The ending to the 2018 high school baseball season for both the Eastlake Titans and Castle Park Trojans was not exactly kind for either team.
The eighth-seeded Trojans made it to last Saturday’s San Diego Section Division IV championship game at UC San Diego but saw the roof collectively cave in following a 14-3 loss to the third-seeded San Pasqual Golden Eagles.
Castle Park had navigated through the playoffs with a perfect 4-0 record before meeting the Golden Eagles. The Trojans topped ninth-seeded High Tech High San Diego, 11-4, in a play-in game on May 22 to reach the double-elimination portion of the bracket.
Castle Park (19-14) bested top-seeded Holtville, 11-9, in a first-round game on May 23, then upended fourth-seeded Mar Vista, 3-2, in a second-round game on May 25.
Holtville eliminated Mar Vista, 6-5, in a third-round game on May 26 to draw a rematch with the Trojans in a fourth-round game on May 29.
Had Holtville won that game, Castle Park would have been forced to play the Vikings a third time in double-elimination play. However, the Trojans won, 8-5, to advance to the championship game.
The Golden Eagles (22-11) had taken care of business on their side of the bracket by dealing losses to sixth-seeded San Dieguito Academy (10-6), second-seeded Foothills Christian (10-6) and seventh-seeded Fallbrook (3-1).
San Pasqual pounded out 16 hits to claim its first CIF baseball championship in school history behind winning pitcher Jude Kaup, who scattered six hits in six innings with three strikeouts.
Brett Sayers rapped out three hits, scored twice and drove in two runs for the Golden Eagles while Elijah Jackson had three hits, stole two bases and drove in one run.
Emilio Luna scored all three of Castle Park’s runs in the lopsided loss. He starred for the Trojans during the team’s electrifying playoff run with a .750 hitting average.
In 28 game appearances, Luna had compiled a .484 hitting average with 44 hits, 41 runs scored, 15 RBI and 10 doubles. Next up was Jazzir Hernandez with a .366 hitting average in 29 games with 30 hits, 22 runs scored, 15 RBI and 12 doubles.
Other contributors throughout the season at the plate included Eleazar Cruz, Derek Diaz and Diego Martinez.
Cruz compiled a .325 hitting average in 25 games with 27 hits, 18 runs scored and 18 RBI, while Diaz hit .321 in 29 games with 27 hits, 20 runs scored and 11 RBI. Martinez hit .315 in 28 games with 28 hits, 12 runs scored, 17 RBI and nine doubles.
Luna was 5-3 on the hill with a 5-3 record and 2.43 earned-run average in 63.1 innings pitched.
In the win over Holtville that propelled the Trojans into the division championship game, Luna went four-for-four with two runs scored. He also earned the win by striking out four of the seven batters he faced.
Jazzir Hernandez compiled a 4-4 record in 63.1 innings with a 2.21 ERA. In 29 innings pitched, Martinez fashioned a 3-12 record and 2.90 ERA.
Castle Park appeared to peak at the end of the season after fining 4-6 in South Bay League play, fifth out of six teams in the standings. The Trojans, however, were one of three teams in the league to post a winning record.
Clash of the Titans
Mesa League champion Eastlake had received the No. 1 seed in the top tier Open Division playoffs but promptly dropped its opener, 3-1, to eighth-seeded Poway. It was a repeat of last year’s scenario that forced the Titans to win five consecutive games in the double-elimination bracket to capture the division championship.
Eastlake battled back with four consecutive wins while facing elimination this year before finally seeing its championship hopes evaporate in a 5-4 loss in 10 innings to Poway in a fifth-round game on May 31.
“It was a tough game, we had our opportunities but we just didn’t get it done,” EHS head coach Dave Gallegos said following the loss that ended the team’s season at 28-5-1. “But who would have thought that we would come this far with such a young team.”
Grant Holman started the game and pitched the first seven innings, allowing six hits and four earned runs while striking out six batters. It wasn’t his best outing of the season.
Poway took an early 2-0 lead before Keoni Cavaco halved the deficit with a second inning home run. The host Titans added three runs in the third inning to take a 4-2 lead. Cavaco drove in two runs to highlight the frame.
But Poway (27-7) tied the game, 4-4, in the top of the fourth inning and the teams battled through five scoreless innings before the visitors managed to punch their ticket to the championship game.
Kevin Van Linge stroked a two-out double off reliever Ricky Tibbett and Deron Johnson III ripped a shot just beyond the outstretched glove of a first baseman Brian Leonhardt for what proved to be the game-winning run.
The Titans left six men on base in the game. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Eastlake advanced a runner to second base with two outs but could not bring him around.
Dylan Moran picked up the win in relief.
Poway defeated Eastlake in two of three matchups in the double-elimination bracket.
The Titans had stayed alive with successive wins against fourth-seeded Helix (5-0 in second-round play on May 25), fifth-seeded Cathedral Catholic (5-2 in third-round play on May 26) and Poway (8-3 in fourth-round play on May 29).
Leonhardt hurled a complete game four-hitter in the May 29 win over Poway while Holman went four-for-four with a home run, triple, two singles, drove in three runs and scored three times.
Pietila-Wiggs homered in the sixth inning to pad Eastlake’s lead.
Holman pitched a one-hitter in the shutout win over Helix, striking out five batters, while four Titans slammed home runs in the win — one each by Cavaco, Leonhardt, Jake Espinoza and Pietila-Wiggs.
Eastlake had defeated Helix to win last year’s Open Division title.
San Diego Section Baseball Champions
Open Division
(2) Torrey Pines 2, (8) Poway 1 (10 innings)
Division I
(2) Grossmont 6, (4) Madison 2
Division II
(1) Mission Hills 5, (2) Francis Parker 3
Division III
(2) Coronado 7, (1) Imperial 3
Division IV
(3) San Pasqual 14, (8) Castle Park 3
Division V
(5) Tri-City Christian 11, (2) Mountain Empire 1
Padres, CIF revive prep baseball all-star game concept
The San Diego Padres joined forces with the CIF-San Diego Section to host a prep baseball all-star game Wednesday evening at Petco Park. The game, which was not limited exclusively to graduated seniors, helped revive a concept that had gone by the wayside in recent years.
The event, which took place following the Padres’ Major League Baseball game against the visiting Atlanta Braves, was part of the Padres’ High School All-Star Night promotion.
Starting one hour after the final out was recorded in the Pad’s 3-1 victory, Wednesday’s prep showcase featured a high school home run derby and nine-inning all-star game.
The game featured an East-West format, with players representing Otay Ranch, Eastlake, Brawley, Poway, Ramona, Granite Hills, Imperial, Christian, Helix, Rancho Bernardo and Lincoln high schools playing on the East team.
The West team included players from Torrey Pines, San Marcos, La Costa Canyon, Mission Hills, St. Augustine, Westview, La Jolla Country Day, Madison, San Diego, Francis Parker, Vista, Canyon Crest Academy, Fallbrook, Sage Creek, Point Loma and Cathedral Catholic high schools.
In all, 48 players were selected to participate in the inaugural event that ended in a 7-7 tie.
“We are excited to revive the high school all-star game and showcase some of the outstanding high school baseball talent in the San Diego community,” Padres CEO Erik Greupner explained.
He added: “We are proud to partner with FOX Sports San Diego and the CIF to host the all-star game at Petco Park, create the new CIF San Diego Section high school baseball and softball interactive hat display and launch the coach of the week program honoring the high school baseball and softball coaches who are making a difference in the lives of our local student-athletes.”
Players tabbed from the Metro Conference included Otay Ranch seniors Randy Abshier and Chris Lopez and Eastlake seniors Grant Holman, Brian Leonhardt and Micah Pietila-Wiggs.
Holman and Pietila-Wiggs have been household names for years after leading Eastlake Little League to the 2013 Little League World Series U.S. division championship.
Now they are poised to take the next step: collegiate baseball.
In fact, more than 30 players selected for Wednesday’s all-star game have received college scholarships. College commitments among the locals include Abshier (Arizona), Holman (Cal-Berkeley) and Leonhardt (San Diego State University).
Holman finished this season 9-1 on the hill with a 0.98 earned-run average and was 29-1 in three varsity seasons with the Titans, who advanced as far as this year’s Open Division semifinals.
Lopez drove in one run in Wednesday’s game while Holman started on the mound. Leonhardt and Abshier entered the game in relief.
Eastlake coach Dave Gallegos called the selection of three of his players “huge.”
“It tells you how good the seniors we had were,” he said.
A five-run rally by the East team in the top of the ninth inning tied the game.
“I think it was a great success,” section commissioner Jerry Schniepp said. “It was a fantastic experience for the kids. We’re really appreciative of the Padres for making all this happen.”
James’ coaching staff also included Helix’s Cole Holland, Grossmont’s Jordan Abruzzo and Poway’s Bob Parry.
The West team was led by coaches Robert Lovato (Madison), Rielly Embrey (Del Norte), Justin Machado (La Costa Canyon), Jeff Dufek (San Marcos) and Dennis Pugh (Mission Bay).
Owens is slated to continue his baseball career at Azusa Pacific while Helix teammate Peterson is head to San Jose State University. Nielsen is headed to Cal-Berkeley.
This was actually the second opportunity for Owens to play at Petco Park after taking the field with Helix last year as part of the section’s annual slate of high school games at the MLB ballpark in conjunction with the Padres.
“It was awesome,” Owens said. “This was a lot more fun than last year.”
Hyde got an extra taste of postseason glory after helping the Foothillers capture this year’s San Diego Section Division I championship on June 2 and then representing the team in the June 6 prep all-star game.
He threw one inning of scoreless baseball, recording a pair of strikeouts in the second inning.
“It was a surprise,” Hyde admitted. “It was really exciting to come and be around all these other great players. It was a lot of fun.”
He said he is motivated to commit to working hard over the off-season in preparation for his senior year.
College Baseball:
Eastlake High School alumnus Casey Schmitt, now playing at San Diego State University, received recognition as the Most Valuable Player at the recent Mountain West Conference baseball championship tournament hosted and won by the Aztecs, 14-5, against the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. Schmitt finished the season 1-1 on the mound with nine saves and a 0.28 earned-run average in 21 appearances to go with a .264 hitting average and 32 RBI.
Photo gallery by Phillip Brents
