Roundup : Santana Stays in Control, Wins 20th of Season, 7-1

It was just another day at the office for Santana High’s baseball team and Coach Jim Saska.

The No. 1-ranked Sultans beat Granite Hills, 7-1, for their 20th win of the season in a Grossmont League game at Granite Hills.

“We were in control from the first inning on,” Saska said. “There was nothing outstanding. It was surgical. We just dissected them.”

Bill Reed (9-0) pitched a complete game for the victory. Aaron Petrich, who started for Granite Hills and took the loss, was relieved in the fourth inning after giving up a home run to Dale Henson, who was 3 for 4. The homer put Santana ahead, 3-0.

The Sultans (12-1 in league and 20-2 overall) added two runs in the fifth and seventh innings. Danny Nerat gave Granite Hills (8-5, 12-9) its run with a solo homer in the seventh.

Mark Medford and Tommy Kolinek had two hits for Santana.

Elsewhere in the Grossmont League:

Valhalla 12, Mount Miguel 1--Eric Yetta homered, doubled, singled twice and drove in three runs to lead the No. 3-ranked Norsemen (11-2-1, 18-5-1) past the Matadors (6-6-1, 11-10-1) at Mount Miguel. Valhalla fell behind, 1-0, in the bottom of the first but scored four in the second, highlighted by Yetta’s two-run home run to left. The Norsemen scored two more runs in the fourth, one in the sixth and five in the seventh. Rob Sharp pitched a four-hitter for the win. Ronny Jaecks went 2 for 3 for Mount Miguel. Valhalla remained one game behind Santana in the Grossmont League with the victory.

Grossmont 7, El Capitan 4--With one out in the bottom of the seventh, Dan Angotti hit an 0-2 pitch over the right-center field fence for the victory at Grossmont. Rick Twyman, who reached base on a fielder’s choice, and Sean Bony, who singled, were on base when Angotti hit the home run. Scott Martineau earned the victory and Ken Barnum (2-2) took the loss. Robert Brennan hit a solo homer in the fifth for Grossmont (7-6, 11-11). El Capitan is 6-8, 11-13.

CITY EASTERN LEAGUE Serra 6, Patrick Henry 5--Jason Arzaga’s bases-loaded single capped a two-run rally in the bottom of the seventh for the Conquistadors (4-3-1, 16-7-1) at home. Patrick Henry (2-5-1, 11-8-1) scored five times in the top of the sixth to erase a 4-0 lead before Serra’s seventh-inning comeback. Brian Smith singled to start the inning and moved to second when Tim Finn reached on an error. Deto Rodriguez followed with a single, scoring Smith to tie the score, 5-5. After a sacrifice and an intentional walk loaded the bases, Arzaga’ hit his game-winner through a drawn-in infield. Serra trails league-leading Point Loma by 1 1/2 games with two to play. Patrick Henry, the defending 3-A runner-up, has been eliminated from a playoff spot.

Mira Mesa 16, Madison 6--Mark Robert hit a third-inning grand slam and Ray Bamford had a three-run homer in the second to lift Mira Mesa (5-3, 13-13) over host Madison (2-6, 8-11). Kevin Hancock and Pat Cheek each had three hits for Mira Mesa.

Point Loma 11, Morse 1--The fifth-ranked Pointers (6-2, 17-5) scored nine runs in the third inning to beat Morse (4-4, 12-14) and stay in first in the league. Walt Edwards, who had the game-winning RBI with his single to left, was 2 for 4 and scored twice. Noah Tafolla and Kelley Schlager each added two hits for Point Loma. Starter Chris Reading (11-2) struck out three and allowed only one hit in four innings for the win.

CITY CENTRAL LEAGUE San Diego 8, Crawford 4--Tony Farrell’s grand slam highlighted a seven-run second inning for San Diego (8-4-1, 12-11-1), which moved into first place in the league. Byron Johnson (7-2) struck out 10. Pedro Guerrero was 3 for 4 with a double and David Rex was 2 for 3 with an RBI double for San Diego. Crawford is 6-6-1, 10-11-1.

CITY WESTERN LEAGUE Mission Bay 3, Clairemont 1--Sean Rees (4-2) struck out eight to earn the complete-game victory and extend Mission Bay’s league lead. Jeff Dean tripled in two runs in the fifth for No. 4 Mission Bay (11-2, 18-5). Clairemont is 3-10, 6-14.

Kearny 10, La Jolla 1--Starter Scot Wellish (3-2) struck out nine in the complete-game victory at Kearny. In the first inning, Wellish had an RBI single and teammate John Williamson added a two-run double for the Komets (7-6, 9-12). Wellish was 2 for 4 and Williamson was 2 for 4 with three RBIs for Kearny. The win put the Komets into a second-place tie in the league with University.

University City 8, University 6--With two out in the seventh inning, University City (6-7, 9-12) scored three runs to beat host University (7-6, 11-11). Aaron Root’s RBI single with two out tied the score, 6-6. Later in the inning, the Centurions scored two runs on an error.

AVOCADO LEAGUE Escondido 6, Carlsbad 2--Andy Martin’s two-run double in the third gave host Escondido (5-4, 12-11) the victory. Alan Brown and Jason Hobbs both were 2 for 3 to pace the Cougars. Carlsbad is 6-4, 10-11.

Briefly Monte Vista 10, Helix 8; St. Augustine 8, Christian 0.