The San Diego Section’s second annual high school all-star game took place June 5 at Petco Park following the San Diego Padres’ regularly scheduled Major League Baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies.
The event, held in conjunction with the Padres, included a pregame home run derby and nine-inning game featuring an East versus West format.
Rosters for the High School All-Star Night event showcased the top 48 players — 24 per team — in San Diego County as selected by the baseball coaches’ advisory committee and select media.
Batter up
South County contributed six players to the event. Eastlake High School’s Ricky Tibbett and Marcelo Mayer, Otay Ranch’s Noel Perez and Octavio Corona and Bonita Vista’s Nate Nankil represented the East team. Castle Park High School’s Emilio Luna represented the West team.
Corona, Perez, Tibbett and Luna are graduating seniors; Mayer is a sophomore while Nankil is a junior.
Eastlake senior Keoni Cavaco, the San Diego Section’s 2019 Player of the Year, was originally selected to play in the game but did not participate after being selected in the first round of the 2019 MLB amateur draft two days previously by the Minnesota Twins.
Tibbett, a First Team All-CIF pick along with Mayer and Cavaco, will attend San Diego State University next season. He recorded the win in this year’s Open Division championship game to improve to 12-1 on the season with a 0.48 earned-run average.
San Diego Section commissioner Jerry Schniepp said the prep all-star game has definitely grown in stature in its second year.
“We’ve organized it better,” Schniepp explained. “The Padres are so invested in it. It’s a fantastic credit to them. The players were picked up in a team bus at SDCCU Stadium, given new shoes, a postgame meal and a gift bag. They also presented home run derby and MVP awards.”
The Padres presented the CIF with a check for $7,500 to boot.
To get the evening started on a high note, Padres superstar Manny Machado posed for photos with players from both teams prior to the home run derby.
The West won the game 7-3 after the teams had battled to a scoreless deadlock through four innings. The final box score featured 10 runs, 23 hits and no errors.
The West snapped a 1-1 tie on a balk in the top of the sixth inning and increased its lead to 5-1 on the strength of four runs in the top of the seventh inning.
Luna, who will continue his baseball career at Cal State San Marcos, finished 2-for-2 with a single and double and scored one run in the West victory.
“It was a great way to end my senior year,” said Luna, who hit .516 with 10 triples, seven RBI and 29 runs scored in 22 regular season games for the Trojans. “Everyone came together to get a team win against the best players in San Diego.”
Like many participants in the all-star game, it was a first playing at Petco Park for Luna, who won a Pony-13 World Series youth baseball championship with Chula Vista South in 2015.
“It was amazing to hit and play on the field he said. “I’m glad I got to play on it before I go off to college.”
Luna was joined on the West squad by fellow CV South World Series champion teammate Fisher Pyatt, who represented St. Augustine High School in the game.
Pyatt singled, stole a base and was tagged out at the plate by Perez while trying to score in the top of the sixth inning. Perez singled in the bottom of the seventh inning to record another personal highlight.
Tibbett, a member of Eastlake Little League’s 2013 United States Division Little League World Series championship team, started the game and faced three batters.
Corona followed Tibbett on the hill in the second inning and retired the side in order, striking out one batter.
For the local contingent, the experience was a moment to savor.
“It was a great opportunity — I’m out of words,” Corona explained. “It’s a great honor to represent the Mustangs. It honors our great program. I’m just excited to play, to face the best competition in San Diego.”
Mayer, one of 17 non-seniors (and two sophomores) selected to compete, played all but two innings in the nine-inning contest.
“It’s an honor to get to be able to compete with the best in San Diego,” the Titan infielder said. “It was amazing.”
Nankil, a member of Sweetwater Valley Little League’s third-place U.S. squad at the 2015 Little League World Series, also called it an honor to be selected as a prep all-star.
“It was real fun to play with a lot of my friends I’ve known since I was 8,” he said.
Nankil hit .324 with 17 RBI and posted a 0.97 ERA in 11 pitching appearances as the Barons advanced to this year’s Division II semifinals.
Highlights
Torrey Pines senior Kevin Sim doubled in La Costa Canyon junior Austin Machado for the West’s first run in the top of the fifth inning while Helix junior Jordan Thompson tied the game in the bottom of the frame after singling in Steele Canyon senior Billy Tellous, who led off the inning with a double.
The game did not remain tied long.
Cathedral Catholic junior Zavien Watson led off the sixth inning with a double and scored on a balk to make the score 2-1.
The West zipped in front 5-1 with three runs in the top of the seventh inning, all charged against Ramona senior Derek Diamond, who had been selected in the MLB draft earlier in the day by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Francis Parker senior Michael Campagna opened the frame with a pop single, advanced to second based on a passed ball and stole third base while Sim drew a walk and stole second base to put two men in scoring position. Point Loma junior Hunter Otjen singled in one run to up the West lead to 3-1. A daring double steal advanced the score to 4-1 while Carlsbad junior Thomas Saggese knocked in Luna with a double to increase the West lead to four runs.
The East scored twice in the bottom of the seventh inning as Thompson scored on a triple by San Pasqual senior Elijah Jackson, who then came home on an RBI-single by Granite Hills junior T.K. Parker.
The West put the game away in the top of the eighth inning as Cathedral Catholic senior Jake Rons reached base on a walk and Watson cemented his selection as the game’s MVP with a two-run home run over the left field wall.
The East placed two runners on base in the bottom of the eighth inning but Canyon Crest Academy junior Cole Colleran doused the fire with a ground-out and a pair of strikeouts.
Sage Creek senior Scott Anderson gave up a leadoff single to Thompson in the ninth inning but fanned the next two batters and induced a fly-out to end the game.
Thompson reached base three times via two singles and a walk and scored one run.
Each pitcher was limited to one inning in the game. Also seeing action on the mound for the East were Valhalla junior Joseph Ingrassia (no runs), Grossmont senior Jack Hyde (no runs), San Pasqual senior Jansen Lublin (one run), Poway junior Ivran Romero (one run), Mountain Empire senior Trevor Elliott (two runs) and Helix junior Alonzo Richardson (no runs).
Elliott allowed the game’s only home run; Richardson set down the order in the top of the ninth inning as the final East pitcher.
Pitchers for the West also included Sage Creek’s Stephen Klenske (no runs), Point Loma senior Austin Curtice (no runs), Cathedral’s Rons (no runs), Carlsbad senior Drew Sommers (no runs), Madison junior Christian Becerra (one run), Coronado senior Luke McCullough (no runs) and Cathedral Catholic senior Shane Telfer (one run).
Ingrassia, Rons, Sommers, Colleran and Anerson each recorded two strikeouts in their inning of work.
Eastern exposure
A total of 10 players represented East County on the East team. The group fared well both at the plate and on the mound despite falling 7-3 to the West team.
Ingrassia and fellow junior Kyle Casper represented San Diego Section Division III champion Valhalla.
Ingrassia pitched a scoreless third inning while Casper reached base on an infield single in the sixth inning and drew a walk in the eighth inning.
Ingrassia (5-2 with a 0.95 ERA) pitched his second career no-hitter earlier this season while hitting .354 with 19 RBI for the Grossmont Valley League champion Norsemen (25-8).
Casper hit .369 for Valhalla during the season with 18 RBI and two home runs.
Helix, a semifinalist in this year’s Open Division playoffs, contributed three players to the East roster: senior Eric Smelko and juniors Thompson and Richardson.
Steele Canyon’s Tellous, the Grossmont Valley Player of the Year, had two hits – a single in the second inning and a leadoff double in the fifth inning.
Granite Hills’s Parker drove in one run in the bottom of the seventh inning while Santana senior Brandon Glowacki, the Grossmont Hills League Player of the Year, singled in the second inning.
Hyde recorded a 7-2 record with a 0.62 ERA during the season for the Division I runner-up Foothillers.
Elliott finished the 2019 season with a 0.39 ERA and 168 strikeouts in 71 innings. At the plate he hit a prodigious .564 with 20 RBI and three home runs.
Ingrassia, Thompson, Glowacki and Tellous all were First Team All-CIF selections while Elliott, Parker, Smelko and Casper made the second team.
“It was a blessing, it was fun to play,” Richardson piped up after the game.
“It was very fun,” Parker added. “It was a once in a lifetime opportunity; I just wanted to swing with it.”
“It’s something I will always remember … hanging out with all my friends from the other teams in the county,” Thompson said.
“It was unbelievable fun, I enjoyed myself,” Glowacki said. “I got to play with some kids who I’ve played with most of my life. It was crazy (playing in Petco); it was surreal.”
Among the seniors, Tellous has committed to San Jose State while Hyde will continue his baseball career at the University of San Diego. Smelko has signed to play at St. Mary’s.
Long ball
The home run derby featured four players from both the East and West teams. Ramona’s Diamond, Steele Canyon’s Tellous, Helix’s Thompson and Rancho Bernardo senior Miles Cook represented the East team while Torrey Pines senior Mac Bingham, La Costa Canyon senior Spencer Jones, Carlsbad’s Saggese and Francis Parker’s Campagna represented the West team.
In the first round, all players had two-and-a-half minutes to score as many points as possible. Hitters received one point for a ball that hit the warning track and three points for a ball that cleared the Petco Park wall.
In the final round, the two hitters (from either East or West squad) with the most points in the first round had two minutes to score as many points as possible to determine the champion.
Diamond (20 points) and Cook (19 points) advanced to the finals where Cook out-pointed Diamond 22-13 to win the title.
“It was a ton of fun,” said Cook, the CIF-Metro Conference Player of the Year in roller hockey who will attend Harvey Mudd College. “I’ve never hit in a major league ball field before. It was different, even down to the dirt. I’m ecstatic. It was an unbelievable experience. I’m excited to be here.”
Sim (16 points), Saggese (14 points), Campagna (13 points), Thompson (10 points), Jones (five points) and Tellous (three points) rounded out the first-round hitters. Jones was last year’s champion.
