When all was said and done, senior pitcher Luke Bailey did a back-flip on the mound to celebrate the Granite Hills Eagles’ 3-0 victory over the Patrick Henry Patriots in last Friday’s San Diego Section Open Division championship game at SDSU’s Tony Gwynn Stadium.
Bailey could be excused for the showmanship after striking out 10 batters and handcuffing Patrick Henry’s offense on just two hits.
After striking out the final batter to end the game and cement the top-seeded Eagles into the section record book as the first team to go undefeated through section play, Bailey literally and figuratively flipped head over heels to the delight of his teammates, who promptly greeted him on the mound in celebration, carrying him along in the championship procession nearly into the outfield.
A 24-0-2 record would have a tendency to elicit such an adrenaline rush.
“I just tried my best,” said Bailey, who improved his season record to 12-0 with a 1.03 earned-run average and 75 strikeouts in 68 innings. “I knew I could do this. I wanted to play in this game from the start of the season. This team was like no other team I had played on before.”
The game appeared headed for a scoreless finish with double lines of zeroes dominating the scoreboard until the defending Grossmont Hills League champions finally broke the stalemate in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Senior Brenden Lewis, one of the team’s top hitters, stroked a double to lead off the inning. Senior Trevor Smith followed with a basehit to place runners at the corners. Senior Tommy Entreken stepped up to the plate and was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
There still were no outs in the frame.
That prompted a pitching change on the part of the No. 6 Patriots. Junior Brady Gunn came out and senior Kayden Henson came into the game.
Senior Parker Vance took care of business with a bases-clearing triple of the wall.
3-0 Granite Hills.
The Eagles failed to bring Vance in from third base, however, as Henson proceeded to strike out the side sandwiched around a walk.
It was up to the Granite Hills defense — and Bailey — to get the final three outs in the game to deliver history.
City Western League champion Patrick Henry (21-10-2) did put a runner on base. But he stayed there after a catch against the wall in center field robbed the Pats of an extra-base hit. At first it appeared as if the ball might clear the fence for a home run.
Bailey shrugged off any distractions and calmly went right back to work.
He deserved a “10” from the judges on his personal celebratory message, taking a bow when back on his feet to stoke the emotions of the hundreds of deliriously cheering Eagles fans.
“I gave it all I had — I left it on the field,” Bailey said. “I knew we’d be a top team at the beginning of the season, but to go undefeated, I would have never thought of this.”
Where this is a will, there is a way.
Vance was the one player the Patriots couldn’t get out. The multi-sport standout finished the game with three hits in as many trips to the plate.
Smith had two hits. Lewis (double), Entreken and junior Anthony Miotti each collected one hit.
Lewis, Entreken and Smith each scored one run.
The Eagles out-hit the Patriots 8-2, allowing a double by junior Ian Brooke and a single by junior Jimmy Gunn.
Both starters were continuing to throw heat late into the game. Brady Gunn pitched the opening five innings with seven strikeouts, allowing seven hits while facing 21 batters, while Henson finished up with three strikeouts, one walk and one hit in one inning.
Bailey faced 25 batters in his seven innings on the hill.
Patrick Henry and Granite Hills had played to a 5-5 tie early in the season, so perhaps the tightness of the game was not unexpected.
Eagles head coach James Davis said he didn’t say anything special to pump up his team prior to the division banner game. He didn’t have to as this team was well aware of its destiny.
“We’ve been fortunate to play consistent baseball — good pitching, good defense, good hitting,” Davis said. “We had four or five close calls during the season. I didn’t say anything special, just to keep on doing what we’d been doing. We have a lot of seniors, we’re a senior-laden team. We have a good group of kids who like to battle.”
Next up
Both Open Division finalists qualified for the Southern California regional championship tournament. Granite Hills received the No. 4 seed in the Division I bracket while Patrick Henry received the No. 7 seed.
The Eagles were slated to host No. 5 Villa Park (24-7) in Tuesday’s quarterfinals while the Patriots were off to No. 2 Santa Margarita (20-13).
Semifinals were scheduled Thursday with the winner advancing to Saturday’s regional championship game. St. John Bosco (27-4) received the No. 1 seed in the division and was set to host No 8 St. Augustine (20-11-1), the San Diego Section Open Division semifinalist, in Tuesday’s quarterfinals.
Crespi (24-3) received the No. 3 seed in the regional bracket while Santa Ana Mater Dei (19-14) was seeded sixth.
Granite Hills won the 2021 SoCal championship with a late rally to defeat Riverside Arlington.
Making the grade
There are five possible rounds in each of the seven divisions to reach the finals. The so-called “if necessary” game is required to settle a double-elimination scenario to pair championship round opponents.
Patrick Henry eliminated seventh-seeded Eastlake, 2-0, on May 28nto advance to meet No.1 Granite Hills.
The Eagles remained undefeated on the season by defeating eighth-seeded Del Norte (18-12) by a score of 8-6 in the opening quarterfinals before eliminating St. Augustine by equally tight scores of 3-2 and 6-4.
Sophomore Eurijah Schutza drove in four runs in the win over Del Norte with a double and home run while sophomore Brodey Vicars and Lewis each had one RBI.
The Eagles recovered from an early 2-0 deficit in the first matchup against the Saints, using a run in the bottom of the seventh inning to send St. Augustine into the losers bracket. Smith (double) had two RBI while Entreken had the other RBI in support of Bailey, who logged five strikeouts in tossing a complete game three-hitter.
Granite Hills blew out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning in the rematch. RBI were courtesy of Lewis, junior Jake Ervin, senior Phillip Jones, Entreken and Vance. Lewis picked up the win by scattering six hits in five innings. Smith fanned two batters in 1.2 innings of relief work, though Entreken earned the save with one strikeout in two-thirds of an inning.
Junior Salvatore Gagliano (double) and senior Preston Conklin each scored one run in Wednesday’s elimination game while junior Alex Mestman recorded one RBI. Senior Cody Cappelletti pitched a complete game three-hitter with seven strikeouts and no walks while facing 23 batters.
Junior Max Tello was on the mound for the Titans, allowing five hits and one earned run in six innings (four walks, no strikeouts).
Patrick Henry scored both of its runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to snap a scoreless tie.
The Titans had forced a replay against the Patriots with a 4-3 win in Tuesday’s fourth round.
Eastlake dropped its opening game in the double-elimination Open Division bracket, 4-3, to second-seeded San Marcos (20-8-1) on May 21 but bounced back to eliminate third-seeded La Costa Canyon (16-12) by a 5-4 score in second-round play on May 23. The Titans advanced to meet the Patriots with an 11-3 elimination win over San Marcos in third-round play on May 24.
Metro-Mesa League champion Eastlake finished its season 20-10-1, 7-2 in league play.
Through the section finals, Granite HIlls had posted a team 0.315 hitting average wtih 38 doubles, seven triples and 25 home runs.
Entreken topped the team with a 0.430 batting average and 36 RBI to go with six home runs, followed by Smith (0.407, 20 RBI, four home runs) and Lewis (0.372, 26 RBI, eight home runs).
The Eagles had posted a 1.08 team ERA with 200 strikeouts in 181 innings. Lewis owned a 7-0 record with a 1.58 ERA and 60 strikeouts in 53 innings.
San Diego Section Baseball Champions
Open Division: Granite Hills
Division I: Pt. Loma
Division II: Mt. Carmel
Division III: University City
Division IV: Ramona
Division V: HTH San Diego
Division V-AA: Rock Academy
