The San Diego Section baseball playoffs are scheduled to start May 22-23 with play-in games and May 24 with double-elimination contests. Expect the Eastlake Titans to command a very high seed in the upcoming CIF playoffs.
The Titans extended their current winning streak to 11 games by defeating host Montgomery, 5-3, Wednesday. In the process, Eastlake ran its perfect Mesa League record to 8-0 and improved to 25-3 overall on the season.
The Titans finished runner-up in the Division I playoff two years ago and runner-up in the Open Division last year and look to qualify for this year’s Open Division elite eight group again this year.
Grant Holman (8-0) picked up the win in Wednesday’s game with six innings of work. Casey Schmitt, last year’s Mesa League Player of the Year, pitched one inning to earn his seventh save of the season.
Eastlake built early leads of 2-0 and 4-1 before the Aztecs (4-4, 15-11) rallied with two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Reyes Murillo led Montgomery in the game offensively with two hits while Jose Cerda was credited with one RBI. Cerda took the loss on the hill.
The Titans have two regular season games left against Hilltop. Eastlake hosts the Lancers (2-6, 11-14) on Monday, May 15; the teams close out regular season play Wednesday, May, 17, at Hilltop.
The Titans are strong in the pitching department this year. Brian Leonhardt improved to 8-0 following a 3-1 win against visiting Otay Ranch on May 5.
Around the horn
Bonita Vista swept its two game series against Hilltop this week to improve to 3-5 in league play, 11-14 overall.
The host Barons defeated the Lancers, 5-2, on Wednesday and wrapped up the two-game sweep with a 4-1 victory on Friday at Hilltop.
Alec Bruce led Bonita Vista with two RBI in Wednesday’s game and scored one run while Omar Vega also drove in one run. Reymundo Reyes and Bruce each stroked doubles in the contest.
Vega picked up the win by scattering four hits over five innings while striking out three batters.
DiMaggio Cazares drove in a pair of runs in Friday’s game while Gustavo Perez (three hits) and Eric Nakano each drove in one run.
Alex Verdugo pitched a complete game one-hitter, striking out seven batters while not issuing any bases on balls. He improved to 5-4 on the season with a 1.88 earned-run average, three saves and 57 strikeouts in 56 innings.
Vega leads the Barons with a .365 hitting average, followed by Cazares at .324. Issac Burrow tops the team with 16 RBI, followed by Vega with 13.
Cazares leads Bonita Vista with five doubles and a pair of home runs.
The Barons next play at Otay Ranch (4-3, 13-11) on Monday, May 15. The Mustangs dropped a 4-2 decision to visiting San Ysidro on Wednesday as Kevin Garcia drove in three runs and starter Luis Rivera earned the win.
Eastlake swept Otay Ranch in key pair of games May 3 (8-1 loss) and May 5 (3-1 loss).
In statistics tabulated through 19 games, Matt Brumbaugh led the Mustangs with a .431 hitting average, followed by teammates Amari Riley (.424) and Noah Isley (.406).
The Chula Vista Spartans (19-7 overall) lead the South Bay League standings with an 8-2 record – one game ahead of second place Mar Vista (7-3 in league, 15-11 overall). Olympian (17-10 overall) is in third place with a 7-4 league record.
The Spartans, currently riding a three-game winning streak, host Castle Park (4-6 in league, 14-11 overall) on Monday, May 15, in key league contest.
Javier Gomez leads the Chula Vista pitching staff with a 5-0 record after taming Southwest, 4-0, on May 5. Edder Rincon is 4-2 with one save while Antonio Garcia is 3-1.
Gabe Preciado tops Mar Vista with a .412 hitting average in 24 games while Jake Borst (.360 hitting average) leads the Mariners with 20 RBI and three home runs. Borst is also 4-3 on the mound with a 1.79 ERA with 41 strikeouts in 43 innings.
Gabe Malagamba paces Olympian with a .394 hitting average in 25 games while Ian Spillane leads the Eagles with 32 hits and 23 RBI. Matthew Knupple is 5-3 on the mound with three saves and 52 strikeouts in 63 innings.
Castle Park is led by Emilio Luna with a .403 hitting average in 23 games, followed by Derek Diaz at .351, Diego Martinez at .348 and Eleazar Cruz at .333. Cruz leads the Trojans with 14 RBI while Luna has crushed eight doubles and one home run.
Luna (4-3) leads Castle Park pitchers with a 2.27 ERA. He’s struck out 51 batters in 52 innings. Diaz (3-2) has a 2.47 ERA and two saves.
Abraham Gonzalez (.345 hitting average, 10 doubles), Miguel Miranda (.333 hitting average), Memo Espinoza (.333 hitting average, 10 RBI, 1.93 ERA), John Pyle (.333 hitting average) and Isaac Piche (.309 hitting average, 1.78 ERA) have all had good seasons for Sweetwater, which finished as CIF runners-up last season.
The Red Devils are 3-8 in league play, 11-16 overall.
Diego Corrales (.386) and Edgar Jacome (.372) lead Southwest (3-9 in league, 12-16 overall) in hitting average. Freshman Aldo Canedo (.271) tops the Raiders with 15 RBI.
Ricardo Dominguez (4-2) sports a 1.95 ERA with 40 strikeouts in 50 innings.
Metro Conference
Baseball standings
(Through May 10)
Mesa League
Eastlake Titans 8-0, 25-3
Otay Ranch Mustangs 4-3, 13-11
Hilltop Lancers 3-4, 12-12
Montgomery Aztecs 3-5, 14-12;
Bonita Vista Barons 2-5, 10-14
San Ysidro Cougars 2-5, 11-15
Wednesday, May 10
Eastlake 5, Montgomery 3
Bonita Vista 5, Hilltop 2
San Ysidro 4, Otay Ranch 2
Friday, May 12
Bonita Vista at Hilltop, 3 p.m.
Otay Ranch at San Ysidro, 3 p.m.
Monday, May 15
Bonita Vista at Otay Ranch, 3 p.m.
Hilltop at Eastlake, 3 p.m.
SanYsidro at Montgomery, 3 p.m.
South Bay League
Chula Vista Spartans 8-2, 19-7
Mar Vista Mariners 6-3, 11-11
Olympian Eagles 6-4, 16-10
Castle Park Trojans 4-5, 14-10
Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders 4-5, 9-17
Sweetwater 3-7, 11-15
Southwest 3-8, 12-15
Wednesday, May 10
Olympian 5, Sweetwtater 4
Castle Park 2, Mater Dei Catholic 1
Mar Vista 4, Southwest 0
Friday, May 12
Castle Park at Chula Vista, 3 p.m.
Olympian at Mater Dei Catholic, 3 p.m.
Sweetwater at Mar Vista, 3 p.m.
Monday, May 15
Castle Park at Chula Vista, 3 p.m.
Sweetwater at Mar Vista, 3 p.m.
Olympian at Mater Dei Catholic, 3 p.m.
Championship lineup
The section’s girls lacrosse championships are set Saturday, May 13, at San Dieguito Academy. The Division II final starts at noon, followed by the Division I final at 2:30 p.m. and the Open Division final at 5 p.m.
The section’s boys lacrosse championships are set May 20, at San Marcos High School. The Division II final starts at 2:30 p.m., followed by the Division I final at 5 p.m. and the Open Division final at 7:30 p.m.
The section’s boys volleyball championships are scheduled May 19-20 at Montgomery High School.
Two finals will be played on May 19: Division IV at 5 p.m. and Division III at 7 p.m. Three finals will be played on May 20: Division II at 1 p.m., Division I at 3 p.m. and Open Division at 5 p.m.
The boys volleyball playoffs got started with Monday’s play-in round. Serra defeated El Capitan, 3-1, to earn a berth in the Division III field. The Conquistadors prevailed in the highly competitive match by scores of 10-25, 25-20, 25-22, 30-28.
Granite Hills received the No. 12 seed in the Division I bracket while Santana received the No. 7 in the Division II bracket, followed by No. 9 Steele Canyon and No. 11 Grossmont.
The Open Division playoffs are being conducted in a double-elimination format this year.
The section diving championship is set for Friday, May 12, at Mesa College. The combined girls field will start at 10 a.m., followed by the combined boys field at 2 p.m.
The section swimming championships are set Saturday, May 13, at Granite Hills High School. The Division II meet starts at 9 a.m., followed by the Division I meet at 3 p.m.
Play-in games for the section softball playoffs are scheduled Monday, May 15, followed by competition in six divisions starting Tuesday, May 16.
Section championship games are scheduled May 26-27 at UC San Diego.
The section team and individual boys golf championships are scheduled May 16 and May 18, respectively, at the Admiral Baker Golf Course. Division II and Division III teams will start at 7:30 a.m., followed by Division I teams at 1 p.m. on May 16. Individual play will start at 7:30 a.m. on May 18.
All team, individual, compulsory and optional championships in girls gymnastics will be conducted May 19 at La Costa Canyon High School, starting at 12:30 p.m.
The section track and field prelims are scheduled May 20 at Mt. Carmel High School, starting at 9 a.m. for girls events and 2 p.m. for boys events. The section finals follow on May 27 at the same site, with events in the combined field starting at 10 a.m.
Place-finishes will be determined in Division I and Division II fields for team scoring. The top three place-finishers in state-qualifying heats, plus those athletes who meet a predetermined standard, will advance to the state championship meet June 2-3 in Clovis.
The section baseball playoffs are scheduled to start with play-in rounds on May 22. Divisional play starts May 23.
There will be six divisional baseball championship games at two sites.
The University of San Diego will host two finals on June 2: Division III at 3:30 p.m. and Division I at 7 p.m. USD will host two finals on June 3: Division II at 1:30 p.m. and the Open Division at 7 p.m.
UC San Diego will host two division finals on June 3: Division V at noon and Division IV at 3:30 p.m.
