HIGH SCHOOL ROUNDUP : Grossmont Makes Right Adjustments to Beat Helix

Two qualities synonymous with most championship-caliber baseball teams are patience and flexibility.

It doesn’t hurt to have an opportunistic lineup like Grossmont’s, either, but the top-ranked Foothillers beat No. 10 Helix, 9-2, Wednesday by being patient at the plate and because pitcher Ryan Wheeler was able to adjust to the umpire’s stingy strike zone.

“Grossmont knows what it takes to win,” Helix Coach Jerry Schniepp said. “They’re tough, and when they get up on you, they know they’re going to beat you.”

Grossmont is trying to become the first team in San Diego Section history to win three consecutive 3-A or 2-A titles. The Foothillers won back-to-back 2-A championships the past two years, and they are 12-1-1 this year as a 3-A member, including 2-0 in the Grossmont 3-A League. Helix fell to 10-7 after their Grossmont 3-A League opener at Grossmont.

“(The umpire) didn’t call a lot of outside pitches or corners so I had to adjust,” said Wheeler, who beat fellow left-handed senior Ryan Smith. “I could tell that in the first inning when I had two walks and Ryan had three. I knew right away I was going to have to adjust and concentrate on just dropping them in there.”

Wheeler walked only two more--one in the third and one in the fifth--and allowed four hits in six innings to improve to 4-0. Wheeler also had five strikeouts, and junior stopper Mark Olson struck out two of the three batters he faced in seventh.

“Ryan keeps the ball down, and he does what we ask him to do,” Grossmont Coach Jeff Meredith said. “He doesn’t strike out many, but a little left-hander with a backdoor breaking ball can eat guys up. And that’s what he did today.”

Helix’s Smith had problems finding the strike zone throughout and fell to 4-2. He entered the game with 24 walks in 38 2/3 innings, but was replaced after four innings and eight walks Wednesday. He threw 96 pitches, including 36 (21 balls) in the first inning, when Grossmont took a 3-0 lead.

After Wheeler escaped a bases-loaded jam in the top of the first, Shannon Monroe led off Grossmont’s half with a walk and a stolen base. Jason Eskridge followed with a single to right and Wynter Phoenix walked to load the bases for Ben Craig, a junior first baseman.

Craig promptly lined a double off the right-field fence to drive in two, and one batter later, junior shortstop Jon Heinrichs lined a single up the middle to knock in the other.

Helix got one back in the third--Rob Crayton drove in Justin Morante--but Grossmont convinced all remaining doubters with three runs in the fourth on one hit and three more in the sixth on two hits. The other Highlander run came on Greg Wilbur’s fourth home run of the season in the fifth inning.

Heinrichs finished with two hits, one walk and three RBIs; Eskridge had two hits, two walks and three runs; Craig had one hit, three walks and two RBIs; and Matt Jones was one for four with two RBIs.

Said Meredith: “We just played our normal game.”