San Diego Prep Baseball : Filter ‘Feels Good,’ Gets a No-Hitter : Mission Bay Tops University, 2-0, for Its 5th Straight Win

Rusty Filter, Mission Bay High School pitcher, felt a little different when he was warming up for his game Thursday at University.

“I felt good about my pitching in the bullpen before the game,” Filter said. “My fastball felt very good. I was looking forward to the game.”

Filter, a senior, then threw his second no-hitter of the season, powering the No. 6-ranked Buccaneers to a 2-0 City Western League win over the Dons.

Mission Bay (8-2, 15-5) remained two games ahead of Kearny in the league. University is 5-5, 9-10.

It was Mission Bay’s fourth consecutive shutout. Italso has also won five straight.

“We have a lot of good pitchers,” Filter said. “Everybody is throwing well.”

And Filter has won his last seven starts. He threw a shutout earlier in the season against Chula Vista in the Hilltop Tournament.

“Everything I threw was around the plate,” Filter said. “I had my fastball working, the curve was on. . . . I mixed them up pretty well. I got a lot of ground-ball outs and when that happens, I’m on.”

Mission Bay broke through in the fifth inning with a pair of runs.

Second baseman Chris Wukovits and left fielder Chris Stokes singled, and center fielder Sean Rees singled both runners in for the game-winners.

“It was a very outstanding performance,” University Coach Dick Serrano said. “(Filter) pitched a very smart game. He kept us off balance. We hit a lot of weak ground balls and couldn’t get anything in the air.

“He had total command of the game. We didn’t hit one ball hard.”

In other City Western action:

Kearny 6, University City 5--John Williamson picked up the victory in relief of Scot Welish for visiting Kearny (6-4, 8-10). Eric Takeshita and Robbie Trice both had two hits for Kearny, and Trice threw out a University City runner from center field in the sixth. Third baseman Chris Ponce drove in two runs in the fourth with a single, and made a diving stop for an out in the seventh. University City is 4-6, 7-11.

La Jolla 6, Clairemont 5--Dave Jennings and Mark Ulrey had two RBIs each to lead the Vikings (5-5, 7-12) past fading Clairemont (2-8, 5-12-1). Tom Ruben also went 2 for 3 with a triple and an RBI for La Jolla. Pitcher Doug Powell (3-1) got the victory. Switch-hitter Ricky Doane had two hits to lead Clairemont batters. Center fielder Pat Tribolet helped preserve La Jolla’s lead by throwing out at the Chiefs’ Andy Williams at the plate.

CITY CENTRAL LEAGUE Crawford 5, Lincoln 4--Manny Gagliano’s bases-loaded single in the ninth sent Bob Townsend home from third to snap a 4-4 tie. Gagliano was 3 for 4 with two doubles and three RBIs to pace the Colts (5-4-1, 9-9-1). Doug Withers (1-0) pitched the final 2 innings to earn the victory in his first appearance of the season. Keith Mitchell was 2 for 4 with two RBIs to lead Lincoln (5-5, 13-9).

St. Augustine 7, Hoover 3--Roberto Lozerno pitched a three-hitter as the last-place Saints (3-7, 6-13) got a victory at home against first-place Hoover (7-3, 10-8). Catcher Pat Heffler led St. Augustine offensively with two doubles and a triple in his three at-bats. Gus Garcia and Sal Ceballos drove in Hoover’s runs with two doubles in the second.

CITY EAST LEAGUE

Serra 3, Madison 2--Serra’s Tim Finn (7-1) pitched a four-hitter and scored the winning run as the Conquistadors (2-2-1, 14-6-1) beat visiting Madison (2-3, 8-8). Finn scored in the bottom of the sixth on a single by Brian Smith, who went 3 for 3. Tony Ramirez took the loss for the Warhawks.

Morse 4, Patrick Henry 3--Patrick Henry (1-3-1, 10-6-1) scored three in the top of the first at Morse, but the Tigers came back with four in the bottom of the inning for the victory. Morse (3-2, 12-10) is tied for first with two other teams. Javier Brown tripled in two runners in the first for Morse, and pitcher Paul Anderson improved to 7-3.

Mira Mesa 5, Point Loma 4 (eight innings)--Chad Smith scored from second on Pat Cheek’s single to center to lift the Mauraders (3-2, 11-12) into a three-way tie for first with the eighth-ranked Pointers (3-2, 14-5) and Morse. Mark Robert was 2 for 4 and Cheek collected three RBIs to lead Mira Mesa. Eric Esty got a complete-game victory.

GROSSMONT LEAGUE Mount Miguel 6, Monte Vista 3--Brian McClendon went 2 for 3 with two RBIs and a run scored as Mount Miguel won at home. Pither Delfin Merlan won his third consecutive league game. Mount Miguel (4-4-1, 9-8-1) took the lead for good in the second, scoring two unearned runs on a passed ball and an error. Monte Vista (1-8, 5-12) went through three pitchers in the fourth, as the Matadors turned three walks and three singles into four runs.

El Capitan 18, Helix 6--Catcher Ron Peeler went 3 for 4 with two RBIs and a solo homer in the third, and first baseman Carlos Gutierrez had three RBIs on three doubles as El Capitan cruised at home. The Vaqueros (4-5, 9-10) scored three in both the first and fourth innings, and added nine in the fifth. Helix (4-5, 6-11) had 12 hits, two fewer than El Capitan.

Grossmont 18, El Cajon 2--Sean Boney and Donnie Angotti hit homers for Grossmont as it had 14 hits en route to the rout at El Cajon. Grossmont (6-3, 10-8) had an 11-0 lead in the sixth inning before El Cajon (1-8, 1-11) got on the board. Roy Neder went four innings for the victory.