

“McKinley had a tremendous strikes-to-balls ratio,” said Cougars assistant coach MARK BRUDER. “Of his 61 pitches, 43 were strikes. He was amazing.”

MONTE VISTA 8, EL CAJON VALLEY 0 – The visiting Braves outhit the Monarchs 10-9 but couldn’t produce any runs in Saturday’s (May 8) Grossmont Valley League game in Spring Valley.

“They made a game of it,” said Monte Vista coach CHAD WILLIAMS. “Take away our 5-run 4th inning and it was pretty close.”

Credit Monte Vista pitchers IVAN PARMA and JOHN BELAJADIA for scattering El Cajon Valley’s hits, which included three doubles. Parma worked the first six innings and struck out six to earn his 6th win in 7 decisions.

Belajadia surrendered 2 hits in the 7th inning but kept the shutout intact with 2 strikeouts.

It was only the third time in 22 games that El Cajon Valley (3-19, 0-8 GVL) has been shut out.

EFFREN PADILLA and ESTABAN HERRERA each had a double and a single for the Braves.

Monte Vista (11-13, 3-5 GVL) took a 2-0 lead in the 1st inning. With one out JOHN BALAJADIA was hit by a pitch and stole second. After NICK SABO grounded out, CARLOS OCHOA doubled in the first run. KEVIN STARLING followed with an RBI single.

The Monarchs took command in the 4th inning. RICHIE BALAJADIA walked and scampered to third on a double by LUIS LEBRON. PAUL O’CONNOR scorched a triple, making it 4-0.

After an El Cajon Valley error put runners at the corners Parma plated a run with a sacrifice fly. John Balajadia contributed an RBI single and Starling drove in a fifth run with a double.

Starling picked up a second RBI in the 6th inning with a base hit that scored Sabo (singled).

© East County Sports.com
BARONA INDIAN RESERVATION (5-8-10) — Foothills Christian won a key battle for second place in the Citrus West League Friday (May 7) by knocking off Christian L.I.F.E. Academy, 11-5, at Stars Field.

The Knights (8-13, 5-1 CWL) snapped a 2-2 tie by scoring 6 runs in the 4th inning on their way to their fourth straight win and 6th in 7 games.

“This was a game we’ve kinda been pointing to for a few weeks now,” said Knights coach DAVE LEWIS. “They are a pretty good team. Our kids came out great today.”

ZAC CUMMINGS slashed a 2-run single for the Knights in the 1st frame and drove in a third run with a sacrifice fly in the 6th.

The Knights knocked out 12 hits and stole 8 bases.

“Cody pitched a great game,” said Lewis. “We hit the ball well and played good defense.”

DEREK DEYLING, JR ATTERBURY, HENRY LUSCHEI, BRANDON JAROSIN and Lewis each had 2 hits.

Foothills Christian has four regular season games remaining, including a rematch against Christian L.I.F.E. (11-7, 4-3 CWL) and San Diego Jewish Academy (10-0, 9-0 CWL).

Mathematically speaking, the Knights could capture a co-championship with a four-game sweep.

All this computes to a 5-game Eastern League losing streak, including Friday’s (May 7) 4-0 loss at Patrick Henry.

“A lot of the things that we do to beat ourselves are things you can’t correct in practice,” Mitchell said. “They are mental errors. When you couple those with the number of physical mistakes we make it’s difficult to win ballgames.”

Patrick Henry (14-9, 4-3 EL) capitalized on a 2-base throwing error in the 1st inning to take a 1-0 lead on a single by Andrew Katz.

An inning later Christian (11-12, 1-6) botched a potential double play ball that opened the door to Jason Harrison’s 3-run home run, which came on an 0-2 fastball.

Offensively Christian’s best chance to break through was in the 4th inning. ERICK ALLEN singled and darted to third on a double by pitcher CODY POTEET.

“That’s when things started getting weird,” Mitchell noted.

JOSH SUFFRIDGE then ripped a one-hopper off the chest of Henry third baseman Matt Kucharski.

“We wound up running ourselves out of that inning,” Mitchell said. “Because the ball was hit to the third baseman so hard, Erick couldn’t score and had to hold.”

Poteet must have thought Allen had gone to the plate as he attempted to advance to third base. Much to his chagrin, Allen was still at third and Poteet was tagged for the second out of the inning.

Christian, which hopes to defend its San Diego Division IV championship later this month, has three regular season games remaining to pick up some momentum.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (5-7-10) — Two of the East County league races will take a critical turn this weekend. No. 2-ranked El Capitan (17-5, 6-1) will face off against Santana (17-7, 7-0) Saturday (May 8) at PETCO Park in a 4 p.m. game that could decide the Grossmont Valley League championship.

The pressure will be on the Vaqueros, considering they were smothered by Santana, 10-0, on Thursday (May 6) in the first of three meetings.

Earlier on Saturday, a battle between the top two teams in the Grossmont Hills League takes place at Helix where the Highlanders (15-7-1, 6-2-1) host No. 7-ranked Grossmont (19-6, 7-3) at 11 a.m.

Of course, Granite Hills (10-12, 6-4 GHL) and Steele Canyon (13-9-1, 4-4-1 GHL) are still in the hunt.

SANTANA 10, EL CAPITAN 0 – In this game, it appeared that El Capitan had the hefty ranking but Santana had the desire and drive on Thursday (May 6) as these two teams began their critical season series that will undoubtedly produce the Grossmont Valley League champion.

“This is the best complete game we’ve played all year, and it couldn’t have come at a better time,” said Santana coach LARRY OEDEWALDT. “It started in yesterday’s practice... our best practice of the season.”

At the helm of Santana’s pivotal victory was junior right-hander CHRIS CAMARDA, who rationed the Vaqueros to 2 hits while walking only one and striking out 7 over six plus innings.

Reliever ZACH OEDEWALDT kept Santana’s shutout intact as he finished the 7th inning with 3 strikeouts.

“When Camarda gets his change-up going he’s deadly,” said coach Oedewaldt.

After Camarda threw four balls to El Capitan designated hitter ELDEN WHISMAN to start the 7th, coach Oedewaldt summoned his son to the mound.

“Chris told me he was tiring after the 5th, but he also wanted to finish the game,” said the coach. “But I didn’t want him to labor.”

Only two times did El Capitan, which suffered only its second shutout of the season, advance runners as far as second base. El Capitan came in averaging better than 9 runs per game.

“I felt good today before the game,” said Camarda. “I just went out there and tried to throw strikes.”

One of the things Camarda had to combat was the fact that his team was at-bat for long periods of time during the last four innings. That caused him to sit idly – not that he was complaining – while the Sultans were circling the bases.

“It’s tough going out there after a long break,” he said. “But this was a big win.”

Not surprisingly, the spearhead of the Santana offensive attack was senior third baseman KYLE HAYES. Twice the Vaqueros were able to avoid the wrath of Hayes by issuing walks – one of them intentionally. It was the at-bats in between the two walks that rattled the Vaqueros.

Hayes broke a scoreless tie in the 3rd inning with a bases loaded double down the right field line to make it 2-0. An inning later he clubbed his 8th home run of the season – a 3-run shot – to extend Santana’s lead to 7-0.

Although the Sultans picked up additional runs on a wild pitch and a single by CAMERON BALOUGH, Hayes was, without question, the centerpiece of the victory.

“We wanted to keep the ball six inches outside on Hayes in hopes that he’d go fishing,” said El Capitan coach STEVE VICKERY. “We didn’t want to let him – their best hitter – beat us. Unfortunately we caught a little bit too much of the plate on the ball he hit over the center field fence. That pretty much ended it right there.”

Hayes hoisted his season batting average to .467 (35-for-75) and RBI count to 31 after the Sultans’ stunning win over El Capitan.

Hayes’ run-scoring double left the Vaqueros flat footed.

“I don’t really look at their defense (which was playing him to hit the ball up the middle),” he said. “I just hit the ball where it’s pitched. That was a fastball on the inside middle and I just turned on it.”

Hayes’ knockout home run came on a fastball on the outside of the plate.

“I didn’t know if it was going out but it felt good coming off the bat,” he said.

El Capitan’s four pitchers surrendered 10 hits and 4 walks. What hurt the staff equally as much was hitting 4 batters. Twice the Vaqueros hit the Sultans’ leadoff man CORY HOSFORD – and one time he scored. Hosford has been hit more than a dozen times this season.

“He’s made it an art form,” Hayes said of Hosford.

Of the free passes offered by El Capitan, four of them resulted in runs for the Sultans.

HELIX 2, VALHALLA 0 – Ironman JAKE REED continues to show why he will be a Division I pitcher at the college level. The junior right-hander blanked the host Norsemen on 5 hits while striking out 7 in Thursday’s (May 6) Grossmont Hills League contest.

Reed (4-3) has not allowed a run in his last 15 2/3 innings.

Some might question why Helix coach COLE HOLLAND elected to go with Reed against the last-place Norsemen (10-14, 2-8 GHL) instead of “saving him” for the duel with Grossmont.

“This game was just as important as the one on Saturday,” Holland said. “Given that we didn’t swing the bats very well I think we wouldn’t have won if Jake wasn’t on the mound. He’s pitching as well as I’ve seen him throw.”

In the 1st inning Valhalla loaded the bases on singles by DANNY HAWKSLEY and AUSTIN HENSLEY plus a Helix error. Reed prevented a rocky beginning and escaped unscathed.

Reed also helped himself with the bat, collecting two of the Highlanders’ eight hits. In the 4th inning, he followed a single by AUSTIN GONZALEZ with an RBI double into the left-center field gap.

Valhalla junior right-hander RYAN PETERSEN kept the Helix offense in check, allowing only seven hits and two runs in his 6 1/3 innings. Due to his handiwork the Norsemen were down only 1-0 entering the final frame.

In the 7th inning with one out, Helix pinch hitter ARMONDO RODRIGUEZ slashed a double. ROMELLO CARBUCCIA pinch ran and advanced to third on DIEGO REYNOSO’s infield single. KACY SMITH then singled in Carbuccia with the insurance run.

“Armondo has been out with a bad ankle sprain, hasn’t played a lot,” Holland said. “That was a huge double he got today.”

Valhalla had its chances. After blowing the 1st inning opportunity the Norsemen put runners at the corners in the 4th inning, but Reed snuffed out that budding rally.

Due to quality pitching on both sides this game lasted only one hour, 38 minutes.

Not that Grossmont coach JIM EARLEY failed to warn them not to be peeking ahead to Saturday’s (May 8) GHL first place showdown at Helix.

“All I talked about in Wednesday’s practice was how West Hills lost the first game of a two-game series to Helix, Steele Canyon and Granite Hills only to come back and win the second game,” Earley said. “Heck, they beat Santana, too. I knew this wasn’t going to be a cakewalk.”

It wasn’t, although Grossmont did build a 4-0 advantage in the first half of the game.

A leadoff walk in the 3rd inning to WILL SOTO set up the first run for Grossmont. One out later EVAN POTTER singled to center. BRETT ETHERTON plated Soto with a two-out single.

Grossmont padded its advantage with a 3-spot in the 4th inning. ROBBY NESOVIC ignited the rally with a lead single, but was erased on JON HOWARTH’s fielder’s choice. COLTER RIOS then singled and Soto followed with a walk to load the bases. STEVEN BRAULT ripped a one-hopper that the Pack’s TONY SPEARS gloved and fired to third baseman THOMAS HEGNER for the second out. However, Grossmont scored its second run on the play.

Potter then pounded a two-run double to right-center field making it 4-0.

Brault, who held the Wolf Pack (10-12, 3-7 GHL) scoreless on 31 pitches through three innings, suddenly couldn’t find the plate in the 4th frame. Walks to Hegner, AARON STARNS and ANDREW MOHRE set the stage for BRANDON BYRD’s two-run double to right. That cut the Hillers’ lead in half.

West Hills loaded the bases on walks from reliever MARK VASQUEZ again in the 5th, but the Hillers’ senior right-hander denied the Pack by striking out the side.

In the 6th, the Wolf Pack got a two-out double by DAVID BRYAN, who scored on a Grossmont error to make it a one-run ballgame.

No one can say the Pack didn’t go down swinging. In the 7th inning against Grossmont ace JOE MUSGROVE, Hegner led off with a basehit only to be nailed in a backdoor pickoff throw by Foothillers’ catcher CODY SOS.

“That was the backbreaker right there,” Earley said. “But I’m not afraid to say we were lucky to get out of there with a win. West Hills kept the pressure on us the whole game and that is a credit to them.”

Grossmont has won five straight.

STEELE CANYON 9, GRANITE HILLS 4 – In their bid to remain in contention for the Grossmont Hills League pennant, the Cougars meant business, taking a 7-0 lead after four innings of Thursday’s (May 6) contest against visiting Granite Hills.

Designated hitter ANTHONY SORRENTINO led the charge for Steele Canyon with a solo home run to left-center field on a 3-1 pitch in the 2nd inning. The Cougars padded their lead with four runs an inning later.

Winning pitcher BRAD BOEHMKE singled in a run, WES JUDISH doubled in another and ANDREW KING capped the inning with a 2-run single.

A throwing error by the Granite Hills catcher and another RBI single by Boehmke made it 7-0 in the 4th inning.

“We had some real good at-bats and managed the count well,” said Steele Canyon assistant coach MARK BRUDER.

Boehmke, the stalwart of the Steele Canyon pitching staff, turned in a complete game for his 5th win in 8 decisions.

It was a tough day on the mound for Granite Hills pitcher JARED HUNT – 7 runs and 10 hits in 3 2/3 innings. He did smack a pair of doubles in four at-bats.

MONTE VISTA 19, EL CAJON VALLEY 6 – A trio of Monarchs collected three hits, each contributing to a 22-hit Monte Vista onslaught in Thursday’s (May 6)

Grossmont Valley League rout at El Cajon Valley.

It was a game of big innings for Monte Vista (10-13, 2-5 GVL), which scored six in the 1st, five in the 3rd and 6 in the 4th.

Senior KEVIN STARLING paced the Monarchs with a triple, a pair of singles and 4 RBI. JOHN BALAJADIA clubbed a single, double and a triple while driving in 3 runs and scoring 3 more. Leadoff man IVAN PARMA was 3-for-6 with two RBI.

“It was good to see the guys pulling for each other on the bench,” said Monarchs coach CHAD WILLIAMS. “We haven’t had too many opportunities to do that this year.”

None of the runs allowed by the two Monte Vista pitchers were earned.

“I thought we got good pitching today,” Williams said. “NICK (SABO) was able to just relax and concentrate on throwing strikes. BENNY (GUERRERO) was really on top of his game.”

CASEY RIVERA, the Braves’ junior second baseman, was 3-for-4 with a double and three RBI.

El Cajon Valley’s two pitchers were sabotaged by four errors that led to 12 unearned runs.

© East County Sports.com
DEL CERRO (5-6-10) — Based on the goings on thus far, this is not a season Christian High head coach MIKE MITCHELL would want to keep in his film library.

Lapse after lapse has been the Patriots' mode of operation. Wednesday’s (May 5) Eastern League loss to visiting Patrick Henry, 7-4, was the epitome of how things have been going for the Division IV Patriots (11-11, 1-5).

There is no one thing that Mitchell can blame exclusively on the Patriots’ slip-sliding performance. It’s been a series of breakdowns.

Shortcomings leading to Christian’s latest demise included giving Patrick Henry six outs in the 7th inning, which resulted in three runs. Earlier in the contest the Patriots blew a base loaded situation when the lead runner fell down while rounding third base when faced with a stop sign. He was later put out in a rundown, which at the time left Christian trailing 3-2.

“This is the first time in my 15 years at Christian that my team has ever been at .500,” Mitchell lamented.

Probably the most crucial of the Christian misfires was in the 7th inning. As if allowing leadoff batter Darrin Schroeder to reach base on an error wasn’t bad enough, Matt Kucharski followed with a single. Robert Chafe laid down what appeared to be a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners.

“We fielded the ball but nobody covered first base, so the bases are loaded,” Mitchell said.

One out later Kevin Meriwether put down a squeeze bunt. Once again nobody covered first base. Meriwether had a hit and Patrick Henry extended its lead to 5-2.

Christian got the second out without suffering further damage. However, Andrew Katz followed with a 2-run single to extend Patrick Henry’s advantage to 7-2.

“It doesn’t matter who you are playing, but if you give them six outs they’re going to hurt you,” Mitchell said. “And that’s been the case in most of our league games.”

Patrick Henry’s first run of the game came in the opening when the Christian right fielder dropped the ball for a three-base error. A two-out error in the 3rd inning handed Henry another run.

“I know we gave up 13 hits but only one of their runs was earned,” Mitchell said. “All the errors that we’ve been making (4 on Wednesday) caused our pitchers to throw extra pitches, and that hurts us all the way around.”

Christian’s MICHAEL POTEET drove in 3 runs including a 2-run homer in the 7th.

MICHAEL GRUBER, who was 2-for-4 in the contest, knocked in his first homer – a solo shot – of the season in the 3rd inning.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (5-5-10) — It was a day of challenges for Granite Hills senior catcher JARED HUNT in Tuesday’s (May 4) Grossmont Hills League engagement against visiting Steele Canyon.

The San Diego State bound Hunt was up to all of them.

No doubt the major impact supplied by Hunt was a walk-off three-run home run in the bottom of the 8th inning that resulted in an 8-5 victory for the Eagles (10-11, 6-3 GHL).

“He threw me a 1-0 fastball outside and I went with it,” said the left-hand hitting Hunt of his second round-tripper, which he poked just inside the left field foul pole.

In the 3rd inning, Hunt nailed a solo home run that shaved a Steele Canyon (12-9-1, 3-4-1) advantage to 3-2. Hunt now has 5 home runs on the books.

Hunt, who became the Eagles regular catcher a little more than a week ago, also called all the pitches for Granite Hills pitchers BRENDAN NAGER and LOREN GREENWOOD.

“He had quite a game,” said Granite Hills coach JAMES DAVIS.

Hunt said he enjoyed doling out the pitch selections.

“This is the first time I’ve been able to call all the pitches,” Hunt said. “Yeah, I’ve done it before in summer league games but never in a game of this magnitude. I wasn’t nervous at all because I knew I could do it.”

Nager, the Eagles’ starter, worked 6 2/3 innings allowing only three earned runs. Greenwood got the final four outs to log his first varsity win.

“I’ve worked with Nager for years and I know how he pitches,” Hunt said. “I know what to call because we’re on the same page.”

Granite Hills jumped in front when Eagles freshman Greenwood led off the opening inning with his first varsity home run.

Steele Canyon countered to take a 2-1 lead in the 2nd inning on RBI singles by JAKE WRAGG and TAYLOR MISHLER.

JESSE JENNER’s leadoff homer made it 3-1 for the Cougars in the 3rd.

Hunt’s solo shot cut the Cougars’ lead to 3-2.

Granite Hills took the lead with three runs in the 4th inning. Greenwood drove in the first run with a base hit and DYLAN GARCIA doubled in two more, putting the Eagles on top.

Trailing 5-3 entering the 7th inning Steele Canyon mustered up a 2-run rally, capped by Jenner’s infield single.

This was a key come-from-behind victory for Granite Hills, which is only percentage points out of the league lead.

“Our goal is to win league and I think we can do it,” said Hunt.

Six games remain in the regular season.

“Mount Miguel battled,” Santana coach LARRY OEDEWALDT said. “We talked about it before the game that we expected it to be a good game.”

Santana (16-7, 6-0 GVL), which has won five in a row, led the Matadors only 5-4 after six innings in Tuesday’s (May 4) contest in Spring Valley.

Although the Sultans were surely looking forward to their showdown against El Capitan, Mount Miguel’s 6-foot-6 senior right-hander RUDDY ACOSTA didn’t care. In fact he had upset on his mind.

Acosta came out firing, striking out 5 of the first 6 batters he faced.

“Acosta held us in check for the first three innings before we were able to get the ball in play,” said Oedewaldt. “We were having trouble with his breaking ball. He faced the minimum number of batters in the first three innings – 9 batters, 9 outs.”

Unfortunately for Mount Miguel Acosta left the mound after six innings. The Matadors bullpen and defense fell apart in the final frame as the Sultans scored four insurance runs in the 7th.

CORY HOSFORD and CODY SMITH drew back-to-back walks for Santana to open the 7th. CHRIS CAMARDA singled in Hosford. The Matadors intentionally walked CAMERON BALOUGH to load the bases. ZACH BREIDT slashed a 2-run single before a Mount Miguel throwing error added another run.

“They took Acosta out, I’m guessing he had reached his pitch count,” Oedewaldt said.

Mount Miguel tied the game in the bottom of the 4th on PATRICK ROUSE’s 2-run double to right-center field.

In the 6th inning ANTHONY ORTEGA, who singled to ignite the 4th inning rally, provided the spark in the 6th with a base hit. After a walk to JOSH IBARRA and a single by Rouse loaded the bases, JUWUN McCRAY singled to center, scoring two runs and slicing Santana’s advantage to 5-4.

“Give them credit – the four runs they scored, they scored on two 2-out hits,” said Oedewaldt.

JIMMY ELIAS worked 4 2/3 innings to earn his 3rd win in four decisions for the Sultans. JAYLEN FLEER got the final 7 outs to log his second save.

“Now we’re going to focus on El Capitan,” said Oedewaldt. “It should be a good showdown.”

That lone two-game sweep was against Grossmont – a pair of one-run decisions – in the GHL opening doubleheader.

The Highlanders, who host Grossmont in a game that may decide the GHL title on Saturday (May 8) at 11 a.m., must first get past Valhalla on the Norsemen’s field Thursday (May 6) at 4 p.m.

Helix knocked off the Norsemen (10-13, 2-7 GHL) with relative ease on Tuesday (May 4), but remember, it’s been a long time since the Highlanders have logged consecutive victories.

“We don’t get wrapped up in what everybody else is doing,” said Helix coach COLE HOLLAND. “We just concentrate on the game at hand no matter who it’s against. Right now our focus is on Thursday’s game at Valhalla.”

The Scotties skated to an 8-0 advantage in the first three innings of round one against visiting Valhalla. The Highlanders took a 2-0 lead in the 2nd inning before breaking the game open with 6 markers in the 3rd.

TYLER SOTO, who doubled and scored in the 1st inning, drove in a run with a base hit in the 3rd. AUSTIN GONZALEZ was 2-for-2 in the scoring frames with an RBI and 2 runs scored.

DYLAN NICKERSON and RASHAD HARLIN each had run-scoring singles in the 3rd inning. ROMELLO CARBUCCIA capped the Helix scoring with a 2-run single.

Nickerson (4-1), who logged a complete game pitching victory, staggered only in the 5th inning when he hit a batter and issued a pair of two-out walks.

Valhalla’s RYAN PETERSON singled in a run to break up the shutout, and JOSH AUSTEL followed with a booming drive to dead center field for a grand slam.

“Austel hit the ball to the deepest part of the park,” said Holland.

No doubt rattled by Austel’s blow, Nickerson regained his poise and blanked the Norsemen over the final two innings.

“This is just a typical day in the Hills, man – nothing comes easy,” Holland added. “Fortunately we did enough to get the ‘W.’”

Brault scored on JOE MUSGROVE’s sacrifice fly and the No. 7-ranked Foothillers (18-6, 6-3) were on their way to their fourth straight win and sixth in seven starts.

BRETT ETHERTON followed with his third home run of the campaign, giving sophomore right-hander ROBBY NESOVIC all the runs he would need. Nesovic (5-2) checked the Wolf Pack (10-11, 3-6 GHL) on a complete-game 4-hitter.

A West Hills error opened the door to a 2-run third inning as WILL SOTO reached base leading off. He rode home on a double by Brault. After EVAN POTTER singled to put runners at the corners, Etherton hoisted a sacrifice fly to make it 4-0.

Two innings later Soto singled and scored on a double by Musgrove.

West Hills, which banged into three double plays in the first four innings, managed to avoid the shutout with a tally in the 6th. DAVID BRYAN and TONY SPEARS singled. Bryan scored on THOMAS HEGNER’s ground out.

EL CAPITAN 22, EL CAJON VALLEY 1 (5 inn.) – BROOKS NOBLE went 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles and 4 RBI and leadoff man RYAN McBURNEY drove in 5 runs as the host El Capitan dismantled El Cajon Valley in a Grossmont Valley League game on Tuesday (May 4) in Lakeside.

The No. 2 ranked Vaqueros (17-5, 6-0 GVL) stretched their winning streak to nine straight.

The Vaqueros actually fell behind, as the Braves scored first in the opening frame. El Cajon Valley (3-17, 0-6 GVL) had a chance for a big inning but had to settle for one run despite collecting three hits and a walk.

CASEY RIVERA drove in the Braves’ only run with a base hit, scoring DAVID SANCHEZ (walk).

“For the second game in a row, El Cajon came out swinging the bats and got three hits,” said El Capitan coach STEVE VICKERY. “They come ready to compete and you never see any quit in them.”

El Capitan tied it in the bottom of the 1st. TYRONE WIGGINS reached base on an infield single and scored on a double by TROY CONYERS.

Conyers was 3-for-3 in the contest, which stretched his current hitting streak to 10 games.

Despite batting in the leadoff position, McBurney led the Vaqueros in RBI in the blowout. His key hit was his 4th home run of the season with two on, which broke the tie in the 2nd inning.

El Capitan scored 10 runs in the 3rd inning. In that frame Noble was 2-for-2 and Wiggins got two hits – a home run and a triple.

“It’s good to see Noble swing the bat aggressively and with a lot of confidence,” said Vickery.

For Wiggins it was his 7th home run of the season – one off the county lead.

In the 4th inning El Capitan got six hits in a row, with SHELDON GABRIELS accounting for two of them.

“The interesting thing about our team is we have four people who have 20 RBI or more, and we have eight players with 10 RBI,” said Vickery. “We’re getting contributions up and down the lineup.”

Despite its recent success, El Capitan will be put to the test on Thursday (May 6) and Saturday (May 8) at PETCO Park when the Vaqueros will take on Santana in a battle for the GVL championship.

“When the schedule was drawn up at the beginning of the season both (Santana coach) LARRY (OEDEWALDT) and I knew this will be a classic week of baseball. We are both playing good ball right now.”

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 12, LUTHERAN 2 (6 inn.) – Three Foothills Christian pitchers combined to spin a 4-hitter as the Knights breezed past visiting Lutheran in Tuesday’s (May 4) Citrus West League contest at Barona.

Starter CODY LEWIS held Lutheran (0-7, 4-10 CWL) hitless and struck out five while working only two innings.

Then it was AJ HOFFMAN’s turn and he continued the domination, limiting Lutheran to one hit while striking out 4 over 3 1/3 innings to pick up the win. BRANDON JAROSIN got the final two outs.

Foothills Christian (7-13, 4-1 CWL), which has won three straight and 5 out of 6, is second in the league standings. The Foothills Knights made it look easy as they scored 9 runs in the first two innings.

In the first inning DEREK DEYLING and JR ATTERBURY slashed back-to-back doubles. JOE CANTER and Jarosin also had run-scoring singles in the opening frame.

Although Foothills Christian finished with 12 hits in 5 turns at bat, the phase of the game that pleased coach DAVE LEWIS the most was the fact that the Knights played error-free defense for the first time this season.

Foothills Christian, which is fighting Christian Life Academy for second place in the CWL, will host the Eagles (11-6, 4-2 CWL) on Friday (May 7) at Barona at 4 p.m.

© East County Sports.com
LA MESA (5-2-10) — In this era of the aluminum bats, a shutout is all but unheard of.

That’s what made visiting Granite Hills’ 1-0 Grossmont Hills League nod over Helix so rare. Actually, it was a double shutout until the Eagles pushed across a run on MIKE CRABB’s single in the 9th inning that brought home pinch runner NATHAN HUFF from third base.

“If you didn’t like that game, you don’t like baseball,” said Granite Hills coach JAMES DAVIS. “This one had a little bit of everything.”

To be sure, it was a pitching duel between Granite Hills sophomore DANIEL STARWALT and Helix junior JAKE REED.

The 6-foot-2, 184-pound Starwalt got the best of things when he hurled the full nine innings, while retiring No. 9-ranked Helix (13-7-1. 4-2-1 GHL) in order in five frames. He struck out only 4, but did not issue a single walk. Most impressive in his stint was it took him only 102 pitches to complete the job.

“The way things were going I knew all I needed was one to finish on top,” Starwalt said. “I’m not sure which my best pitch was. All I wanted to do is keep hitting the ball on the ground.”

Thirteen of Helix’s 27 outs came on ground balls.

Only twice did the Highlanders advance a runner as far as third base – in the 4th and the 8th.

“It can be stressful when a game is that close,” Starwalt admitted. “But you can’t let it get to you because that’s when you start getting tense and mistakes happen.”

Each side two made two errors, but it was a throwing error by the Highlanders’ shortstop that allowed Granite Hills’ TYLER JOWORSKI to open the fateful 9th inning at second base with nobody out.

A sacrifice bunt by DOUG BRANNVALL advanced pinch runner Huff to third base with one out.

With two outs and Huff still standing at third, Crabb worked the count to 3-2 against Helix reliever DYLAN NICKERSON.

“All I was thinking is I needed to get a ground ball through a hole anywhere,” said the left-hand hitting Crabb, who managed to roll a base hit between third base and shortstop to secure the game-winning RBI.

Reed handcuffed the Eagles on two hits over 7 2/3 innings while striking out 8. Nickerson was victimized by an error and allowed only one hit in 1 1/3 inning yet was tagged with his first loss of the season.

“This was my best game by far,” said Reed.

Noted Eagles coach Davis, “It’s games like this that proves Reed is a Division I pitcher for sure.”

Granite Hills (9-11, 5-3 GHL) narrowly missed capitalizing on two Reed walks in the 8th inning. Starwalt hit the first pitch from reliever Nickerson to dead center field.

Highlanders’ center fielder AUSTIN GONZALEZ was off at the crack of the bat. Some thought Starwalt’s ball was going to leave the ballpark – others figured it would ricochet off the fence.

“I thought it was going to hit the fence and they’d score two runs off it,” Reed said. “Honestly, I didn’t think he was going to be able to get to it – thought it was over his head. But Gonzalez is a darn good player, and catches like he made on that ball proves it.”

Gonzalez made the catch with his back to home plate and then was knocked on his back when he collided with the fence. Somehow he held onto the ball.

“That was a big league play,” said Davis. “You won’t see anything better on ESPN.”

Gonzalez said he was just happy to hang onto the ball as he bounced off the fence.

“The ball was pretty much over my head so I decided to jump at the last second and got it,” said Gonzalez.

He caromed off the outfield canvas like it was a trampoline.

“When I hit the fence with my face, it hurt,” Gonzalez said. “After I hit the fence and came down I saw I had the ball in my glove.”

Helix coach COLE HOLLAND began the season with Gonzalez behind the plate, but he needed some more speed in the outfield and made the shift to put Gonzalez in center.

“He’s the only guy on our team who makes that play,” Holland said.

VALHALLA 8, WEST HILLS 2 – After losing his top two pitchers to injury, first-year Valhalla head coach MIKE WILSON had to dig deep into his book of strategy to find ways for the Norsemen to win ballgames.

Although Wilson doesn’t claim that he’s struck a gusher, he is pleased by the Norsemen’s pitching in the past two games, which have resulted in victories over West Hills.

“I know people talk about all of our injuries and how they’ve hurt us,” Wilson said. “But I instill the fact in my kids that it’s only a part of the game, that it’s time for other people to step up.”

In Saturday’s (May 1) Grossmont Hills League action NINO TUTINO and ROBBIE SCHMIDT combined to pitch a 3-hitter as the Norsemen (10-12, 2-6 GHL) posted their second straight victory after halting a six-game losing skid.

“It’s like I tell my kids – on any given day we can sneak up and get anybody,” Wilson said. “This is a “beat ‘em league” where people are knocking each other off all the time.

“In our position, that’s a good thing.”

Valhalla scored in five of its six turns at bat.

DANNY HAWKSLEY hoisted a sacrifice fly, scoring BRYCE MOSIER, who had advanced on a stolen base and an error to make it 1-0 in the 1st inning.

AUSTIN HENSLEY, who was 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles, a triple, 3 RBI and a run scored, doubled and scored on an error in the 2nd inning.

Hawksley followed an infield single by RAMSEY ROMANO with his first home run of the season to make it 5-0 in the 4th inning

West Hills (10-10, 3-5 GHL) attacked Tutino for three singles in the 6th. ALEX PARSONS picked up an RBI in that inning after the Wolf Pack executed some fancy baserunning in a pickle to garner a second tally.

Valhalla broke the game open in the 6th inning on a 3-run triple by Hensley.

No question the Sultans are looking ahead to Thursday’s (May 6) first of a three-game series against co-league leader El Capitan in Santee.

Two days later Santana and El Capitan will continue their series in a premier game of the 3rd Annual High School Baseball at PETCO Park sponsored by the San Diego Padres and the San Diego CIF. Game time is 4 p.m.

Another hurdle facing the Sultans before they get their shot at No. 2 ranked El Capitan is Tuesday’s (May 4) GVL game at Mount Miguel (6-15, 3-4 GVL). The Sultans will be staring at the Matadors 6-foot-6 senior right-hander RUDDY ACOSTA, who – when he’s on his game – is no day at the beach.

CAMERON BALOUGH spearheaded Santana’s victory over the visiting Matadors on Saturday when he went 3-for-4 with 6 RBI. Balough crunched a 3-run homer in the 5th inning that gave the Sultans an 11-1 lead.

“We made a minor tweak in his batting stance,” said Sultans coach LARRY OEDEWALDT of Balough. “What he had been doing was sliding his hips over his front foot. He looked like he was a softball hitter taking one of those running swings.”

Balough had firm footing against the Matadors.

“He kept his weight back, behind his front foot,” noted Oedewaldt. “I think the results were obvious.”

In the 4th inning Balough came within inches of a grand slam home run, but had to settle for a single when his drive to right-center field hit the yellow tubing along the top of the fence. Mount Miguel right fielder PATRICK ROUSE grabbed the carom and fired the ball back into the infield, limiting Balough to a single and the Sultans to one run.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before,” said Oedewaldt. “It’s one of those situations where you see the ball at the fence and the guy catching it, so you’re not sure whether you should run or not. Our runners took the cautious approach and only moved up one base at a time.”

CHRIS CAMARDA, JIMMY ELIAS and JAYLEN FLEER combined to strike out 13 Matadors while spinning a 3-hitter.

Mount Miguel avoided a shutout in the 2nd inning as Acosta hammered his 2nd home run of the season, which at the time tied the game 1-1.

After dropping their first two league encounters to Helix, the Foothillers have come on to win five of their last six, leaving themselves a game out of first place in the GHL race.

“One thing I want to say about our kids is they’re resilient, because we’ve had plenty of adversity,” observed Grossmont coach JIM EARLEY. “We played this game without the heart of our defense. Our regular shortstop and second baseman were both out with injuries, and then catcher CODY SOS had to leave in the middle of the game to take a recruiting trip.”

Steady JOE MUSGROVE continued to wield the magic wand for the Grossmont offense. He slugged a leadoff double to key the Foothillers’ pivotal inning.

COLTER RIOS and STEVEN BRAULT each had a 2-run single in the key 6th inning.

Musgrove came up big again in the 7th when he led off with his 8th home run of the season, stretching the Foothillers’ advantage to four runs.

“Joe’s home run was really big, considering that it made it impossible for Steele Canyon to beat us with one swing,” Earley noted.

Steele Canyon (12-8-1, 3-3-1 GHL) made the most of seven scratch hits.

WES JUDISH drove in two runs with an RBI single in the 1st and a bases loaded walk in the 6th.

The Cougars, however, left the bases loaded in the 6th inning and that pretty much spelled the end for them.

The No. 2 ranked Vaqueros (16-5, 5-0 GVL) broke a 1-1 tie with five runs in the 2nd inning to send the Braves (3-16, 0-5 GVL) reeling.

After Conyers gave the Vaqueros a 1-0 lead in the top of the 1st with a base hit to left field, the Braves – after having a runner picked off – fought back to tie on a double by EFFREN PADILLA and a single by ESTABAN HERRERA in the bottom of the inning.

And then it got ugly.

El Capitan barged in front on SHELDON GABRIELS’ grand slam – his 7th homer of the year – in the 2nd inning.

Wiggins, who was 3-for-3 with a triple, 3 runs and 3 RBI, capped the 2nd frame with a solo homer – his 6th of the year.

In the 6th inning El Capitan sent 17 players to the plate and scored 11 runs on 11 hits. The key blow in the inning came when CURREN FACER hit his first home run of the year – a 3-run shot to left field.

JOSH TULLEDGE was 2-for-3 with 4 runs scored, while middle inning reliever MIKE WIDDOWSON popped a pair of doubles in as many at-bats while stationed in left field.

Another pitcher who seldom gets to swing a bat was ANTHONY VIGIL, who was 2-for-2 with 2 RBI.

The beneficiary of El Capitan’s largest output of the season was Conyers, who held the Braves to four hits while striking out eight.

DEREK PECK and ALEX MARISCAL each pitched a scoreless inning to finish the job for the Vaqueros.

“Once again we got another outstanding performance from Conyers,” said El Capitan coach STEVE VICKERY. “That set the tone for the whole ballgame for us. We’re playing real good ball now. We were focused and had good energy.”

Monte Vista built a 9-0 lead after 3 ½ innings which would be more than enough for the pitching tandem of IVAN PARMA and NICK SABO.

Parma pitched the first five innings, allowing only two earned runs while striking out five.

Sabo held the Central League leading Komets (10-8-1) hitless over the final two innings while striking out three.

Starling finished 3-for-3 to spearhead Monte Vista’s 8-hit attack.

“It’s good to get back on the winning side of things again,” said Monarchs coach CHAD WILLIAMS. “ Kearny is a Division III team, like we are. We need to beat as many DIII as possible to enhance our playoff position.”

Williams figures Monte Vista needs to win at least 13 games to qualify for the playoffs.

Monte Vista broke out to a 4-0 lead in the 3rd inning. JOHN BALAJADIA (double), Sabo (single), CARLOS OCHOA (double) and Starling (double) each drove in a run in that frame.

Former Santana coach Jerry Henson (center) had his number (21) retired in ceremonies conducted prior to Thursday's 7-4 triumph over Monte Vista. (Montagé by Scott Seidel)

Henson earns rare honor © East County Sports.com SANTEE (5-1-10) — Former longtime Santana baseball coach JERRY HENSON was taken by surprise when present coach LARRY OEDEWALDT and the Sultans retired his uniform No. 21 in ceremonies prior to the start of Thursday’s (Apr. 29) Grossmont Valley League game against visiting Monte Vista. In his 18 seasons at the Santana helm, Henson’s Sultans posted a 340-203-4 record, which included winning the 1994 SDCIF Division III championship. Santana is a school that has produced such superstars as pitcher TERRY FORSTER, who pitched 17 seasons in the major leagues, but never had his number retired. Other Santana standouts include JIMMY TATUM, who spent a handful of seasons in the major leagues, and minor league superstar KYLE HYPES, who pitched 10 seasons before becoming a pitching coach for the San Francisco Giants. As great as all these guys were, none got their number retired. So why did Henson? That’s because he’s been a neighborhood fixture where all the area athletes wanted to play for him. He’s known for treating his players fairly and helping promote them to the next level.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (5-1-10) — The ever eventful Christian High Patriots found another way to frustrate themselves in Friday’s (Apr. 30) Eastern League contest against visiting Scripps Ranch. Despite slugging three home runs, the Patriots fell to the Falcons, 15-8.

“We were terrible,” Christian coach MIKE MITCHELL said. “Plain and simple, just awful. Scripps had two pop flies drop into our infield for hits and I don’t know how many rollers we let go for hits. This is one of those games you forget and move on.”

One of the few bright spots for Christian was junior second baseman MICHAEL POTEET, who went 3-for-3 with two home runs, a double, four RBI and three runs scored.

In the five league games, Poteet has posted a .471 average (8 for 17) with three homers and 7 RBI.

JOSH SUFFRIDGE also stroked a two-run home run for the Patriots (11-10, 1-4 EL).

Scripps Ranch (19-4, 4-1 EL), which gained a share of the circuit lead with St. Augustine (14-9, 4-1 EL) when the Saints lost to Mira Mesa on Friday, collected 15 singles and two doubles off four Patriots pitchers who issued nine walks and hit two batters.

Nine of those hits and six free passes came in the 3rd inning when Scripps Ranch broke a 2-2 tie with nine runs.