The last time the Hilltop High School baseball team advanced to the San Diego Section championship game was in 2007 when the Lancers dropped a 6-3 contest to the Grossmont Foothillers.
The Lancers hope to be headed to that same destination this season. They took the first step by capturing this year’s Metro-Pacific League championship title by defeating host Castle Park, 17-4, Tuesday afternoon.
The league championship title qualifies Hilltop for the upcoming section playoffs that begin Tuesday, May 24.
The Lancers hope to receive a high seed in the Division III field.
“We’ve started to play very well at the end of the season which is the time when you want to do that,” HHS head coach Kurt Gritts explained. “We’re still very young, even though we have eight seniors on the team. We have three sophomores who start. It’s taken a while for them to get to where we want them to be playing.”
The Lancers (5-0 in league, 18-9 overall) sit third overall in the division power rankings following Tuesday’s win. Coronado (24-5) is ranked first, followed by Escondido (23-5).
Oceanside (19-7-1) is fourth in the rankings, followed by Canyon Crest Academy (16-12).
Also from South County, Olympian (14-12) is ranked ninth in the division while Mater Dei Catholic (9-16) is ranked 11th.
The top 12 teams in the division qualify for the playoffs.
Gritts is hoping his team receives a top four seed.
“If we can get a top four seed, we would get a bye in the first round and would be in the double-elimination bracket,” the Hilltop coach explained. “If we’re in the top four, we could get a couple of home game. I think we play well at home.”
The Lancers have also played well on the road of late. Hilltop has won league games at Sweetwater, Chula Vista and now Castle Park. The Lancers have also captured recent road contests at San Ysidro, Mar Vista, Calexico, Montgomery and Mater Dei Catholic.
Tuesday’s win was the 12th consecutive for Hilltop.
Stephen Rasmussen and Oscar Ramirez each rapped out three hits and collected three RBI in Tuesday’s runaway victory while Juan Gil collected three hits and drove in two runs.
Angel Sanchez had two hits and two RBI while Mario Murillo scored three runs, stroked a double and triple and had one RBI.
Andres Cortez picked up the win on the hill to improve to 5-2 on the season. He hurled five innings, allowed four runs, threw 78 pitches and had four strikeouts.
Castle Park (2-3 in league play, 12-14-1 overall) is 10th in the Division IV power rankings. Sweetwater (3-2 in league play, 18-11 overall) tops the division while Chula Vista (0-4 in league play, 9-17 overall) is 13th.
Both Sweetwater and Castle Park won midseason division championships in the annual Lions tournament.
In the Division I power rankings, Metro-Mesa League champion Eastlake (7-0 in league play, 25-3 overall) is second to La Costa Canyon (23-5) while Bonita Vista (3-4 in league, 15-12 overall) is 16th.
Metro-South Bay League leader Montgomery (5-0 in league, 16-12 overall) is seventh in the Division II power rankings while Otay Ranch (2-6 in league, 10-15 overall) is 17th and San Ysidro (3-2 in league, 12-14 overall) is 18th.
High Tech Chula Vista (4-1 in league, 14-10 overall) is seventh in the Division V power rankings. The top eight teams in that division make the cut for the playoffs.
Five division finals will be played at the University of San Diego: Division I and Division III on June 3, Division II and the Open Division on June 4. The Division V final will be played June 3 at UC-San Diego. The Division IV final will be played June 4, also at UC San Diego.
