HIGH SCHOOL SECTION PLAYOFFS : 2-A BASEBALL SEMIFINALS : Grossmont, San Diego Advance to Title Game

Top-ranked Grossmont didn’t come close to living up to its long-ball reputation in Saturday’s San Diego Section 2-A baseball semifinals. It managed but five singles off two San Pasqual pitchers and came nowhere near hitting the ball out of the spacious park at Grossmont College.

But the Foothillers took what was given--eight walks and a hit batter--and played solid defense behind three pitchers to advance to the section finals with a come-from-behind, 5-2 victory.

Grossmont’s opponent in the final at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at the University of San Diego will be San Diego, which defeated unheralded Clairemont, 9-5. San Diego beat Grossmont, 6-5, earlier this season.

Grossmont has set a single-season record for runs scored (308) by averaging 10 a game and has hit 36 home runs, but it lost two of its leading hitters--Lenny Van Every (broken foot) and Jim Earley (academic ineligibility)--and its bats have gone silent.

In its past two victories, over Escondido and San Pasqual, Grossmont (28-2) has scored 10 runs on 11 hits.

“We haven’t been smashing the ball lately,” said Greg Layson, Grossmont’s shortstop.

Grossmont had trouble solving San Pasqual starter Bobby Cummings, leaving five runners on base in the first three innings and trailing, 2-0. Only one of the five runners hit their way on--Cummings walked the other four.

But in the fourth, Grossmont capitalized on Cummings’ control problems and some shaky fielding by the Eagles.

After a leadoff walk to Bob Roberson, Grossmont’s Winter Phoenix hit what appeared to be a double-play grounder up the middle. But the ball eluded Cummings and went off the glove of shortstop Chris Hancock. Then Cummings hit Steve Moyer to load the bases and walked Marc Landers to force in a run. After Tim Young relieved, Scott Brennan hit a run-scoring single, and Todd Cady and John Tatum hit fly balls that scored two more runs.

“To me, I don’t think they were as good as they thought they were,” said Cummings, who walked seven in three-plus innings. “We gave them the game with walks. I’d have rather lost by them hitting me.”

Fourth-seeded San Pasqual (15-11-1) managed just one hit after the fourth inning off Grossmont’s Mike Spears and Tatum.

San Diego’s Josh Stepner, who pitched five innings to pick up the victory Saturday, is the probable starter against Grossmont.

“They’re going to be out to get us,” said Stepner, who allowed two runs and four hits in the five innings. “But it’s going to take a good game to beat us.”

San Diego’s Kian Sly got the Cavers rolling in the first by hitting a homer over the 385-foot mark in right center. He was given the chance when Clairemont shortstop Dave Salonius missed second on what would have been an unassisted double-play.

Fifteenth-seeded Clairemont (17-14) stayed close until the fifth, when No. 2-seeded San Diego (20-7) broke open a 4-2 game with five runs on five hits.