San Diego Prep Baseball : Mira Mesa’s Playoff Outlook Boosted With 5-4 Win

Mark Robert changed the postseason outlook for Mira Mesa High School’s baseball team with one swing of the bat Wednesday.

Robert led off the eighth inning with a home run to give No. 10 Mira Mesa a 5-4 City Eastern League victory over No. 5 Point Loma.

“We’ve steadily improved over the season,” said Mira Mesa Coach Larry Elliot, whose teams have been in the playoffs the last three seasons. “We expected to win. We’re right where we want to be now.”

Mira Mesa is 7-3 in league, 15-13 overall. Point Loma is 6-3 in league and needs only to beat Morse today to wind up as co-champion with Mira Mesa.

Morse protested a call in an 11-1 loss to Point Loma earlier this season. The protest was upheld by league officials and the game will be resumed with Point Loma leading, 11-1, in the fifth inning.

Should Point Loma win, the Pointers will play Mira Mesa Friday in a playoff to determine the league’s No. 1 seeding in the playoffs.

In other City Eastern League games:

Patrick Henry 3, Morse 2--With two out in the first, host Patrick Henry scored twice as Lou Hayes singled in Larry Jackel, and Charlie Evans singled in Steve Plein. Jackel doubled in Keith Tillett in the fifth with the game-winner. Patrick Henry ends its season 3-6-1 in league, 12-9-1 overall. Morse is 5-5, 14-13.

Briefly: Serra 9, Madison 8.

CITY WESTERN LEAGUE

University 1, Mission Bay 0--Tom Stilinovich’s RBI single in the sixth inning scored Mike McElroy from second for University. The victory came too late for University, however, since No. 4 Mission Bay (12-2, 20-5) clinched first place in the league last week. University (9-6, 13-11) is in second.

Briefly: La Jolla 3, Clairemont 1; Kearny 10, University City 2.

CITY CENTRAL LEAGUE

San Diego 11, Christian 2--San Diego (10-4-1, 14-11-1) won its first league title in 23 years with the victory. San Diego scored four runs in the first inning, two in the second and used five straight line-drive singles in the third for four more runs. Byron Johnson (8-2) struck out eight. San Diego’s Sean Tucker went 3 for 3 with three RBIs and scored a run.

Hoover 5, St. Augustine 4--Host Hoover (10-5, 13-10) finished second in the league with the victory. St. Augustine ends its season at 4-11, 7-17.

Lincoln 4, Crawford 2--Keith Mitchell broke a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the fourth with a long home run to left-center for the game-winner at Lincoln.

GROSSMONT LEAGUE

Santana 11, Monte Vista 2--Losing pitcher Robert Tron threw almost 120 pitches as visiting Monte Vista made three errors and gave up eight walks to the No. 1 Sultans. Santana starter Mike Hook raised his record to 10-1. Tom Kolinek hit a three-run homer down the right-field line in the seventh. Jeff Gay went hitless and fell a hit short of Gar Miller’s (University, 1980-83) San Diego Section record of 128 hits in a career. Santana is 15-1 in league, 23-2 overall.

Grossmont 8, Helix 3--Donnie Angotti hit two home runs and had a single as host Grossmont scored in every inning.

Briefly: Mount Miguel 7, El Cajon 4; Granite Hills 8, El Capitan 5.