1978 Baseball: Dons First in Poll, First in Playoffs

Dick Serrano coached his second San Diego Section championship team and continued to leave a legacy at the school, from which he graduated in 1961 and which he guided the baseball program for 30 years until his retirement after the 2000 season.

Unlike the 1972 team that finished the regular season with a 12-10 record and third place in the Western League, Serrano’s 1978 club was 21-3 and ranked first in the County by the Evening Tribune heading into the postseason.

The Dons defeated four playoff teams with combined records of 66-33 over a five-day span of solid starting and relief pitching and timely (home runs) hitting and they became the only team other than Santana in 1970 to win their division of the Lions Tournament and a league championship to go with the Section title.

Tom Keating was the ace of Serrano’s pitching staff with a 1.98 earned-run average and 78 strikeouts in 105 innings of a 15-1 season.  Keating threw strikes on 62 of 85 pitches in the championship game.

5/2/78

The San Diego Section board of managers approved a proposal for the 1978-79 school year calling for playoff competition in 3-A, 2-A, and 1-A divisions.  The new setup adds one more classification to the existing 2-A, 1-A alignment.

The move will affect football, boys’ basketball, and baseball, said CIF commissioner Kendall (Spider) Webb.

—Marian hit five home runs, including two by Mike Owens, and won a 13-8 slugfest from San Diego Southwest.

—Future baseball executive Billy Beane, who was played by Brad Pitt in the movie “Money Ball,” homered in Mt. Carmel’s 9-4 win at El Camino.

—Tom Zeithing hurled a no-hitter and battery mate Craig Earley hit a two-run home run in the second inning that was all Zeithing needed in a 6-0 San Pasqual victory over Ramona.

5/5/78

—Orange Glen, a 3-15 team in 1977 and playing with junior varsity graduates who were almost equally unsuccessful last year, beat Escondido and ace Brad Palmer, 4-3, to improve to 7-1 in the Avocado East, a game ahead of the host Cougars.

5/12/78

Billy Beane hit a pair of two-run home runs and Mt. Carmel routed San Pasqual, 14-3.

—Carlsbad overcame a 7-4 Vista lead with five runs in the last half of the seventh inning.   John Hickman tripled with two out and the bases loaded for an 8-7 Lancers victory.

5/18/78

FINAL STANDINGS

EASTERN

WESTERN                               

GROSSMONT        

METROPOLITAN                                       

AVOCADO EAST         

AVOCADO WEST                

5/23/78

PLAYOFFS

2-A FIRST ROUND (INTRALEAGUE).

GROSSMONT CONFERENCE

4 Granite Hills 5, @1 Helix (17-6) 3.

Kent Paine’s two home runs was the difference for the Eagles, whose Tony Haymes set down the Highlanders on four hits.

3 Grossmont (13-11) 1, @2 El Cajon Valley 5.

Henry Garcia’s three-run homer in the first inning augmented complete-game pitching by Troy Embleton.

CITY CONFERENCE

2 Western Hoover (18-7) 4, @Eastern 1 Kearny 5.

Dennis Jones’s double scored Steve Dreher, who had walked, and Steve Brinkley, who had been hit by a pitch, in the Komets’ walk-off victory.

2 Eastern Patrick Henry (18-6), 4, vs. Western 1 University 5, @University San Diego.

Adam Asaro hit a game-winning home run in the last of the seventh inning, after the Patriots had tied the score at 4-4 with a two-run single in the top of the inning.  Righthander Tom Keating won his 14^th game in 15 decisions.

METROPOLITAN CONFERENCE

4 Chula Vista (12-11) 0, @1 Marian 4.

Paul Kelly’s three-run home run in the sixth inning and Paul Torano’s four-hit pitching advanced the Crusaders.

3 Montgomery 7, @2 Bonita Vista (11-11) 6.

John Rice’s two-run triple sparked a five-run fifth inning for the Aztecs.

AVOCADO CONFERENCE

2 West Escondido 5, @1 East Fallbrook (15-7) 4.

Zac Garcia’s two home runs backed the two-hit pitching of Brad Palmer, who struck out 13 and survived a three-run home run by Mark Fleming.

2 West Carlsbad (17-5) 4, @1 East Orange Glen 5.

Greg West allowed three hits and became a winner when Mark Kubilus doubled in two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning.

1-A SEMIFINALS

2 Coastal Army-Navy 3, @1 Mountain Christian 18.

2 Mountain Mountain Empire 5, @4 Coastal Francis Parker 13.

5/24/78

QUARTERFINALS

Granite Hills (16-10) 2, vs. University 6, @University San Diego.

“Be a hero,” entreated University coach Dick Serrano to relief pitcher Chris Cohn in the first inning.

Cohn, a junior reliever with just 18 career innings, went the last 6 1/3, allowing four hits and single runs in the second and third and the Dons moved on after Dave Martinez’ triple cleared the bases and Ron Egan’s sacrifice fly made for a four-run sixth.

Orange Glen (15-9) 4, vs. Montgomery 7, @Palomar College.

Three Patriots errors led to a five-run first inning for the Aztecs.

Escondido 4, vs. Marian (19-3) 1, @Southwestern College.

The Cougars broke a scoreless tie in the top of the seventh inning with four runs.  Catcher Ron O’Rourke drove in the first run with a triple, scoring pitcher Brad Palmer.

O’Rourke scored on an error and Bryan Luskey’s single off pitcher Bryan Delore’s leg scored two more.

Kearny 10, vs. El Cajon Valley (13-11) 3, @Grossmont College.

The Komets, leading, 3-2, scored seven times in the fifth and sixth innings.  One of Brian Giles’ three doubles ignited a three-run fifth after two were out.  Steve Dreher and Dennis Jones drove in two runs each.

5/26/78

SEMIFINALS

Montgomery (13-11) 1, vs. University 6, @University San Diego. 

Mario Estrada, knocked out of the quarterfinals game with a jammed thumb after flagging down a line drive, came on in relief of Dan Sousa and shut down a bases loaded threat in the second inning and then allowed two hits and an unearned run over the distance.

The Dons’ Dave Martinez had three hits in three times at bat and drove in four runs.  Ron Egan singled in two runs and Dan Anguiano scored three runs.

Kearny (18-9) 5, vs. Escondido 8, @Grossmont College.

“I’ve never seen Brad hit that hard, never,” Cougars coach Bill Townsend told Henry Wesch of The San Diego Union.

Townsend was referring to pitcher Brad Palmer, making his third appearance of the playoffs, following a route-going first round and relief the next day.

“He didn’t have his overpowering fastball; he walked more guys than usual (5) …but still, if we play good defense behind him we probably only give up one run,” said Townsend.

Komets second baseman Brian Giles doubled in leadoff batter Brian Villandre in the first inning and doubled in another run in the third. Giles scored on Steve Brinkley’s single in the fifth.

Six of Escondido’s 10 hits off four pitchers came in a five-run fourth, which featured two-out hits by Mark Schmidt, Ben Sanchez, Zac Garcia, and Brian Luskey.

Kearny managed a 5-5 tie, but the Cougars scored three more runs in the bottom of the sixth on five walks and a bunt single. Palmer closed out the victory with a 1-2-3 top of the seventh inning.

5/27/78

2-A CHAMPIONSHIP

Escondido (19-7) 1, vs. University (25-3) 11, @ University San Diego.

Tom Keating (15-1) set down 18 consecutive batters and took a perfect game into the seventh inning, when an error and infield single ended the University pitcher’s pursuit.

Keating sailed to an 11-1 victory over the Cougars, who did not call on weary ace Brad Palmer to make a fourth consecutive appearance of the week.

“From about the fourth or fifth inning I knew I had the no-hitter, “ the 6-foot, 3-inch junior told Henry Wesch of The San Diego Union.   I wanted it, but it didn’t happen,”

First baseman Dan Souza led the Dons’ 11-hit attack with two prodigious home runs. The first, a three-run shot in the first inning, went over the fence near the 390-foot marker in right center field.  The second cleared trees behind the 375-foot sign in left center.

Souza, a .284 hitter during the regular season, was 5 for 10 in the playoffs with three home runs.

“We know we didn’t face their best pitcher, but that’s part of the game,” said Uni coach Dick Serrano.  “We were hoping to get an early lead so we wouldn’t have to see Palmer in the late innings in relief with the score close.”

1-A CHAMPIONSHIP.

Francis Parker 0, vs. Christian 3, @University San Diego.

The Lancers were shut down by Christian’s Tom Meinhert,  who pitched a no-hitter.

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