The spring sports season has started off well for the Eastlake High School baseball team.
The Titans, ranked second in the San Diego Section preseason poll, got out to a strong start by defeating Coronado, 8-1, on March 4 in a game played at Christian High School.
Grant Holman pitched the opening five innings, striking out eight batters, to pick up the win.
Bryan Reyes and Brian Leonhardt hit solo home runs to power the team’s offense. Micah Pietila-Wiggs reached base three times after being hit by a ball. He scored two runs and also drove in one run.
Eastlake followed with wins over San Diego (21-0 on March 8) and Christian (16-2 on March 10), both as part of the annual Aztec/Foothiller tournament.
The Titans suffered their first loss of the season last Saturday as tourney co-host Grossmont eked out a 5-4 win in 12 innings.
Eastlake has scored 50 runs in its opening four games.
The Titans took a 19-0 lead over San Diego with six runs in the first inning, three more in each of the second and third innings and seven more in the fourth inning.
Ricky Tibbett pitched two innings while Leonhardt pitched four innings in the shortened game.
Eastlake once again seized the early momentum in the game against Christian by scoring six runs in the first inning and adding three more in the second and five more in the third inning to take a commanding 14-0 lead.
The Titans rapped out 17 hits in the regulation contest.
Mason Thompson earned the win by pitching five innings. Juan Sanchez and Casey Schmitt each pitched one inning.
Eastlake held leads of 2-0 and 4-1 before Grossmont sent the game into extra innings with three runs in the top of the fifth inning. The Foothillers out-hit the Titans 11-9, with both teams committing two errors.
Holman pitched six innings and Schmitt pitched five-and-one-third innings. Tibbett, who pitched two-thirds of an inning, was hung with the loss.
The Eastlake program features seven players off the 2013 Eastlake Little League U.S. championship Little League World Series roster.
Five are on the varsity team: Holman, Pietila-Wiggs, Tibbett, Nick Mora and Jake Espinoza. Tibbett is a sophomore; the rest are juniors.
Two more are on the junior varsity team: Michael Gaines and Chary Peterson.
“It’s been neat growing up together and playing together,” said Holman, a member of last year’s Division I runner-up EHS varsity team.
Play ball
The Metro Conference will features six teams in the Mesa League and seven teams in the South Bay League this season.
Mesa League members include, with records through March 14: Otay Ranch (4-1), Eastlake (3-1), Montgomery (3-1), Bonita Vista (2-3), San Ysidro (1-3) and Hilltop (0-4).
South Bay League members include, with records through March 14: Chula Vista (4-2), Olympian (3-2), Mar Vista (2-2), Castle Park (2-4), Southwest (2-4), Sweetwater (1-3) and Mater Dei Catholic (0-5).
