Prep Roundup : Navarro Still in Control as Helix Tops Hilltop, 5-1

Rick Navarro, who obviously doesn’t believe in giving anything away, continued his on-target pitching Thursday afternoon and led Helix High School to a 5-1 victory over Hilltop in a round-robin game of the Hilltop-Moose baseball tournament at Helix.

Navarro struck out nine and walked none and has recorded 35 strikeouts without walking a batter in 19 innings this season. Navarro (3-0) allowed only four hits and got all the runs he needed when Helix (4-1) scored twice in the second inning to open a 3-0 lead.

Joe Smithey had two hits and drove in three runs for Helix, and Rickey Page added two doubles. Hilltop (0-5) managed a run in the third but was unable to get anything else off Navarro, who has allowed just four runs in three starts.

In other Hilltop-Moose tournament games:

Poway 6, St. Augustine 5--Steve Wrenn doubled to open the bottom of the seventh inning and eventually scored the winning run on a wild pitch to give host Poway (2-3) the victory. Billy Bertsch hit a solo home run for Poway, which trailed, 3-0, in the 1st inning before rallying.

El Capitan 6, Escondido 2--Brad Smith allowed just two hits over five innings and El Capitan (3-2) scored all its runs in the first two innings to win at Escondido. Zack Salmon had two hits and scored two runs for El Capitan. Escondido, the defending San Diego Section 2-A champion, fell to 1-4.

Granite Hills 9, University of San Diego High School 4--Shane Boyd hit two home runs, including a grand slam, and Mike Raskind added another for Granite Hills (4-1). Boyd’s first home run was a solo shot in the third inning, and his grand slam came in the fifth. Raskind hit a three-run home run in the first. Todd Holverson (2-0) earned the win for Granite Hills. USDHS fell to 2-3.

Mt. Carmel 5, Chula Vista 1--Byron Klemaske came on in relief in the third inning, and, after yielding a single to the first batter he faced, retired the next 14 for host Mt. Carmel (4-1). David Chiprany doubled in a run and John Tejcek singled in another during a four-run fifth-inning rally for Mt. Carmel, which will meet Mission Bay in the tournament final Saturday at 2 at Hilltop High.

Mission Bay 11, San Marcos 11 (6 innings)--San Marcos scored eight runs in the fourth inning on five walks, three errors and a home run, but Mission Bay (4-0-1) still secured a place in the tournament final Saturday. The game was called after six innings because of darkness and is not scheduled to be completed at a later date.

GMC TOURNAMENT

San Diego 2, Montgomery 0--Sean Tucker pitched a four-hitter and struck out eight to lead host San Diego (4-1) past Montgomery. Tucker (3-0) has struck out 28 batters in three starts. Josh Stepner had two hits and scored both San Diego runs. Montgomery is 3-2.

Coronado 12, Lincoln 9--Coronado (4-1) moved into Saturday’s championship game against Santana by winning at Lincoln in a game that was called after six innings because of darkness. Coronado plays at Santana at 1 p.m. Saturday. Lincoln is 1-4.

Santana 4, Southwest 2--Jeff Wagner collected two RBIs on a sixth-inning triple for Santana (5-0). Jeff Matranga (2-0) earned the win.

El Cajon Valley 9, Francis Parker 2--Gene Ferguson was 2 for 3 with 3 RBIs and Mark Joslyn also had three RBIs for El Cajon Valley (3-2). Kevin Davis (1-1) was the winning pitcher and scored three runs. Francis Parker is 1-4.

Briefly--Marian 4, La Jolla Country Day 4 (8 innings, darkness).

SOFTBALL

Crawford 3, La Jolla 2--Ericka Kiser hit a three-run home run in the sixth inning for Crawford (2-1). Cassandra Tex (2-1) picked up the win.