A road map would have been easy to follow in the first nine years of the San Diego Section: Start at 44th Street and El Cajon Boulevard and travel about 1.5 miles East and Southeast to 55th and Trojan Avenue.

The Hoover Cardinals and Crawford Colts, neighbors in the East San Diego enclave eventually known as City Heights, won seven of the first nine championships. Hoover claimed  its third this season, defeating four-time winner Crawford in the  championship game.

Hoover, which began in 1930 and had a history of success punctuated by a campus field named after major league baseball Hall of Fame inductee Ted Williams, was the figurative older sibling but Crawford, whose doors opened for the first time in 1957, challenged from its surging population base.

The Colts flexed their muscles in the decade, winning 13 additional titles in football, basketball, golf, gymnastics, swimming, and tennis.

4/16/69

Ted Schultz had two hits and Vista defeated Escondido, coached by Ted’s older brother Gary, 6-2.  Art Warren hit a three-run home run for the Panthers.

—El Cajon Valley catcher Tom DeHart was hit in the mouth in the seventh inning and left the game.  The pitch reportedly dislodged several teeth and cut DeHart’s lip and gum. The Braves topped El Capitan, 9-2.

4/18/69

Future major leaguer Terry Forster allowed four hits, struck out eight, and scored the winning run on an error in the top of the eighth inning to win a duel from Monte Vista’s Paul Loop, 1-0.

Castle Park’s Hector Cebreros struck out 15, walked three, and faced only 23 batters in pitching a no-hitter in a 9-0 win over Coronado.

–Randy Fleetwood’s three-run home run separated Hoover from Morse, 5-3, and allowed the defending Eastern League champion (9-1) to open a 1 1/2-game lead over Crawford (7-2), which was blanked by San Diego, whose Mike Hanson gave up five hits in the 2-0 victory.

–Gary Thomasson had four hits in four times at bat as Oceanside downed Orange Glen, 6-3. Thomasson’s future included almost nine seasons in the major leagues, seven with the San Francisco Giants as an outfielder-first baseman.

–Sam Hinds protected La Jolla’s Western League lead, shutting out Kearny, 1-0, on two hits, while David Blackwell kept Madison a half-game behind, pitching and doubling in two runs in the top of the seventh inning to top University, 3-2.

4/19/69

USC and UCLA teams this weekend were noted for  graduates from San Diego schools.

Pat Roark and Neal Ball of Hoover, Frank Alfano of Crawford, Cal Meier of Grossmont, and Brent Strom of San Diego High were in the lineup for USC.  Mike Reinbach of Granite Hills, Chris Chambliss of Oceanside, Bob Petretta of Crawford, and Jake Molina of Clairemont started for UCLA.

4/22/69

Hilltop’s Mike Likens scored the game’s first run in the second inning and silenced Sweetwater’s powerful lineup, allowing five hits in a 2-0 victory.  The loss was the Red Devils second in 17 games and the Lancers improved to 10-5.

—Mickey Aguirre hit a two-run home run and Rod Boone struck out nine as Crawford overcame a 3-0 Hoover lead to cut a game off the Cardinals’ Eastern League lead, 5-3.

–El Cajon Valley (5-1-1) led the Grossmont League after Brian Applegate’s three-run home run set down Santana, 4-2.  El Capitan, Granite Hills, and Mount Miguel had 5-2 league records.

4/25/69

El Cajon Valley (Grossmont), Madison (Western), and Escondido (Avocado) protected league leads.

Speedy Chase scored on a passed ball and Brian Applegate singled in Chuck Klein in a two-run third inning in the Braves’ 2-1 win over Granite Hills.

—Escondido turned back Oceanside for the Cougars seventh straight win.

—Madison’s Dave Blackwell blanked Point Loma, 3-0, to keep the Warhawks a game ahead of Clairemont.

4/28/69

John D’Aquisto blanked Hoover on two hits and first-inning home runs by Tony DeSanti and Jack Mannix resulted in five runs as the Saints cruised to a 9-0 win that knocked Hoover (9-3) out of a first-place tie with Crawford (9-2) in the Eastern League.

4/29/69

Marian’s Phil Bajo hurled a no-hitter and the Crusaders’ 4-0, Paloma League victory marked the second time this season that Army-Navy had gone hitless.

—Terry Lindsey’s three-run home run in the seventh inning was the difference in Clairemont’s 7-6 win over University.

–Madison (6-2) stayed a game in front of Claremont in the Western after Mike Cohen’s three-run home run and five runs batted in, which needed as Kearny scored five times in the seventh inning before coming up short, 9-7.

5/3/69

Steve Archambault came on in relief in the third inning and allowed one hit, retiring 14 of the 16 batters he faced, enabling Escondido (9-1) retain its two-game Avocado League lead with a 7-1 win over San Dieguito.

–Orange Glen (5-5) blanked Poway (1-9) behind the one-hit pitching on Walt Mack.

–“I like that fence,” said Warren Keagy of the five-foot barrier at Castle Park.  The Sweetwater coach, whose team defeated the Trojans, 3-1, after Carl Sims and Bob Kramer went deep.

–Chula Vista beat Mar Vista, 12-3, behind sophomore hurler Bob Tagye, who gave up three hits and singled, tripled, and homered.

–Sophomore Ken Bretsch of Bonita Vista allowed three hits and hit a two-run home run in a 3-0 win over Coronado.

–Granite Hills amassed 19 base hits in a 16-5 rout of Grossmont, which couldn’t stop Dennis Gillette and Dan Schuldies, who each had four runs batted in; Dan Ritter, who drove in three runs, and Tim Doerr, who had four hits in five at-bats.

–Hoover scored eight runs in fifth inning, profiting from seven walks that included four hit-batters, and outlasted Patrick Henry, 11-10, despite being out hit, 16-5.

5/6/69

Jim Dillahunt’s run-scoring double led Helix to a 2-1 victory over Santana, whose Terry Forster allowed only three hits and struck out 13.

Mickey Robinson was 3 for 4 and Oceanside (8-3) bombed Carlsbad, 15-4, allowing the Pirates to pick up a half game on Escondido (9-1), which couldn’t play Poway because of wet grounds.

5/9/69

“He tries to throw a perfect pitch every time,” El  Cajon Valley coach Harry Elliott said of Dan Corder, who pitched a 4-1 victory over El Capitan that advanced the Grossmont League leaders to a 9-3 record.

“Sometimes he tries to be too fine,” Elliott noted of his ace to Mike Sund of the Evening Tribune.  “He works the corners a lot and if the umpires aren’t calling the close ones for him he gets pretty temperamental.  Then I have go out there and try to settle him down.”

5/13/69

Preston McCracken, six weeks before a member of a San Diego junior hockey team playing a tournament in Minneapolis, stunned Crawford (12-4) with a no-hitter in a 3-0 victory that kept the Cardinals (12-5) in the Eastern League race.

“I took the uniform away from him a couple months ago, because he couldn’t devote enough time to baseball to help us,” said Cardinals coach Jerry Bartow told Mike Sund.

“I love both sports and both were suffering…but the opportunity to go back east for the hockey finals was something I couldn’t pass up,” said McCracken.  “I’m just grateful that coach Bartow gave me a chance to come back.”

–Terry Forester had been forced wear a corset to support a cranky back,  but the 6-foot, 3-inch, 190 pounder made El Capitan feel the pain with a no-hitter in Santana’s 5-0 victory.

5/16/69

Madison (9-3) clinched the Western League championship, 8-2 over University, with which the Warhawks shared the title in 1968.  Madison had four, two-run innings to support Dave Blackwell’s seven-hit pitching.

–Ed Evilsizor’s two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning gave Kearny (6-6) a 3-2 win over La Jolla (5-7).

STANDINGS

Not all scheduled games were reported or played.  Ties are half-game won, half-game lost.

EASTERN LEAGUE

TEAM	W	L	Pct.	GB	OVERALL
Crawford	13	4	.765	—	17-5, .778
Hoover	12	5	.706	1	15-6, .714
San Diego	12	6	.667	1 ½	13-9, .591
Lincoln	8	6	.571	3 ½	8-10, .471
St. Augustine	6	11	.353	7	11-12, .478
Patrick Henry	5	12	.294	8	6-16, .273
Morse	3	15	.167	10 ½	5-17, .222

WESTERN LEAGUE

TEAM	W	L	Pct.	GB	OVERALL
Madison	9	3	.750	—	14-8, .636
Clairemont	8	4	.667	1	13-9-2, .583
Point Loma	7	5	.583	2	11-10, .524
Kearny	6	6	.500	3	11-12, .478
La Jolla	5	7	.417	4	11-12, .478
University	5	7	.417	4	9-9, .500
Mission Bay	2	10	.167	7	6-16, .273

GROSSMONT LEAGUE

TEAM	WON	LOST/TIED	Pct.	GB	OVERALL
El Cajon Valley	10	3-1	.750	—	16-8-1, 667
El Capitan	10	4	.714	1/2	11-8, .579
Granite Hills	8	6	.571	2	14-8, 636
Mount Miguel	7	7	.500	3	15-9
Monte Vista	7	7	.500	3	12-11
Santana	7	7	.500	3	14-10
Helix	3	8-1	.291	7	6-14-1, .310
Grossmont	1	13	.071	9	3-18, .143

METROPOLITAN LEAGUE

TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GB	OVERALL
Sweetwater	10	2	.833	—	21-3, .875
Chula Vista	9	3	.750	1	13-9, .591
Castle Park	8	4	.667	2	12-10, .545
Hilltop	7	5	.583	3	11-11, .500
Mar Vista	5	7	.417	5	10-12-1, .457
Bonita Vista	3	9	.250	7	5-18, .217
Coronado	0	12	.000	10	3-20, .130

AVOCADO LEAGUE

TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GB	OVERALL
Escondido	13	1	.929	—	18-4, .818
Oceanside	10	4	.714	3	14-6-1, 690
San Dieguito	10	4	.714	3	16-6-1, .717
Vista	8	4	.667	5	11-10, .524
Orange Glen	7	7	.500	6	10-9, .526
Carlsbad	4	10	.286	9	10-12, .455
Poway	3	11	.214	10	4-17-1, .205
Fallbrook	1	13	.071	12	3-15-1, .184

SOUTHERN PREP

TEAM	WON	LOST	Pct.	GB	OVERALL
San Miguel	7	1	.875	—	10-5-1, .656
San Diego Military	4	5	.444	3 ½	8-10, .444
La Jolla Country Day	3	4	.429	4	4-11, .286
Julian	3	5	.375	4 ½	4-5, .444

FREE LANCE

TEAM	WON	LOST/TIE	Pct.
Rancho del Campo	8	1-0	.889
Francis Parker	4	3-0	.571
Borrego Springs	7	8-1	.469
Mountain Empire	6	12-1	.342
Christian	1	3-0	.250

5/17/59

A published report had said that El Cajon Valley and Helix would replay an earlier tie game at the hour of 9 a.m., but the game apparently was called off.   CIF bosses made no mention why when they revealed pairings later in the day for first-round playoff games.

El Cajon Valley became the league  winner with a 10-3-1 record and .750 won-loss percentage, while El Capitan was 10-4, .714.

5/20/69

SAN DIEGO SECTION PLAYOFFS

FIRST ROUND

Sweetwater 7, San Dieguito (16-7-2) 4, 10 innings, @San Diego State. 

Relief pitcher Bill Oxidine’s three-run home run, which cleared a 402-foot sign in left centerfield in the third extra inning, was part of a four-run rally that finally separated the Red Devils from their tough Avocado League opponent.

Three Sweetwater errors had allowed the Mustangs to take a 4-3 advantage in the top of the 10^th.  The Red Devils scored in the bottom of the sixth for a 3-3 tie.

Crawford 8, Castle Park (13-10) 2, @Hoover.

Rod Boone went the distance for the Colts in one of his last appearances.  Boone, who struck out seven, will miss a couple postseason all-star games because he will soon report to the Fairbanks Goldpanners team in Alaska.

Hoover 3, Clairemont (13-10-2) 1, @Mesa College.

Floyd McCracken pitched a five-hitter and Randy Fleetwood singled in two runs in the first inning.

Oceanside 3, El Cajon Valley (16-9-1) 1, @Grossmont College.

Two El Cajon Valley  errors put runners on the bases in the seventh inning and led to Allen Soto’s two-run double that boosted the four-hit pitching of Rob Bressi.

Escondido 2, Granite Hills (14-9) 1, @Palomar College.

Madison 6, Chula Vista (13-10) 4, @Helix.

San Diego 11, San Miguel School (10-6-1) 6, @Madison.

El Capitan 10, Marion (13-8-1), 7, @Mar Vista.

5/23/69

QUARTERFINALS

Hoover 7, Oceanside (15-7-1) 4, @Mesa College.                                                                      

“He’s going to be the best hitter we’ve ever had round here,” Hoover coach Jerry Bartow said to Mike Sund of the Evening Tribune of sophomore Stan DeKoven, whose two-run single in the sixth inning was the essential hit in the Cardinals’ 7-4 victory.

DeKoven hit .440 after being called up from the junior varsity three weeks before the end of the regular season.

Bartow used 17 players. Three finished in the positions at which they started the game.

Crawford 12, El Capitan (12-9) 0, @Helix High.

Crawford erupted for  19 hits, including home runs by Dan Gonzalez and Mike Coronado, who had four hits.  Pitcher Rod Boone was three for three and gave up two hits in six innings. The Colts’ Dave Hoppe and Rick Lee also had three hits.

Escondido 2, Madison (15-9) 0, @Cal Western University.

Joe Reyes, No. 2 in the pitching rotation of Cougars coach Chuck Leaf, gagged Madison, giving up two hits and picking off the Warhawks’ two base runners.

Sweetwater 9, San Diego (14-10) 0, @San Diego State.

The second time was not the charm for San Diego, which had dropped a nonleague, 5-1 decision to the Red Devils 10 days before.

5/27/69

SEMIFINALS

Hoover 3, Sweetwater (23-4) 2, @Mesa College.

The Cardinals’ Charlie Johnson singled to right field with one out in the top of the seventh inning and advanced to second base after pitcher Bill Oxidine threw wildly on a pickoff attempt.

Hoover’s Dale Roland struck out on a wild pitch, allowing an advance to third by Singleton, who scored the winning run on John Helfrick’s single between third base and shortstop.

Normally a first baseman or outfielder, Bo Martinez was a surprise pitching choice by coach Jerry Bartow.  Martinez gave up nine hits and was in and out of trouble, but refused to be pushed over the cliff.

Crawford 2, Escondido (20-5) 0, @San Diego State.

Crawford went with Rod Boone for the third straight playoff and the 6-foot, 3-inch righthander needed only 74 pitches to stop the Cougars on six hits. The Colts scored on three walks and a single by Dan Gonzalez and double by Mickey Aguirre that scored Bruce Altschuler and Gonzalez.

5/29/69

CHAMPIONSHIP

Hoover (19-6) 5, Crawford (20-6) 4, @Beeson Field.

Preston McCracken shut out Crawford on three hits and drove in Hoover’s last two runs with a single in the sixth inning.

As written by Bill Center in The San Diego Union, “McCracken, who threw a no-hitter at Crawford three weeks ago, retired the first nine Colts he faced until Mike Tice’s single in the fifth inning.”

Crawford’s Rod Boone, pitching his fourth consecutive playoff game and second in three days, was almost as effective, allowing only two hits, both in the bottom of the sixth.

Bo Martinez tagged up and scored from third after Wes Daw lined out to leftfield in the fourth inning and Ray Garcia, moving with Daw’s catch, scored on a wild throw from the outfield.

“Pres (sic) wants to be a pitcher,” Hoover coach Jerry Bartow said of the 5-foot, 9-inch McCracken.  “When he wasn’t in shape I said, ‘Prove it to me.’ Well, he’s proved it to me.”

Boone, the younger brother of Bob Boone, the star of Crawford teams earlier in the decade, elicited rare praise from coach Bill Sandback: “He has the greatest desire of any player I‘ve ever coached.”

Attendance for the game on the Marine Corps Recruit Depot diamond was estimated at close to 1,000.

 

 

 

 

 

Another great San Diego High team?  Or a very good San Diego team that had punished mostly mediocre opponents?

The Cavemen, 23-1 and one of the favorites for a Southern Section championship, were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the playoffs at Long Beach Poly, a team with a 20-3 record but had not participated in the playoffs since 1934.

The Cavers’ exit, after 17 straight wins, signaled the end to a season, in which four other San Diego squads were ushered out of the playoffs in the first round.

There were many outstanding baseball players in San Diego County, but apparently not enough competition for the legendary local power.

The loss to Poly, which was eliminated in the next round, was hugely disappointing but coach Les Cassie could look forward to the 1959 campaign, as at least five members of his starting lineup, including Iva Tucker, Sam Edwards, Ezell Singleton, Paul Runge, and Willie McCloud, would return to try again the following year.

3/31/58

Eight of nine City Prep League entries advanced on the first day of the eighth Lions Tournament at Navy Field and other venues.

–Mission Bay defeated Inglewood, 3-1, breaking a tie in the eighth inning when Jerry Dinsmore doubled home Andy Cribbs, who had singled.  Cribbs held the Sentinels to three hits.

–Lincoln beat Manhattan Beach Mira Costa, 1-0, on five-hit pitching by Nelson Kahn. Louie Hughley scored on a squeeze play in the fifth inning for the only run.

–Mount Miguel’s P.D. (Pete) Jernigan struck out nine and had two hits.  Jernigan also walked 19 batters and hurled three wild pitches, but San Diego needed three runs in the seventh inning to put away the Matadors, 12-9.

Hoover dropped a 1-0 decision to Hawthorne for the only loss by a CPL team.

4/1/58

Rain wiped out the entire Lions Club program and forced canceled of the rest of the tournament.

4/8/58

Ezell Singleton walked 13 and hit a batter but allowed only four hits and San Diego moved into second place in the CPL with a 7-1 win over Mission Bay.

—Sweetwater led Kearny, 13-0, after three innings and went on to a 19-1 victory.
4/9/58

Sammy Owens’ single in the fifth inning was the only hit allowed by Gene Fleming in Point Loma’s 4-0 victory, which was the Pointers’ fourth against no losses in league play.

4/10/58

St. Augustine’s George Luna hit two home runs, but Crawford’s Buddy Hunter doubled in two runs in the extra, eighth inning and Crawford won the nonleague contest, 9-8.

—Grossmont, 4-4 in practice games and starting one senior, three juniors, four sophomores, and one freshman, opened Metropolitan League play at home with a 5-3 win over Chula Vista.

Foothillers starter Larry Shuck and reliever John Andreas stranded 11 Spartans base runners.

Andreas came on in the ninth inning when the Spartans loaded the bases with two outs and struck out Bill Foley.

—Tom Dennison was 4 for 4 and Helix stopped El Cajon Valley (8-3) in another opener.  Ron Palermo homered for the Highlanders and scored the winning run on a fielder’s choice in the ninth inning.

4/11/58

Point Loma’s 7-2 win at Mission Bay kept the Pointers in first place with a 5-0 record in the CPL and dealt the early, front-running Buccaneers a third straight loss.

John Rebelo kept the Bucs in check on six hits and Larry Willette helped break a 1-1 deadlock in the sixth inning when Willette’s lead-off double was followed by a series of seemingly “I’ve-Got-It-No-You-Take-It” responses by the hosts.

A bunt by Point Loma’s Ray Hermans rolled fair for a hit.  Billy Fontana walked to load the bases.  Jim Bradford walked and Roger Soares dribbled another base hit down the third base line.  Don Smallwood executed a squeeze bunt for a run and pitcher Bill McCormick balked. Terry Love’s sacrifice fly scored Soares with a fifth run and 6-1 lead.

—Iva Tucker gave up a second-inning single to Bill Helming and San Diego scored in every inning but the seventh, including 10 in the fourth, and buried La Jolla, 22-0.

4/14/58

Point Loma went to 6-0 in the CPL and won its 10th game in a row, overpowering youthful Crawford, 8-1, on the Pointers’ diamond as John Rebelo, Gene Fleming, and Billy Fontana allowed two hits.

Fontana had three hits and Ray Hermans and Larry Willette two each.

4/15/58

Point Loma beat La Jolla, 7-2, and San Diego kept pace, overcoming a 4-0 Hoover lead to win, 7-4, propelled by Willie McCloud’s grand slam home run and clinched on run-scoring singles by Ezell Singleton and Paul Runge.

–John Wible’s two-hitter bested Fred Olmsted in a 2-0 duel between pitchers who also were basketball stars, Wible for Helix and Olmsted for Chula Vista.

–Sammy Owens tripled and Tom Goddard pitched St. Augustine to a 4-0 win over Kearny.

–Home runs by Bobby Jordan and Roger Miller led Sweetwater to an 8-5 win over El Cajon Valley, which got home runs from Bill Christianson and Larry Hancock.

4/16/58

Dick Carey led off the game with a home run and Bill Lewin also homered, but Lincoln had to go 10 innings to beat Kearny, 4-3, when Komets pitcher Bob Jesse walked in the winning run.

4/18/58

Ron Palermo’s two-run home run in the sixth inning was the decisive blow in Helix’ 4-2 win over guest Sweetwater, giving coach Dick Gorrie’s Metropolitan League defending champions a 3-0 loop record.

—El Cajon Valley knocked Grossmont out of a share of first place tie with Helix, 6-4, at Grossmont.

John Solomon came on in the second inning for the Braves and kept the Foothillers at a distance for the last seven-plus innings, a stint that included working out of bases-loaded jams in the second and fourth.

4/22/58

San Diego coach Les Cassie surprised when he bypassed right hander Ezell Singleton for lefthander Iva Tucker for the starting pitcher assignment against Point Loma.

Tucker gave up a three-run home run to Billy Fontana that scored Larry Willette and Ray Hermans in the third inning.

At that point the Cavers led, 4-3, and they went on to a 9-3 win to tie their hosts for first place in the CPL.

Paul Runge’s triple with the bases loaded wrapped the victory and Tucker went the distance, giving up four hits and hitting safely twice in two times at bat.

–Jerry Dinsmore hit two home runs and drove in four to back the no-hit pitching of Andy Cribbs as Mission Bay defeated Crawford, 12-0.

–Nelson Kahn struck out seven of the first nine batters he faced and Lincoln shut out Hoover, 8-0.

–St. Augustine’s Fred Najera had a no-hitter into the sixth inning and then gave up three hits but still pitched a 4-0 victory Sweetwater.

4/25/58

San Diego took over first place in the CPL, as Point Loma was idle and falling a half-game behind.

The Cavers, behind Iva Tucker’s grand slam home run, a three-run shot by John Frabotta, and two-hit pitching by Ezell Singleton, shut out Lincoln, 10-0.

–Bill Lucas and Pete Jernigan hit home runs and Mount Miguel rose up from the Metropolitan League cellar to whip Helix, 13-5.  The losing Highlanders fell into a first-place tie in the Metro with Sweetwater.

4/28/58

Sweetwater improved to 4-1 and took a half-game lead in the Metropolitan loop behind Bob Jordan’s four-hitter which blanked Chula Vista, 4-0.

5/1/58

The sixteen-game City Prep League schedule was down to five and San Diego and Point Loma were tied with 10-1 records.

—Point Loma drew even with the idle Cavemen with a 3-2 victory over Kearny.

—Grossmont moved into a tie for first place with Sweetwater, each at 4-2, when Phil Groce went all the way for a 13-inning, 1-0 win over Chula Vista.

Sophomore Fred Olmsted hurled 12 2/3 innings for the Spartans, relieved by Dave Petersen.

5/2/58

San Diego was alone in first place again after an 11-2 win at Crawford.

—Mar Vista scored a run in the 13^th inning to win at Vista, 2-1.

5/6/58

The day would come when first-year Crawford was a power, but those days seemed far off after the Colts took a 22-0 shellacking from visiting Point Loma.

There was no 11-run mercy rule in effect and Pointers bats made maximum use of 11 hits.  Larry Willette, Billy Fontana, and Ted Faris hit home runs and John Rebello cuffed the Colts on two hits.

–Iva Tucker pitched a two-hitter and San Diego profited from 16 bases on balls in an 8-0 win over St. Augustine.

Three walks loaded the bases in the fifth inning and Sam Edwards followed with a triple.  Another walk later in the inning preceded a two-run double by John Hutchinson.

–Helix’ Bill Whalen shutout Chula Vista on six hits, 4-0.

–Grossmont and Sweetwater stayed tied for first in the Metropolitan League, the Foothillers defeating Mount Miguel, 12-9, and the Red Devils topping El Cajon Valley, 8-4.

5/8/58

Harold Bell’s one-hit pitching and pair of singles was enough or Fallbrook to defeat San Dieguito, 6-3, in the Avocado League.

5/9/58

Billy Fontana had three singles and a double and his Point Loma teammates bunted safely six times in an 8-2 win over St. Augustine.

San Diego moved closer to the City Prep League championship, 6-4 over Mission Bay despite Buccaneers coach Ernie Beck’s pitching Andy Cribbs and Dave McCormick in alternate innings.

The Cavers’ Sam Edwards had four hits, including a double and triple.

5/13/58

San Diego clinched the City Prep League championship with a 14-0 win over La Jolla, a winless-in-league squad the Cavemen had roughed up, 26-0, in the first round.

—Point Loma dropped an eight-inning, 2-1 decision to Mission Bay and was mathematically eliminated.

The Pointers scored in the last of the seventh inning to tie but the Bucs punched over a run in the top of the eighth.

–Oceanside bombed Carlsbad, 22-2, and remained a game ahead of Escondido in the Avocado League. A makeup game with San Dieguito was forfeited, improving Oceanside’s record to 11-3.

–Grossmont earned a tie for the Metropolitan loop crown with a 6-4 win over Sweetwater.

STANDINGS

CITY PREP LEAGUE

TEAM	WON	LOST	PCT.	GAMES BEHIND LEADER
San Diego	15	1	.938	—
Point Loma	13	3	.813	2
Mission Bay	10	6	.625	5
Hoover	9	7	.563	6
St. Augustine	8	8	.500	7
Crawford	7	9	.438	8
Lincoln	6	10	.375	9
Kearny	4	12	.250	11
La Jolla	0	16	.000	15

METROPOLITAN LEAGUE

TEAM	WON	LOST	PCT.	GBL
Grossmont	8	2	.800	—
Helix	6	4	.600	2
Sweetwater	6	4	.600	2
Mount Miguel	5	5	.500	3
Chula Vista	3	7	.300	5
El Cajon Valley	2	8	.200	6

AVOCADO LEAGUE

TEAM	WON	LOST	PCT.	GBL
Oceanside	12	2	.857	—
Escondido	11	3	.786	1
Mar Vista	10	4	.714	2
Vista	7	7	.500	5
Coronado	6	8	.429	6
Fallbrook	4	10	.286	8
San Dieguito	3	11	.214	9
Carlsbad	2	12	.157	10

5/19/58

SOUTHERN SECTION PLAYOFFS

A scheduled Central Group playoff between Helix and Sweetwater at Chula Vista to determine the Metropolitan League’s No. 2 team was canceled when the CIF placed both teams in the Southern Section playoffs.

MAJOR DIVISION

FIRST ROUND

5/20/58

San Diego 9, @Newport Beach Newport Harbor 3.

The Tartars were a perplexing opponent.  They lost their first 10 games, including two in the Sunset League, and then won 10 in a row.

Lefthander Iva Tucker won his 10^th game of the season against no defeats as the Cavemen, trailing, 2-0, slammed six runs across the plate in the third inning and three in the fourth.

John Frabotta walked with two out in the third, followed by Sam Edwards’ single, Ezell Singleton’s double, walks to Henry Gardner and Paul Runge, and another single by Willie McCloud.

Tucker gave up eight hits and walked four and struck out seven.

Point Loma 0, Anaheim 5, @Anaheim La Palma Park.

Two Colonists pitchers combined to stop the Pointers with a no-hitter.

Helix 1, @Ontario Chaffey 9.

Larry Maxie, the Southern Section player of the year in 1957 who would earn the honor again, struck out 17 and held the Highlanders to three hits.

Grossmont 1, Colton 4, @Riverside.

The Foothillers clung to a 1-0 lead until the Yellowjackets’ John Doty hit a grand slam home run in the eighth inning.

Sweetwater 2, @Long Beach St. Anthony 16.

The host Saints raked 20 hits and improved their record to 20-0.

SOUTHERN GROUP

Oceanside 8, @Garden Grove Rancho Alamitos 0.

The Pirates outhit the first-year Pocos, 10-3,and were scheduled to play El  Centro Central in the next round.

SECOND ROUND

San Diego 11, Long Beach St. Anthony 9, @Beeson Field.

The Saints (21-1) scored three runs on one hit in the first inning and two more in the second before the Cavemen unloaded with seven runs in the second on the Marine Corps Recruit Depot diamond.

Willie McCloud started the San Diego rally with a home run over the left-centerfield wall with two outs in the second inning.

John Frabotta followed McCloud by reaching first base on an error, then Archie Walker singled, Augie Bregante singled, Iva Tucker walked, Sam Edwards singled, and Ezell Singleton homered.

Tucker took to the mound in the fifth inning and starter Singleton moved to centerfield and made what writer Jim Mulligan described as “three heart-stopping catches”.

Singleton’s last was a diving stab of a line drive by future St. Augustine athlete Al Roman.  Singleton then fired to second to double up Rom Casaga and end the game.

The Saints out hit the Cavers, 12-6.

5/27/58

San Diego 1, Long Beach Poly 5, @Long Beach Blair Field.

Jeff King allowed a run on a wild pitch in the first inning and then shut the door on the Cavemen, giving up four hits as the Jackrabbits (21-3) shot down the Cavers’ 19-game winning streak and brought an end to a 23-2 season.

Poly, in the postseason for the first time since 1934, handed Iva Tucker his first loss after 11 victories.

Another outstanding San Diego High team was eliminated in the Southern California playoffs and followed a trend of other Cavers teams generally also coming up short in football and basketball.

Coach Les Cassie, who guided the 1952 team to an astounding 35-2 record and its lone Southern California title in the decade, retired after this season and would return to Hoover, his alma mater, as vice principal.

Cassie’s record since 1951, when he succeeded Mike Morrow, was 221-33 and a stunning, .870 winning percentage.

This Cavemen compiled a 25-4 record this season and they were 73-9 since a talented group of sophomores arrived in 1957.

The five, three-year regulars, with batting averages this year in parenthesis: pitcher-outfielder Iva Tucker (.300), first baseman Sam Edwards (.391), catcher Paul Runge (.300), second baseman-pitcher Ezell Singleton (.468), and centerfielder Willie McCloud (.352).

The lineup also included leftfielder H.D. Murphy (.293), infielder John Frabotta (.302), third baseman Steve Simon (.294), and rightfielder Sam Cowan (.308).

Singleton posted a 10-1 record and 1.45 earned-run average.  Iva Tucker and Larry Kramer each pitched a no-hitter.

Singleton was most-valuable player of the ninth annual Lions Tournament, in which the Cavemen defeated El Centro Central, 7-2; Sweetwater, 7-0; Escondido, 6-3, and Mount Miguel, 22-2, for their sixth championship.

3/30/59

Ezell Singleton struck out 17 batters, allowed four hits, and San Diego almost routinely whipped St. Augustine, 16-1, for its ninth consecutive win and Singleton’s fifth without a loss.

Willie McCloud hit his third home run in the last three games and John Frabotta,  also homered.  Iva Tucker and Sam Edwards added three singles apiece as part of San Diego’s 19-hit attack.

—Joe Cisterna’s three-hit pitching was the difference in Lincoln’s 3-1 win over Kearny.

—Billy Fontana was 5-for-5 and Point Loma beat Crawford, 14-1, and Hoover scored 10 runs in the last two innings for a 13-10 victory over Mission Bay.

—Fred Olmsted hit a home run and pitched Chula Vista to a 5-2 win over Helix.

—Mount Miguel’s Jeff Cox gave up 10 hits but struck out 13 and hung in for a 9-8 win over Sweetwater.

—Three errors betrayed Coronado pitcher Craig Callender, who dropped a 2-0 decision to Oceanside’s Joe Astorga.

–San Dieguito rampaged for 16 hits in a 19-0 win over Carlsbad and Mar Vista capitalized on 10 Fallbrook errors in a 16-3 win.

4/1/59

Mike Smith drove in three runs and Ronnie Riech pitched Clairemont to a 6-2 win over Grossmont.

4/3/59

St. Augustine a loser in four of its last five games, surprised Point Loma, 3-1, to knock the Pointers out of a first-place tie with Hoover and San Diego in the City Prep League.

Tom Goddard pitched the victory for the Saints, who separated from the Pointers on a single, squeeze bunt, and an error in the fifth inning.

–Ezell Singleton’s three-run home run in the seventh inning was insurance in San Diego’s 6-1 win over Mission Bay.  Larry Kramer hurled a four-hitter for the Cavemen.

—Jeff Cox had four hits and Pete Jernigan homered and pitched Mount Miguel to a 7-1 win over Chula Vista.

—Dan Reed hit a three-run homer in a four-run third inning and Grossmont scored four more runs in the seventh to beat Sweetwater, 9-6.

4/6/59

Larry Kramer gave up four hits, Sam Edwards drove in five runs, and Ezell Singleton homered in San Diego’s 11-0 victory over La Jolla.

—First-year Clairemont made it five wins in six games by outlasting Hoover, 8-7.

—Pitcher Mike Jauregui had three hits and drove in three runs as Point Loma beat Mission Bay, 9-0.

4/10/59

Gary (Slats) Maloy pitched a no-hitter but three walks and a error denied Slats of a perfect game in a 7-1 Crawford win over Clairemont.

Norm Marr backed Maloy with a grand slam home run and Buddy Hunter added a solo shot.

—Frank Kamfonik of Point Loma edged La Jolla’s Dave Newton, 2-0, in a battle in which each pitcher allowed four hits.

–San Diego routed Hoover, 19-0, and took a 40-20 lead in all-time games against its arch rival. The Cavemen’s romp represented their third highest total of runs versus Hoover, topped only by a 21-3 win in 1949 and 20-3 victory in 1952.

4/14/59

Escondido took a one-game lead in the Metropolitan League as Jim Gabbard hurled a 9-2 win over Sweetwater that combined with Mount Miguel’s 12-4 win over previous frontrunner Grossmont.

–Harold Peterson hit a grand- slam home run and Willie McCloud and H.D. murphy added roundtrippers in San Diego’s 15-1 win over Clairemont.

4/17/59

San Diego took a two-game CPL lead with its 14^th win in a row as Ezell Singleton reversed an earlier loss to Point Loma with a 2-1 victory.

—Bobby Graham and Don Young each hit home runs and Crawford moved into third place in the CPL with a 5-4 win over Mission Bay.

4/21/59

Fred Olmsted homered and pitched Chula Vista back into first place in the Metropolitan League lead with a two-hitter that stopped Escondido, 3-1.

–San Diego won its 15th game in a row, 14-5 over Lincoln.  Angel Sanchez hit a grand-slam homer for the Hornets that made the defeat seem more digestible.

4/24/59

Sam Edwards had five hits in six trips, including a home run and double, and drove in nine as San Diego bombarded Kearny, 22-0.  Paul Runge drove in three runs and Steve Simon homered for the Cavers.  Ezell Singleton and Iva Tucker combined on a one-hit pitching performance.

–Oceanside made it eight wins in nine games and held its Avocado League lead with an 8-7 win over Coronado.

4/28/59

A four-run 10^th inning and 6-2 win over Chula Vista elevated Mount Miguel back into a first-place tie in the Metropolitan League with the Spartans.

Big hit in the Matadors’ inning was Jerry Lipscomb’s triple with winning pitcher Pete Jernigan on base.

5/1/58

Steve Simon and Ezell Singleton each doubled in a run and Iva Tucker, fully recovered from a broken finger, hurled a no-hitter as San Diego defeated St. Augustine, 4-0.

5/5/59

Three El Cajon Valley pitchers could not stop the onslaught.

Grossmont overwhelmed the Braves, 33-10, with 29 hits, led by the 6-for-8 by Danny Reed, whose day included a grand slam home run, four singles, and nine runs batted in.

Grossmont’s Joe Sewall was 5 for 5 with two doubles, a triple, and five RBI. Almost lost in the stats were three doubles in six trips by Danny Selness and eight errors by the Braves.

The offensive explosion, probably heard at the top of nearby Mt. Helix, allowed coach Art Preston’s team to maintain a first-place tie with Chula Vista in the Metropolitan League.

–Chula Vista lefthander Fred Olmsted won a 2-1 duel from visiting Sweetwater’s Jess Molina.  The Red Devils took a 1-0 lead in the top of the seventh but the Spartans scored two in the bottom of the inning.

–Willie McCloud hit a grand-slam home run and Steve Simon homered, tripled, and doubled to bring in five runs as San Diego topped Mission Bay, 14-4, despite the Bucs ending a pitching streak of 25 scoreless innings by Cavers pitchers.

–Ramona’s Neal Walters struck out 19 and no-hit Mountain Empire, 4-0.

–Fallbrook’s Jim Lira and San Dieguito’s Bill Bruns traded one-hit pitching performances, but Bruns was a 5-0 winner.

5/8/59

Larry Shuck kept Mount Miguel at a distance until Grossmont scored a run in the top of the 11^th inning and went all the way in a 1-0 victory.  Shuck twice worked his way out of jams that saw the Matadors retired after runners reached second and third  bases with no outs in two innings.
“I’ve never seen him hum the ball the way he did in the late innings,” said Foothillers coach Art Preston.

Grossmont pitchers have gone the distance in all but one of 21 games, Preston said. The coach had given Neil MacClellan a rest in the third inning after Grossmont had scored 17 runs en route to the 33-10 rout of El Cajon Valley.

H.D. Murphy hit two home runs and Ezell Singleton and Steve Cowan added one each as San Diego clouted La Jolla, 15-4, for its 20^th consecutive victory, behind the pitching of Iva Tucker and Larry Kramer.

5/12/59

Scorebook line-score observers had to take a second or third look when Grossmont took a one-game lead in the Metro League with one game to play in a 9-6 win over visiting Chula Vista.

A published line score revealed that Foothillers pitcher Neil MacClellan started and was relieved by Larry Shuck in the eighth inning, when the Spartans were erupting for four runs.

MacClellan stayed in the game at another position and returned to the mound in the ninth inning.  Shuck also moved to another position and then relieved MacClellan a second time and closed out the game in a scoreless ninth inning.

–Ramona’s Don Romine followed Neal Walters’ gem of seven days earlier with a no-hitter in a 10-0 win over Army-Navy.

–Ezell Singleton was 4 for 4, with three singles and a double and pitched San Diego to a 10-3 win over Hoover.

5/15/59

What in the world of surprising results was this?

Clairemont beat San Diego High in the final regular -season game.

The fledgling program, which opened its doors in September, 1958, with a large segment of students from Mission Bay and Kearny enrollment areas and with no seniors, stunned the Cavemen, 1-0, and put an end to their 20-game winning streak.

Several good players apparently were in that Kearny-Mission Bay mix.  Under coach Ernie Beck the Chieftains tied for third with Hoover, each with a 12-6 record, and were 19-12 overall.

John Barger’s squeeze bunt in the third inning scored Stan Zimny, who had tripled.  George Lyons stopped the Cavemen on two hits, working out of trouble in the first, second, fifth, and sixth innings.

Barger also caught Paul Runge’s 400-foot drive to centerfield and then doubled Ezell Singleton at second base to end the game.

Despite the loss, San Diego’s second in 18 league games, the Cavers won the CPL championship by two games over Point Loma.

–Helix finished third in the Metropolitan League but had a say in Grossmont’s fortunes, rocking the Foothillers, 15-2, and preventing them from an outright title, which they were force to share with Chula Vista, 7-2 winner over Escondido.

STANDINGS

CITY PREP LEAGUE

TEAM	WON-LOSS	Pct.	GB	OVERALL/Pct.
San Diego	16-2	.889	—	24-3, .889
Point Loma	14-4	.778	2	18-5, .783
Hoover	12-6	.667	4	17-10, .625*
Clairemont	12-6	.667	4	19-12, .613
Crawford	11-7	.611	5	14-10, .583
St. Augustine	8-10	.444	8	9-14, .391
Mission Bay	6-12	.333	10	7-16, .304
Lincoln	6-12	.333	10	9-15, .375
Kearny	5-13	.278	11	6-18, .250
La Jolla	0-16	.000	16	1-19, .050

*Hoover had one tie game.

METROPOLITAN LEAGUE

TEAM	WON-LOSS	Pct.	GB	OVERALL/Pct.
Chula Vista	8-4	.667	—	15-7, .682
Grossmont	8-4	.667	—	16-7, .688*
Helix	7-5	.583	1	12-9, .571
Escondido	6-6	.500	2	14-7, .667
Mount Miguel	6-6	.500	2	15-10, .600
El Cajon Valley	6-6	.500	2	7-15, .318
Sweetwater	1-11	.083	7	8-14, .364

*Grossmont had one tie game.

AVOCADO LEAGUE

TEAM	WON-LOSS	Pct.	GB	OVERALL/Pct.
San Dieguito	9-3	.750	—	11-4, .733
Vista	9-3	.750	—	11-6-1, .639
Oceanside	8-3-1	.708	½	12-6-1, .658
Coronado	6-5-1	.541	2 ½	6-9-1, .407
Mar Vista	5-7	.417	4	7-12, .368
Fallbrook	4-7-1	.375	4 ½	5-8-1, .393
Carlsbad	0-12	.000	9	0-16, .000

 

SOUTHERN SECTION PLAYOFFS

San Diego 13, @Grossmont (16-8-1) 5.

The Cavemen literally walked their way to the first-round victory, with first baseman Paul Runge leading the parade.

Runge had a single in six times at bat.

A modest achievement, but Runge drew bases on balls in his other five times at bat, reaching base his first four appearances on a combined 16 consecutive pitches.

Runge drove in four runs, three on bases-loaded walks.

Wild Grossmont pitchers, who issued 19 free passes, contributed to a seemingly interminable, three-hour contest that began before about 500 fans at Grossmont.

Grossmont actually led, 3-2, when the roof fell in.

Two Grossmont errors, Runge’s single, Willie McCloud’s home run, and John Frabotta’s, triple were part of a six-run fifth inning that gave the Cavers a 9-3 lead.

San Diego pitcher Ezell Singleton even walked six batters but struck out 11 and raised his record to 10-0. San Diego needed only eight hits, led by Sam Edwards’ two doubles in five trips.

Point Loma (18-6) 1, @Santa Ana 14.

Jim Bradford homered and doubled for the Pointers, who were competitive, trailing, 3-1, until the Saints, champions of the Sunset League, unloaded for 10 runs in the fifth inning.

Long Beach Poly 2, @Chula Vista (15-8) 0.

Poly pitcher Tommy Sisk worked out of a jam in the sixth-inning when the Spartans loaded the bases with none out and came up empty.

Sisk struck out 13 and allowed three hits.  Chula Vista’s Fred Olmsted gave up only two hits and single runs in the third and fifth innings.

Huntington Beach 1, San Diego (25-4) 0, @Beeson Field.

Bob White, who “pestered San Diego High batters with a whistling fastball,” stroked a run-scoring base hit in the sixth inning and closed out the Cavemen in a second-round playoff game on the Marine Corps Recruit Depot diamond.

The loss also closed the career of coach Led Cassie, who retired from coaching and moved into administration.

Johnny MacDonald of The San Diego Union noted that White denied the Cavemen after they had runners on third base three times and that “excellent, heads-up play by his teammates squelched the impotent Cavers.”

Harley Murray opened the Oilers’ sixth with a single.  Pinch-runner Bob Anderson went to second base on a wild pitch and scored on White’s single with two out.

Tough luck San Diego pitcher Iva Tucker gave up just three hits and struck out 11.

Another great San Diego High team?  Or a very good San Diego team that had punished mostly mediocre opponents?

The Cavemen, 23-1 and one of the favorites for a Southern Section championship, were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the playoffs at Long Beach Poly, a team with a 20-3 record but had not participated in the playoffs since 1934.

The Cavers’ exit, after 17 straight wins, signaled the end to a season, in which four other San Diego squads were ushered out of the playoffs in the first round.

There were many outstanding baseball players in San Diego County, but apparently not enough competition for the legendary local power.

The loss to Poly, which was eliminated in the next round, was hugely disappointing but coach Les Cassie could look forward to the 1959 campaign, as at least five members of his starting lineup, including Iva Tucker, Sam Edwards, Ezell Singleton, Paul Runge, and Willie McCloud, would return to try again the following year.

3/31/58

Eight of nine City Prep League entries advanced on the first day of the eighth Lions Tournament at Navy Field and other venues.

–Mission Bay defeated Inglewood, 3-1, breaking a tie in the eighth inning when Jerry Dinsmore doubled home Andy Cribbs, who had singled.  Cribbs held the Sentinels to three hits.

–Lincoln beat Manhattan Beach Mira Costa, 1-0, on five-hit pitching by Nelson Kahn. Louie Hughley scored on a squeeze play in the fifth inning for the only run.

–Mount Miguel’s P.D. (Pete) Jernigan struck out nine and had two hits.  Jernigan also walked 19 batters and hurled three wild pitches, but San Diego needed three runs in the seventh inning to put away the Matadors, 12-9.

Hoover dropped a 1-0 decision to Hawthorne for the only loss by a CPL team.

4/1/58

Rain wiped out the entire Lions Club program and forced canceled of the rest of the tournament.

4/8/58

Ezell Singleton walked 13 and hit a batter but allowed only four hits and San Diego moved into second place in the CPL with a 7-1 win over Mission Bay.

—Sweetwater led Kearny, 13-0, after three innings and went on to a 19-1 victory.
4/9/58

Sammy Owens’ single in the fifth inning was the only hit allowed by Gene Fleming in Point Loma’s 4-0 victory, which was the Pointers’ fourth against no losses in league play.

4/10/58

St. Augustine’s George Luna hit two home runs, but Crawford’s Buddy Hunter doubled in two runs in the extra, eighth inning and Crawford won the nonleague contest, 9-8.

—Grossmont, 4-4 in practice games and starting one senior, three juniors, four sophomores, and one freshman, opened Metropolitan League play at home with a 5-3 win over Chula Vista.

Foothillers starter Larry Shuck and reliever John Andreas stranded 11 Spartans base runners.

Andreas came on in the ninth inning when the Spartans loaded the bases with two outs and struck out Bill Foley.

—Tom Dennison was 4 for 4 and Helix stopped El Cajon Valley (8-3) in another opener.  Ron Palermo homered for the Highlanders and scored the winning run on a fielder’s choice in the ninth inning.

4/11/58

Point Loma’s 7-2 win at Mission Bay kept the Pointers in first place with a 5-0 record in the CPL and dealt the early, front-running Buccaneers a third straight loss.

John Rebelo kept the Bucs in check on six hits and Larry Willette helped break a 1-1 deadlock in the sixth inning when Willette’s lead-off double was followed by a series of seemingly “I’ve-Got-It-No-You-Take-It” responses by the hosts.

A bunt by Point Loma’s Ray Hermans rolled fair for a hit.  Billy Fontana walked to load the bases.  Jim Bradford walked and Roger Soares dribbled another base hit down the third base line.  Don Smallwood executed a squeeze bunt for a run and pitcher Bill McCormick balked. Terry Love’s sacrifice fly scored Soares with a fifth run and 6-1 lead.

—Iva Tucker gave up a second-inning single to Bill Helming and San Diego scored in every inning but the seventh, including 10 in the fourth, and buried La Jolla, 22-0.

4/14/58

Point Loma went to 6-0 in the CPL and won its 10th game in a row, overpowering youthful Crawford, 8-1, on the Pointers’ diamond as John Rebelo, Gene Fleming, and Billy Fontana allowed two hits.

Fontana had three hits and Ray Hermans and Larry Willette two each.

4/15/58

Point Loma beat La Jolla, 7-2, and San Diego kept pace, overcoming a 4-0 Hoover lead to win, 7-4, propelled by Willie McCloud’s grand slam home run and clinched on run-scoring singles by Ezell Singleton and Paul Runge.

–John Wible’s two-hitter bested Fred Olmsted in a 2-0 duel between pitchers who also were basketball stars, Wible for Helix and Olmsted for Chula Vista.

–Sammy Owens tripled and Tom Goddard pitched St. Augustine to a 4-0 win over Kearny.

–Home runs by Bobby Jordan and Roger Miller led Sweetwater to an 8-5 win over El Cajon Valley, which got home runs from Bill Christianson and Larry Hancock.

4/16/58

Dick Carey led off the game with a home run and Bill Lewin also homered, but Lincoln had to go 10 innings to beat Kearny, 4-3, when Komets pitcher Bob Jesse walked in the winning run.

4/18/58

Ron Palermo’s two-run home run in the sixth inning was the decisive blow in Helix’ 4-2 win over guest Sweetwater, giving coach Dick Gorrie’s Metropolitan League defending champions a 3-0 loop record.

—El Cajon Valley knocked Grossmont out of a share of first place tie with Helix, 6-4, at Grossmont.

John Solomon came on in the second inning for the Braves and kept the Foothillers at a distance for the last seven-plus innings, a stint that included working out of bases-loaded jams in the second and fourth.

4/22/58

San Diego coach Les Cassie surprised when he bypassed right hander Ezell Singleton for lefthander Iva Tucker for the starting pitcher assignment against Point Loma.

Tucker gave up a three-run home run to Billy Fontana that scored Larry Willette and Ray Hermans in the third inning.

At that point the Cavers led, 4-3, and they went on to a 9-3 win to tie their hosts for first place in the CPL.

Paul Runge’s triple with the bases loaded wrapped the victory and Tucker went the distance, giving up four hits and hitting safely twice in two times at bat.

–Jerry Dinsmore hit two home runs and drove in four to back the no-hit pitching of Andy Cribbs as Mission Bay defeated Crawford, 12-0.

–Nelson Kahn struck out seven of the first nine batters he faced and Lincoln shut out Hoover, 8-0.

–St. Augustine’s Fred Najera had a no-hitter into the sixth inning and then gave up three hits but still pitched a 4-0 victory Sweetwater.

4/25/58

San Diego took over first place in the CPL, as Point Loma was idle and falling a half-game behind.

The Cavers, behind Iva Tucker’s grand slam home run, a three-run shot by John Frabotta, and two-hit pitching by Ezell Singleton, shut out Lincoln, 10-0.

–Bill Lucas and Pete Jernigan hit home runs and Mount Miguel rose up from the Metropolitan League cellar to whip Helix, 13-5.  The losing Highlanders fell into a first-place tie in the Metro with Sweetwater.

4/28/58

Sweetwater improved to 4-1 and took a half-game lead in the Metropolitan loop behind Bob Jordan’s four-hitter which blanked Chula Vista, 4-0.

5/1/58

The sixteen-game City Prep League schedule was down to five and San Diego and Point Loma were tied with 10-1 records.

—Point Loma drew even with the idle Cavemen with a 3-2 victory over Kearny.

—Grossmont moved into a tie for first place with Sweetwater, each at 4-2, when Phil Groce went all the way for a 13-inning, 1-0 win over Chula Vista.

Sophomore Fred Olmsted hurled 12 2/3 innings for the Spartans, relieved by Dave Petersen.

5/2/58

San Diego was alone in first place again after an 11-2 win at Crawford.

—Mar Vista scored a run in the 13^th inning to win at Vista, 2-1.

5/6/58

The day would come when first-year Crawford was a power, but those days seemed far off after the Colts took a 22-0 shellacking from visiting Point Loma.

There was no 11-run mercy rule in effect and Pointers bats made maximum use of 11 hits.  Larry Willette, Billy Fontana, and Ted Faris hit home runs and John Rebello cuffed the Colts on two hits.

–Iva Tucker pitched a two-hitter and San Diego profited from 16 bases on balls in an 8-0 win over St. Augustine.

Three walks loaded the bases in the fifth inning and Sam Edwards followed with a triple.  Another walk later in the inning preceded a two-run double by John Hutchinson.

–Helix’ Bill Whalen shutout Chula Vista on six hits, 4-0.

–Grossmont and Sweetwater stayed tied for first in the Metropolitan League, the Foothillers defeating Mount Miguel, 12-9, and the Red Devils topping El Cajon Valley, 8-4.

5/8/58

Harold Bell’s one-hit pitching and pair of singles was enough or Fallbrook to defeat San Dieguito, 6-3, in the Avocado League.

5/9/58

Billy Fontana had three singles and a double and his Point Loma teammates bunted safely six times in an 8-2 win over St. Augustine.

San Diego moved closer to the City Prep League championship, 6-4 over Mission Bay despite Buccaneers coach Ernie Beck’s pitching Andy Cribbs and Dave McCormick in alternate innings.

The Cavers’ Sam Edwards had four hits, including a double and triple.

5/13/58

San Diego clinched the City Prep League championship with a 14-0 win over La Jolla, a winless-in-league squad the Cavemen had roughed up, 26-0, in the first round.

—Point Loma dropped an eight-inning, 2-1 decision to Mission Bay and was mathematically eliminated.

The Pointers scored in the last of the

seventh inning to tie but the Bucs punched over a run in the top of the eighth.

—Oceanside bombed Carlsbad, 22-2, and remained a game ahead of Escondido in the Avocado League. A makeup game with San Dieguito was forfeited, improving Oceanside’s record to 11-3.

–Grossmont earned a tie for the Metropolitan loop crown with a 6-4 win over Sweetwater.

STANDINGS

CITY PREP LEAGUE

TEAM	WON	LOST	P’CT.	GAMES BEHIND LEADER
San Diego	15	1	.938	—
Point Loma	13	3	.813	2
Mission Bay	10	6	.625	5
Hoover	9	7	.563	6
St. Augustine	8	8	.500	7
Crawford	7	9	.438	8
Lincoln	6	10	.375	9
Kearny	4	12	.250	11
La Jolla	0	16	.000	15

METROPOLITAN LEAGUE

TEAM	WON	LOST	PCT.	GBL
Grossmont	8	2	.800	—
Helix	6	4	.600	2
Sweetwater	6	4	.600	2
Mount Miguel	5	5	.500	3
Chula Vista	3	7	.300	5
El Cajon Valley	2	8	.200	6

AVOCADO LEAGUE

TEAM	WON	LOST	PCT.	GBL
Oceanside	12	2	.857	—
Escondido	11	3	.786	1
Mar Vista	10	4	.714	2
Vista	7	7	.500	5
Coronado	6	8	.429	6
Fallbrook	4	10	.286	8
San Dieguito	3	11	.214	9
Carlsbad	2	12	.157	10

5/19/58

SOUTHERN SECTION PLAYOFFS

A scheduled Central Group playoff between Helix and Sweetwater at Chula Vista to determine the Metropolitan League’s No. 2 team was canceled when the CIF placed both teams in the Southern Section playoffs.

MAJOR DIVISION

FIRST ROUND

5/20/58

San Diego 9, @Newport Beach Newport Harbor 3.

The Tartars were a perplexing opponent.  They lost their first 10 games, including two in the Sunset League, and then won 10 in a row.

Lefthander Iva Tucker won his 10^th game of the season against no defeats as the Cavemen, trailing, 2-0, slammed six runs across the plate in the third inning and three in the fourth.

John Frabotta walked with two out in the third, followed by Sam Edwards’ single, Ezell Singleton’s double, walks to Henry Gardner and Paul Runge, and another single by Willie McCloud.

Tucker gave up eight hits and walked four and struck out seven.

Point Loma 0, Anaheim 5, @Anaheim La Palma Park.

Two Colonists pitchers combined to stop the Pointers with a no-hitter.

Helix 1, @Ontario Chaffey 9.

Larry Maxie, the Southern Section player of the year in 1957 who would earn the honor again, struck out 17 and held the Highlanders to three hits.

Grossmont 1, Colton 4, @Riverside.

The Foothillers clung to a 1-0 lead until the Yellowjackets’ John Doty hit a grand slam home run in the eighth inning.

Sweetwater 2, @Long Beach St. Anthony 16.

The host Saints raked 20 hits and improved their record to 20-0.

SOUTHERN GROUP

Oceanside 8, @Garden Grove Rancho Alamitos 0.

The Pirates outhit the first-year Pocos, 10-3.

SECOND ROUND

San Diego 11, Long Beach St. Anthony 9, @Beeson Field.

The Saints (21-1) scored three runs on one hit in the first inning and two more in the second before the Cavemen unloaded with seven runs in the second on the Marine Corps Recruit Depot diamond.

Willie McCloud started the San Diego rally with a home run over the left-centerfield wall with two outs in the second inning.

John Frabotta followed McCloud by reaching first base on an error, then Archie Walker singled, Augie Bregante singled, Iva Tucker walked, Sam Edwards singled, and Ezell Singleton homered.

Tucker took to the mound in the fifth inning and starter Singleton moved to centerfield and made what writer Jim Mulligan described as “three heart-stopping catches”.

Singleton’s last was a diving stab of a line drive by future St. Augustine athlete Al Roman.  Singleton then fired to second to double up Rom Casaga and end the game.

The Saints out hit the Cavers, 12-6.

5/27/58

San Diego 1, Long Beach Poly 5, @Long Beach Blair Field.

Jeff King allowed a run on a wild pitch in the first inning and then shut the door on the Cavemen, giving up four hits as the Jackrabbits (21-3) shot down the Cavers’ 19-game winning streak and brought an end to a 23-2 season.

Poly, in the postseason for the first time since 1934, handed Iva Tucker his first loss after 11 victories.

Hoover was favored and aiming for what sportswriters euphemistically called a hat trick. The term, more favored in ice hockey and soccer, meant a player had scored three goals.

The Cardinals were shooting for a third title, having won the Lions Tournament and Eastern League (they could have claimed a fourth after being selected No. 1 in the final Evening Tribune poll).

Despite a 24-4 record, best in the seven-year history of the San Diego Section, Hoover came up short.  Crawford  (21-7), three-time loser to the Cardinals in the regular season, defeated the Cardinals,  5-1, for the championship, its fourth in seven years under coach Bill Sandback.

CIF bosses adjusted the playoffs, dumping the 12-team, two-division format for a single, 16-team bracket.

4/30/68

El Capitan and Helix remained in a tie for first place in the Grossmont League.  The Highlanders defeated Monte Vista, 4-0, behind the no-hit pitching of Larry (No) Sweat. El Cap’s Joe Thogmartin shut out Mount Miguel, 2-0, behind run-scoring singles by Greg Mulkey and Denny Rupe.

–Bob Prawdzik’s three-run home run was the difference as Escondido (5-3) picked up a game on first-place San Dieguito (6-2) in the Avocado League, 5-3.

–Don Watson’s struck out 12 and gave up one hit in Carlsbad’s 3-0 win over Vista.  Fallbrook scored nine runs in the first inning, punctuated by Chuck Perkins’ grand slam home run, in a 12-2 rout of Oceanside.

–Chula Vista took the Metropolitan League lead on Nacho Bracamontes’ three-hitter that stopped Mar Vista, 4-2.

–University stayed a half game ahead of Madison in the Western League with a 7-6 win over Kearny and Madison stayed apace with a 2-1 win over Point Loma.

–Ron Monks two-run home run was essential for Uni, while Allan Hunt handcuffed Point Loma on seven singles.

–“We didn’t accomplish much, but we’re still in first place and if we can win four of our last five games we’ll stay there,” said Hoover coach Jerry Bartow after a doubleheader split of 4-3 games with chasing Crawford.

“We had to have a split,” said Crawford’s Bill Sandback.  “We’re still in the thick of things….”

Conclusion of an earlier, nine-inning tie turned in Hoover’s favor when Gary Stock’s long fly ball scored Mike Harrison from third base in the top of the 10^th inning.

The Cardinals scored twice and had the tying run on third base but Colts’ righthander Rod Boone retired Fred Jacobsen and Crawford survived in the second game.

–Dale Davis pitched seven innings in relief and tripled in the winning run in San Diego’s 3-2 win over St. Augustine.

–Morse’s Mike Hawks’ one-hitter blanked Lincoln, 8-0.

5/3/68

Hoover’s Mike Harrison improved his record to 11-2 and kept Hoover in front in the Eastern League, 7-0 over St. Augustine. Harrison scored two runs and drove in another.

–Crawford kept the pressure on Hoover with a 5-0 win over Morse behind Mike Pieratt’s pitching and four unearned runs.

–Jim Erautt, the grandson of Eddie Erautt, who posted 16-12 and 18-10 records for the Pacific Coast League San Diego Padres in 1954 and ’55, showed familial moxie for coach Bill White’s Grossmont loop-leading Helix.

Erautt tossed a two-hit, 1-0, eight-inning victory over El Capitan to maintain the Highlanders’ league lead.

–Chula Vista pitcher Frank Enda’s one-hitter was more than enough for the Metropolitan League Spartans’ 4-0 win over the Western’s Point Loma.

“Everybody’s a contender,” said University coach Robert (Bull) Trometter.  “We still have to play La Jolla and Mission Bay and I’m scared to death.”

Uni’s league lead had just been trimmed to a half game with two remaining after Clairemont’s Tom Dodd, idled a month with back problems, stopped the Dons, 3-2, on four hits at Beeson Field on the Marine base.

5/7/68

The Grossmont and Avocado league race were nearing photo finishes.

–Helix and El Capitan shared the lead with 8-2 records after El Cajon Valley (8-3) knocked off Helix, 6-5, in 10 innings. Brian Applegate’s infield single scored Brock McRoberts with the winning run.

El Capitan jumped Monte Vista with four runs in the first inning and defeated the Monarchs, 5-2.  Santana (7-4) lost ground when Mount Miguel’s Alan Hansen blanked the Sultans on two hits, 5-0, and   Bill O’Connor hit a two-run home run.

–Escondido (7-3) caught San Dieguito and tied for first when the Cougars outscored Vista, 12-9, and Oceanside (7-4) moved to within a half game of the leaders with a 12-9, 10-inning victory over the Mustangs (7-3).

–Ben Epstein’s two-hitter and 5-0 win over Lincoln kept Hoover atop the Eastern Lreague with a 10-2 record, while Crawford (9-3) beat St. Augustine, 7-2.

–“If we can’t win two of these next three games we’d better hang it up,” said Chula Vista coach Bob Kennedy after the Spartans took a two-game lead with three to play in the Metropolitan League.

The Spartans won at Castle Park, 5-3, and looked at the possibility of a fourth league title in the same school year, following football, basketball, and wrestling.

Chula Vista’s Nacho Bracamontes retired the first 10 Castle Park batters, including seven by strikeout to improve to 10-2 on the season and 4-1 in league.

5/10/68

El Cajon, 10-5 since losing its first six, took the Grossmont League lead with a 9-3 record after a 3-0 win over Monte Vista.

The Braves’ Bob Wheelington stifled the Monarchs on three hits, while erstwhile leaders Helix and El Capitan were losing, the Highlanders to Santana, 4-3, and the Vaqueros to Grossmont on an unearned run in the seventh inning, 2-1.

–Frank Endo’s one-hitter and Kent Froede’s two-run homerun paced a 10-1 Chula Vista victory over Bonita Vista that moved the Spartans closer to the Metropolitan League title.

–Castle Park kept pace with the Spartans, 5-2 over Coronado as Ron Iapala hit a three-run home run.

–Marv Thompson’s one-hitter and five Hilltop errors geared a 14-1 victory for Nar Vista, which collected only seven hits.

–San Dieguito and Escondido remained atop the Avocado League.  The Mustangs edged Poway, 2-1, and the Cougars overcame Carlsbad, 6-3.

5/14/68

Chula Vista and Marian became the first to clinch league championships, the Spartans claiming a consecutive Metropolitan title, 9-5 over Coronado, and Marian winning the Palomar with a 7-6 edge on Army-Navy.

–University moved back into first place in the Western League when it defeated Mission Bay, 2-0, and Clairemont dropped back a half game when Point Loma blanked the Chieftains, 3-0.

University’s Greg Tomczyk and Point Loma’s Larry Luzenburg were the lockdown pitchers. Tomczyk struck out 10 and allowed two hits.  Luzenburg was touched for four hits.

–El Cajon Valley stayed a half game in front of Helix in the Grossmont circuit, nodding El Capitan, 3-2, behind Brian Applegate’s two home runs.

–Chuck Lind struck out 13 and gave one hit in a 1-0, eight-inning complete game triumph over Vista that kept San Dieguito in a tie in the Avocado League with Escondido, 6-0 winner against Orange Glen.

–Hoover earned a tie for the Eastern League championship but an outright title would come necessitate a win over Crawford three days later in the season’s final regular-season game.

Hoover shut out Morse, 8-0, and Crawford stayed as half-game behind with a 4-2 win over Crawford. Gary Stock’s home run and Ben Epstein’s three-hit pitching was too much for Morse and Rod Boone’s five-hitter and Earl Altschuler’s two runs batted in kept the Cardinals from shaking the Colts.

5/17/68

Hoover wrapped its first outright Eastern League championship since 1961 (it shared with San Diego in 1963) with an in-your-face, 9-0 victory on runner-up Crawford’s diamond.

Hoover collected 15 hits and Mike Harrison, elevating his record to 13-2 gave up hits and hurled his third consecutive shutout.

“He told me not to worry, that he’d shut them out,” said Cardinals coach Jerry Bartow, adding, “This was the first time all year we exploded on somebody.”

Every Hoover starter collected at least one hit. George Cappelletti and John Helfrick had three hits each and Gary Stock homered and drove in two runs.

“We haven’t been beaten this bad in several years,” said Crawford coach Bill Sandback.  “We’re not laying down, though, because we’ve won the playoffs a couple of times after finishing second.”

–University and Madison deadlocked for the Western League championship, each with an 8-4 record and league bosses were to vote on which would be No. 1 and No. 2 for playoff pairings.

Madison scored five runs in the fourth inning to beat Mission Bay, 8-3, and forge the tie with idle Uni.

–Helix annexed its first Grossmont League title since 1961 with a 4-0 victory over Mount Miguel that was the third victory in a week for pitcher John Sturgeon.  Grossmont opened the door for the Highlanders with a 5-4 win over El Cajon Valley.

–The difficulties that face new schools with undeveloped programs:  Bonita Vista took a 19-0 shellacking from Sweetwater, which hit four home runs The Barons finished 1-11 in Metropolitan League play and 3-19 on the season.

FINAL REGULAR-SEASON STANDINGS

EASTERN LEAGUE

TEAM	W-L	PCT.	GAMES BEHIND	ALL GAMES
Hoover	13-2	.867	—	21-3, .875
Crawford	11-4	.733	2	17-7, .808
San Diego	8-7	.533	5	13-9, .591
Lincoln	6-9	.400	7	7-14, .333
St. Augustine	5-10	.333	8	12-12, .500
Morse	2-13	.133	11	5-17, 294

WESTERN LEAGUE

University	8-4	.667	—	13-6, .684
Madison	8-4	.667	—	12-10, .545
Clairemont	7-5	.583	1	18-6, .750
Kearny	7-5	.583	1	12-10, .545
Point Loma	6-6	.500	2	9-13, .409
Mission Bay	5-7	.417	3	11-11, 500
La Jolla	1-11	.083	7	4-17, .190

GROSSMONT LEAGUE

Helix	11-3	.786	—	15-7, .682
El Cajon Valley	10-4	.714	1	11-12, .478
El Capitan	9-5	.643	2	13-8, .619
Santana	9-5	.643	2	13-8, .619
Grossmont	7-7	.500	4	10-11, .476
Mount Miguel	7-7	.500	4	9-11, .450
Monte Vista	2-12	.143	9	8-13, .381
Granite Hills	1-12	.071	10	2-19, .095

METROPOLITAN LEAGUE

Chula Vista	10-2	.833	—	17-4, .810
Castle Park	8-4	.667	2	17-7, .708
Sweetwater	8-4	.667	2	14-9, .609
Mar Vista	7-5	.583	3	13-9, .591
Hilltop	5-7	.417	5	8-14, .364
Coronado	3-9	.250	7	8-14, .364
Bonita Vista	1-11	.083	9	3-19, .136

SOUTHERN LEAGUE

San Miguel School	6-3	.667	—	9-6, .600
San Diego Military	6-3	.667	—	8-8, .500
La Jolla Country Day	4-5	.444	2	8-9, .471
Julian	2-7	.222	4	2-9, .182

PALOMAR LEAGUE

Marian	9-2	.818	—	14-8, .636
San Marcos	7-4	.636	2	8-13, .381
Army-Navy	5-7	.417	4 1/2	6-11, .353
Ramona	2-10	.167	7 ½	5-16, .238

AVOCADO LEAGUE

Escondido	11-3	.786	—	14-7, .636
San Dieguito	9-5	.643	2	16-6, .727
Oceanside	8-6	.571	3	11-11, .500
Carlsbad	7-7	.500	4	12-9, .571
Fallbrook	6-8	.429	5	8-10, .444
Poway	6-8	.429	5	10-11, .476
Orange Glen	5-9	.357	6	8-11, .421
Vista	4-10	.286	7	8-13, .381

 

5/21/68

SAN DIEGO SECTION PLAYOFFS

FIRST ROUND

Castle Park (17-8) 3, @Hoover 4.

Gary Stock’s triple was the impetus for a three-run, Hoover fifth inning that was the difference in the Cardinals’ 4-3 win.

El Capitan (13-9) 4, @Crawford 5.

Crawford scored twice in their last time at bat.  Rod Boone’s two-run home run in the sixth inning put the Colts ahead, 3-2, and they needed two more when the Vaqueros (13-9) scored two in the top of the seventh.

San Diego 13, @Chula Vista (17-5) 5.

“I can’t remember a day this humiliating since (Ontario) Chaffey beat us, 27-13, in 1958,” said Spartans coach Bob Kennedy, who added, “but I’m happy with the year we had. You can’t laugh off 17-5.”

San Dieguito 2, @Marian (13-9) 1, 15 innings.

The Mustangs needed four hours and 15 minutes.  The winning run was unearned and dealt the defeat to Steve Bajo, who went all the way for the Crusaders (14-9).

Sweetwater 3, @Madison (12-11) 0.

Alan Dodson’s two-hit pitching blanked the Warhawks.

Kearny (12-11) 6, @Helix 7.

Keith Baxter’s base hit and two runs batted in was the pivotal shot in the seventh inning as Helix came from behind.

El Cajon Valley 10, @San Miguel School (9-7) 0.

Dan Corder and Bob Wheelington combined on a two-hitter for the Braves.

 University (13-7) 2, @Escondido Escondido 7.

The Cougars scored in every inning but one after Uni took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first.

5/24/68

QUARTERFINALS

The Avocado League barged into semifinals with two surprising victories.

Escondido 2, San Diego (14-10) 0, @Cal Western University.

The Cougars’ Dan Gabbard executed a game-ending, unassisted triple play to shock the Cavers.

With runners on first and second and none out in the bottom of the seventh inning, San Diego’s Ron Brown hit a low line drive, caught by Gabbard, who touched first base and raced to touch second, ending the game.

“We were standing around holding our hands (sic) and the first thing we know it’s over,” said Cavers coach Charlie Davidson, who claimed that Gabbard trapped the ball.

San Dieguito 4, Helix (16-8) 3, @MiraCosta College.

Mustang Dan Kilpatrick’s sixth-inning double scored Terry Hernandez with the winning run.

-Crawford ,11, Sweetwater (15-10) 7, @Beeson Field. 

Earl Altschuler homered in the first inning off Alan Dodson, considered by many the top professional prospect in the San Diego Section, and the Colts drove the Sweetwater righthander to cover with a four-run third.

“We had heard a lot about him,” said Altschuler.  “We didn’t know what to expect.  He throws hard but he’s not the best pitcher we’ve faced.”

Hoover 7, El Cajon Valley (12-13) 2, @Mesa College.

Mike Harrison upped his record to 14-2 for the defending champion Cardinals.

5/28/68

SEMIFINALS

Hoover 7, Escondido (16-8) 2, @Mesa College.

Hoover coach Jerry Bartow did not employ ace Mike Harrison, instead nominating his second ace, Ben Epstein, who moved to 8-0 on the season by holding the Cougars to three hits.

Relief pitcher Steve Archambault shut out Hoover without a hit after the second inning. The Cardinals scored all seven runs on six base hits in the first inning.

Five Hoover batters were averaging at least .300.  “We’re hitting .280 as a team,” said coach Jerry Bartow.

Crawford 2, San Dieguito (18-7) 1, @Beeson Field.

Crawford earned its sixth trip in seven years to the championship game behind Rod Boone’s four-hit pitching.

5/31/68

CHAMPIONSHIP

Crawford (21-7) 5, Hoover (24-4) 1, @Beeson Field.

Mike Harrison retired the first 10 batters and Hoover led Crawford, 1-0, in the fourth inning, but the Colts struck for four runs when Danny Coronado scored on brother Mike Coronado’s single and Rod Boone hit a three-run home run for a 4-1 lead.

Colts starter Mike Pieratt limited the Cardinals to four singles and worked his way out of a one-out, bases-loaded jam in the seventh inning by coaxing a pop-fly out and strikeout to end the game.

“I kept getting more and more nervous until the first pitch,” said Pieratt. “Then the nervousness went away until the seventh inning.

“He did a good job against Hoover in the Lions tournament, so we knew he could do it for us,” said Colts coach Bill Sandback.  “Rod Boone (the Colts’ No. 1 starter) was tired, so we went with Mike.”

“When you play a team that many times the percentages are bound to catch up with you,” Cardinals coach Jerry Bartow told Bill Finley of the Evening Tribune. “I still think we have the better team—I wouldn’t trade, I know that.”

Hoover had won three straight without defeat this season in games with their neighborhood rivals.

San Diego High, one year removed from a San Diego Section championship, posted a 10-12 record. The sub-.500 finish represented the Cavemen’s poorest record since the 1907 squad of coach Lawrence Carr, Sr., was 0-7.

Yes, 1907, according to Don King’s Caver Conquest.

Power had moved East after being seated for most of the last 60 years at the school near downtown.  Crawford had won three championships, Hoover two, and Helix one since 1961, the first season of the San Diego Section.

San Diego, since Clarence (Nibs) Price became coach in 1915, succeeded mostly by John Perry, Dewey (Mike) Morrow, and Les Cassie, had enjoyed unparalleled success through the 1950s.

The competition was ramping up, but first-year coach Jerry Dahms guided the Cavers to the Southern California finals in 1960 and Bernie Flaherty won a championship in 1966.

Flaherty left for San Diego City College and was replaced by Charlie Davidson. The Cavers were 8-7,  fourth in the Eastern League and out of the playoffs, but they were 3-0 against eventual section champion Hoover.

EXPANSION

The CIF board of managers agreed to extend the playoffs this year by increasing the 2-A field from eight to 12 teams. 

5/2/67

Chula Vista clinched its first Metropolitan League championship since 1962, 1-0 over Hilltop.  The Spartans, 10-1 in league, would take a 17-7 record into the playoffs.

–The 11-run mercy rule ended San Miguel’s 12-1 win over Julian in the fifth inning of the first game of their Southern Prep League doubleheader.  The second game went six innings before the Knights made it a mercy sweep of the Eagles, 20-9.

–Dale Davis (8-3) won his third game against Hoover, scattering four singles in San Diego’s 3-2 victory that left the Cavers with an 8-5 Eastern League record, one game behind Crawford and Hoover, and clinching the championship for St. Augustine (11-3), which shut out Morse, 4-0.

–Saints coach Bill Whittaker had a four-man pitching rotation of Mike Valeri, Jim Adesso, Skip Redondo, and Steve Chipp, which had a combined earned-run average of 1.59 in league play and 1.28 for the season.

–The Saints (19-3 overall) also could run out a hard-hitting lineup that included future major leaguer John Wathan (.391), Charles Benitez (.380), Wayne Bradley (.348), Skip Redondo (.340), Steve Ferrari (.333), and Dave Gonzalez (.318).

–Point Loma (11-3), fifth in 1966, clinched the Western League championship with an 8-1 win over La Jolla, while Clairemont was routing Mission Bay (9-5), 11-2.

–El Capitan (11-2) wrapped the Grossmont League gonfalon, 6-4, over Helix, as coach Art Preston’s team opened a 2 ½-game lead on the Highlanders and Santana, each 8-4.

5/5/67

Brien Bickerton pitched a no-hitter and lost.

The Santana lefthander’s career ended with a 1-0 defeat to Helix, which clinched second place in the Grossmont League and a berth in the San Diego Section playoffs.

“He took the challenge,” said Helix coach Bill White of his ace, Larry Sweat.  “I told him he was going against the best lefthander in the County and he would have to match him.  And by golly, he did.”

Helix scored in the first-inning on a pair of errors, one for three bases, and a swinging bunt, and Sweat kept the Sultans at a distance, scattering three hits, striking out 10.  He improved to 10-3 and lowered his earned-run average to 0.52.

Bickerton finished the season with a 9-2 record.  He gave up 46 hits in 92 innings,  struck out 150 and posted a 1.67 E.R.A.  Bickerton also hit six home runs, drove in 33, and batted .384.

–Mission Bay took some pleasure although out of the Western League title race when the Buccaneers scored on a bases-loaded walk in the last half of the ninth inning to defeat champion Point Loma, 3-2.

–Al Forman’s three-run home run and solo shot by Vic Foster wasn’t enough as Morse dropped a regular-season finale, 5-4, at Hoover.

–Brad Cutler lost a no-hitter on a leadoff single by Clairemont’s Dwayne Lawson, but Kearny defeated Clairemont, 5-0.

–Marian was going nowhere in the Palomar League but it traveled in style on the final day, hammering undefeated San Marcos, 14-0.

FINAL LEAGUE STANDINGS

PALOMAR

TEAM	W-L	Pct.	G.B.	ALL GAMES
San Marcos	9-3	.800	—	13-9, .591
Army-Navy	7-4	.667	1/12	9-8, .529
Marian	7-5	.583	2	11-10, .524
Ramona	0-11	.000	8 1/2	2-17, .105

EASTERN

St. Augustine	12-3	.800	—	21-3, .875
Crawford	10-5	.667	2	19-5, .792
Hoover	10-5	.667	2	14-9, .609
San Diego	8-7	.533	4	10-12, .455
Morse	4-11	.267	8	7-15, .318
Lincoln	1-14	.067	11	3-20, .130

WESTERN

Point Loma	11-4	.733	—	16-6-1, .717
Mission Bay	10-5	.667	1	15-9, .625
Kearny	8-7	.533	3	13-11, .542
Madison	8-7	.533	3	13-11, .542
Clairemont	6-9	.400	5	11-11, .500
La Jolla	2-12	.143	9	2-18, .105

SOUTHERN

S.D. Military	8-0-1	.944	—	12-2-1, .833
L.J. Country Day	6-3	.667	2 ½.	9-4, .692
San Miguel	2-5-1	.313	5 1/2	6-6-1, .500
Julian	0-8	.000	8	0-8, .000

METROPOLITAN

Chula Vista	10-2	.833	—	17-7, .708
Sweetwater	8-3-1	.708	1 ½	10-9-2, .524
Hilltop	8-4	.667	2	16-6, .727
Escondido	6-5-1	.542	3 ½	10-10-1, .500
Mar Vista	4-7-1	.375	5 /1/2	6-16-1, .283
Castle Park	3-8-1	.292	6 1/2	4-17-1, .205
Coronado	1-11	0.83	9	3-16, .158

AVOCADO

Poway	12-2	.857	—	18-5, .783
Orange Glen	10-4	.714	2	14-4, .778
University	9-5	.643	3	16-7, .696
Oceanside	7-7	.500	5	11-12, .478
Carlsbad	6-8	.429	6	10-10-1, .500
San Dieguito	6-8	.429	6	11-11, .500
Fallbrook	5-9	.357	7	9-12, .429
Vista	1-13	.071	11	4-18, .182

GROSSMONT

El Capitan	11-3	.786	—	13-8, .619
Helix	10-4	.714	1	14-7, .667
Santana	8-6	.571	3	14-8, .636
Granite Hills	8-6	.571	3	12-6, .667
Mount Miguel	7-7	.500	4	12-11, .522
Monte Vista	5-9	.357	6	8-14, .364
Grossmont	4-10	.286	6	9-13, .409
El Cajon Valley	3-11	.214	8	6-16, .273

5/9/67

2-A PLAYOFFS

FIRST ROUND

Mission Bay 1, Sweetwater (10-10-2) 0, @Southwestern College.

The Buccaneers’ Gary Myron gave up two hits and stretched his scoreless innings streak to 27. 

“We won’t hurt many people with the bat,” said Bucs coach Ken Bailey, after his team scratched four hits against the Red Devils’ Bill O’Quinn and didn’t get a runner past first base until the seventh inning.

Mike Shepherd doubled and eventually came home on Mike Fox’ single.

Hoover 2, Helix (14-8) 1, @Mesa College.

George Cappelletti singled in Pat Roark with the winning run in the ninth inning and offered that luck was involved.

“I think it was a curve,” Cappelletti said of pitcher John Sturgeon’s offering.  “I know he had me faked out.”

Crawford 2, Orange Glen (14-5) 1, @MiraCosta College.

Tim McClure hit a 350-foot home run over the left field fence in the eighth inning, giving Leo Edge the pitching victory over Ernie Oliva.

Hilltop 3, Poway (18-6) 1, @Palomar College.

The Lancers’ Ed Saffer had two hits and Hilltop made the most of three Poway errors, all runs unearned.

5/12/67

QUARTERFINALS

Hoover 4, Point Loma (16-7-1) 2, @Mesa College.

“I didn’t expect to hit it that well, but I’m not complaining,” said Hoover’s Dana Baltzer of his ringing, two-run triple in the fifth inning that overcame a 1-0 Pointers lead.

“I just wanted to hit the ball someplace,” Baltzer told Bill Finley of the Evening Tribune.

Paul Brunner hurled the first five innings for the Cardinals and then was backed up by Ben Epstein and Mike Harrison.

Mission Bay 5, St. Augustine (21-4) 1, @Westgate Park.

Mission Bay’s Rick Phillips socked a three-run home that broke a scoreless tie in the fifth inning and stunned the favored Saints.

Phillips’ drive, on an incoming fastball, cleared the centerfield fence, 405 feet away. “That’s the longest ball I’ve ever hit…by far,” said the Buccaneers’ third baseman.

“He seems to be thriving on throwing,” ‘Bay coach Ken Bailey said of the sturdy Myron, of whose 9 strikeout victims included 8 in the last four innings, and scattered six hits.

Crawford 7, El Capitan (13-9) 1, @Grossmont College.

Leo Edge (14-4) gave up a run on two hits in the first inning and then battled through seven bases on balls to shutout the Vaqueros for the remainder of the game.

The Colts broke open the game with five runs in the third inning on four singles, El Capitan errors, and force plays.. Earl Altshuler drove in the first run with a single.  

5/15/67

1-A CHAMPIONSHIP

San Diego Military (13-2-1) 3, San Marcos (12-8), 2, @MiraCosta College.

5/16/67

SEMIFINALS

Hoover 3, Chula Vista (18-8) 1, @Southwestern College.

Jerry Bartow’s comments seemed patronizing. “Chula Vista’s got a good little team,” said the Hoover coach to Bill Weurding of the Evening Tribune.

“They handled several balls that we hit real well,” Bartow added.

The coach declared that his sore-armed pitcher, Paul Brunner, benefitted from the hot, Santa Ana weather: “The heat was just what he needed.  Just as good as having his arm in a whirlpool.”

Pat Roark was 4 for 4 for Hoover and Brunner cuffed the favored Saints on three hits. Of Roark, Bartow said, “He’ll run the count on you, because he knows he’s not going to strike out.  He’s got that much confidence.”

Crawford 3, Mission Bay (17-10) 2, @Mesa College.

The Colts made it five trips to the finals in Bill Sandback’s six years as coach.

“We’ve been lucky, but we’ve had some fine talent here, too,” said Sandback.  “In a single-elimination playoff anything can happen.  Any team in it can win.”

Crawford had a 3-0 lead after three innings, two resulting from Mission Bay errors. The Buccaneers reached Colts ace Leo Edge for two runs in the sixth inning.

CHAMPIONSHIP

5/19/67

Hoover (18-9) 6, Crawford (22-6) 4, 13 innings, @Beeson Field, Marine Corps Recruit Depot.

The game went on and on, the lights of Beeson Field illuminating, some of the 1,200 persons on hand eventually heading home for dinner, before the Hoover Cardinals, after three hours and 45 minutes, finally edged the Crawford Colts.

Dana Baltzer’s two-run home run in the top of the 13th inning, was the difference. Hoover, which won the first San Diego section championship in 1961, went home with a second championship trophy.

Baltzer’s drive over the left field fence saddled Crawford’s ace pitcher, Leo Edge, with his fifth loss against 15 victories.  “It was a low curve, down and away,” said Edge.  “He must have been looking for it.”

Baltzer, rushed after the game by many in a mob of about 500 Hoover students, also had cleared the fence in the ninth inning but his drive drifted foul.

Ross Barnhart, who was on base when Baltzer homered, pitched the last eight innings in relief. “My arm felt good,” said Barnhart, adding, “That’s the longest I’ve pitched in a while.”

Edge, who had pitched 35 innings in the last two weeks and four games, received a standing ovation from the crowd when he came to bat in the 11^th. “I was physically exhausted, but my arm felt all right,” said Edge.

Jerry Bartow, the emotional and somewhat eccentric Hoover coach, was asked what he was going to do with the trophy.   “I’m going to take it home and just look at it, I guess…for a long time.”