Prep baseball history: 2025, 1970s

PREP BASEBALL HISTORY

 

By Nick Pellegrino
ECS senior writer

EL CAJON — When Granite Hills posted an amazing 24-0-2 record en route to capturing the 2025 CIF-San Diego Section Open Division championship, the campaign was considered one of the best in county history,

However, researchers with San Diego Prep Sports History (website), which is a fantastic resource for covering high school athletics, recently posted that the Eagles of head coach James Davis are not the first to race through the preseason, league and section season without suffering a loss.

In 1971, San Diego Military Academy, which originally operated from its Solana Beach location (1940 website) before closing in 1975, once captured the CIFSDS Class 1A championship — the section’s small-school division at the time — without suffering a setback… but barely.

The Cadets would finish the season with a 15-0-1 record, but only because Ramona handed them the crown.

In the section finale held at the original ballpark at Palomar College in San Marcos, Ramona, seaking revenge from 1970, controlled the contest and were in line to forge the minor upset. Howeer, the Dagws committed five erros, lreading to five unearned runs in a 5-4 verdict for SDMA.

The championship was the second straight for San Diego Military. A season earlier, the Cadets also downed Ramona, 12-6. LINK

The 2-A classification title went to Santana, which raced through four playoff opponent to finish 25-3 overall, also one of the top records in section history.

The Sultans raced through Clairemont (10-0), Oceanside (3-0), Mar Vista (*1-0), then Eastern League champion Hoover (8-4) in the finale held at historical Beeson Field (in the Loma Portal area on the grounds of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, (before the San Diego International Sports Arena was constructed).

The first playoff victory was earned by future Major League Baseball pitcher Terry Forster, who tossed five innings before getting pulled to later postseason use when the decision was assured.

Game Two was captured on the road in Oceanside, then in the semifinals Brad McRoberts fired a one-hitter to top Mar Vista in a ballgame held at Mesa College. The Marines’ lone hit came with one out in the first inning, then McRoberts fired 6.2 frames of no-hit ball.

Forster scored the lone run. While at second base, advanced two bases on a wild pickoff throw that sailed into center field e in the fourth.

Hoover, the most powerful program in the county since the San Diego Section began operations a decade earlier, was making its sixth title-game appearance in 10 seasons. The Cardinals owned a 17 -2 postseason record since 1961 before falling to the Sultans.

Speaking of pitching gems:
— McRoberts earlier tossed a no-hitter against Grossmont in a 4-0 win; Forster finished with three career no-hitters for the Sultans;
— John Oakes of Borrego Springs fired a no-hitter in a 17-0 win over Rancho del Campo;
— Hoover’s Ken Kollmryrt fired a first-round no-hitter — the first in CIFSDS playoff history — to stop Granite Hills, 6-0, in the first round.

 

Sultans Ups and Downs

Following Santana’s 1970 CIFSDS championship, the Sultans fell in the first round of the ’71 playoffs at home to Bonita Vista.

When the ballclubs again met in ’76, the Purple & Gold wanted to avenge the setback.

Both sides inched into the postseason, both as third-place teams. But since the section’s six leagues gained three playoff berths each (Eastern League received four), a total of 18 teams advanced, so four schools needed to participate in a “play-in” game to fill out their 16-team bracket.

Santana earned the home game under a complicated formula to become the No. 16 seed, making Bonita Vista the visiting team as the No. 17 seed.

The number “17” would come back to haunt the Fifty years ago, on May 24, 1976, despite scoring nine times to claim a 9-0 advantage through the first inning, the Barons stormed back to take an amazing 17-14 decision — the biggest blown lead in CIFSDS playoff history.

Bonita Vista, trailing 14-12 through six frames, finally took the lead with a 5-run seventh.

On a high note. Santana participated in a Grossmont League contest, which remains the longest ballgame (by innings in section annals).

In 1975, the Sultans were hosting El Cajon Valley when darkness fell following 16 innings with the game still tied.

If today’s rules were applied, the game would end as a deadlock. Not then.

So when the teams met in the second round of league play at Wells Park (just east of ECVHS), the contest was continued before starting the regularly scheduled outing.

The Braves scored in the top of the 18th, but Santana answered with a pair of runs to take an 8-7 walk-off verdict. Pete Parson drilled a two-run homer for the triumph.

Santana also took the second game, 3-1. LINK

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