The South Bay League standings have tightened up in the last week and, in the process, gotten a lot more interesting.
Four teams entered the week within one game of each other for the league lead, with two teams – the Mar Vista Mariners and Southwest Raiders – tied for the league lead.
Three teams were tied for first place following Tuesday’s spate of games: Mar Vista, Southwest and Olympian. Two teams — Mater Dei Catholic and Sweetwater — were tied one game behind the front-running trio.
Some dash to the finish line!
Olympian handed Mar Vista its third league defeat after posting an 8-4 win on Tuesday. Rennard Williams earned the win on the mound while Arnold Escano, Ian Spillane and Andres Contreras each drove in a pair of runs.
That tied the teams with 4-3 league records.
Sweetwater edged visiting Southwest, 1-0, in an eight-inning cliffhanger as John Pyle doubled in the game-winning run. Danny Zepade touched home plate to give the Red Devils the upset win and give the National City school some momentum heading into its final three regular season games.
Pyle went the first seven innings on the hill before receiving relief help from Cruz Mujica.
Southwest dropped to 4-3 in league play with the loss while Sweetwater improved to 3-4 in league play.
Mater Dei Catholic saw its league record dip to 3-4 following its 6-0 loss at Castle Park.
In games on Thursday: Olympian hosts Mar Vista, Southwest hosts Sweetwater while Mater Dei Catholic hosts Castle Park.
The Mesa League standings also took a turn on Thursday, handing Eastlake a two-game lead in the loss column with two league games remaining after Otay Ranch dropped an 8-4 decision to visiting Chula Vista.
Alex Celiceo picked up the win for Chula Vista, which improved its record to 5-6 in league, 13-14 overall.
The loss dropped Otay Ranch to 6-3 in league play, 17-7 overall.
Eastlake, which was idle, remains in first place in the league standings with 9-1 league record, 21-3-1 overall. The Titans have two league games remaining, meaning they can finish no worse than with a co-championship.
Bonita Vista out-scored San Ysidro, 10-3, on Tuesday to bunch up the standings a bit in the middle. Bubba Villegas went three-for-four with three RBI while Caden Ragadio went two-for-two with a pair of doubles for the Barons, who improved to 4-5 in league, 11-13 overall.
San Ysidro dropped to 3-6 in league, 17-10 overall.
Montgomery edged Hilltop, 5-3, as Jose Cuevas picked up the win.
Montgomery improved to 3-6 in league, 8-18 overall, while Hilltop dropped to 3-6 in league, 8-17 overall.
Prep Baseball Standings
(Through May 8)
Mesa League
League/Overall
Eastlake 9-1, 21-3-1
Otay Ranch 6-3, 17-7
Chula Vista 5-6, 13-14
Bonita Vista 4-5, 11-13
San Ysidro 3-6, 17-10
Hilltop 3-6, 8-17
Montgomery 3-6, 8-18
Tuesday, May 8
Chula Vista 8, Otay Ranch 4
Montgomery 5, Hilltop 3
Bonita Vista 10, San Ysidro 3
South Bay League
League/Overall
Mar Vista 4-3, 18-8
Southwest 4-3, 15-11
Olympian 4-3, 8-16
Mater Dei Catholic 3-4, 7-17
Sweetwater 3-4, 6-15
Castle Park 2-5, 13-12
Tuesday, May 8
Olympian 8, Mar Vista 4
Sweetwater 1, Southwest 0
Castle Park 6, Mater Dei Catholic 0
Prep Softball Standings
(Through May 8)
Mesa League
League/Overall
Mater Dei Catholic 8-1, 17-9
Bonita Vista 8-1, 15-7-2
Olympian 6-3, 17-10
Eastlake 3-6, 13-10-1
Otay Ranch 1-8, 9-17-1
Hilltop 1-8, 7-17-1
Tuesday, May 8
Bonita Vista 1, Eastlake 0
Mater Dei Catholic 11, Otay Ranch 1
Olympian 11, Hilltop 4
South Bay League
League/Overall
Chula Vista 10-1, 16-2
Mar Vista 9-2, 14-9
Sweetwater 7-4, 15-6
Southwest 7-4, 13-9
San Ysidro 3-9, 9-13
Montgomery2-8, 8-14
Castle Park 0-10, 1-16
Tuesday, May 8
Chula Vista 14, Montgomery 1
Mar Vista 6, Sweetwater 1
Southwest 15, San Ysidro 5
Hilltop Invitational
Saturday, April 28
Quarterfinals
Steele Canyon 6, West Hills 3
Otay Ranch 11, Santana 7
Granite Hills 1, Clairemont 0
Scripps Ranch 3, El Capitan 1
Semifinals
Steele Canyon 6, Otay Ranch 4
Granite Hills 3, Scripps Ranch 2
Championship
Granite Hills 17, Steele Canyon 2
