The 2024 Padres’ High School All-Star Night is scheduled Wednesday, June 26, at Petco Park. It’s become annual rite of passage for local prep standouts on their journey to the next level.
The event, which will start at approximately 5 p.m. upon the conclusion of the Padres’ regularly scheduled MLB contest against the Washington Nationals, will feature a pre-game home run derby and a nine-inning game.
The home run derby will feature eight players. The all-star game will once again feature an East-West format. Scripps Ranch coach Chris Lamb will coach the East squad while Oceanside coach Dave Barrett will coach the West team.
Teams and home run derby contestants were chosen by the San Diego Section Baseball Advisory Committee.
The East squad is quite appropriately chock full of East County playing talent, including 10 players off Grossmont Conference rosters.
The Metro Conference is also well represented with six players — three from Metro-Mesa League champion Eastlake (Noah Betanco, Jacob May and Angel Laya) and one each from Olympian (Jordan Bleisch), Bonita Vista (Luis Sosa) and Montgomery (Anthony Gonzalez).
Former Chula Vista American Little League all-star Shane Miranda represents St. Augustine for a seventh South County selection.
Betanco, May, Laya, Bleisch and Sosa will don East squad uniforms while Gonzalez and Miranda will both suit up for the West team.
Betanco, a catcher, led Metro-Mesa League champion Eastlake with a 0.440 hitting average to go with 18 runs scored, 33 RBI and six home runs.
May, an outfielder, ranked second on the Titans with a 0.423 average while logging 25 runs scored, 25 RBI and two home runs.
Laya, an outfielder, was third on Eastlake’s hitting parade with a 0.376 average to go with 25 runs scored and 21 RBI.
Bleisch, an outfielder, batted 0.438 for the Eagles with 18 runs scored, nine RBI and two home runs.
Sosa, a shortstop/second baseman, hit 0.368 in 34 games with 21 runs scored, 11 RBI and 10 doubles for the CIF runner-up Barons.
A right-hand pitcher, Gonzalez fashioned a 1.55 earned-run average in 11 appearances while striking out 86 batters in 72.1 innings.
Miranda, a catcher, hit 0.310 for the Saints with 14 runs scored, 23 RBI and two home runs.
Eastlake won the Metro-Mesa League title with an undefeated 9-0 mark, followed by runner-up Bonita Vista at 5-4, Montgomery in third place at 3-6 and Otay Ranch in fourth place at 1-8.
Eastlake (22-7) received the No. 8 seed in the Open Division and dropped double-elimination contests to top-seeded Rancho Bernardo (3-1 loss) and fourth-seeded Cathedral Catholic (8-2 loss) to end its season.
Bonita Vista (22-11-1) received the No. 3 seed in the Division II bracket and played five games, winning four consecutive games in double-elimination play, to reach the division championship game, a 2-0 loss to top-seeded Pt. Loma at UC San Diego.
Olympian finished third in the Metro-South Bay League standings with a 5-7 record behind San Ysidro (10-2 in league) and Mater Dei Catholic (9-3 in league). Hilltop (4-8 in league) and Mar Vista (2-10 in league) rounded out the league standings.
Montgomery received the No. 11 seed in the Division I field and promptly eliminated 11th-seeded Grossmont in the opening round (2-0 win) and topped third-seeded Del Norte, 4-1, in the second round. The Aztecs finally ended their season with back-to-back setbacks to second-seeded Poway (3-2 loss) and Del Norte (6-0 loss).
St. Augustine captured the City Western League banner with a 7-3 record en route to finishing 23-8 overall as the No. 5 seed in the Open Division.
Southern exposure
Twelve South County teams qualified for this year’s section baseball playoffs, including eight from the Metro Conference and four smaller private schools.
San Ysidro received the No. 6 seed in Division III while Mater Dei Catholic received the No. 10 seed. San Ysidro finished 2-2 in double-elimination play after scoring 3-2 wins over 11th-seeded Mission Bay and third-seeded El Camino.
Four local squads were included in the Division IV field: No. 7 Hilltop, No. 9 Sweetwater, No. 11 Chula Vista and No. 12 High Tech High-Chula Vista.
Sweetwater (16-12) finished 1-2 with an opening 2-1 win over the eighth-seeded San Diego Cavers and double-elimination losses to No. 1 seed University City (7-0 loss) and No. 4 seed Valley Center (10-1 loss).
HTH-Chula Vista (13-11-1) defeated Foothills Christian, 5-4, in an elimination game but dropped an 18-0 play-in game to No. 5 Morse.
Hilltop (5-4 loss to No. 10 Palo Verde Valley) and Chula Vista (6-3 loss to No. 6 Escondido Charter) both lost play-in games.
Bayfront Charter (8-4) received the No. 8 seed in the Division V bracket but failed to advance following a 14-4 setback to No. 9 Army-Navy Academy.
Victory Christian Academy and Ocean View Christian Academy were seeded fourth and sixth, respectively, in the Division V-AA field. Ocean View (9-9) finished 1-2 in double-elimination play while VCA (12-9) was 0-2.
“After a tough season where we found ourselves losing 11 games by two runs or less, we finished strong in the Division I playoffs,” Montgomery coach Manny Hermosillo said.
“We needed to travel away from home all of our games. Having lost two games to Grossmont High School, we visited the Foothillers in the play-in game. Anthony Gonzalez pitched a complete shutout game by score of 2-0 to lead us.
“Up next was the top 8, double-elimination tournament.
“Up to North County to face Del Norte High School, which we defeated by score of 4-1.
Next trip was to Poway where we lost by score of 3-2. An error led to a two-run rally with Poway taking the lead. In the top of the sixth inning, back-to-back doubles tied the game for us but in the bottom of the sixth a home run (by sophomore Parker Smith) put Poway ahead for the win.
“It was back at Del Norte on Saturday. We were down 2-1 when an error allowed them to load the bases. A three-run double followed and we lost 6-0.
“The boys came to play with a purpose during the playoffs. I’m very proud of them.”
Eastern exposure
Grossmont High School will be represented by first baseman-designated hitter Cody Bigley and right-hand pitcher Cody White while Granite Hills will be represented by left-fielder Jordan Mansfield and catcher Owen Rodgers.
Also tabbed to participate in the high-profile prep event are Santana pitcher Adam Brabandt, Mt. Miguel senior Jeremiah Castillo, Monte Vista left-hand pitcher Gavin Daley, Christian catcher Xavier Farnum, El Capitan shortstop Brody McAuliffe, Helix Charter third baseman Antoin Simpson and Valhalla left-hand pitcher Colton Stinkeoway.
Also on the 2024 all-star game roster for the East squad are Poway pitcher Avery Anderson, Patrick Henry right-hand pitcher/shortstop Cody Cappelletti, Rancho Bernardo left-hand pitcher Brady Dockan, Scripps Ranch right-hand pitcher/third baseman Jordan Green and shortstop Ryan Ham, San Pasqual outfielder Luke Nieblas, Calexico first baseman/third baseman Andrew Ontiveros and Imperial right-hand pitcher/shortstop Carter Tucker.
Daley blasted the cover off the ball with a 0.436 hitting average, 34 runs scored, 24 RBI and four home runs to key the Monarchs. He was also 8-4 on the hill with a 2.78 ERA and 99 strikeouts in 75.2 innings.
Stinkeoway was another two-way standout with a 0.378 hitting average and 18 RBI at the plate to go with an 8-0 record, 1.84 ERA and 96 strikeouts in 80 innings. He tossed a one-hitter in the Division III final.
Other to-way standouts included McAuliffe, who compiled a 7-2 record on the mound with a 1.65 ERA and 82 strikeouts in 59.1 innings and also batted 0.316 with 18 RBI for the Vaqueros.
Castillo hit 0.337 in 32 games with 44 runs scored, 17 RBI and six home runs for the CIF champion Matadors while Bigley batted 0.321 with 10 RBI and four home runs in 29 games for the Foothillers.
Granite Hills won this year’s Grossmont Hills League championship with a 10-2 league record ahead of runner-up Grossmont (9-3 in league), third place Helix Charter (6-6 in league), fourth place Santana (5-7 in league) and fifth place Steele Canyon (0-12 in league).
Grossmont (sixth seed, 9-3 in league), Santana (seventh seed), Christian (ninth seed) and Steele Canyon (12th seed) all received entry into the Division I playoff field. Grossmont, Christian and Steele Canyon all lost their play-in games while Santana advanced to the double-elimination bracket with an opening-round win over seventh-seeded Mission Hills.
Helix (14-16, 6-6 in league) received the No. 6 seed in the Division II playoffs and won its opening two games, including a 3-2 win over third-seeded Bonita Vista in second-round play, en route to a 2-2 finish in post-season play.
Valhalla won this year’s Grossmont Valley League championship with a spotless 10-0 record. Following the Norsemen in the league standings were the El Capitan Vaqueros, Monte Vista Monarchs and West Hills Wolf Pack, all with 6-4 league marks, the fifth place Mt. Miguel Matadors (2-8 in league) and sixth place El Cajon Valley Braves (0-10 in league).
Valhalla (25-7) and Mt. Miguel (16-17) both won division championships while advancing to the Southern California regional semifinals. The Norsemen claimed the Division III title as the No. 1 seed while the Matadors, seeded second, captured the Division V banner.
Monte Vista (21-11-1) received the No. 2 seed in the Division IV bracket and advanced to the division semifinals before ending its run with a loss to eventual division runner-up Imperial.
El Cajon Valley (10-17) received the No. 7 seed among Division V teams and defeated 10th-seeded Guajome Park Academy in the first round before dropping contests to Mt. Miguel and Orange Glen in the double-elimination rounds.
El Capitan (17-12) received the No. 9 seed among Division III teams but failed to advance to the double-elimination rounds after a 2-1 loss to eighth-seeded La Jolla.
Western exposure
The West team lineup features three players from Santa Fe Christian (centerfielder Jack Haferkamp, right-hand pitcher Will Marengjhi and outfielder Connor Sawyer) and two each from Coronado (right-hand pitcher Max Murray and infielder Chance Pettit), Pt. Loma (left-hand pitcher Matt Garrison and right-hand pitcher Will Sanford), San Marcos (third baseman/shortstop J.J. Moran and outfielder Gavin Vanderpool) and Torrey Pines (shortstop Thomas Maher and right-hand pitcher/centerfielder Peyton Rodgers).
Other selections on the West squad include La Jolla Country Day shortstop Jack Circuit, University City outfielder Jack Clark, Carlsbad pitcher/third baseman Tyler Foster, Maranatha Christian centerfielder Levi Ham, Oceanside shortstop/second baseman Will Hostetter, Del Norte shortstop Addison Klepsch, El Camino catcher Darren Lopez, Mission Hills first baseman/third baseman Kyle Rogers, Sage Creek left-hand pitcher Porter Rovin and Cathedral Catholic catcher/outfielder Elijah Selga.
METRO CONFERENCE BASEBALL STANDINGS
Metro-Mesa League
Eastlake 9-0, 22-7
Bonita Vista 5-4, 22-11-1
Montgomery 3-6, 13-16
Otay Ranch 1-8, 6-22
Metro-South Bay League
San Ysidro 10-2, 21-11
Mater Dei Catholic 9-3, 17-12
Olympian 5-7, 9-17
Hilltop 4-8, 10-18-1
Mar Vista 2-10, 6-21-1
Metro-Pacific League
Sweetwater 7-2, 16-12
Chula Vista 6-3, 17-11
Southwest 5-4, 7-17
Castle Park 0-9, 3-16
CALIFORNIA DISTRICT 42 LITTLE LEAGUE
TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS SCHEDULE
MAJOR DIVISION
Saturday, June 15
Sweetwater Valley 4, Chula Vista American 3
Eastlake 2, Chula Vista National 0
Luckie Waller 3, Southwest 2 (8 innings)
Imperial Beach 14, South Bay 12
Monday, June 17
Park View 9, Chula Vista American 6
Southwest 3, Imperial Beach 2
Tuesday, June 18
Chula Vista National 3, Sweetwater Valley 1
Eastlake 18, South Bay 4
Thursday, June 19
Park View vs. Luckie Waller at Imperial Beach Little League, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 22
Semifinal playoffs at Imperial Beach Little League, 5 and 7:30 p.m.
Monday, June 24
Championship game at Imperial Beach Little League, 7:30 p.m.
MINOR DIVISION
Saturday, June 15
Chula Vista American 12, Imperial Beach 11
Sweetwater Valley 18, Chula Vista National 1
Park View 12, Luckie Waller 0
Eastlake 14, South Bay 13
Tuesday, June 18
Chula Vista American 10, Southwest 0
Eastlake 14, Chula Vista National 0
Sweetwater Valley 17, Luckie Waller 0
Park View 8, South Bay 2
6U DIVISION
Saturday, June 15
Sweetwater Valley 8, Park View 0
Chula Vista American 7, South Bay 4
Wednesday, July 19
Sweetwater Valley 7, Eastlake 0
Park View 5, South Bay 2
7U DIVISION
Saturday, June 15
Sweetwater Valley 12, Luckie Waller 2
Eastlake 6, Imperial Beach 2
Chula Vista American 4, South Bay 3
Wednesday, June 19
Sweetwater Valley 11, Park View 6
8U DIVISION
Saturday, June 15
Sweetwater Valley 10, Park View 7
Imperial Beach 9, Luckie Waller 8
South Bay 10, Chula Vista American 6
Wednesday, June 19
Sweetwater Valley 10, Luckie Waller 0
Eastlake 10, Chula Vista American 0
South Bay 10, Imperial Beach 6
