2-A SECTION BASEBALL FINAL : Time, Talent Add Up for Grossmont

The inexperience of last year gave way to poise and confidence this year as Grossmont’s baseball team captured its first San Diego Section championship Wednesday with a 5-2 victory over San Diego at the University of San Diego.

The Foothillers (29-2), 18th in the nation by USA Today and first in the county, put behind two losses--7-4 to Carlsbad in the last year’s 2-A final and 6-5 to San Diego earlier this season.

The differences between this year and last?

John Tatum, who earned his 13th save with two innings of hitless relief, said they were Coach Jeff Meredith and experience.

“Coach Meredith really pulled us together,” Tatum said. “He’s given us a lot of confidence in ourselves. Last year, we were just inexperienced. We had never been there before.”

Once again, the explosive Grossmont offense, which averaged 10 runs a game during the season, was kept pretty well in check by San Diego’s pitching, producing just seven hits. But the Foothillers’ pitching, lost in the offensive hoopla during the regular season, held San Diego to just one earned run, three hits and two walks.

Starter Mike Spears (7-0) allowed just two hits and no walks in four scoreless innings before giving way to Dan Lennon, who gave up an unearned run in one inning.

“We knew if we got ahead, we could hold them,” Grossmont catcher Todd Cady said. “Our pitching has been great all year.”

Grossmont scored an unearned run in the first on three San Diego errors and took a 2-0 lead in the second on Lennon’s home run over the right-field fence.

“We started out with some nerves,” San Diego Coach Tom Lopez said. “It’s tough to play when you are tense.”

After scoring an unearned run of their own in the fifth, San Diego gave Grossmont two more in the sixth. Starter Josh Stepner (7-2) allowed a leadoff triple to Tatum, and reliever Kian Sly walked Jason Eskridge, hit Lennon and walked Rob Roberson to force in a run.

Freshman Jacque Jones replaced Sly and appeared to be getting out of the inning after striking out Wynter Phoenix and getting Mark Landers to hit a pop-up behind first. But San Diego second baseman Brett Sartain overran the ball, and it dropped in fair territory, allowing the fourth Grossmont run to score.

San Diego (20-8) scored its second run in the sixth when Stepner walked, stole second, went to third on a wild pitch and scored a on fielder’s choice by catcher Jeff Williams.

Stepner, who hit a three-run homer to beat Grossmont in the first meeting, said he was hoping to get up one more time with runners on base.

“The last time we played them we got the walks and the hits when we needed them,” said Stepner, who on Tuesday signed a baseball letter of intent with USD. “We used up all of our luck this year. I guess the man up there didn’t want to give us any more.”