The San Diego Section’s annual baseball series at Petco Park is due to arrive April 22-23 with six games total (three on each day).
Participating teams include Vincent Memorial from the Manzanita League, Coastal Academy from the Pacific League), Lincoln and University City from the City Conference, Monte Vista and Mt. Miguel from the Grossmont Conference, Borrego Springs and Warner, from the Manzanita League, Southwest El Centro and Calexico from the Imperial Valley League, and Eastlake and Montgomery from the Metro-Mesa League.
Games on the first day (April 22) of this year’s slate feature Vincent Memorial and Coastal Academy at 1 p.m., followed by Lincoln-University at 4 p.m. and Monte Vista and Monte Vista at 7 p.m.
Games on the second day (April 23) feature Borrego Springs and Warner at 1 p.m., followed by Southwest El Centro and Calexico at 4 p.m. and Eastlake and Montgomery at 7 p.m.
The Mt. Miguel-Monte Vista game will not count in the Grossmont Valley League standings. Monte Vista is off to a 10-4-1 start in non-league play while Mt. Miguel is 9-6.
Other GVL teams include El Capitan (off to an 11-6 non-league start), El Cajon Valley (off to an 8-4 non-league start), Valhalla (off to an 8-6 non-league start) and West Hills (off to a 5-9 non-league start).
Monte Vista is slated to face off league play April 11 at Mt. Miguel. A home-and-home series against El Capitan follows on April 18-19 to continue league play.
GVL teams will play one another three times, with two games counting in the league standings.
Early season hitting leaders for Monte Vista included Gavin Daley with a 0.422 hitting average to go with 16 runs scored, nine RBI and three home runs; senior Justyn Stone with a 0.362 hitting average, 14 runs scored and 17 RBI and one home run; senior David Aceron with a 0.333 hitting average, 10 runs scored and 17 RBI; senior Jacob Schweizer with a 0.333 hitting average and nine RBI; and junior Reuben Cabugwas with a 0.277 hitting average, 11 runs scored, two triples and eight RBI.
Daley led the pitching staff with a 5-1 record while carving out a 2.23 earned-run average and 50 strikeouts in 37.2 innings. ERA leaders included junior Tristan Walker (1.31), Schweizer (1.88, 39 strikeouts in 26 innings) and senior David Rodriguez (1.94, 20 strikeouts in 18 innings).
As a staff, the Monarchs had compiled a 2.22 team ERA with 121 strikeouts in 104 innings.
Early season hitting leaders for Mt. Miguel included senior Xavier Reyes with a 0.500 hitting average in 20 plate appearances with seven RBI; senior Alex Sandoval with a 0.500 hitting average in 28 plate appearances with 10 runs scored and 11 RBI; senior Jeremiah Castillo with a 0.367 hitting average in 63 plate appearances with 25 runs scored and four RBI; senior Tyler Kelly with a 0.365 hitting average, 13 runs scored and 12 RBI; senior Junior Ettleman with a 0.364 hitting average, nine runs scored and 21 RBI; junior Alfredo Rodriguez with a 0.357 hitting average, 11 runs scored and 11 RBI; and junior Easton Sanchez with a 0.340 hitting average, nine runs scored and 12 RBI.
Senior Matt Barton, the quarterback on the school’s Division IV championship football team, had logged a 3-0 record on the mound with a 1.87 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 39 innings while senior James Cibrian was 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 21 innings. Senior Charlie Sandoval keyed the team with a 4-0 record while sporting a 5.02 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 30.2 innings.
Rodriguez (4.77 ERA) had collected three saves in 7.1 innings of duty.
As a team, the Matadors were hitting 0.325 with 99 RBI in 15 games.
The Eastlake-Montgomery matchup will count in the Metro-Mesa League standings as the league rivals will play one another three times in the regular season.
“It’s a great experience for all involved, especially the kids and parents,” veteran Montgomery coach Manny Hermosillo said. “Playing a powerhouse like Eastlake is a challenge for us.”
Early season leasers for Eastlake (10-5) included senior Noah Betanco with a 0.419 hitting average, 12 RBI and three home runs; senior Jacob May with a 0.354 hitting average, 11 runs scored, 17 RBI and one home run; junior Angel Laya with a 0.348 hitting average and one home run, sophomore J.P. Conero with a 0.316 hitting average; senior Brody Wells with a 0.306 hitting average; junior Kalani Jauregui with a 0.302 hitting average and one home run; and senior Noah Libed with a 0.282 hitting average, 11 RBI and one home run.
Pitching leaders included junior Nick Romero with a 5-1 record, 1.03 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 34 innings; sophomore Nolan Nunes with a 3-1 record, 1.67 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 21 innings; and sophomore Max Tello with a 0-0 record, 2.71 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 10.1 innings.
Libed had picked up two saves on the hill to go with a 0.00 ERA and six strikeouts in 3.2 innings while junior Austin Stroberg had posted a 1.91 ERA with three strikeouts in 3.2 innings.
As a staff, the Titans had logged a solid 2.18 ERA with 113 strikeouts in 102.2 innings. The team’s batting average was 0.296 with 69 RBI and nine home runs in 15 games.
Early season leasers for Montgomery (7-7) included senior Lu¬is Arturo Chavez with a 0.316 hitting average and five RBI; senior Aaron Herrera with a 0.295 hitting average and seven runs scored; junior Daniel Nunez with a 0.294 hitting average; senior Luis Torres with a 0.281 hitting average and five RBI; senior Khalyl Perez with a 0.273 hitting average, seven RBI and one home run; and sophomore Marco Reyes with a 0.273 hitting average, eight runs scored and six RBI.
Junior Erick Ramos had compiled a 1-1 record with a 0.00 ERA in three pitching appearances while senior Jose Tinajero had posted a 0-0 record with a 1.00 ERA in four appearances. Anthony Gonzalez (3-1 record, 39 strikeouts in 34 innings, 1.24 ERA) and Chavez (2-2 record, 24 strikeouts in 23 innings, 3.35 ERA) had done the lion’s share of work on the mound.
Pitching remains a key ingredient for the Aztecs with a cumulative 1.73 ERA and 96 strikeouts in 93 innings.
Bonita Vista carried a 9-4-1 record out of this year’s San Diego Lions tournament to rank at the top of the Metro-Mesa League in non-league play.
The Barons finished 3-1 at this year’s Lions event, March 25-28, with wins over Scripps Ranch (8-5), Mt. Carmel (4-3) and Steele Canyon (4-0) and a loss to Classical Academy (3-2) to advance to the consolation round in the Premier Division.
Early season leaders for Bonita Vista included senior Luis Sosa with a 0.383 hitting average, seven runs scored and five RBI; senior Alonso Andrade with a 0.300 hitting average and four RBI; senior Ty Vann with a 0.294 hitting average, 12 runs scored, five RBI and two home runs; and senior Ismael Castanon with a 0.250 hitting average, eight runs scored, eight RBI and two home runs.
Castanon (1.58 ERA, 39 strikeouts in 26.2 innings), junior Cristian Ayala (1.67 ERA, 21 strikeouts in 21 innings), junior Michael Maywood (2.49 ERA, 29 strikeouts in 19.2 innings) and sophomore Demarco Rojas (4.36 ERA, 29 strikeouts in 17.2 innings) had all compiled two pitching victories for a staff with a combined 2.44 ERA.
Senior Josh Hughes was 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 6.1 innings.
The Lions tournament, founded in 1951, is the oldest and largest high school baseball tournament in the United States with more than 130 teams competing in nine divisions this year.
East County ballclubs claimed two division championships: El Capitan (Elite Division) and El Cajon Valley (Charter Division).
Additionally, three East County teams placed runner-up in their division finals: Valhalla (Premier Division), Monte Vista (Elite Division) and Foothills Christian (Charter Division)
El Capitan edged Madison, 9-7, to claim its title as junior David Vera, sophomore Matthew Eckis and senior Brody McAulife each had two RBI while McAulife, junior Emilio Fearn Flores and senior Kyle Kuhn each scored two runs. Junior Landon Harbach picked up the win with four strikeouts in 4.2 innings on the mound.
El Capitan finished 3-1 in the tournament with additional wins over Canyon Crest Academy (12-0) and Reseda Cleveland (5-3) following an opening game loss to Caldera (9-7).
In El Cajon Valley’s win over Foothills Christian, senior Jorge Vargas Tiznado drove in two runs for the victorious Braves while seniors Joseph Johnson and Paul Rodriguez Pelayo each had one RBI in support of winning pitcher Alejandro Vargas Tiznado.
San Diego Section Baseball Rankings
(MaxPreps through April 4)
1. Torrey Pines 12-2
2. Granite Hills 10-3
3. St Augustine 12-2
4. Patrick Henry 13-3
5. Cathedral Catholic 12-3
6. Rancho Bernardo 8-3
7. San Marcos 10-2
8. La Costa Canyon 5-4-1
9. Point Loma 9-3-2
10. La Jolla Country Day 9-4
11. Maranatha Christian 11-3
12. Sage Creek 9-5
13. Bonita Vista 9-4-1
14. Eastlake 10-5
15. Santa Fe Christian 9-4
16. Christian 8-4
17. Del Norte 8-5
18. Coronado 10-5
19. Carlsbad 5-5
20. El Capitan 11-5
21. Brawley 10-4-2
22. Poway 8-6
23. Southwest El Centro 13-5
24. Madison 8-6
25. University City 11-5
26. El Camino 9-5
27. Ramona 8-5-1
28. Valhalla 8-6
29. Clairemont 11-4-1
30. Mt. Carmel 7-7
31. Mission Bay 12-5
32. Monte Vista 9-4-1
33. San Ysidro 9-7
34. San Pasqual 7-7
35. Rancho Buena Vista 7-6-1
36. Mission Hills 6-7
37. Mater Dei Catholic 9-8
38. Montgomery 7-7
39. Helix 6-8
40. Mission Vista 8-6
41. La Jolla 10-5
42. Calexico 9-6-1
43. Grossmont 5-10
44. Classical Academy 6-6
45. Valley Center 8-5
46. Imperial 11-7
47. Morse 8-5
48. Westview 6-8
49. Mira Mesa 9-7
50. Oceanside 6-6-2
51. Scrippts Ranch 4-11
52. Steele Canyon 4-11
53. Hilltop 7-10-1
54. Escondido 6-8
55. Calvin Christian 9-2
56. Lincoln 8-6-1
57. West Hills 5-9
58. Vista 4-10
59. Santana 3-12
60. Chula Vista 10-6
61. Sweetwater 7-7
62. Mt. Miguel 9-6
