It’s all still sinking in for members of the Eastlake High School baseball team even while the accolades and congratulations keep pouring in from well-wishers.
The Titans became the first baseball team from the Sweetwater Union High School District to capture a championship title in the San Diego Section’s top-rung Open Division. It’s as high as one can get in the CIF postseason standings.
Head coach Dave Gallegos’ team did indeed fly high this season.
Eastlake, which defeated the Helix Highlanders by a score of 8-3 June 3 in front of a near-capacity crowd at the University of San Diego, finished the year ranked first in California by both MaxPreps and USA Today and third in the nation by USA Today.
The Titans, who finished the season 32-4, were recently named the Team of the Year in California by Cal-Hi Sports.
Chula Vista Mayor Mary Casillas-Salas had the honor of bestowing yet another honor on the team during Tuesday’s Chula Vista City Council meeting. Players were presented with Medals of Champions by the city.
Team members proudly wore them around their necks.
Gallegos admitted the championship ride has been enjoyable.
“It’s been great — it’s an honor to be recognized in Chula Vista,” the EHS coach explained. “We had an incredible year; we met our goals and did what we wanted to do. We had a very talented group of kids and our coaches did a good job with them.”
“It’s an amazing feeling to finally win it and bring it back to Eastlake,” Titan infielder Ben Ramirez said. “The team came together when it counted. We worked together and had the guys to do it.”
“Winning the Open Division championship with the Eastlake Titans was an amazing experience,” first baseman Brian Leonhardt said. “I played with my closest friends. It was amazing.”
“It shows all the hard work that we put in,” third baseman/pitcher Casey Schmitt said.
For several members of the Titans, this was not their first trip to City Hall. Grant Holman, Micah Pietila-Wiggs, Nick Mora, Ricky Tibbett and Jake Alvarez previously received a red carpet welcome after helping Eastlake Little League capture the United States Division championship at the 2013 Little League World Series.
Also sporting medals were Dante Schmid (2015 Sweetwater Valley Little League) and Charley Peterson (2013 Eastlake Little League) who were previously received at City Hall as members of California District 42 teams that advanced to the Little League World Series. Both players were added to the Titans’ playoff roster after being called up from the junior varsity team.
Holman, Pietila-Wiggs, Mora, Tibbett and Alvarez join a trio of Park View Little League alumni — Bonita Vista’s Seth Godfrey and Olympian’s Daniel Porras and Bradley Roberto — as players to win both a CIF championship and a Little League World Series championship.
They constitute a rare breed.
“Winning the Open Division championship means a lot to me,” Pietila-Wiggs, an outfielder, said. “It was a fun experience and I had a blast … The Little League World Series was an amazing time, it was lots of fun; winning the CIF championship was crazy. It was an amazing experience I’ll never forget, both of those.”
“It’s awesome to win the CIF championship,” said Holman, who is 20-0 the last two years on the mound for Eastlake. “It’s cool to win it with a bunch of guys I can call brothers for life. It’s just an unforgettable experience.”
“It’s just cool to be able to do it with some of the same group of guys,” Holman said in regard to the dual CIF and LLWS titles. “It’s always a lot of fun playing with them and to be able to win doing it is awesome.”
“Both of these teams kind of feel the same,” said Ricky Tibbett, sophomore pitcher. “Both these teams feel like family to me. We like to hang out together. It’s been the same ride.”
Rick Tibbett, the manager of that storied Eastlake Little League team, was present at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. He is now a proud team parent rather than coach.
“I run the snack bar now at home games,” he said.
The elder Tibbett came up with a formula that worked at the Little League World Series. “A lot of hard work and the boys liked playing together,” he said.
Gallegos said positive team chemistry was a strong point on this year’s Eastlake team.
Rick Tibbett said he never had any doubts that his charges from Williamsport would find success at the high school level.
“Even though some of the kids split off to other schools, the bulk of that team came here (to Eastlake),” the elder Tibbett explained. “I knew that core was a group of players who would play well together. I had no doubt they’d do all right. They were well coached (at the high school level). I’m happy for the kids.”
“It was incredible,” Gallegos recounted about the team’s CIF championship run. “These kids have no quit in them. To win that last one was awesome.”
