After the final out was recorded in Thursday’s Metro-Pacific League baseball game at Hilltop High School, a loud hoot went up from the victorious team – and with good reason. The host Lancers had just claimed their third consecutive league championship, second straight in the Metro-Pacific League.
The next stop for league champion Hilltop: the San Diego Section Division II playoffs.
“We had to win this game to be outright league champions … to make sure we get into the playoffs,” said HHS coach Kurt Gritts , whose team improved to 12-16 on the season.
Thursday’s regular season finale against visiting Chula Vista took on major significance after the Lancers dropped an 8-1 decision at Sweetwater on Wednesday. The loss to the Red Devils dropped Hilltop’s league record to 4-1, with Sweetwater improving to 4-2 in league play.
The scenario for Thursday’s game against the Spartans came down to this for the Lancers: win and own the league title outright or lose and share the league title with the Devils.
Hilltop broke open Thursday’s game in the bottom of the sixth inning to lead 8-2 en route to claiming an eventual 8-4 victory.
“Since we played a game yesterday, we didn’t have a practice before this game to talk about things,” Gritts explained. “The kids came through in the clutch today like we didn’t yesterday.”
The Lancers left 12 men on base in Wednesday’s loss to Sweetwater. Hilltop left five men on base in Thursday game but brought home eight runners.
“We managed to get hits when we needed them,” Gritts assessed of Thursday’s league championship-clinching win.
Andres Cortez pitched a complete game victory. He allowed four runs, three of them earned, while striking out five batters. He did not walk anyone in throwing 98 pitches.
Seamus Beyerle and Daniel Ochoa each drove in two runs. Beyerle slugged a double and triple. He also made the final out of the game by tagging out a CV runner attempting to score at the plate.
Angel Sanchez and Jose Cruz each scored two runs for Hilltop while Fernando Urias doubled to score one run.
The Spartans (9-17) did not go quietly by scoring two runs in the top of the seventh inning. The visitors loaded the bases with one out and scored single runs each time on ensuing base hits.
The Lancers entered Thursday’s game 13th in the Division II power rankings but will qualify for post-season play as a league champion. La Jolla (21-8), San Ysidro (27-3) and El Capitan (22-7) finished the regular season in that order atop the division power rankings.
Montgomery (13-14, 3-3 in Metro-South Bay League play) was ranked 12th.
Metro-South Bay League champion San Ysidro enters the Division II playoffs as this year’s Metro Conference/John Baumgarten Classic champion and few in the area will refute the Cougars are the Metro’s best team this season.
Hilltop is 0-2 against San Ysidro this season, dropping a 6-0 tournament game on April 8 and then coming up short, 6-5, in an eight-inning non-league contest on May 1.
Gritts said the playoffs are “all about the players.”
“It’s how far they want to take it,” he said.
At 18-11, Sweetwater finished the season third in the Division IV power rankings and is in line to possibly earn a bye to the double-elimination bracket.
Chula Vista, which recently awarded coach Jim Westlund with his 300th win, is in a less enviable position. The Spartans stand 15th overall in the Division III power rankings. Castle Park, which finished at the bottom of this year’s Metro-Pacific League standings, is 19th in the Division III power rankings. The Trojans finished the season 0-6 in league play, 5-22 overall.
Eastlake (23-6) and Bonita Vista (22-7) appear shoo-ins for the Division I playoffs, with Eastlake as a possible No. 2 seed and Bonita Vista as a possible No. 5 seed. Otay Ranch, which tied Bonita Vista for this year’s Metro-Mesa League championship, sits 14th in the Division I power rankings with a 14-13 overall record.
Bonita Vista and Otay Ranch finished with identical 6-2 league records.
The section’s seeding meeting is Saturday when brackets for the divisional playoffs will be released. The playoffs open with play-in games on Tuesday, May 26. The double-elimination tournament starts Wednesday, May 27.
Championship games are scheduled June 5-6 at the University of San Diego.
