After nearly two weeks of competitive playoffs, the lineup for the San Diego Section’s championship weekend is quickly falling into place.
There are five possible rounds in each of the seven divisions to reach the finals. The so-called “if necessary” game was required in five divisions to pair the championship round opponents.
Sixth-seeded Patrick Henry eliminated seventh-seeded Eastlake, 2-0, on Wednesday to advance to meet No.1 Granite Hills in Friday’s primetime championship game at SDSU’s Tony Gwynn Stadium (7:30 p.m. start).
The top-seeded Eagles, reigning Grossmont Hills League champions, remain undefeated on the season at 23-0-2 while City Western League champion Patrick Henry carries a robust 21-9-2 record (8-3-1 in league) into the contest. Metro-Mesa League champion Eastlake finished its season 20-10-1, 7-2 in league play.
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.
Granite Hills, bidding for an undefeated season, is led at the plate at senior Tommy Entreken with a 0.429 hitting average, followed by senior Trevor Smith at 0.397 and senior Brenden Lewis (0.373). Entreken is the RBI leader with 36, followed by Lewis and senior Parker Vance, both with 26. Lewis has slammed eight home runs while Entreken follows with six.
The Eagles are deep on the mound. Senior Luke Bailey is 11-0 on the season with a 1.15 earned-run average and 65 strikeouts in 61 innings. Lewis is 7-0 with a 1.58 ERA and 60 strikeouts in 53 innings.
Granite Hills pitchers have cobbled together a collective 1.13 ERA with 190 strikeouts in 174 innings.
The Eagles posted a perfect 12-0 league record ahead of runner-up Helix (7-5 in league, 15-13 overall), El Capitan (5-7 in league, 10-14 overall)), Valhalla (3-9 in league, 7-19 overall) and Grossmont (3-9 in league, 12-18 overall).
Valhalla won last year’s Division III championship.
Patrick Henry’s top performers include junior Ian Brooke (0.371 hitting average, 29 RBI) and Cappelletti (6-2 pitching record, 0.55 ERA, 68 strikeouts in 63.1 innings).
The Patriots finished ahead of a half-game ahead of Cathedral Catholic (8-4) to win their league title.
Eastlake’s season leaders included freshman Lucas Yriqui (0.353, five RBI), junior Hamza Hatahet (0.345, 10 RBI), freshman Joel Vargas (0.323, 12 RBI), sophomore Isaac Rodriguez (0.296, seven RBI), senior Angel Laya (0.295, 18 RBI), senior Kalani Jauregui (0.278, 13 RBI), junior Aaron Corona (0.271, 16 RBI) and senior Austin Stroberg (0.259, 15 RBI). Laya was the home run leader with five.
Senior Nick Romero led the Titans pitching-wise with a 7-4 record, 1.42 ERA and 93 strikeouts in 64 innings. Junior Jordan Gomez finished 7-1 with a 2.24 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 40.2 innings.
Laya notched four RBI in the win over LCC with one home run while Jauregui, Rodriguez and Vargas each had two RBI in support of senior starter Beau Covell ( six innings, nine strikeouts).
Eastlake finished atop the Metro-Mesa League standings by winning its final five regular season games. San Ysidro finished runner-up with a 5-4 league record, followed by Bonita Vista (4-5 in league) and Montgomery (2-7 in league).
Heading into Thursday’s final “if” game — No. 5 Hilltop at No. 1 Otay Ranch in Division IV – here is how the finals stack up so far:
Division I
Top-seeded Rancho Bernardo (18-12) will face No. 3 Pt. Loma (19-12-1) in the division final Saturday, May 31, at 7 p.m. at the University of San Diego.
Rancho Bernardo swept its three preliminary games — 8-0 against ninth-seeded Bonita Vista (12-20) in second-round play on May 21, 6-0 over fourth=seeded Torrey Pines (14-18) on May 23 and 9-6 over the same Falcons team in the semifinals on May 27.
Bonita Vista scored an upset 8-4 victory at No. 8 Poway (6-22) in first-round play on May 20 to qualify for the double-elimination bracket. The Barons staved off elimination with a 7-2 win over Sage Creek (17-14) on May 23 before bowing out of the season via a 10-9 loss to Torrey Pines on May 24 in nine innings.
Freshman Kensen Johnson hit a home run and collected two RBI in the win over Poway while junior Leo Cubillas also drove in a pair of runs.
Sophomore Adrian Figueroa and sophomore Liam Zazueta each had two RBI in the win over must-win Sage Creek.
Zazueta had four RBI and one home run in the gritty season-ending loss to Torrey Pines in which Bonita Vista held a 4-2 lead early on.
Bonita Vista finished runner-up in last year’s Division II championship game won by Pt. Loma.
Division II
No. 5 Mt. Carmel (20-12) will match up against No. 7 San Ysidro (21-12) Friday, May 30, at 4 p.m. at SDSU prior to the Open Division game.
The Cougars downed third-seeded San Pasqual, 4-2, in Wednesday’s “if” game to advance. San Ysidro opened the bracket with three consecutive wins — 11-7 over 10th-seeded Classical Academy (12-17) in the first round, 7-4 over second-seeded Madison (22-8) in the second round and 8-1 over No. 6 San Pasqual (19-14) in the third round.
San Pasqual forced the double-elimination game following a 4-3 win over the Cougars in the semifinals (fourth-round play).
Division III
No. 1 Calexico (23-4-1) will test No. 2 University City (19-12) Saturday at 4 p.m. at USD.
Division IV
No. 1 seed Otay Ranch (23-10) will face No. 2 Ramona (22-7) in Saturday’s division final at 1 p.m. at USD after dueling No. 5 Hilltop (13-19) for the final playoff berth in Thursday’s fifth-round if-necessary game.
Hilltop roared out of the chute with three consecutive wins, needing two consecutive losses to eliminate them from this year’s tournament. Meanwhile, Otay Ranch remained on a survival mission with three consecutive wins after dropping its opener, 3-2, to eighth-seeded Lincoln (20-9).
Hilltop shaded Lincoln, 7-6, last Friday in comeback fashion to advance to Tuesday’s semifinal game, won 2-0 by Otay Ranch.
One more loss eliminated either the Lancers or Mustangs. Otay Ranch won Thursday’s game by a score of 8-4, though the score was tighter midway through with the Mustangs holding on a 5-3 lead.
Otay Ranch completed its comeback with successive wins over fourth-seeded Escondido Charter (5-2 on May 23), Lincoln (6-0 on May 24) and Hilltop twice.
“We were going to make it to the championship game no matter how many wins it took,” said junior Fernando Tovalin, who pitched a complete game in Thursday’s must-win elimination game by scattering five hits with three strikeouts after tossing a three-hitter in taming Escondido Charter.
Junior Carlos Martinez led the hosts with two RBI while seniors Jake Medina, Nick Mendoza (double), Cory Salazar, Dimas Acevedo and junior Aidan Garcia each drove in one run.
“This program won only six games last year and now we’ve won 23 games this year and made it to the championship game,” Otay Ranch head coach Ray San Miguel said. “This is a great story. It’s because of these boys and the great coaching staff we have.”
Junior Sebastian Magana and Garcia limited the Lancers to one hit in Tuesday’s game while Medina racked up 14 strikeouts in the rematch against Lincoln.
“I knew this was all for the seniors,” said Medina, a transfer from Bonita Vista. who tacked on two RBI in the win over the Hornets. “I went hard. I knew my teammates had my back all through.”
Medina was on last year’s Division II finalist team for Bonita Vista. “To be able to make it to the championship twice is really Not many special,” he said. “Not many teams make it this far.”
“We didn’t hit the last two games,” Hilltop coach Kurt Gritts said. “We started three sophomores and one junior, and we’re going to lose most of our pitching next year. We thought pitching was going to be our weak link this year but it turned out to be our strong point. They kept us in games and made it close.”
Division V
No. 3 Crawford (16-14) survived an “if” game encounter against No. 2 High Tech High Chula Vista (11-14) to face No. 4 High Tech High San Diego (15-10) in Thursday’s 7 p.m. matchup at UC San Diego.
Division V-AA
No. 1 Rock Academy (21-3) will tangle with No. 2 Borrego Springs (16-2) in the division final at 4 p.m. at UC San Diego.
SAN DIEGO SECTION SOFTBALL FINALS
Open Division
(1) Mater Dei Catholic (24-7) vs. No. 3 Bonita Vista (25-6), Saturday, May 31, at UC San Diego, 7 p.m.
Bonita Vista defeated No. 2 Poway (23-8), 7-1, in Thursday’s elimination game to made amends for a 5-4 second-round loss to the Lady Titans.
Meanwhile, Mater Dei Catholic has reeled off a 19-2 scoring edge in sweeping through its opening three postseason clashes — 5-1 over eighth-seeded Imperial and fourth-seeded Christian twice (5-1 and 4-0).
Sophomore Arri Romero scattered five hits with seven strikeouts in a complete game victory over Imperial while also adding two RBI with a double.
Junior Liana Quinones had two RBI in the first game against Christian while Romero tossed a two-hitter with six strikeouts.
Senior Analesse Garcia had two RBI in the second win over Christian while Romero returned to the pitching circle wirt a four-hit complete game shutout.
Metro-Mesa League champion Bonita Vista faced off the playoff with an 8-4 win over sixth-seeded Del Norte. Junior Kianna Bajaladia-Brooks (triple, home run) recorded three RBI in support of senior pitchers Nat Gonzalez and Danica Aboytes.
The Lady Barons rebounded from the loss to Poway with a 5-0 shutout win over Del Norte to eliminate the Lady Nighthawks. Junior Leah Letuli (double) drove in two runs while Aboytes and sophomore Noelle Kalavi combined on a four-hitter.
Bonita Vista had to defeat Poway twice to get another crack at the Lady Crusaders.
The Lady Barons took the first step with a 6-0 shutout win to draw the teams even with a loss apiece in the double-elimination bracket. Bajaladia-Brooks (double) led with way at the plate with three RBI while junior Ariana Magdaleno contributed two RBI. Gonzalez and Aboytes combined forces again on a four-hitter with seven strikeouts.
Bonita Vista completed its comeback courtesy of three RBI from Letuli and five hits allowed with five strikeouts from Gonzalez and Aboytes.
Division I
(2) Eastlake (19-11-1) vs. (8) Rancho Bernardo (13-13-1), Friday, May 30, at SDSU, 7 p.m.
Division II
(1) Pt. Loma (24-6-1) vs. (2) West Hills (20-9-1), Friday, May 30 at SDSU, 4 p.m.
Division III
(4) Southwest El Centro (19-8) vs. (7) Olympian (18-12-1), Saturday, May 31, at UC San Diego, 4 p.m.
Division IV
(3) Bishop’s (15-8-1) vs. (4) Canyon Crest Academy (17-13-1), Saturday, May 31, at UC San Diego, 1:30 p.m.
Division V
(1) Lincoln (18-12) vs. (2) La Jolla (12-13), Thursday, May 29, at UC San Diego, 7 p.m.
Division V-AA
(1) Warner (15-3) vs. (3) Calipatria (9-10), Thursday, May 29, at UC San Diego, 4 p.m.
