1970 Baseball: Colts’ Sandback Leaves Outstanding Legacy

Sandback had great record at Crawford.

Bill Sandback, who coached Crawford to four San Diego Section championships in nine seasons, was moving on, succeeding retiring Ed Sanclemente at Mesa College.

Sandback, an erstwhile hockey player from Minnesota, coached teams that posted an overall record of 164-60, a .732 winning percentage.  His 1964 squad (22-4) was declared the top team in the state by Cal-Hi Sports.

Major leaguers Bob Boone, Dave Duncan, and Eddie Herrmann played for Sandback and many others signed professional contracts.

Sandback was a year-round coach.  Including summer American Legion and winter ball his teams were 411-115, .793, according to Bill Finley of the Evening Tribune.

4/15/70

Castle Park’s Tommy Jacobs had a no-hitter through 6 1/3 innings when Chula Vista scratched out a couple hits, but Jacobs held on for a 2-1 victory.

—Vince West’s home run was one of 12 hits by Santana, which upped its Grossmont League record to 6-0 with a 7-3 win over El Cajon Valley.

–Dan Schuldies homered and added two singles, and allowed four hits in pitching Granite Hills’ 9-5 win over El Capitan.

–Rick Sanderlin went all the way in Mission Bay’s 10-inning, 5-4 win over Madison and singled in the winning run.

4/20/70

Kearny’s Mike Allen hurled a no-hitter and leftfielder Steve Oswald homered twice and drove in four runs as the Komets beat La Jolla, 8-0.

Peter McNab singled in both runs with Point Loma’s only hit in a 2-1 win over Mission Bay that kept the Pointers (8-3) a game ahead of Kearny in the Western League.

4/21/70

Borrego Springs’ John Oakes pitched a no-hitter and the Rams made the best use of seven hits five errors to shut out Rancho del Campo, 17-0.

—Hilltop scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning and then gave up four in the bottom of the seventh and bowed to Mar Vista, 5-4, compliments of Randy Huerta’s two-out, bases-loaded triple.

—Ed Bochinak’s no-hitter moved Sweetwater past Marian, which scored on walk, fielder’s choice, passed ball, and sacrifice fly.

—Dave Stay struck out 12 and allowed two hits but needed a pair of unearned runs to beat Fallbrook, 2-0.

—Dave Schuldies upped his record to 5-1 and had two hits ibn four times bat, but his average slipped to .542 in Granite Hills’ 6-0swin over El Cajon Valley.

Crawford’s Gary Burnell was greeted at home plate by his catcher, George McGraw, and Bob Blackman (14) after three-run home run in 4-3 loss to Hoover. Umpire Jim Gilchrist made sure Burnell touched home.

4/22/70

Brad McRoberts’ no-hitter cuffed Grossmont, 1-0, and improved Santana to 7-0 in the Grossmont League and 16-1 overall.

4/25/70

Point Loma (10-3) led the Western League by three games with five to play after Greg Hurder’s two-hitter stymied Madison, 7-0. The Pointers are 0-4 in nonleague games.

—Oceanside won its 10th game in a row with a nine-inning, 4-3 victory over San Dieguito, whose pitchers walked four Pirates to break a tie.

—Santana’s 13-game winning streak in the Grossmont League was broken by Granite Hills, 3-1.

Despite the loss, Santana’s three pitchers, Terry Forster, Kyle Hypes, and Brad McRoberts had a combined earned-run average of 0.81, thrown three no-hitters, struck out 160 and walked 52 in 103 innings, and teamed for a 14-2 record.

4/28/70

Mar Vista won its fourth game in a row, 5-1, at Castle Park that thrust the Mariners into a crowded top of the Metropolitan League with the host Trojans and Hilltop. Jerry Webb, an outfielder turned pitcher, allowed two hits.

“I said before the season started that we’d win it,” said Mariners coach Bob Lusky to writer Jack Williams.  “I believe it more than ever now.  Who’s the team to beat?  We are.”

—Steve Oswald and Larry Waters homered and Kearny whipped Madison, 14-4, after a seven-run third inning.

—St. Augustine’s John D’Aquisto walked eight and hit a batter but also struck out 14 in a 159-pitch, 4-0 shutout of Crawford.  The 6-foot, 2-inch, 210-pound future major leaguer gave up one hit, to Tim Blackwell, who would also make the majors.

 D’Aquisto (9-2) lowered his earned-run average to 0.66 and raised his strikeouts to 100 in 63 innings.

4/30/70

St. Augustine picked up a game on league-leading Hoover when it won an appeal and Patrick Henry forfeited a 1-0 victory over the Saints the previous week.

St. Augustine appealed because the Patriots used three players who had played in a junior varsity game the same week.  CIF boss Don Clarkson said Henry was in violation.

“The goal of athletics is to move boys up in competition,” peevishly declared Patriots coach Bob Imlay. “I think the rule was drawn to stop coaches from demoting players in midweek to bolster the junior varsity for an important game.”

5/1/70

Curt Brown’s base hit was pivotal in the seventh inning as Helix scored what was described as the upset of the year, 5-4 over No. 1 Santana (17-3).

The Highlanders entered the game with a 2-7 Grossmont League record and were 7-10 overall, sharing last place with Grossmont.

—El Capitan (10-2) kept pace, earning a tie for first with the Sultans, 8-1 over Grossmont.

—Ken Kollmeyer (10-1) pitched a three-hitter and Hoover (12-3) moved into first place in the Evening Tribune Top 10 with a 3-2 victory over San Diego.

—Point Loma (11-3) stayed ahead in the Western League with three runs in the ninth inning that overcame visiting Kearny, 4-3. The win gave the Pointers a three-game lead over Mission Bay (8-6) with four remaining.

—Lincoln scored an infrequent victory over Crawford, winning on the Colts’ diamond, 6-4.

Ken Kollmeyer (left) received hug from catcher Gary Tucker after Kollmeyer hurled no-hit, 6-0 victory over Granite Hills in playoffs.

5/5/70

Alan Grant,  5-foot, 3-inch sophomore second baseman making his first varsity start, drove in three runs with a single and double that propelled Hoover (13-3) to a 10-1 win over Morse and a tie for the Eastern League championship.

“We just got a new flag pole,” Hoover coach Jerry Bartow noted of an addition to the Cardinals’ Ted Williams Field, on campus.  “A CIF pennant would fit just about right.”

–Crawford (9-7), facing the possibility of not making the playoffs for the first time since 1963, outlasted Lincoln, 9-7, in 10 innings.

–Oceanside won its 17th game in the last 18, 4-2 over Escondido, to lock the Avocado League championship.  The Pirates had stolen 78 bases and enjoyed a team batting average of .337.
His club “exudes so much confidence it scares me,” said head coach Herb Meyer.

5/8/70

Kyle Hypes improved his record to 8-0 and pitched Santana to a 7-0 win over El Capitan that clinched the Grossmont League championship.

Younger brother Jim Hypes hit a 400-foot drive to leftfield that, according to Bill Finley of the Evening Tribune “rolled halfway to Lakeside,” for a first-inning home run.

—Stan Cordova, coming back from a month-long shoulder injury, upped his record to 7-0 with a strong relief performance as Hoover (14-3) clinched the Eastern League title, 6-5, over Crawford.  Cardinals first baseman Randy Fleetwood drove in three runs and had three hits.

5/12/70

Point Loma, 12-5 and two games ahead of Madison and Kearny, claimed the Western League championship with a 3-0 win over Mission Bay, but coach Dick Huddleston couldn’t be blamed if he looked uncertainly at the upcoming playoffs. The Pointers were 0-4 in nonleague games.

—Helix needed four hours, 45 minutes, and 17 innings but finally got past Grossmont, 5-4.

Santana’s Brad McRoberts had the attention of coed Donna Dietrich after playoff victory.

5/15/70

There was no rest for Helix.  The Highlanders’ marathon continued for four hours, 10 minutes more, before the Scots beat Monte Vista, 2-1.

–“I think we’re ready to play some baseball,” said St. Augustine coach Bill Whittaker.  “I’m not saying we’re the team to beat…but I like our chances next week.”

Whittaker was optimistic after the Saints’ John D’Aquisto stopped Eastern League champion Hoover on two hits, 3-2, at Beeson Field on the Marines Corps Recruit Depot.

D’Aquisto struck out 10 although he walked across two runs with five walks in the fourth inning. Rod Spence and Ron Redondo made best use of the Saints’ four hits by driving in all three runs.

—Santana clinched the Grossmont League championship, 4-3, over last-place Grossmont and the Sultans’ Kyle Hypes (9-0), who came on in relief in the third inning, when the Sultans trailed, 3-1, got the victory.

—The Evening Tribune final Top 10, in concert with the end of the regular season, selected Santana No. 1, followed by 2, Hoover; 3, Oceanside; 4, St. Augustine; 5, Kearny; 6, Point Loma; 7, Castle Park; 8, Escondido; 9, El Capitan, and 10, Granite Hills.

Hoover’s Dale Rowland slid into second base (left) under the tag of St. Augustine’s Charley Flower as umpire Andy Crowe (right) officiated. Pat Tormey (background) backed up Flower. St. Augustine won, 3-2.

STANDINGS

EASTERN LEAGUE

TEAM W L Pct. GB OVERALL
Hoover 14 4 .778 — 19-5, .792
St. Augustine 12 6 .667 2 14-7, .667
Crawford 10 8 .556 4 11-10, .524
San Diego 10 8 .556 4 10-11, .476
Lincoln 7 11 .389 7 8-13, .381
Patrick Henry 6 12 .333 8 8-14, .364
Morse 4 14 .222 10 7-16, .304

WESTERN LEAGUE

TEAM W L Pct. GB OVERALL
Point Loma 12 6 .667 — 12-10, 522
Kearny 11 7 .611 1 16-8, .667
Madison 10 8 .556 2 15-9, .625
Clairemont 10 8 .556 2 13-10, .565
Mission Bay 9 9 .500 3 10-12, .455
University 7 11 .389 5 8-14,.364
La Jolla 4 14 .222 8 5-17, .222

GROSSMONT LEAGUE

TEAM WON LOST Pct. GB OVERALL
Santana 12 2 .857 — 21-3, .875
El Capitan 10 4 .714 1/2 14-10, .583
Granite Hills 8 6 .571 4 13-8, .619
El Cajon Valley 7 7 .500 5 10-13, .435
Helix 6 8 .429 6 11-11, .500
Mount Miguel 6 8 .429 6 9-12, .429
Monte Vista 5 9 .357 7 11-13, .458
Grossmont 3 11 .214 9 5-15, .250

METROPOLITAN LEAGUE

TEAM WON LOST Pct. GB OVERALL
Castle Park 11 3 .786 — 15-9, .625
Mar Vista 9 5 .645 2 15-8, .652
Hilltop 8 6 .571 3 13-10, .565
Sweetwater 8 6 .571 3 11-10, .524
Chula Vista 8 6 .571 3 9-12, .429
Bonita Vista 6 8 .429 5 8-14, .364
Marian 3 11 .214 8 6-15, .286
Coronado 2 12 .157 9 4-16, .200

AVOCADO LEAGUE

TEAM WON LOST Pct. GB OVERALL
Oceanside 16 0 1,000 — 21-3, 875
Escondido 12 4 .750 4 17-6, .739
Carlsbad 10 6 .625 6 13-9, .591
San Marcos 8 8 .500 8 9-13, .409
Orange Glen 7 7 .500 6 10-9, .526
Poway 7 9 .438 9 10-12, .455
San Dieguito 7 9 .438 9 9-11, .450
Orange Glen 6 10 .375 10 8-14, .364
Vista 5 11 .313 11 6-15, .286
Fallbrook 1 15 .062 15 3-19, .136

Oceanside shortstop Kevin Sullivan (1-2) missed handle on infield pop up, allowing Santana’s Jim Saska (3-4) to reach base by avoiding Pat McGhee’s tag. Santana won playoff, 6-4.

5/19/70

SAN DIEGO SECTION 2A PLAYOFFS

FIRST ROUND

Granite Hills (13-9) 0, @Hoover 6.

Ken Kollmeyer pitched the first no-hitter in section playoff history as Hoover struck out nine while allowing the Eagles to hit one ball out of the infield.

Kollmeyer walked two in the seventh inning.  “I just wanted them to hit the ball on the ground,” said Kollmeyer (11-1).  “I got in too big a hurry; when I slowed down my control came back.”

First baseman Randy Fleetwood was 2 for 3 for the Cardinals and raised his average to .375, the product of a 25-for-48 streak and .510 average since April.

Crawford (11-11), 5, @Oceanside 6.

Crawford, champion four times since 1962 and a playoff finalist in six of the last seven seasons, took a 40-mile bus ride to defeat and an end to its season.

George McGraw’s three-run homerun gave the Colts the lead in the first inning, but Oceanside rallied for its 15th consecutive victory.

Escondido and Carlsbad made the Avocado League a surprising 3-0 in first-round games.

Sweetwater (11-11) 1, @Escondido 6.

Carlsbad 7, @Point Loma (12-11) 4.

Clairemont (13-11) 0, @Santana 10.

Santana ousted the Chieftains as Terry Forster pitched five innings, before giving way to Brad McRoberts, and hit a two-run homer.

Kearny  (16-9), 4, @El Capitan 7.

San Diego 5, @ Castle Park (15-10), 0.

Mar Vista 10, @St. Augustine (14-8) 7. 

John D’Aguisto of the Saints walked eight batters in the first inning and two-thirds and the Mariners jumped to a 6-0 lead.

5/20/70

QUARTERFINALS

Hoover 5, Escondido (18-7) 4, @Grossmont College.

Randy Fleetwood’s double, which caromed off the right centerfield fence in the sixth inning, drove in the winning run. “He thinks he can hit anybody,” said Cardinals coach Jerry Bartow.  “He thinks that when they get him out it’s a mistake.”

Stan Cordova (8-0) went the distance for Hoover and allowed four hits.

San Diego 11, @El Capitan (15-11) 0.

Mark Merdes hit his second home run of the week and Charlie Burks added three hits as San Diego whitewashed the Vaqueros.

Mar Vista 4, @Carlsbad (14-10) 0.

Ray Huerta hurled a one-hitter and Mar Vista scored a run in the sixth inning and three in the seventh.

Santana 3, @Oceanside (22-4) 0.

Hoover coach Jerry Bartow lost argument with Santana catcher Dale Alexander and umpire Bill Anderson.  Bartow contended that baserunner Ray Garcia had slid under Alexander’s tag in play at home plate.

5/21/70

1-A CHAMPIONSHIP

San Diego Military (13-5), defeated Ramona (20-4) 6-5, in eight innings at Palomar College despite home runs by the Bulldogs’ Taylor Reiss and Tom Eberwein.  Pitcher Loren Russell went the distance for the Falcons and scattered six hits.

—Escondido protested its loss to Hoover, citing a “national amateur” rule that limits the number of “official conferences a coach and members of his team (i.e., visits to the mound) must be limited to three a game.

Future major leaguer John D’Aquisto of St. Augustine (left), was flanked by Santana’s Brad McRoberts and Kyle Hypes.

CIF boss Don Clarkson said most San Diego coaches were aware of the rule but have a gentleman’s agreement not to enforce it.  Escondido bosses claimed that North County coaches adhere to the rule.

5/22/70

CIF bosses agreed that Escondido had a valid protest and cited the game’s umpires for negligence but declared the game official with Hoover moving on.

SEMIFINALS

Hoover 6, San Diego (12-12) 1, @Beeson Field.

Hoover earned a fourth consecutive trip and sixth in 10 seasons to the finals on Beeson Field at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot.

The Cardinals, 17-2 in the playoffs since 1961, collected nine hits and played errorless ball behind Ken Kollmeyer, who struggled after sustaining a painful hip pointer in his no-hit performance against Granite Hills three days before.

Kollmeyer “was virtually underhanding” pitches in the last three innings, wrote Bill Finley of the Evening Tribune,” but Kollmeyer kept the Cavers in check and allowed only five singles.

“By the fifth (inning) it was killing me,” said Kollmeyer (12-1), who was aided by Jim Morstad’s two-run double in the third inning and a sixth-inning home run by Ray Garcia.

Santana 1, Mar Vista (17-9) 0, @Mesa College.

Santana’s Brad McRoberts gave up one hit, a first-inning single to shortstop Gene Alim.

Mar Vista starter Jerry Webb was reached for three hits and the Sultans’ Terry Forster scored the game’s only run from second base on a wild pickoff throw in the fourth inning.

“After I got through their lineup for the first time I felt confident.  I got stronger and started to get the feel of the game,” McRoberts told Jack Williams of the Evening Tribune.

Santana players were involved in 25 celebrations such as this one before the San Diego Section championship.

5/23/70

CHAMPIONSHIP

Santana (25-3) 8, Hoover (22-6) 4, @Beeson Field, MCRD.

Terry Forster pitched the Sultans to an 8-1 lead through six innings and then gave way to Kyle Hypes (10-0).

Hoover erupted for five hits and three runs and had the bases loaded and the tying run at the plate, but Randy Fleetwood struck out, ending the game.

The Cardinals scored first in the fourth inning when Dale Rowland singled and came all the way around when Forster fielded Roy Fields’ bunt and threw the ball to the centerfield wall.

Two singles and a pair of Hoover errors led to three runs for Santana in the bottom of the fourth.

Six hits and two Hoover errors in the fifth led to five more runs.  John Marlow, who singled in two runs in the fourth, doubled in two more in the fifth to lead the Sultans’ offense.

Santana’s 25-3 record was the best in San Diego Section history and completed a trifecta.  The Sultans won the Lions Tournament Limited division and the Grossmont League championship.