Mesa League
Otay Ranch Mustangs: 4-0
The defending league champion Mustangs have opened the season undefeated at 4-0 following non-league victories against Serra (2-1), Mission Hills (7-2), Mt. Miguel (14-0) and La Jolla (8-2). The Mustangs rapped out 15 hits in last Saturday’s win against visiting Mt. Miguel and totaled 11 hits in the win against Mission Hills.
Humberto Tovalin keyed Otay Ranch in Tuesday’s victory over La Jolla in the Bully’s East tournament by going 2-for-4 with a triple and two RBI. Alan Gomez picked up the win.
Bonita Vista Barons: 4-2
The Bonita Vista Barons have certainly gotten off to a promising start with a 4-2 mark in non-league games. Bonita Vista opened the season on March 6 with a double-header sweep of Sweetwater by scores of 14-1 and 19-0 before starting off the Hilltop-Lolitas tournament 2-2 with victories against El Capitan (7-6) and Mission Bay (9-2) and losses to St. Augustine (5-3) and Granite Hills (11-2).
Oscar Sanay went 3-for-4 with three runs scored, a double and a triple in the season opener against the Red Devils while Jesse Hernandez went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI. Anthony Olvieri faced 21 batters, striking out five while allowing three hits to earn the win.
In the nightcap, Freddie Velarde drove in three runs while teammates Oli Lopez, Alex Quiros, Mitch Lara and Jose Rivas each had two RBI. Hernandez picked up the victory by allowing two hits.
Top hitters in the early going (with 15 or more plate appearances) include Troy Cruz (.471), Lara (.417), Oscar Sanay and Lopez (both.400) and Justin DiStefano (.333). Brian Lockey (.267) led the team with eight RBI, followed by Lopez with seven RBI. Hernandez owned a sparkling 0.64 ERA in 11 innings pitched.
Eastlake Titans: 2-2
The Titans are in a rebuilding year but head coach David Gallegos said he isn’t going to use that as an excuse. Eastlake, with a deep program, always has its share of talent and this year should be no different. The Titans opened non-league play in the Foothiller/Aztec Classic with victories against San Diego (6-5) and Monte Vista (17-0) before dropping contests to Ramona (4-3) and Helix (1-0).
Hilltop Lancers: 2-2
The Lancers jump-started the season with non-league setbacks to Rancho Buena Vista (7-1) and Escondido (3-2) before winning their opening two games in the Hilltop/Lolitas tournament against Cathedral Catholic (2-0 last Saturday) and Valhalla (5-3 on Tuesday). Miguel Silva (1-1) tossed a complete game four-hitter on Tuesday to pick up his first win of the season after Thomas Padilla spun a two-hitter against the Dons over the weekend.
Mater Dei Catholic: 2-3-1
The early going for the Crusaders has been up and down. Mater Dei opened the season with a 6-5 victory against St. Augustine, then lost, 19-2, to Grossmont in its next outing. The Crusaders then toped Westview, 10-7, before failing to win their next three games – losses against Santana (7-3) and Coronado (3-2) and Monday’s 5-5 tie against Santa Fe Christian.
Chula Vista Spartans: 1-4
The Spartans lost their opening two games of the season – 12-3 to Steele Canyon and 10-1 to Vista – before scoring a 5-3 win against Coronado. But Chula Vista promptly dropped its next game, 8-1, to Grossmont.
The Spartans out-hit Coronado 10-6 as Gabe Lmountain, the first of three CV pitchers, picked up the win with help from Jeffery Ayres and Anthony York.
South Bay League
Mar Vista Mariners: 4-0
The Mariners made noise last season in the South Bay League standings and the boys in green appear back more again this season after opening the season with a 4-0 start in the Bully’s East tournament with wins against Morse (3-1), San Dieguito Academy (4-3), La Jolla (11-6) and Hoover (5-1).
Jesse Delatorre, Anthony Nieves and Randy Carrazco each drove in runs in the season opener to help Francisco Garcia (three-hitter) pick up the win with 12 strikeouts. The Mariners remained undefeated on the season by scoring a run in the eighth inning to snap a 3-3 tie against SDA. Slater Putland had two RBI in that game while also striking out 10 batters to pick up the victory. Mar Vista won another extra-inning affair by breaking a 6-6 deadlock against La Jolla with a run in the ninth inning. Putland went 3-for-5 with three RBI while Marco Lopez matched that with three RBI and a home run. Jason Arroyo also hit a home run and finished the game with two RBI in support of winning Craig Capistran, who finished the game with 106 pitches.
In Tuesday’s win over Hoover, Fabian Cosio, Capistran an Oscar Hernandez each drove in runs. Lopez picked up the win by scattering four hits.
Montgomery Aztecs: 4-0
The Aztecs have opened the annual Foothiller/Aztec Classic with four solid victories: 8-3 against Monte Vista, 15-1 against West Hills, 2-0 against Helix and 12-2 against San Diego. Just about everyone in the Montgomery lineup has contributed to the team’s strong start.
Agustin Lopez threw a three-hitter, striking out 13 batters, to get the Aztecs going in their season opener while Estevan Carrillo drove in three runs to lead the hitting parade. Luciano Reynoso picked up the win with a three-hitter against West Hills backed by six RBI from Kevin Carreon, who went 3-for-4 in the game. The Aztecs slammed 13 hits overall against the Wolf Pack. Lopez then hurled his second consecutive complete game while tossing a three-hitter with eight strikeouts against Helix. Luis Leyva hit a solo home run and Carrillo provided a clutch RBI to buoy the Aztecs’ 3-0 season start.
In last Saturday’s victory against San Diego, Marco Arellano had three hits and scored two runs while Leyva, Jovanni Reynoso and Johnny Miranda each had two hits. Carreon also scored two runs. Eddie Cubillas earned his first varsity win with help from Michael Cortez.
Olympian Eagles: 4-2
The Eagles won their opening three games of the season by sweeping a double-header at Lincoln (11-10 and 3-2) and then topping Kearny, 10-2, in the opener of the Bully’s East tournament.
Castle Park Trojans: 2-2
The Trojans are riding a two-game winning streak after topping Hoover, 20-3, and Kearny, 1-0, in back-to-back games this week in the Bully’s East tournament. Boise Limon led the 20-hit attack against the Cardinals by going 4-for-4 with three runs scored while Jose Fernandez struck out 10 Hoover batters; Limon struck out eight batters in Tuesday’s win over the Komets.
The recent turnaround came after season opening setbacks to San Dieguito Academy (7-0 on March 9) and Francis Parker (9-0 on March 11).
Southwest Raiders: 0-2-1
The Raiders opened the season with a 5-5 tie against Kearny before dropping their opening two games in the Bully’s East tournament to Morse (8-4 last Saturday) and San Dieguito Academy (7-0 on Tuesday).
Early season leaders include Arturo Hernandez (2-for-4, .500 average), Cesar Beltran (3-for-10, .300 average), Isaiah Rueda (3-for-10, .300 average) and Gabriel Gonzalez (2-for-8, .250 average). Beltran and Gonzalez each had two RBI to lead the team in a handful of games thus far while Alan Garcia had posted a team-leading 1.40 ERA in five innings of work.
Sweetwater Red Devils: 0-5-1
The Devils jump-started the season with lop-sided losses to Bonita Vista in double-header action on March 6 (14-1 and 19-0). Sweetwater tied La Jolla, 6-6, in its third outing of the season three days later but three consecutive losses quickly ensued in the Bully’s East tournament to Patrick Henry (12-4 on March 11), Serra (9-4 last Saturday) and Mission Hills (9-2 on Tuesday).
Javier Reyes has opened the season with a hot bat for SuHi with eight hits in 13 official trips to the plate with a .615 average, two runs scored and one double. Pitching leaders included Nick Serrano-Sanchez (1.91 ERA) and Ruben Magallanes (3.23 ERA).
San Ysidro Cougars: 0-5
Times have changed for last year’s South Bay League co-champions, who found themselves winless in their first five games of the 2010 season. The Cougars were hammered in their opening three games of the Foothiller/Aztec Classic, losing match-ups against Valhalla (10-4 on March 3), Helix (8-2 on March 6) and Ramona (12-3 on March 10), before closing the gap in setbacks against Monte Vista (10-8 last Friday) and West Hills (3-2 last Saturday).
Early team leaders include Wesley Aguilar (4-for-10, .400 average with two doubles and two RBI), Mike Rios (3-for-10, .300 average, four runs scored) and Jorge Pena (3-for-11, .273 average, four RBI). Jose Hidalgo and Miguel Romo each led the pitching staff with a 2.10 ERA.
