The 15^th annual Lions baseball tournament began with all eyes on the sky.

Rain had played havoc with the schedule this spring and had a wet and dreary history with the event, actually resulting in cancellation in 1964.

San Diego High, winner of the tournament six times since 1951, was top seed among the 16 Unlimited Division teams, with Monte Vista favored in the 13-team Limited Division.

4/12/65

Tony Pisciotta and Kirk Gurling combined to check Escondido on four hits and top-seed San Diego advanced with a 5-0 victory over Escondido.

Three other ranked squads, Crawford (9-0, Mount Miguel), Hoover (4-0, El Capitan), and Point Loma, (3-1 Lincoln), all moved on in the Unlimited Division.

Hoover’s Greg Verdon pitched a one-hitter.  Crawford’s Bob Boone and Larry Forest scattered three Mount Miguel hits.  Point Loma Paul Ehrich gave up four hits, one a home run to losing pitcher Dennis Webb.

Monte Vista shut out Mission Bay, 5-0. Hilltop scored seven runs in the seventh inning in a 13-1 win over La Jolla. University won its tenth in a row, 3-1 over Mar Vista.

4/13/65

San Diego defeated El Cajon Valley, 4-3, in the morning and came from behind to edge Hoover, 5-4, in the afternoon to gain the championship game against Point Loma, which whipped Clairemont, then turned back Crawford, 1-0.

Trailing, 4-1, in the last of the seventh inning, San Diego got a triple from Clarence Calvin, double from Dennis Maley, bunt single by Louie Panza, pinch-hit single by Lee Wright, Hoover error, and a double steal that stole the win from the stunned Cardinals.

Crawford had 12 base runners, but two were out on plays at the plate, the last which ended the game, and three were cut down at second base, all part of outstanding defensive play by Pointers catcher Tim Faris.

Monte Vista beat Castle Park, 4-2, and Marian, 11-6, to gain the Limited Division championship versus Coronado, which surprised seeded opponents Hilltop, 5-3, and University, 2-1.

4/14/65

Brent Strom was named outstanding player of the tournament, pitching the first four innings and doubling in all of San Diego’s runs in the fifth inning of the 3-2 championship over Point Loma.

The Pointers Mike Adamson walked Dennis Maley and Louie Panza on eight pitches and then yielded an infield single to Steve Shepherd, setting the stage for Strom.

Monte Vista won its second straight Limited title as the game with Coronado was called with one out in the top of the seventh inning when the 12-run rule was activated by a Monarchs run that made the score 13-1.

Lincoln beat Escondido, 12-3, as Dennis Webb hit his second home run of the tournament, and St. Augustine topped Mar Vista, 1-0, for consolation brackets titles.

Dewey (Mike) Morrow ended a remarkable, 20-season run at San Diego High that included 15 Coast League championships and 10 Southern California titles from 1927, excluding the World War II, 1942-45 seasons.

Morrow’s final Hillers team was 17-10 and its .630 winning percentage, excellent by almost any measure, his lowest. Morrow’s overall record against high school teams was 281-49 (.852) and 367-97 (.788) versus all opponents, according to Don King’s Caver Conquest history of San Diego athletics.

Morrow was switching jobs with Les Cassie and figuratively passed Cassie on the way, Cassie becoming coach at the high school and Morrow succeeding Cassie at San Diego Junior College, across Russ Boulevard from the Hillers’ campus.

2/28/50

Frank Sanfillipo and Charlie Powell hit home runs in San Diego’s 7-6 win over La Jolla. SanFillipo’s three-run, 340-foot blast landed in the left-centerfield seats on the East side of Balboa Stadium. Powell’s two-run shot, estimated at 350 feet, came with one man aboard.

3/4/50

Hoover opened the season with a doubleheader sweep at La Jolla, 9-5, and 2-0. Ralph Buckingham allowed one hit in the nine-inning opener; Bert Grigsby scattered eight hits in the seven-inning nightcap.

3/5/50

John Nelson, Bob Stipp, and Dan Baker hit home runs and Kearny essentially took batting practice, bombing visiting Escondido, 21-2. Kearny’s junior varsity beat the Cougars’ JV, 20-0, at Escondido.

–No published score, but word reached that St. Augustine defeated its faculty by one run.

3/9/50

Ray Preston, Dick Priest, and Blain Thomas combined to pitch Grossmont’s 12-0 win over St. Augustine at Golden Hill Playground.

3/11/50

Ralph Buckingham hurled a no-hitter and struck out 13 Chula Vista batters in Hoover’s 5-0 victory. Dick Hartley had two hits, scored two runs, and drove in another.

–La Jolla, backed by Warner Benjamin’s and Tom Tomaiko’s home runs and seven San Diego errors, handed the Hillers their first defeat after five victories, 10-5.

–Mike De Scisciolo’s pinch hit, grand slam home run was the difference in Sweetwater’s 6-2 triumph against visiting St. Augustine.

3/14/50

Grossmont’s Blain Thomas, who transferred in from Norfolk, Virginia, gave up home runs to Bob Stipp and Tom Eggert, but stuck around for a 12-10, complete-game win over Kearny.

—Bert Grigsby struck out 15 and spaced eight hits in Hoover’s 8-5 victory over Point Loma. First baseman Art Bunge got the Cardinals off with a three-run home run in the first inning.

–Four-hit pitching by Clyde Thomas and a 14-hit attack was too much for Chula Vista as San Diego routed the Spartans, 19-2.

3/17/50

A crowd estimated at 4,500 at Lane Field saw the South defeat the North, 5-4, in the second annual Metropolitan League carnival.

The matchups (South teams first) were Chula Vista versus Sweetwater, Escondido versus Oceanside, Kearny versus San Dieguito, and Point Loma versus La Jolla.

The Southern Prep League’s San Dieguito filled in for Coronado, which again did not field a team because there was a lack of a suitable playing facility on the peninsula.

The South’s winning run came in the seventh inning, when Point Loma’s Nat Jones singled and Manny Gomes was safe on an error, Jones advancing to third.

Jones scored when the La Jolla’s third baseman threw wildly to home after fielding Izzy Luz’s grounder.

–Hoover first baseman Chuck Kennedy was 4 for 4 with three singles and a double but it was 10 St. Augustine errors that doomed the Saints to a 12-8 loss.

3/18/50

Point Loma pounded Grossmont, 8-5, and 12-1 in a nonleague doubleheader. Jim Poole scattered seven hits in the opener and Tim Feller and Manny Gomes handcuffed the Foothillers on two hits in the nightcap.

–Bonita High from the Los Angeles area was a stunned guest as Hoover won both ends of a double header at, 22-1, and 12-1.

Ralph Buckingham pitched a two-hitter in the opener. Buckingham was 5 for 9 on the day and Hoover batters had a total of 26 base hits in the two games.

3/20/50

Bob Petty socked two home runs and Hoover bombed Kearny, 13-5.

–La Jolla, backed by 12 Grossmont errors, outscored the Foothillers, 23-8. Vista whacked Fallbrook, 22-1, and San Diego got to Point Loma’s Eddie Serrano and Izzy Luz for a pair of four-run innings in a 12-7 win.

3/21/50

Bob Thorpe wild-pitched in a run in the eighth inning and the Naval Training Center squad defeated San Diego, 3-2, on the sailors’ diamond.

3/24/50

Freshmen Dick Flores and Jim Fletsch homered as St. Augustine won its first game 18-8, at San Dieguito.

–Lou Stills and the so-named Gunner Gundry hit home runs, offsetting Huddy McDowell’s 3-for-4 in Sweetwater’s 9-5 win at Kearny as the Metropolitan League season began.

–Eddie Serrano was 2 for 4, struck out 10, and allowed host Chula Vista four hits in Point Loma’s 7-2 win.

–Escondido topped Oceanside, 8-7, in 10 innings. Cougars pitcher Ben Linares had a no-hitter for seven innings.

3/25/50

Charlie Powell’s two-run home run in the ninth inning won the first game of a doubleheader at Pasadena Muir, 8-6. Powell stole home in the ninth inning of the nightcap and the Hillers completed a sweep, winning, 4-3, at Muir’s neighbor, Pasadena.

3/28/50

Grossmont put a resounding end to San Diego’s 16-game Coast League winning streak, knocking down the Hillers, 14-5, in Balboa Stadium.

The loss, San Diego’s first in Coast League play since 1948, was triggered by a three-run first inning followed by a five-run outburst in the second.

Jay Harris led the Foothillers’ 17-hit attack with a double and three singles. Bob Rand added four singles and Don Lenardi a pair of doubles.

— Warren Goodridge punched five singles in six at-bats as La Jolla ripped Hoover, 8-3.

–Tom Eggert homered and tripled and John Nelson hit for the circuit as Kearny topped St. Augustine, 13-2.

–Kenny Meyers pitched a no-hitter, allowing three base runners and getting support from Tom Oxley (three-run double) and Jack Rosenquist (two-run double) as Vista beat Oceanside, 5-0.

3/30/50

Charlie Powell homered and Frank San Fillipo doubled, driving in four runs, as San Diego took a 5-1 lead. The Cardinals came back to eventually take a 7-5 lead but the Hillers scored two runs in the seventh and one in the top of the ninth to beat Hoover, 8-7.

Ralph Buckingham homered for the Cardinals.

3/31/50

San Diego High was positioned to defend its Pomona 2030 Club championship, which it had won six times since 1935.

(The Hillers won a seventh title in 1933 but forfeited after reports that two Hillers brothers had competed under aliases at a semipro game in El Centro the previous summer.

(CIF honcho Seth Van Patten had brought down the hammer, also taking away the Hilltoppers’ Coast League championship and two playoff wins, plus the opportunity to play Santa Maria for the Southern Section title).

San Diego’s success in the tournament is such that the Hillers twice had retired perpetual trophies, the Carnation Milk bauble in 1938 and the Hollywood Stars’ trophy in 1949.

FIVE OTHER HOPEFULS

Point Loma, Grossmont, La Jolla, Hoover, and Escondido also were in the 32-team field, including Roosevelt and Washington, representing the Los Angeles City Section, which entered for the first time.

4/3/50

Pete Bechtol and Bill Whitson combined to pitch a five-hitter and La Jolla bested Ben Linares and Escondido, 3-2.

Dick Simmons’ infield single in the eighth inning scored Warren Goodridge with the Vikings’ winning run.

–The line for St. Augustine was 1 run, 0 hits, and 8 errors. Grossmont’s Ray Preston hurled the no-hitter but three errors in the seventh inning led to a run for the Saints.

Not to worry.  Grossmont defeated the Saints, 20-1.

–Eddie Serrano struck out 14 and outdueled John Tracy in Point Loma’s 1-0 win at Kearny.

4/4/50

San Diego beat Corona, 13-2, in its first-round game at Pomona and then followed the path of two other San Diego squads.

The Hillers lost their second-round game, 5-3, to Covina and joined Hoover and La Jolla with early trips home.

Hoover beat Anaheim, 12-3, and lost to L.A. Roosevelt, 2-1. La Jolla defeated Santa Ana, 9-4, and lost to Metro League rival Point Loma, 12-10.

The Pointers moved into the championship bracket quarterfinals, while Grossmont and Escondido, losers of first-round games (Grossmont to Santa Barbara, 7-0, and Escondido to Newport Beach Newport Harbor, 5-4) were bounced to the consolation bracket.

4/5/50

Point Loma was ousted by Compton, 6-5, and Escondido by Colton, 10-4, but Grossmont remained alive in the Pomona 2030 Club tournament after beating Corona, 3-2, and Santa Monica, 10-1.

4/6/50

Grossmont outslugged Colton, 9-6, for the consolation bracket title of the Pomona 2030 Club event. Santa Barbara outlasted Compton, 12-11, for the championship.

4/11/50

Tee Bennis had a 5 for 5 day at the plate with a home run, double, and three singles and Charlie Powell homered and tripled. San Diego’s Clyde Thomas took advantage, stopping host Compton, 8-1. Hillers outfielder Bob Stratton completed two double plays by throwing out Compton runners at the plate.

–Home runs by Raul Garcia and Dave Brennan propelled Sweetwater to a victory in the Imperial Valley, 9-7, at El Centro Central.

4/17/50

Hoover evened its Coast League record at 1-1 with a 14-1 rout of Grossmont. Joe Duke and Bob Petty homered for the Cardinals.Ralph Buckingham held the Foothillers to three hits and got a boost when his team scored seven runs in the ninth inning.

4/18/50

Ernest Robles drove in three runs with a home run and two singles and struck out 12 in leading Brown Military to a 5-4, Southern Prep League victory over Ramona.

4/19/50

Charlie Powell’s three-run triple in the first inning wiped out a 2-0 lead, but Hoover stormed back with four runs in the fourth and took a 7-4 victory over San Diego in Balboa Stadium.

Powell arrived in time to start the game in right field after attempting two throws and winning the shot put at 54 feet, 5 inches earlier in the afternoon in the Hillers’ track meet at Hoover.

Bert Grigsby kept the Hillers at a distance and Joe Duke singled twice and Bob Petty and Dick Roberts each had two hits for the Cardinals.

4/20/50

Tony Roe allowed three hits, struck out eight, and the San Diego State Frosh scored a 12-1 victory over San Diego in Balboa Stadium.

–Jerry Mayer had three hits and La Jolla, aided by five Point Loma errors, outlasted the Pointers, 9-7, for its fourth consecutive Metropolitan League win.

–Bob Schertzer’s home runs and three singles by Ron Stewart were pivotal in Chula Vista’s 4-2 win over Escondido.

–Sweetwater, limited to five hits by Ken Meyers, profited from 10 errors to score seven unearned runs and top Oceanside, 11-6.

4/21/50

Grossmont split a doubleheader in Pasadena, defeating Pasadena with a 17-hit attack, 16-7, after losing a Friday game to Muir, 6-5.

Three hits, a walk and error led to three runs by the Mustangs in the bottom of the ninth.

The Foothillers trailed, 2-1, after five innings in the second game but scored three runs each in the sixth and ninth innings and four runs each in the seventh and eighth.

–Bob Warner gave up two hits in the seventh inning but outpitched Jim Poole in San Diego’s 3-0, seven-inning, nonleague victory over Point Loma.

–Hoover won a road doubleheader, shutting out Pasadena Muir, 2-0, and Pasadena, 14-6.

Jerry Woods blanked the Mustangs on five hits in the opener and Jerry Newark and Joe Duke each had two hits to lead a 11-hit attack in the second game.

–San Dieguito topped St. Augustine, 9-8, at Golden Hill Playground as the teams combined for 25 base hits.

4/24/50

Tony Roe was too much again for San Diego High. The San Diego State freshman drove in three runs with a pair of two-base hits and the Aztec’ Frosh scored their second victory over the Hillers, 7-4.

4/25/50

Hoover and Compton each improved to 5-1 and remained tied for first in the Coast League. The Cardinals shellacked Grossmont, 16-2, and the Tarbabes blanked Pasadena Muir, 11-0.

Jack MacKay’s three-run home run and a two-run shot by Bob Petty provided offense for Hoover.

–San Diego defeated Chula Vista, 10-6. Frank San Fillipo homered for the Hillers and Ron Stewart for the Spartans.

4/26/50

Escondido pitchers issued 14 bases on balls, including seven in a five-run second inning, delivering a 12-8 victory to Oceanside.

–George Sullivan’s third hit, a single in the bottom of the ninth, gave Sweetwater a second win over Hoover, 7-6.

4/28/50

San Diego’s 13-1 win over Grossmont elevated the Hillers into second place in the Coast League, thanks to a Hoover doubleheader sweep at Compton.

Ralph Buckingham pitched a 9-2 victory in the opener and singled twice and drove in two runs, abetting Jack MacKay’s two singles and three RBI.

Bob Berry slugged two triples and MacKay and Don Bonatus added a pair of doubles as Bert Grigsby hurled the 10-3 win in the nightcap.

Frank Sanfillipo, Marco Bennis, and Bob Jordan each hit home runs and Jordan scattered nine hits in San Diego’s win at Grossmont.

5/3/50

Vista swamped Ramona, 15-0. Grossmont beat Point Loma, 10-5, and Hoover won a wild, 16-13 victory over Kearny at Linda Vista Recreation center.

Twenty-four hits and 13 errors were part of the Hoover-Kearny contest, in which five pitchers and four catchers participated.

5/5/50

La Jolla held on to first place in the Metropolitan League with a 10-inning, 5-4 win over Sweetwater.

The Vikings’ Warner Benjamin tied the game with a two-run homer run in the bottom of the ninth.

Jerry Meyers walked in the 10^th, advanced to third on Bill Simmons’ double, and scored the winning run on Frank Chalupenik’s single.

–Hoover (8-1) clinched a tie for the Coast League’s final championship, 8-0 over visiting Muir as Ralph Buckingham struck out 17 and shut down the Mustangs on one hit, a single in the ninth inning.

–Charlie Powell’s grand slam home run was the big blow as San Diego (7-2) beat Pasadena, 11-7.

–Jay Harris homered, tripled, and singled, but it wasn’t enough for Grossmont as Compton became the only Coast League visitor to win, 7-6.

5/6/50

Bert Grigsby gave up seven runs, three earned, but Hoover scored a 17-7 win over Pasadena that clinched the Coast League championship for the Cardinals.

Hoover (9-1) finished ahead of San Diego (8-2), which defeated Compton, 4-1, as Bernie Hernandez collected three hits and Clyde Thomas two extra base hits while winning a pitching matchup against future major leaguer Bennie Daniels.

5/13/50

Bill Whitson’s three-hit pitching and Bill Simmons’ three hits paved La Jolla’s 5-0 victory over Chula Vista. The Vikings concluded the Metropolitan League campaign with a 6-0 record.

–Eddie Serrano held Escondido to two hits in Point Loma’s 10-2 victory which clinched second place for the 5-1 Pointers.

5/15/50

A two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning by Santa Ana’s Tom Miller brought the Saints from behind and eliminated Hoover, 2-1, in the CIF Central Group playoffs.

Hoover was the only team from the area to participate in the playoffs. Metropolitan League squads maintained a policy of usually declining.

Bill Sandback had just coached Crawford to its second San Diego Section baseball championship in three seasons and he was hesitant when Harlon Bartlett of the Evening Tribune asked for a comparison of the team and the winning 1962 club.

“This year’s team had a better attitude,” Sandback finally allowed after the taut, eight-inning victory over Point Loma.  “These kids hustled from start to finish. They never gave up all year.”

Sandback pointed to the team’s battery, a core strength of leadership and experience.

Starting pitcher, Bob Boone, went on to play 19 seasons as a catcher and several more as a manager in the major leagues. Usual catcher and sometime pitcher Eddie Hermann played nine seasons behind the plate in the majors.

Catcher whisperer perhaps was Sandback.  Five of his eventually would make the big leagues.

2/28/64

Sophomore Bob Forrester of Monte Vista and Crawford’s Eddie Herrmann hurled no-hitters on the first full day of action.

Forrester struck out eight and blanked Morse, 7-0.

Herrmann collected three hits including a home run and drove in four runs in the 10-0 win over visiting Alhambra Mark Keppel.

3/4/64

Tom Lean of Helix came within one out of a no-hitter.  An infield roller and single to right field after two were out in the seventh inning were the only hits off Lean in the Scots’ 5-0, Grossmont League-opening win over Escondido.

Ray Homesley hit a two-run home run and pitched El Capitan to a 7-4 win over the San Diego State freshmen.

3/5/64

–Larry Bradford accounted for 6 runs with two homers and a single in Kearny’s 16-3, Western League-opening victory over La Jolla.

Charles Wilker and pitcher John Fletcher each added three-run homers for the Komets.

–“Thirteen of the last 18 runs scored against us have been unearned,” Madison coach Bob Bacon complained about his defense after a 5-4 loss to Mission Bay.

“I don’t understand it,” Bacon told Joe Hughes of the Evening Tribune.  “With the same kids last year we had no trouble in the field.”

Two errors led to two unearned runs and made future major leaguer Al Fitzmorris a losing pitcher, 5-4.

3/10/64

Jake Lovejoy and Bob Heathman combined to pitch a no-hitter in Clairemont’s 2-1 victory over Vista.

–Seven errors behind him didn’t stop Escondido’s Jerry Montiel, who struck out 11 and stopped Point Loma on four hits, 3-2.

3/13/64

“We won the game on luck,” El Capitan coach Art Preston told the Evening Tribune’s Joe Hughes. “We didn’t deserve to win because of our defense, but Homesley, luckily, got hold of a good pitch.”

Ray Homesley’s seventh-inning, two-run, 314-foot home run, an inch or two beyond John Quiggle’s outstretched glove gave the Vaqueros a 4-3 win over Helix.

Errors had led to Helix’ taking a 3-1 lead on winning pitcher Dave Duncan, who beat out an infield roller that preceded Homesley’s home run.

—Second baseman Jerry Watson tripled, doubled, and added two singles as San Diego defeated Hoover, 11-4. Jim Perkins and Loren Dantzler also homered for the Cavers.

The win left the Bernie Flaherty-coached Cavers 2-0 in the Eastern League and 5-2 overall.  Hoover fell to 1-1 and 1-2-1.

–Darkness called a halt to Oceanside and University, which battled through 11 scoreless innings.  The Pirates’ Mark Oddy held the Dons to two hits.  Uni’s Dave Timms gave up seven.

3/17/64

Escondido’s Jerry Montiel struck out 10 and permitted two balls hit to the outfield, but the second was a single in the bottom of the eighth inning by Gene Guerra that scored pinch runner Greg Burton and gave Chula Vista a 1-0 victory.

—El Cajon Valley’s Dwight Stanley singled home two runs in the last of the seventh inning to beat Granite Hills, 3-1, and move the Braves a half game in front of El Capitan in the Grossmont League.

—Crawford took first place in the Eastern League, 4-2 over San Diego, which couldn’t capitalize on 11 hits and Doug Hunt’s home run.

—Lloyd Hutchinson tripled with the bases loaded and Pat Harrison homered in Hoover’s 6-1 win over Morse.

3/20/64

“Let’s face it, our pitching isn’t that good,” said Hoover’s Jerry Bartow.  “Buddy (Schraeder) is an outfielder, but I’ve got to pitch him.  We’ll probably end up playing .500 ball.”

Despite the coach’s protestations, Hoover gained a share of first place in the Eastern League after a 6-3 win over Crawford.

“We gave it to them,” said Colts boss Bill Sandback.  “I counted seven errors.”

Hoover finished 10-5 and third in the league and 11-7 overall.

3/23-25/64

Fierce Winter storms that led to rain and wet grounds postponed the first day of the 14th annual Lions Tournament.  The delay because of weather was the first since 1958.

The postponement was repeated the next day and the event finally was canceled the third  day.

It wasn’t practical, said tournament boss Carroll Wilson, citing “the weather forecast for the rest of the week isn’t very good and we would be tying up players, coaches, and umpires, and the coaches didn’t want to play (as late into the week) on Saturday.”

3/31/64

Hilltop romped to a 12-0, first-inning lead, got a break when rain did not wash out the game, and beat Chula Vista, 18-7.

Bob Childers hit a grand slam home run, followed by Rudy Castro’s three-run shot, and a two-run home run by Bob Litchfield off Chula Vista starter Bart Miller.

Hilltop even scored two runs in the second inning on three punch singles after coach Vic Long issued a mandate to make outs and get on with the game because of the weather.

—Six of 17 games in the County were rained out or called before the required five innings.

4/3/64

Mike Adamson, backed by a 6-1 lead and contributing a home run, held on and Point Loma defeated Kearny, 7-5.

Singles by Pat Harrison and Buddy Schraeder, two errors, and Lance Richard Shaw’s sacrifice fly paved the way for Hoover’s 5-0, 10-inning win over St. Augustine

Al Layton, one of the few seniors for Granite Hills, struck out 14 and gave up only a fourth-inning single to Gary Mattinson as the Eagles downed Grossmont, 2-0.

Al Salmon’s single in the 10^th inning gave Helix a 1-0 win over Hilltop.

4/7/64

Sweetwater, 0-10, won its first game, 8-0, over Castle Park on a two-hitter by Ted Williams.  No, not that Ted Williams.

4/10/64

With Al Layton running with the pitch, Jim McKenna ripped a pitch  to right field at Granite Hills, where there is no wall, according to Harlon Bartlett of the Evening Tribune.

The ball rolled toward downtown El Cajon and McKenna won the race after the outfielder’s recovery and throw to home for an apparent home run, but…

…El Capitan first baseman Mike Arnke alertly told pitcher Dave Duncan that McKenna had not touched second base.

Duncan stepped on the pitching rubber, stepped off again, and threw to second base for an out, then struck out the next batter.

Ball game. The Vaqueros won, 3-2, for their fifth victory in a row.

–University defeated San Dieguito, 1-0, on a forfeit in the 14^th inning, when Mustangs coach Larry Hampshire argued that it was too dark for his team to hit in the bottom of the inning.

Dave Timms went all the way for Uni, striking out 19.

—Eddie Herrmann hit 2 home runs, including a grand slam, and Crawford beat Lincoln, 7-5.

4/17/64

“This is the greatest comeback we’ve had here in six years,” said El Cajon Valley sixth-year coach Harry Elliott after the Braves overcame a 1-0 deficit in the sixth inning and won with two runs in the last of the eighth against Helix.

Al Hamilton’s home run tied the game in the sixth inning and run-scoring singles by Tom Thompson and Ralph Hays were the difference.

The 3-2 victory improved Elliott’s club to 6-1 in the Grossmont League.

Elliott played the 1955 season with the St. Louis Cardinals after leading the Pacific Coast League with 224 hits and a .350 average as the San Diego Padres won the pennant in 1954.

–Charlie Duke’s home run with two on in the seventh inning meant a 3-0 victory for University and the reported end of a string of 43 1/3 scoreless innings by Vista pitcher Matt Taylor.

4/21/64

Dennis Webb’s one-hit pitching stopped San Diego, 3-1, dropping the Cavers (7-3) two games behind Eastern League-leading Crawford (9-1), which rode catcher-sometimes-pitcher Eddie Herrmann’s three-hit pitching for a 2-0 win over Morse.

—Kenny Henderson doubled home two runs, tripled, and stole home for another in Clairemont’s 4-2 win over Madison.

4/25/64

Bob Boone pitched a two-hitter and Greg Werdick hit a third-inning home run for a 1-0 Crawford victory over St. Augustine.

–Sophomore Jake Molina led off the last of the first inning with a home run and Clairemont proceeded to a 6-1 win over Point Loma.

–Hilltop clinched its first Metropolitan League championship in the school’s five years, on the road, at Chula Vista, 3-2, behind Dirk Van Dyke’s two-hitter.

4/28/64

Hilltop (9-0) stayed unbeaten in the Metropolitan League with a disputed, 3-2 win over Castle Park.

Disputed play: The plate umpire ruled foul.  The base umpire said fair.

After several minutes of shouts and arm-waving by representatives of both teams, the arbiters came to agreement that Frank Fernandez was safe with a single. Fernandez eventually scored the decisive run.

—Ray Homesley retired 16 of the last 17 batters including the final 12 in a row and El Capitan won at El Cajon Valley, 4-2, and led the Grossmont League with a 7-2 record. El Cajon Valley and Helix were next at 7-3 each.

5/1/64

Dave Duncan pitched a no-hitter and his two-run home run in the first inning was enough as El Capitan turned back Mount Miguel, 4-0.

Duncan struck out 14 and walked four and got an assist from Ray Homesley, who homered with one on.

—San Dieguito’s Tom Fleming gave up one hit and the Mustangs stifled Oceanside, 2-0.

–Mike Hill of El Cajon Valley, Jerry Montiel of Escondido, and Al Layton of Granite Hills each pitched two-hit shutouts.

—Dirk Van Dyke and Tom Segren combined for a one-hitter as Hilltop topped Helix, 8-0.

—Kearny erred six times behind pitcher John Fletcher, but fueled by Steve Jones’ three-run home run and Larry Bradford’s two run triple in the first inning, beat Clairemont, 7-5.

—Three walks forced in the tying and winning runs and San Diego came away with a 5-4, Eastern League victory over Crawford.

Dennis Maley, Doug Hunt, and Michael Marrs each had two hits for the Cavers.  Ron Layton tripled in two runs for Crawford.

—Tom Fleming allowed one hit and San Dieguito blanked Oceanside, 2-0.

5/5/64

Kearny won the Western League and Marian won the Southern Prep.

The Komets backed in after a 11-5 loss to Mission Bay was mitigated by Point Loma’s 9-1 loss to Madison.

Marian won its 31^st consecutive league game, compliments of a Julian forfeit which gave the Crusaders, who lost their first four games, a 12-4 overall record and 7-0 league standing.

—Ray Homesley’s one-hitter stopped Granite Hills, 4-1, and kept the Vaqueros a half game ahead of El Cajon Valley with one to play in the Grossmont circuit.

–Dave Braswell and Carl Ramsey homered and Hilltop won its 11^th in a row in the Metropolitan League, 6-2 over Coronado.  Carlsbad’s 9-0 win over Army-Navy was its ninth in a row in the Palomar League.

A two-hit shutout by Tony Pisciotta and 6-0 win over Lincoln (7-13 overall) allowed San Diego to catch Crawford and tie for the Eastern League championship.

The Cavers and Colts, each 12-3, would meet at Beeson Field at the Marine Corps Depot to determine playoff seeding.

Point Loma and Madison will play for the Western League’s No. 2 seed at Mission Bay and Escondido and Sweetwater will meet at Morse with the Metro’s No. 2 at stake.

5/12/64

Field for the San Diego Section AA playoffs was complete.

Crawford topped San Diego, 5-2. Point Loma beat Clairemont (10-9), 2-1, and Sweetwater edged Escondido (12-6), 5-4.

—Walks scored two runs and Bob Boone’s two-run single gave Crawford four runs in the fourth inning.

—Mike Adamson outdueled Jake Lovejoy in Point Loma’s victory, clinched on a triple by Glenn Holmes and a sacrifice fly.

5/15/64

Almost the entire Marian (13-6) student body was in the crowd of about 400, but visiting Carlsbad, behind the one-hit pitching of Arne Larsen scored a 4-2, eight-inning victory in a Class A playoff.

—“You can’t say we wasted our hits,” said San Diego coach Bernie Flaherty.

The Cavers got to Hilltop pitcher Dirk Van Dyke for only three safeties but one was a three-run triple by Tony Pisciotta, enough for a 4-1, Class AA playoff victory.

Hilltop finished with a 16-5 record, best in the school’s five-year history.

—Point Loma scored three runs in the seventh inning to eliminate El Capitan (15-4), 3-2.

The Vaqueros’ Ray Homesley was working on a one-hitter with a 1-0 lead when John Gelb led off the inning with a home run.

Homesley was relieved later in the seventh by Dave Duncan, who wild-pitched in one run and balked in another.

—Bob Boone allowed one hit, a three-run home run by Kile Morgan, but Crawford topped Sweetwater (9-12), 12-3, as Dennis Isom, Greg Werdick, and Eddie Herrmann homered.

–Charles Wilker’s three-run triple and two-run double were  essential for Kearny in its 8-5 win over El Cajon Valley (14-7).

5/19/64

Paul Ehrich, with relief in the seventh inning from Mike Adamson and aided by five San Diego (16-7) errors, pitched Point Loma to a 3-2, semifinals victory.

—Crawford advanced to a championship game against Point Loma with a 9-4 win over Kearny (15-7).  Wayne Morgan improved his record to 5-0 and drove in three runs with a triple and single.

5/22/64

There were seventeen strikeouts and 17 bases on balls, plus seven errors by both teams. And not a one of the 600 or so fans, often on the edge of their seats, left early according to Harlon Bartlett of the Evening Tribune.

Crawford persevered to win the CIF championship, 4-3, over Point Loma in eight innings at Beeson Field on the Marine Corps Recruit Depot base.

Trailing, 2-1, in the top of the seventh, the Colts took a 3-2 lead on Charlie Tate’s sacrifice fly and single by Ken Henderson.

John Gelb tied the score with a 330-foot home run over the leftfield wall in the bottom of the seventh but the Colts’ Greg Werdick, playing with a broken nose sustained in the semifinals, walked, stole second and scored on an error.

Crawford’s Bob Boone (7-1) had no-hitter through six innings but trailed, 2-1.  The Colts’ managed only three hits off Mike Adamson (9-5), singles by Eddie Hermann, Dennis Isom, and Ken Henderson.

Crawford, winning its second title in three years, concluded the season with an 18-4 record.  Point Loma was 13-10.

5/25/64

San Dieguito (14-4) made best use of two hits with walks, bunts and Carlsbad (17-4) errors to win the CIF Class A championship, 3-1, at Palomar College.

The Mustangs also received run-producing hits from Tom Hernandez and Jim Bryant.

Hoover was 1-7 in football but then the seasons changed.   The Cardinals won the first San Diego Section championship with a 24-3 record in winter basketball and repeated the 24-3 with another title in spring baseball.

There were seven no-hitters pitched in the San Diego Section this year but none by Hoover’s Dave Morehead, who posted a 15-0 record.

Morehead instead pitched a no-hitter in 1965 for the Boston Red Sox, whose scout Ray Boone, himself a Hoover star of the 1942 Southern California championship team, signed Morehead after Dave’s high school graduation.

2/24/61

Crawford managed only six hits off Dave Varvel, but El Capitan committed seven errors and the host Colts won the season opener, 18-7.

–Hoover won, 9-8, at Point Loma, where the Pointers aided the Cardinals with 10 errors and Helix won at Mission Bay, 4-3.

3/1/61

Hoover’s Joe Verdon and Dick Armstrong combined to stop Escondido on three hits, 4-0, and George Sherrod allowed San Diego five hits as Helix pushed across a run in the bottom of the eighth inning to win, 2-1.

3/3/61

Bill Casey homered for Clairemont and Phil Boland for Lincoln, which edged the Chieftains, 4-3.

–Dave Bruen relieved John Allison in a Chula Vista three-run first inning and allowed one hit thereafter as the Colts rallied, 9-4.

–Dave Armstrong pitched Hoover to a two-hit, 7-1 win at San Gabriel and Ron Rutherford gave up two hits and San Diego won, 9-2, at Alhambra Mt. Keppel.

3/4/61

Robert Ruiz and Joe Verdon were the winning pitchers as San Diego and Hoover respectively concluded their northern invasion 6-2 and 5-1 over Alhambra Mark Keppel and San Gabriel.

Keppel earlier had visited San Diego and came away with a 5-0 win.

3/7/61

Froebel Brigham’s three-run home run elevated San Diego past El Cajon Valley, 6-2.  Helix won at Point Loma, 3-0, behind George Sherrod’s three-hit pitching.

3/10/61

Arnold Powers walked no one, struck out 14, and set down Kearny, 6-0, to give Western League defending co-champion Clairemont a 3-0 loop record

–Mike Huse and Lee Waske combined with a two-hitter as Helix improved to 4-0 with a 3-0 win over Hoover.

3/14/61

Mike Hill hit two home runs, including a grand slam, and Dave Varvel gave up two hits as El Capitan hammered Hilltop, 14-0.

–Home runs by Jimmy Bob Mosley and Dennis Wilson propelled Kearny to a 6-5 win over Hoover and Don Sada, three for three with a triple, pitched Point Loma to a 4-1 win against San Diego.

3/18/61

San Diego’s Ron Rutherford walked St. Augustine’s Bob
Ahern leading off the second inning and then retired the next 18 batters to complete a near-perfect game in the Cavers’ 4-0, Eastern League win at Golden Hill Playground.

Rutherford (3-0) faced 22 batters. “I was hit on the wrist by a ball last week against Crawford and it’s pretty sore, so I didn’t think I’d be able to throw too well today,” declared the tall right-hander.

–Dave Morehead, fresh from Hoover’s CIF championship basketball season, spaced three hits and the Cardinals won their Eastern League opener, 6-0.

–Mike Hill stopped Helix on two hits and contributed to his cause with a triple in El Capitan’s 2-0 win over Highlanders ace George Sherrod.

–Ron (Flame) Tompkins of Chula Vista blanked Sweetwater, 8-0, and Bill Crayton of Kearny closed Mission Bay, 4-0.

3/21/61

Kearny jumped on Point Loma in a 30-minute first inning for seven runs and six hits for an 8-4 victory. Phil Ewert relieved starter Mike Parker and pitched the final 6 2/3 innings for the Komets.

–Doug Wardell pitched and Mount Miguel’s 4-1 win over Sweetwater gave the Matadors a 7-0 record and the Metropolitan League Southern Division lead.

3/24/61

Mount Miguel improved to 8-0 behind left hander Bob Curley, who hit a two-run home run in a six-run third inning and went the distance in a 7-5 win over El Capitan.

–Joe Verdon hit a two-run home run and relieved starter Dave Morehead in Lincoln’s four-run fifth inning, and preserved Hoover’s 11-4 win.

3/25/61

Thirty-one reams, including 16 in the Unlimited Division, were entered in the 11th Lions Tournament with Helix the defending Unlimited champion and El Centro Central the returning Limited winner.

3/27/61

Helix’ Lee Waske gave up one hit but Mission Bay’s Dennis Bissmeyer also allowed only one hit and Mission Bay knocked the defending Lions champion into the consolation bracket, 1-0.

Chula Vista’s Ron Tompkins gave up one hit and shut out San Diego, 1-0, and Mount Miguel, undefeated and 8-0, was beaten by Hoover, 2-0.

Coronado took a 2-1 lead on El Centro Central in the top of the seventh inning, but the Spartans rallied in the bottom half to advance, 3-2.

San Dieguito’s Rich Long had a no-hitter for five innings when the game was stopped with the Mustangs routing Ramona, 12-0, and the so-called 12-run rule was applied.

3/28/61

Rain postponed action for a day, resuming today with quarterfinals and semifinals.

3/31/61

Point Loma, 2-5 to open the season, won its fifth game in a row and the 11^th Lions tournament Unlimited Division title, 5-4 over Hoover.

La Jolla made it a Western League sweep by defeating Vista, 6-5.

Helix beat Crawford, 9-1, for the Unlimited Division consolation title and Oceanside won the Limited, 4-0, over Carlsbad.

“We’ve beaten every team in the Eastern League now,” said Point Loma coach Kermeen Fristrom.  “The Western League has really proved itself, hasn’t it?”

Jerry Jeli relieved Pointers starter Ron Holmes in the sixth inning as Hoover twice battled back from two-run deficits.

4/4/61

Hoover’s Joe Verdon hit a two-out, two-run home run that followed Johnny Peterson’s double in the top of the sixth inning and was the difference in Hoover’s 2-0 win over San Diego.

Dave Morehead struck out 16 and allowed one hit in outdueling the Cavers’ Ron Rutherford, who gave up five hits.

–Mike Hollister, with relief from Ron (Flame) Tompkins rode Dave Truelock’s run-scoring, first-inning triple to a 1-0 victory over St. Augustine.

–Army-Navy committed nine errors but beat San Miguel School, 18-9.

4/7/61

Arnold Powers struck out 13 and gave up six hits but dropped an eight-inning, 3-2 decision to Kearny, which scored two unearned runs.

Dennis Wilson and Jimmy Bob Mosley crossed the plate after Billy Cesena’s hot grounder went through the legs of Clairemont’s second baseman.

–Dave Varvel hit a run-scoring double and restricted El Cajon Valley to four hits in El Capitan’s 4-1 victory.

Jim (Corky) McCorquodale homered and Ron Dargo struck out 11 in Crawford’s 7-1 victory over San Diego.

4/10/61

Dave Morehead hit a home run and gave up three hits, one a three-run homer by John Allison, as Hoover improved to 5-0 in the Eastern League with a 5-3 win over Crawford.

–El Cajon Valley (1-5) won its first Metro Northern Division contest, as Owen Rinner stopped Grossmont, 4-0, on three hits.

4/14/61

Graig Nettles hit two home runs and Fred Shuey and Jimmy Martin gave San Diego a total of four in a 13-1 win over Lincoln.

4/18/61

Five singles, by Jon Clark, Bruce Kehrli, Don Sada, Tom Ferrara, and Tim Faris, generated four runs in the fourth inning and Point Loma went on to a 7-2 triumph over Clairemont for its 10^th straight victory.

–Carlsbad’s line score was 0 runs, 1 hit, 7 errors in a 12-0, Avocado League loss to Vista.

–Two-run home runs by Gene Crise and Vern Elliott paved the way for Dick Armstrong, who hurled Hoover to a 7-1 win at Lincoln.

–Ewert of Kearny held La Jolla to one hit as the Komets scored a 3-1 win.

—Mar Vista and San Dieguito went scoreless for 10 innings before the Avocado League game was called because of darkness on the Mustangs’ Encinitas diamond.

4/21/61

Hoover, which lost to Point Loma in the Lions Tournament final, won its eighth straight Eastern League game, 8-2 over San Diego and opened a three-game lead on the Cavemen with five to play.

The Cardinals’ Dave Morehead allowed only four hits, including a two-run home run by Graig Nettles in the sixth inning.

–Jim Pignatelli doubled for El Capitan’s only hit but it came with the bases loaded and was enough for the Vaqueros to improve their Northern Division record to 7-1 with a 3-2 triumph against Grossmont.

4/24/61

Point Loma’s 12^th win in a row, 2-1 over Mission Bay, kept the Pointers one game ahead of Clairemont in the Western League.

–Grossmont’s Neil MacClellan stopped Mount Miguel, 5-4, and aided his cause with a three-run home run.

–Chula Vista profited from three Sweetwater errors in the 10th inning and scored a 3-2 victory to take over first place in the Southern Division after Mount Miguel lost.

–Mike Hill, with help from Dave Varvel in the seventh inning, pitched El Capitan past Escondido, 1-0.

4/27/61

Joe Verdon hit a home run over the short, right field porch at Hoover that had observers calling for a tape measure.

Verdon’s drive had begun to descend when it hit a light standard behind the right field stands.

The 11-3 win over Crawford was Hoover’s 10^th in a row since a loss to Point Loma in the Lions Tournament final and clinched the Eastern League title.

Unbeaten Cardinals pitcher Dave Morehead scattered four hits and won his 10^th in a row.

4/28/61

“Weak-Sticking El Capitan” began the headline after the Vaqueros, inspiring historians to recall the Chicago White Sox’ “hitless wonders” of the early 20^th century, defeated Chula Vista, 1-0.

Dave Varvel singled in the first inning, stole second, advanced to third on an error, and scored the game’s only run when Spartans’ pitcher Ron Tompkins issued a pair of bases on balls.

5/1/61

San Diego’s Larry Murillo no-hit Lincoln and hit a home run in the Cavers’ 13-0 victory and Brown of Chula Vista blanked Granite Hills, 1-0.

The season’s seventh no-hitter came on a day when three were pitched, including Helix junior George Sherrod’s in an 8-0 win over Grossmont.

HIT OR ERROR?

Sherrod was unaware of his gem as he continued to quiet Grossmont bats.

Grossmont shortstop Mike Ekanbrack reached first base safely after he hit a ball down the third base line in the fourth inning.

Helix’ Chris Hansen got his glove Ekanbrack’s bouncer but couldn’t make a play.  The Helix scorer assumed that the play resulted in a base hit.

Grossmont viewed the play as an error, since Hansen momentarily juggled the ball.  The Foothillers’ scorebook was official, Grossmont being the home team.

5/4/61

Point Loma won its 15^th consecutive game and clinched the Western League championship, 5-2 over Clairemont.

–El Capitan won the Metropolitan League’s Northern Division title, 2-0 over Granite Hills.

–Hoover earlier clinched the Eastern League, bringing to   three the number of titlists in the San Diego Section’s five leagues.

5/10/61

George Sherrod (12-2) tripled and drove in the winning run with a fourth-inning double and Helix (17-5) earned the Metro South title, 3-2 over Mount Miguel.

Sherrod gave up a two-run home run to the Matadors’ Duane Freeman after two were out in the seventh inning, ending a string of 22 scoreless innings by the Highlanders’ pitcher.

5/16/61

Catcher Randy Simpson hit a pair of two-run home runs and Pat Bauman’s solo homerun was all pitcher Rich Long needed as he scattered four hits in San Dieguito’s  5-3 victory over Mar Vista.

San Dieguito (7-2) claimed the Avocado League championship in a quasi-postseason contest, which was played after the teams earlier deadlocked in a 10-inniing tie.

5/18/61

PLAYOFFS

Dave Morehead socked two home runs, struck out 10 batters, and gave up two hits as Hoover (21-3) defeated El Capitan (14-5), 9-2, at Grossmont in the first round.

Morehead’s home runs measured 330 and 375 feet, respectively, and his complete game ended on his 106^th pitch.

–George Sherrod outdueled Larry Murillo and Helix (18-5) edged 14-9 San Diego, 2-1, on the Marine Corps Recruit Depot’s Beeson Field.

Randy Schwartz tripled in Chris Hansen with the Highlanders’ first run and Ken Nasife scored the winning run in the top of the seventh inning on Gary Johnson’s infield roller.

One of the Cavers’ five hits was an inside-the-park home run by Henry Peavy.

–Ron Dixon allowed only an infield hit to Pat Bauman in the bottom of the seventh inning and University advanced with a 3-0 win over San Dieguito.

–Point Loma’s Jerry Jeli won a 2-0 struggle with Ron Tomkins of Chula Vista.

Don Sada’s double, Tom Lutes’ triple, and Tom Ferrara’s single were what Jeli needed as he set down the Spartans (15-8) on one hit, a bunt single.

SEMIFINALS

George Sherrod (13-3) checked Point Loma (20-7) and Helix (19-5) scored four runs in the sixth inning to eliminate the Pointers, 7-1.

Sherrod also hit a home run and gave up six hits, including Don Sada’s home run that narrowed the Scots’ lead to 3-1 in the sixth.

–University (13-7) scored first and led, 2-1, after two innings but Hoover (22-3) scored an 8-3 victory.

CHAMPIONSHIP

“Now I’ll just relax and be a fan,” said Fulton Vickery, who was retiring as coach at Hoover after taking over for Bill Matthie in 1956.

The Cardinals (24-3) sent Vickery out with a 2-0 victory over Helix (19-6), Dave Morehead (15-0) besting George Sherrod (13-4) at Beeson Field.

Morehead’s scratch single, Sherrod’s throwing error, and Bill Daw’s single gave the Cardinals the run they needed in the fourth inning.

Joe Verdon’s double, Gene Crise’s ground ball out, and Morehead’s sacrifice fly scored another run in the fifth.

Only a team more than 400 hundred miles away and in another state could stop coach Dewey (Mike) Morrow’s powerful San Diego Hillers.

The also named Cavemen dropped three of four games in a home-and-home series with Arizona’s Tucson Badgers but bludgeoned 29 teams from Southern California and won Morrow’s 10th Southern Section championship.

According to Don King’s “Caver Conquest”, Morrow had seven hitters in his lineup who batted at least .400 in a 10-0 Coast League season.

The Hillers averaged 15 runs a game and scored at least 10 runs in 24.

Morrow had coached 10 of San Diego’s Southern California championships since the Montana native came to the Hilltop from the University of California at Berkeley in 1926.

3/1/49

Hoover scored nine runs in the fourth inning and defeated the team from the destroyer tender USS Piedmont, 10-7, at Navy Field.

–Kearny won at La Jolla, 12-11, in a nonleague game between Metropolitan League rivals.  Tom Eggert hit a three-run home run for the Komets.

3/4/49

Bill Atkisson gave up two hits and Don Bonatus and Jack MacKay each had two and Hoover defeated Point Loma, 3-1, on the Pointers’ diamond.

–John Doughty and Dick Geraci, limited host Brown Military to two hits in a 10-4 Sweetwater victory.

3/8/49

Bill Guevarra struck out 17 and pitched Oceanside to a 6-3 win at Escondido.  Erwin Heald drove in three runs with a double and two singles.

–Don Lenardi and Jack Wilburn each hit grand slam home runs in Grossmont’s 10-8 win over visiting La Jolla.

3/10/49

After opening with wins of 12-2 and 20-5 over La Jolla, San Diego High hooked up with interstate power Tucson, Arizona, for a two-game series in Balboa Stadium.

The Hillers won the opener, 9-6, as Frank Sanfillipo and Tommy Martinez each delivered two-run doubles.

–Terry Shaw had three hits and Luis Bruun clouted a three-run home run in Chula Vista’s 6-3 win at Hoover.

3/11/49

Tucson got a split in the two-game series at San Diego, 2-1.

–Sophomore John Doughty struck out 17 batters and Sweetwater defeated El Centro Central, 10-4, in the desert.

3/16/49

Vern Couts was touched for only two hits and San Diego scored a 7-1 win at Chula Vista.

–Jerry Meyers’ two-run home run in the second inning was the difference in St. Augustine’s 3-1 win at La Jolla.

3/17/49

San Diego High opened the Coast League campaign with an 11-1 victory at Hoover, advancing the Hillers to a 5-1 record.

Jack Smith had four hits and limited the Cardinals to six, with a ninth-inning single by Joe Duke scoring Ed Thile when the ball got past outfielder Chuck Powell (to become better known as Charlie).

3/20/57

The first annual Prep Baseball Carnival at Lane Field was announced to the media, which received a mimeographed, 13-page document.

“The publication, evidently designed to serve the dual role of military field order and publicity booklet, seems to cover everything from the color of pom poms to the size of the leftfielder’s belt buckle,” wrote Jerry Brucker of The Tribune-Sun.

The evernt would start at 6:55 p.m. with bands and pageantry from the seven participating Metropolitan League schools and former member Grossmont from the Coast League.

Pregame activity would conclude with the Star Spangled Banner by the massed bands at 7:50. First pitch was at 8 p.m. Teams would play three innings or to a 25-minute time limit.

3/24/49

Carnival-participating Grossmont and Coach John Hancock faced a busy weekend.

The Foothillers defeated visiting Compton, 9-0, the day before the tournament and also had a 10 a.m. appointment the day of to play Pasadena Muir.

–San Diego blanked Pasadena, 15-0, and Hoover topped Muir, 12-6, in other games with Coast League visitors.

3/25/49

Carnival chairman/Chula Vista principal Joe Rindone and vice-chairman Dick Barber of Kearny weren’t concerned with geography.

La Jolla, Oceanside, Point Loma, and Sweetwater, the “South”, defeated the “North”, Escondido, Kearny, Grossmont and Chula Vista, 8-0.

Kearny’s Jim McMinn singled off La Jolla’s Bud Hemmerly for the North’s only base hit.

The 12-inning program was reduced to a more manageable eight innings but was declared a success with announced attendance of 5,000 persons.

3/28/49

San Diego ran its record to 9-1 with a fourth straight Coast League victory, 12-3, over Grossmont.

Frank Sanfillipo hit a grandslam home run in a five-run sixth inning.  Eddie Simpson had four hits and a home run and Jack Smith gave up two hits.

–Jerry Newton was 2 for 3 and Hoover made a run in the fifth inning stand up in a 6-5 win at Chula Vista.

3/31/49

–Kearny was out hit, 8-3, but beat St. Augustine, 9-3, with Dick Bartz earning the victory.

–Metropolitan League play opened with Sweetwater’s John Doughty stopping Oceanside on five hits, 8-3.

–Escondido’s Bob Linares gave up 11 hits, including a double and triple to Bob Schertzer, but defeated Chula Vista, 4-1.

4/1/49

San Diego walked Hoover into submission, 21-3.  Three Cardinals pitchers allowed 18 bases on balls, an average of two an inning.

The Hillers, who amassed 11 hits, scored eight runs in the bottom of the first inning.

4/6/49

Neale Henderson tripled and Frank Sanfilippo homered and San Diego beat St. Augustine, 13-4.

4/7/49

Sweetwater’s John Doughty, aided by catcher Dave Brennan, who had four hits in six times at bat—single, two doubles, and triple—kept Escondido in check, 10-4.

–Three ninth-inning errors paved the way for Oceanside to come from behind and win at Point Loma, 4-3.

4/8/49

Nineteen base hits echoed in Balboa Stadium. San Diego scored 13 runs in the fourth inning and went on to a 15-5 win over Compton.

Curt Everett was 4 for 4 at the plate for the Hillers.  Neale Henderson had three hits and Bobby Jordan started the fourth-inning avalanche with a three-run triple.

–Bob Fuller was three-for-four but Grossmont sustained a 9-3 loss at Pasadena.

–Kearny, a 1-0 loser to La Jolla in the teams’ two-inning joust in the Metropolitan loop carnival, reversed the score, 14-5.

Jim McMinn, Joe Spano, and pitcher Dick Bartz all had two hits. The Komets scored four runs in each of the second and third innings.

–Hoover defeated visitor St. Augustine, 5-4, with two runs in the bottom of the ninth.

4/9/49

San Diego sluggers’ 14 hits punched out Pasadena Muir, 11-4. Curt Everett had three hits in four at-bats, giving Everett a 7 for 8 week in Coast League play.

–Don Bonatus hit a three-run home run in the seventh inning and singled to start a five-run ninth as Hoover won at Compton, 9-4.

–Chula Vista won a morning-afternoon double header in the desert that started with Larry Blocker’s no-hitter and 7-0 whitewash of Calexico.

The Spartans came back after lunch and Don Jack yielded six hits and hung on for a 7-6 win over El Centro Central.

4/10/49

Seven San Diego teams traveling North at an early hour were scheduled to open play in the 14^th annual Pomona 20-30 Club tournament.

Area squads, including San Diego, Point Loma, Coronado, Hoover, Grossmont, La Jolla, and Escondido, were scheduled for first pitches at 11 a.m. Other first-round games started at 9.

4/11/49

San Diego and Point Loma rolled into the quarterfinals.

Point Loma opened with an 18-3 victory over Corona and followed by defeating Santa Barbara, 9-5.  San Diego topped Covina, 7-4, and Santa Ana, 16-1.

–La Jolla, beaten by Compton, 5-4, remained alive in the consolation bracket with a 4-2 win over Colton.

4/12/49

San Diego rampaged through the quarterfinals, 21-2 over Huntington Beach.  Point Loma made a sixth-inning run hold up and nudged Compton, 5-4.  Corona ousted La Jolla, 4-2, in the consolation quarterfinals.

Things became more difficult as the two survivors moved into the semifinals in the afternoon.

Coach Mike Morrow’s Hillers pushed over a run in the ninth to edge Inglewood, 3-2.  Frank SanFilippo’s single scored the winning run and Ray McCoy’s four-hit pitching kept the Sentinels at bay.

Coach Hilbert Crosthwaite’s Pointers got past Compton in the quarterfinals and then fell behind after one inning, 5-0, to Pomona

Ed Serrano relieved starter Jim Poole in the first inning and kept the Red Devils from crossing the plate again.

The Pointers swung  away at Pomona’s Marty Keogh, tying the game in the third inning and going ahead with a three-run sixth, highlighted by Izzy Lang’s two run homerun.

The 8-5 victory meant Point Loma and San Diego would meet in a City Prep League-versus-Metropolitan loop final.

4/13/49

Curt Everett hit a grand slam home run in a nine-run first inning and added a three-run shot in the second inning as San Diego continued a scorched earth policy in a 19-3 rout of Point Loma for the title.

The Hillers had 20 hits and took advantage of 11 Pointers errors, four in the first inning.

San Diego had scored at least 10 runs in 11 of 16 games and were heading into the second half of the season with a 15-1 record.

4/20/49

Dick Murphy hit two home runs and drove in five in St. Augustine’s 9-5 win over Hoover, whose Ralph Buckingham gave up only three hits but was the victim of seven errors.

4/21/49

Dick Day had three hits and five runs batted in and Larry Blocker hit a three-run home run, and Chula Vista was a 12-5 winner at Oceanside.

4/22/49

Don Bonatus and Ralph Buckingham had three hits and each hit two-run homers as host Hoover defeated Pasadena, 7-3, behind Bert Grigsby’s six-hit pitching and 11 strikeouts.

–Muir’s Mustangs, the Pasadena Bullpups’ neighbors, topped Grossmont, 2-1, and La Jolla knocked Sweetwater from the Metropolitan League’s unbeaten ranks, 8-2.

4/26/49

Jay Harris’ three-run homer in the eighth inning sent Grossmont to a 12-8 victory over Hoover.  Ralph Fuller also homered with two on for the Foothillers.

4/29/49

Dick Day’s single scored Frank Castro with the winning run in an 11-inning, 4-3 win over La Jolla.
–Point Loma won in 10 innings at Escondido, 3-2, Frank Leinmeister scoring when the Cougars made two errors.

5/6/49

Eight Sweetwater errors and a four-hit day by Tony Roe were more than enough for Kearny to win, 14-3.

–Ed Serrano struck out 15 and Point Loma edged Chula Vista, 4-2.

5/8/49

Jack Lutz gave up four hits while his San Diego teammates manufactured 19 and mowed down Pasadena, 12-1, for the Hillers’ ninth straight CPL victory.

5/10/49

Curt Everett hit two home runs and a double and San Diego topped Point Loma, 12-3.

5/13/49

Point Loma stunned the Metro loop’s undefeated Kearny and ace pitcher Dick Bartz, 13-4. The Pointers erupted for eight runs in the eighth inning.

Manny Vargas had four hits and a three-run home run off Bartz in the big inning.  Calvin Burns and Izzy Lang also homered.

–The Southern Prep League opener at Julian was called in the fifth inning because of fog.  The Eagles and Army-Navy were deadlocked 8-8.

5/19/49

Hal Conrad and Joe Haas were the hitting stars in Brown Military’s 14-9 win at San Dieguito.  Conrad had a home run and Haas three hits.

5/20/49

Jerry Rees and Dick Bartz took their places in Kearny High history, leading the Komets to a 2-1 victory at Chula Vista for the Metropolitan League championship.

The win marked Kearny’s first varsity title in any sport since the school began playing upper level competition with its first senior class in 1944 after opening as a junior high in 1941.

Jerry Rees singled in what proved the winning run in the fifth inning and Bartz set down the Spartans on two hits.

Kearny completed the one-round pennant race with a 5-1 record.  Point Loma was 4-2.  Oceanside, La Jolla, and Chula Vista were 3-3, Sweetwater 1-4, and Escondido 1-5.

–Eddie Serrano struck out 15 in Point Loma’s 7-2 win over Sweetwater and Oceanside beat La Jolla, 4-3, in 15 innings on Jack Troupe’s single that scored Erwin Heald.

5/21/49

Paul Lockridge, with brother Frank catching, and two other Fallbrook pitchers allowed two hits as the Warriors made it three out of four in the Southern Prep with an 11-2 win at Ramona.

5/22/49

Charlie Powell’s three-run home run in the 12th inning ended a San Diego warmup for its Southern California playoff against Orange, 10-8 at Naval Training Center.

5/24/49

Don Hartridge struck out 20 batters and pitched Vista to a 7-4 victory at Brown Military.

–Future NFL game referee Fred Swearingen homered in Fallbrook’s 8-3 win over San Dieguito.

5/25/49

Idle from prep play for almost two weeks, guest San Diego continued to batter the opposition, routing Orange, 15-1, in a Southern Section quarterfinals round playoff.

Tommy Martinez, Curt Everett, and Neale Henderson sprayed nine of the Hillers’ 20 hits around the Panthers’ ball park.

Martinez had four singles in five times at bat, Henderson two singles, and Everett doubled and added two singles.

5/27/49

A crowd of 3,000 in Pomona came to watch the high-powered team from the border town and they witnessed another explosive San Diego attack.

Coach Mike Morrow’s Hillers struck for 15 hits in a 13-5 win over the Red Devils, sending San Diego into the Southern California finals against Santa Barbara, 11-2 winner over Long Beach Wilson.

Frank SanFilippo, Tommy Martinez, and Curt Everett had three hits each and Clyde Thomas tripled twice.

6/3/49

Vista added the Southern Prep League championship to titles won in football, basketball, and tennis by defeating Fallbrook, 8-4, behind Don Hartridge’s five-hit pitching.

6/4/49

With a championship on the line, some teams appeared intimidated or struck with a case of jitters facing San Diego.

As Point Loma felt in the Pomona Tournament, Santa Barbara, beaten only by the Pointers in Pomona, was similarly affected.

The Golden Tornado, 14-1, coming into the Southern Section final, committed 10 errors and San Diego won its 15^th championship, 8-2.

The San Diego Padres gifted the teams with the use of Lane Field and 1,000 persons were on hand.

Jack Smith limited the visitors to seven hits, including a home run by future major league slugger Eddie Mathews, who drove a ball over the 358-foot sign in right field onto Pacific Highway.

Mathews also almost got into a dustup with the Hillers’ Neale Henderson after Henderson’s hard tag at second base.  Cooler heads prevailed.

Tommy Martinez led the Hillers with two hits, two runs batted in and two runs scored.

The top four teams in won-loss percentage in the County were San Diego (25-3, .880), Helix (16-5, .762), Mission Bay (17-6, .737), and Hoover (19-9, .679).

It was the latter that battled through four rounds of the CIF Southern Section playoffs to get to the finals.

Hoover was an uninspiring 10-8 heading into the stretch run of the City Prep League race, but the Cardinals won their last five regular-season games to come from behind in the standings and pass Mission Bay, earning the CPL’s second berth in the playoffs.

Rubber-armed (overworked?) Dick Floberg of San Diego and Steve Evans of Hoover were their teams’ bellwethers.  Floberg posted a 16-2 record and struck out 139 batters in 123 innings.

San Diego coach Les Cassie started sophomore Ezell Singleton instead of Floberg in a semifinals playoff game against Ontario Chaffey  and the result was a 13-4 loss as Singleton and Floberg both were hit hard.

Evans (13-4) pitched 43 2/3 innings in five playoff games, finally losing to Chaffey in the finals.

Most teams had one pitcher who took the ball twice a week, with an occasional second starting pitcher in the mix.

City Prep League squads adhered to a seven-inning schedule during the regular season and nine in the playoffs.  Metropolitan League and Avocado loop squads played nine innings.

2/26/57

Lincoln’s Cleven Thomas opened the season with a no-hit, 14-0 win over Mar Vista.

Two other City Prep League teams, also won big, Hoover 16-1 over Chula Vista, and San Diego 21-0 over San Dieguito.

Thomas faced 24 batters in the seven-inning game, walked three, and struck out 11. Bert Swaim aided with three hits.

Jerry Whitworth and Ezell Singleton each had three hits for San Diego and Bob Steel and Bob Jennings homered for Hoover.

2/27/57

Stan Gilliland singled, tripled, and homered, and drove in seven runs as Mission Bay socked Oceanside, 12-2.

3/2/57

San Diego’s Ezell Singleton hit a home run for one of two hits by the Cavers in a 10-3 loss to visiting Alhambra Mark Keppel.

3/5/57

Walter (Sandy) Thorpe of Helix won a 1-0 duel from Hoover’s Paul Richter on the Highlanders’ diamond. Ron Palermo singled and scored on Bob Schulz’ double in the first inning.

Mission Bay was 2-0 after Tim Carroll served as battery mate for pitchers Bob Lasoya and Bill Clucas and had three hits in an 8-2 win at Grossmont.

3/7/57

San Diego’s John Harmon moved from the infield to the pitching mound and authored a two-hit, 7-1 win over visiting Grossmont. Ezell Singleton and Jerry Whitworth each had three hits for the Cavemen.

3/8/57

R.W. Earls of Mar Vista surrendered a 400-foot home run to Bob Schulz in the second inning and then stopped visiting Helix, 3-1.

3/12/57

Mission Bay was 4-0 after Bill McCormick’s three-hitter stifled Grossmont, 5-0.   Bob Steel’s three-run home run in the first inning started Hoover to a 9-0 win over El Cajon Valley.

Ron Hillsberry’s two singles and double paved Mar Vista’s 11-1 win over St. Augustine. Bob Jordan singled, doubled, and tripled in Sweetwater’s 6-4 verdict against Lincoln.

3/15/57

Hoover’s trip to Long Beach Jordan was a 4-0 success, stretching to 25 scoreless innings for the Cardinals’ pitching staff. Steve Evans struck out 12 and gave up two hits.

Hoover’s staff had not allowed a run since the third inning of an 8-4 win over Chula Vista a week before.  It also handcuffed El Central Central, 11-0, and El Cajon Valley, 9-0.

San Diego beat visiting Lynwood, 8-3, as Cleveland (Smiley) Jones hit a three-run home run. Point Loma’s John Rebelo allowed two hits and the Pointers rapped Mar Vista, 12-1.

Bud Kudrna lost a no-hitter when Don Rodriguez reached base with a single but the El Cajon Valley pitcher shut out Fallbrook, 15-0.

3/16/57

Jerry Dinsmore’s eighth-inning double knocked in the winning run and Bob Lasoya allowed only five hits as Mission Bay improved to 6-0 with a 3-2 win at Fontana.

3/18/57

La Jolla concluded a two-day run against visiting Avocado League clubs with a 14-5 win over Fallbrook that followed a 5-3 triumph over San Dieguito.

Dick Small pitched a complete game and homered versus Fallbrook as the Vikings won for the sixth time in eight games.

3/22/57

Metropolitan League play opened with Bob Jordan hurling a two-hitter and Sweetwater  surprising preseason favorite Helix, 3-0, on the Highlanders’ diamond.

Jerry Peters hit two home runs and Jim Portlock gave up three hits over nine innings and no hits through six as El Cajon Valley pounded Grossmont, 15-0.

Dick Floberg struck out 17 and San Diego won its sixth in a row at Garden Grove, 8-4.  Iva Tucker hit a home run and Floberg and Cleveland Jones added two hits each.

Point Loma stroked seven consecutive singles, followed by Joe Welch’s grand slam home run, in a seven-run first inning of the Pointers’ 15-4 win over the San Diego State frosh.

3/27/57

Andy Cribbs outdueled Cleven Thomas and Mission Bay moved to 10-0 with a 3-0 win at Lincoln in a City Prep League opener. Bob Moss doubled twice for the Hornets.

Hoover’s string of 25 scoreless innings ended when a throw to first base that would have completed a double play was wild and Point Loma scored.

Steve Evans pitched the Cardinals to an 8-3 victory and collected three of the six doubles that Redbird hitters drilled into the short, right field stands at Hoover.

Paul Runge’s two-run home run, Ezell Singleton’s three-run shot, and John Harmon’s grand slam was more than enough as San Diego bombed La Jolla, 11-2.

Harmon drove in five runs and his pitching held the Vikings to four hits.

3/29/57

San Diego won, 6-4, at Mission Bay, snapping the Buccaneers’ 10-game winning streak in the City Prep League’s first showdown.

Mission Bay coach Ernie Beck was ejected for arguing a play as San Diego scored two runs in the top of the seventh inning.

Jerry Whitworth tripled and Ezell Singleton homered in the seventh to separate the Cavers from their hosts. John Harmon homered and singled.

Ervin Green’s two-run home run and Don Mojado’s three-run clout overcame a couple hits by Bob Moss as Kearny defeated Lincoln, 6-4.

4/2/57

Helix could have sought burglary charges against Chula Vista’s Oscar Agatep, who stole second base five times in the Spartans’ 13-6 victory.

Agatep teammate Bill Cothron’s home run, triple, and two doubles were among the winners’ 15 hits.

Hoover jumped to a 3-1 lead over San Diego when Ralph Mann tripled, Walt Baranski homered, Lynn Rowland tripled, and Jim Kennedy singled in the second inning.

San Diego struck back against Cardinals starter Steve Evans for six hits and two walks in a seven-run bottom of the second, capped by pitcher Dick Floberg’s home run, and routed Hoover, 10-3.

Ralph Myatt struck out 13 and allowed two hits as Kearny beat La Jolla, 13-0.

Fallbrook ventured north of the County for an intersectional and defeated Hemet, 2-0.  The 42-mile jaunt was more convenient for the Warriors than an Avocado League trip of 66 miles to Mar Vista in Imperial Beach.

4/5/57

Back-to-back home runs by Bob Moss and Ron Slocum were not enough as La Jolla won its first CPL game, 4-3, in 10 innings at Lincoln.

Kearny’s Jerry Stryker led off the seventh inning with a clean single, ending the no-hit bid by Mission Bay’s Bob Lasoya, who stopped the Komets,10-0.

Mel Rizzo had three hits and Tim Carroll and Bill Clucas two hits each to support Lasoya.

John Harmon hit his third home run of the season and San Diego (12-2) won its 11^th in a row, over Point Loma, 3-2.

Jerry May collected Chula Vista’s only hit but it was a grand slam home run that sent the Spartans past El Cajon Valley, 6-3.

The Braves’ Dick Kudrna, plagued by walks and errors, loaded the bases for May in the ninth inning.

4/9/57

Jim Portlock’s grand slam home run in the first inning positioned El Cajon Valley for an 11-6 victory over Grossmont, with Portlock closing out the Foothillers in a relief pitching stint in the seventh.

4/12/57

Chula Vista scored eight runs in the ninth inning, after two were out, and stunned visiting Grossmont, 12-11.

Dave Peterson hit a bases loaded home run and Dick Eschbach tripled in the tying and winning runs after Eschbach started the rally with a double his first time up in the inning.

4/16/57

LIONS TOURNAMENT

Six of the seven City Prep League entries won opening round games. Only Mission Bay, which entered with a 13-1 record, did not advance, the Buccaneers losing to Sweetwater, 4-3, in 12 innings.

San Diego High, seeking its fifth title in the tournament’s seven years, defeated Yuma, Arizona, 8-4.  Point Loma topped Manhattan Beach Mira Costa, 4-0. Lincoln scored six runs in the top of the seventh inning to whip Hawthorne, 8-4, and Kearny scored 10 runs in the 10^th inning to beat Inglewood, 11-1.

The only team from outside the County to move on was Inglewood Morningside, 7-0 winner over St. Augustine. Helix completed a near sweep for the locals with an 11-2 win over Santa Monica.

A bizarre double play, pitcher to catcher to first baseman to catcher to third baseman to second baseman to catcher (scored 1-2-3-2-5-4-2) resulted in two Hawthorne runners being tagged out at home plate.

4/17/57

La Jolla coach Walt Garey called on Victor Graham to pitch three times in the Vikings’ nine-inning, Limited Division championship, 5-3 victory over El Centro Central.

Garey relieved Victor with brother George in the third inning, put Victor back on the mound in the sixth, and pulled him again in the seventh. Victor came on once more to retire the side in the ninth.

George Graham stole four bases and had three singles and a double for the Vikings.

Point Loma’s John Rebelo did not require assistance.  He pitched a no-hitter as Point Loma gained the finals with a 5-0 win against Hoover.

San Diego’s Dick Floberg, restricted to six innings because of the Lions’ rule prohibiting pitchers from more than 16 innings over three days, hurled six scoreless and San Diego went on to a 5-2 victory.

Floberg won his 11^th game of the season and the Cavemen improved to 17-2 with their fifth tournament title. John Harmon hit a 370-foot home run and tripled.

4/23/57

Jerry Booth shut out La Jolla, 6-0, and came within a “flabby”, broken-bat single by George Griffin of pitching Point Loma’s second no-hitter.

Workhorse Dick Floberg was touched for a home run by Jerry Stryker but kept Kearny in containment and claimed his 12^th victory as San Diego rolled, 10-4.

4/24/57

Mission Bay shaded Hoover, 2-1, when Tim Carroll scored from second base in the 10^th inning as Hoover botched a double play.

Kearny’s Ralph Myatt shut out El Cajon Valley on three hits, 9-0, and struck out 12.  Art Cunningham homered in a six-run fourth inning.

Jim Gabbard came on in relief in the eighth inning struck out six straight batters and drove in the winning with a double in the bottom of the ninth inning as Escondido nipped Mar Vista, 6-5.

4/26/57

John Wible contributed a triple, single, two runs batted in, and scored a run as Helix won, 6-3, over Chula Vista to assume the Metropolitan League lead.

Sophomore Ezell Singleton struck out 15 and allowed three hits in San Diego’s 6-1 win over La Jolla.

5/1/57

R.W. Earls struck out 15 and Ron Hillsberry singled in the winning run in the last of the ninth inning in Mar Vista’s 3-2 win over Vista.

Henry Meza had two doubles and drove in two runs and Ron Moretti struck out 12 Vista batters in Fallbrook’s 5-3 win.

5/3/57

Sophomore Tom Goddard, making his varsity debut, hurled a no-hitter and struck out 11 as St. Augustine defeated Mar Vista, 6-0, at University Heights playground.

First baseman Paul Runge had two hits and knocked in four runs for San Diego, which made it nine in a row in the CPL with a 6-3 triumph at Hoover.

5/7/57

Dick Eshbach hit two home runs, including the decisive blow in the top of the 10^th inning, sending Chula Vista to a 9-8 win over Grossmont.

San Diego High clinched the CPL championship with its 10^th consecutive victory, 6-5 at Point Loma.

Mission Bay whipped Kearny, 6-1, behind the one-hit pitching of Bob Lasoya and Dick Shafer.

Dick Salbato allowed one hit and San Dieguito beat Mar Vista, 7-0.

5/10/57

Having clinched the CPL title and facing one-win Lincoln, San Diego coach Les Cassie went to the well again and nominated ace Dick Floberg to face the Hornets on two-days’ rest.

San Diego won, 14-1, as Floberg delivered a steady, six-hit performance. Leading, 2-1, after four innings, the Cavemen exploded in the fifth for eight hits and 12 runs.

Bill Cothron hit two doubles and a single and Chula Vista beat Sweetwater, 7-3, to pull even in first place in the Metropolitan loop with Helix, each with an 8-2 record.

Don Rodriguez hit a grand clam home run and Fallbrook edged San Dieguito, 6-4.

5/14/57

Helix won a Metropolitan League showdown at Chula Vista, 7-4, and claimed a tie for the championship.  Mission Bay beat La Jolla, 7-1, and stayed a game ahead of Hoover in the race for the CPL’s second playoff spot.  Hoover continued the chase, whacking Lincoln, 16-6.

5/15/57

Helix pushed across two runs in the bottom of the 10th inning and squeezed past Grossmont, 4-3, to win the Metro championship.

Trailing, 3-2, Gary Calvert led off with a triple and came home on Don Taylor’s single.  Sandy Thorpe doubled Taylor home for the victory. John Wible went the distance for the Highlanders and scattered six hits.

5/17/57

Right-hander Steve Evans (10-3) pitched what long-time observers believed may have been the first no-hitter in the Hoover bandbox, which measures 193 feet in right field and 320 in centerfield, at the point where a ground-rule double becomes a home run.

Mission Bay’s Stan Gilliland drove a pitch into right field for what appeared to be a certain base hit in the sixth inning.  Hoover’s Bob Steel, playing shallow, fielded the ball on a hop and threw out Gilliland.

Evans and Hoover blanked Mission Bay, 11-0, tying the Cardinals and Buccaneers for second place in the final CPL standings. Walt Baranski’s three-run home run in the first inning gave the Cardinals all the runs they needed.

Lincoln vice principal George Parry, president of the league, conducted a postgame telephonic poll with other CPL honchos and Hoover got the vote for the playoffs.

SOUTHERN SECTION PLAYOFFS

5/20/57

Chula Vista attacked heralded Ontario Chaffey pitcher Larry Maxie for nine runs in six innings and had 12 runs and 14 hits in the Southern Section playoff opener at Galvin Park in Ontario, spring training home of the San Diego Padres.

Chaffey won, 27-12.

Let’s try that again.

Chaffey won, 27-12.

The Tigers pounded four Spartans pitchers for 20 hits and scored 11 runs in the fourth inning.

A seven-run sixth inning propelled Fallbrook to a 10-6 small schools playoff victory at Laguna Beach.

5/22/57

Hoover lost, 1-0, and 11-2 to Helix during the season but scored a 6-3 first-round victory at San Diego State, hitting starting pitcher Sandy Thorpe for five runs in the first inning.

Ralph Mann, Lynn Rowland, Steve Evans, and Walt Baranski hit consecutive singles after one out for three runs.  Two more runs scored after Bob Steel walked and Jerry Jangard singled.

5/24/57

Hoover and San Diego advanced to the Southern Section quarterfinals and Fallbrook was eliminated in the small schools’ semifinals.

The Cardinals, home team at San Diego State after winning a coin flip to determine site, defeated Riverside Poly, 8-3.

San Diego topped Inglewood, 8-7, in 10 innings at Beeson Field on the San Diego Marine Corps Recruit Depot.

Visiting Azusa Citrus, capitalizing on six Fallbrook errors, overcame the five-hit pitching of Ron Moretti and defeated the Warriors, 6-3.

CARDINALS SCORE QUICKLY

As in the first playoff, Hoover got started early with three runs in the first inning and headed off a Poly threat with three more runs in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Ralph Mann and Steve Evans each drove in three runs and Evans twice moved in from centerfield, briefly in the second inning and for the last 3 2/3 innings in relief of starting and winning pitcher Paul Richter.

CAVERS AVERT DISASTER

San Diego led the Inglewood Sentinels, 4-3, in the eighth inning before a play suggestive of an Alphonse and Gaston  act  (“I got it, no you take it”).

Three runs scored for the Sentinels when outfielders Henry Gardner and Iva Tucker couldn’t decide who should take Jerry Montgomery’s fly ball with two runners on and two out.

Montgomery circled the bases after the ball dropped safely and Cavers pitcher Dick Floberg threw all the way to the outfield fence while trying to retire Montgomery at second base after a  cutoff of the throw from the outfield.

Charity continued.

Inglewood committed three errors in the bottom of the inning, leading to three runs and a 7-6 lead for San Diego.

San Diego botched a double-play which could have ended the game in the ninth inning, allowing an Inglewood run and sending the game into extra innings.

Jerry Whitworth’s single scored George Baker in the bottom of the 10^th and San Diego escaped.

5/28/57

Hoover beat Los Angeles Loyola, 3-2, in 15 innings at Bovard Field on the USC campus as Steve Evans outlasted three Cubs pitchers and struck out 16, advancing the Cardinals to the Southern Section semifinals.

Hoover improved to 19-8 as Lynn Rowland had four hits in seven at bats and accounted for all three runs with singles in the third, fifth, and 15^th innings.

Ontario Chaffey exploded for seven runs in the second inning against sophomore starting pitcher Ezell Singleton and reliever Dick Floberg at Galvin Park, eliminating the Cavers, 13-4, and ending an outstanding San Diego season at 25-3.

6/3/57

Hoover trailed Burbank Burroughs, 4-1 after 4 ½ innings but scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth and two in the seventh to win, 5-4, at Lane Field.

Carl Oberg collected two hits including a triple to the right field wall in the seventh that scored Henry Barkhurst and Lynn Rowland.

Steve Evans struck out 10 as the Cardinals won their ninth game in a row and qualified to meet Ontario Chaffey in the finals.

6/6/57

Hoover trailed, 7-0, after seven innings and fell to Chaffey, which won its second consecutive championship, 9-3, at John Galvin Park in Ontario.

Chaffey’s Larry Maxie, a 6-foot, 4-inch, 215-pound right-hander, struck out 15 and ended his season with a 19-3 record, and added a home run which cleared a 30-foot fence at the 350-foot mark.

Hoover’s Steve Evans worked into the seventh inning, bringing his total to 43 2/3 in two weeks and five playoff games, before retiring to first base as Paul Richter came on in the eighth.