High School Baseball : St. Augustine Squeezes Past Clairemont

St. Augustine High School Coach Bill Whittaker, who has been working with his team on executing a two-run squeeze bunt play, said it never worked better than Monday in a 7-4 Lions tournament victory over Clairemont at Escondido High.

With Steve Jones on third and Eric Dent on second in the top of the seventh and the score tied, 4-4, Whittaker called for the bunt play. Jones walked down the line from third and Dent started running from second. Jim Bitler’s bunt was fielded by Clairemont pitcher Brandon Garland, who saw he had no chance to throw out Jones at the plate. When Garland threw to retire Bitler at first, Dent kept on running and scored from second.

St. Augustine (3-6) added another run on Mark Strawbridge’s home run.

“They (the defense) tend to just look at the runner coming in from third,” Whittaker said. “They don’t realize that the runner from second is right behind him.”

In other A Division games:

Escondido 13, Julian 0--Mike Scales threw a six-hit shutout and went 3 for 4 with a single, double and triple to lead host Escondido (5-4), which clinched Group D with the victory.

San Pasqual 7, Lincoln 4--John Morse doubled in two runs during a three-run fifth to lead San Pasqual (3-6) at Mission Bay High. Lincoln is 1-8.

Mission Bay 16, Marian 2--Tony Lennan had two hits and drove in three runs to lead host Mission Bay (9-0-1). Brian Miranda added three hits and two RBIs for Mission Bay, which clinched the Group A title.

La Jolla 12, Oceanside 2--Host La Jolla (9-2) joined Escondido and Mission Bay as qualifiers for the A Division semifinals by defeating Oceanside and clinching Group B. Greg Ricchuitui had three hits and four RBIs to lead the Vikings. Oceanside is 3-5.

USDHS 10, Crawford 0--Matt Siesel pitched a complete-game three-hitter and struck out 11 to lead USDHS (4-5) at Crawford. Tony Moeder drove in four runs for the Dons. Crawford is 6-5.

Briefly--Mar Vista 4, Francis Parker 3; Coronado 11, El Camino 7.

AA DIVISION

Hoover 7, Helix 3--Danny Carter’s three-run double in the sixth inning helped carry host Hoover (8-4). Felipe Preciado (4-0) pitched a four-hitter and added two hits and two RBIs. Helix is 7-2.

Fallbrook 11, Serra 5--Winning pitcher Jamie Willcox (3-1) and reliever Jeff Lawrence each had two hits and three RBIs to lead Fallbrook (7-4) at Hoover.

San Diego 6, Kearny 5--Sean Tucker drove in five runs with three singles and a double to lead visiting San Diego (7-4). Josh Stepner gained the victory, allowing 5 walks and 8 hits in 5 innings.

El Capitan 1, Castle Park 0--Jason Phipps (3-0) pitched a three-hitter and Jason Escoto homered in the first inning as host El Capitan (6-3) clinched the Group C title. Castle Park is 7-2-1.

University City 3, San Marcos 2--Brad Ledwith hit a solo home run in the third inning to lead University City at El Capitan. Chris Cary added three hits for University City (6-5). San Marcos is 4-3-2.

Grossmont 8, Hilltop 2--Mike Rendina (3-1) allowed six hits in six innings and also went 3 for 4 with an RBI to lead Grossmont (6-5) at Hilltop. Roy Neder added two hits for Grossmont. Hilltop is 1-6.

Torrey Pines 10, El Cajon Valley 2--John Lynch had two hits and drove in three runs to lead the county’s only unbeaten and untied team at Hilltop. Bob Kennedy added three hits and two RBIs for Torrey Pines (11-0). El Cajon Valley is 4-6.

Briefly--Madison 10, Valhalla 1.

AAA DIVISION

Santana 3, Morse 0--John Barnhill pitched a two-hitter in his first start of the season to lead Santana (8-2) at Sweetwater High. Barnhill struck out 10 and walked 1. Morse is 5-5.

Vista 6, Sweetwater 2--Jerry Stafford struck out 11 and allowed three hits as Vista (6-6-1) took advantage of seven Sweetwater errors for six unearned runs at Sweetwater. Joe Picone allowed only three hits but took the loss. Sweetwater is 6-5-1.

Poway 12, Mira Mesa 8--Steve Wrenn tripled in two runs and Ed Cornblum singled in two more as Poway (5-4) scored eight runs in the fourth inning and held off visiting Mira Mesa. Mira Mesa is 8-3.

Mt. Miguel 6, Orange Glen 3--Pat Healy went the distance to lead Mt. Miguel (1-8) at Poway High. Devon Rainer had three his and three RBIs for Mt. Miguel. Orange Glen is 6-6-1.

Monte Vista 9, Point Loma 6--Halifu Johnson pitched a complete game and was 2 for 4 with an RBI to lead visiting Monte Vista (7-5). Ernie Reyes added two hits and four RBIs. Point Loma is 5-5-1.

Montgomery 8, San Dieguito 7--Rafael Macias singled in two runs with two outs in the bottom of the seventh for Montgomery (6-2) at Point Loma. Macias was 2 for 4 with four RBIs. Frank Millican (2-1) pitched the final three innings to get the victory.

Mt. Carmel 15, Granite Hills 5--Eric Olander was 3 for 4 with four RBIs as visiting Mt. Carmel (6-4) clinched a berth in the semifinals by winning Group D. Brian Giles was 2 for 3 including a two-run homer for Granite Hills (6-4).

Patrick Henry 6, Southwest 3--Patrick Henry (5-5) scored four runs in the fifth inning to rally from a 2-1 deficit and beat Southwest at Granite Hills High. Corey Powell and Mike Coleman hit home runs for Patrick Henry. Southwest is 1-8.