Foothillers finish strong as CIF baseball champs

SAN DIEGO, June 4, 2005 -- Grossmont High School baseball coach Rob Phillips experienced his share of uneasy moments after El Capitan’s Louie Russo blasted a two-run home run in the third inning of last Saturday’s San Diego Section Division II championship game at SDSU’s Tony Gwynn Stadium. Russo’s blast gave the two-time defending division champion Vaqueros a 2-0 lead and with the way that El Capitan starting pitcher Ryan Paukovits had been retiring the Foothillers (10 in succession at one point), the outcome may have seemed bleak.

But Phillips credited his team with doing "all the little things" to get back into the game. The result was more, in fact, than the Grossmont skipper could have imagined as the Foothillers proceeded to do "a lot of a little" in rebounding for a 7-2 championship game victory.

"It was a great way to end the season. It was awesome for our team. We didn’t do so well in the middle of the season but we finished strong," said Grossmont senior shortstop Tristan Phillips, the coach’s son, after the game that helped the Foothillers secure their first CIF championship since 2001 and fifth overall in school history.

It was the younger Phillips who made the last putout in the game and promptly led the victory celebration with the ball held high in one hand and his glove hand equally raised high in triumph. Grossmont players quickly followed his lead and a ceremonial dogpile ensued between first base and the pitcher’s mound.

Junior A.J. Griffin (8-2) pitched a complete game for the Foothillers (26-8), scattering six hits and striking out seven batters while failing to issue a walk.

"I was really excited. I couldn’t wait for this game to happen since we won on Tuesday (in the semifinals). I tried to hit my spots. I missed one -- on the home run -- but I went back out there," Griffin said.

Grossmont pounded out eight hits against three El Capitan pitchers. The top-seeded Vaqueros also committed two errors while stranding six base-runners. The Foothillers played error-free baseball. Paukovits (7-3) took the loss for El Capitan (22-12).

First baseman Matt Passanisi led the Grossmont attack by going 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBI. Catcher Danny Pieczynski finished 2-for-4 with one run scored and one RBI. He hit a solo home run in the seventh inning. Other Foothillers knocking in runs included second baseman Tim Ferrara, center fielder Augie Williams and Phillips. Ferrara, Phillips, Williams and designated hitter Donnie Snow all scored once.

The Foothillers knocked Paukovits off the hill in what proved to be the fateful fifth inning when Nick Longmire led off the frame with a walk and Trevor Berry was hit by a pitch to place runners at first and second base with none out. Both Longmire and Berry moved up a base on a subsequent wild pitch. Griffin then drew a walk on a full count to load the bases. Passanisi tied the game when he drove an 0-2 pitch through the right side of the infield. Williams followed with a sacrifice fly to score Griffin and give Grossmont a 3-2 lead.

The Foothillers would score once more before Paukovits departed the mound when Ferrara, fighting off two strikes, stroked a base hit.

D.J. Henson replaced Paukovits and induced a double play to finally end the Grossmont uprising. Cristian Garcia took over in the top of the sixth inning and gave up the Foothillers’ final three runs in the game.

In the top of the seventh inning, Passanisi reached on a base hit and was balked to second base. Williams then bunted the ball but the throw to first base was errant, allowing Grossmont to take a 5-2 lead. A fielder’s choice moved another Foothiller into scoring position and Phillips brought him home on a sacrifice fly. Pieczynski then placed an exclamation mark on Grossmont’s division championship with a home run, his 11th this season.

The Vaqueros took their 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning when Cristian Garcia singled prior to Russo’s home run.

The Foothillers had dropped two of three contests to Grossmont North League champion El Capitan during the regular season. The Foothillers, in fact, finished third in the league standings behind both the Vaqueros and second-place Santana. However, Grossmont, seeded second, whipped through the Division II postseason tournament with four consecutive wins, including a 10-9 semifinal victory against sixth-seeded Patrick Henry on May 31 and a 14-10 second round win against third-seeded Ramona on May 28.

Both Pieczynski (.438 with eight RBI) and Passanisi (7-for-12 with six RBI) helped carry the load in the playoffs for the Foothillers. Grossmont trailed Patrick Henry 5-0 at one point in the teams’ semifinal contest before rallying on the strength of two doubles and a 10th-inning game-winning home run by Pieczynski, who finished that game with five RBI.

Said Tristan Phillips: "We got the clutch hitting when we needed it. The guys were looser in the playoffs. We could have played more loose like that in the regular season. But the playoffs were great."

The Vaqueros took their 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning when Cristian Garcia singled prior to Russo’s home run. El Capitan advanced to the championship game by defeating South Bay League champion Hilltop, 6-3, in the semifinals. Jasson Ksiazek belted two home runs in that game while Michael Griffith added a solo shot. Cristian Garcia (9-3) hurled a complete game, scattering nine hits.

The Vaqueros had taken a nine-game winning streak into this year’s Division II championship game against Grossmont.

Granite Hills, seeded fourth in the division, finished second to third-seeded Rancho Bernardo by a score of 8-2 in the championship game, also played June 4. The Grossmont South League co-champion Eagles, who had advanced to the title game with as win against Montgomery and two victories against top-seeded Poway, conclude the season 28-6; the Broncos finish 31-5.

Granite Hills led 1-0 early before Rancho Bernardo topped the game with eight unanswered runs. The loss was the Eagles’ third to the Broncos this season. Center fielder Ryan Marquis led Granite Hills with two hits in the championship game while shortstop Brandon Decker had one RBI.

In other divisional title contests, University of San Diego High (21-12) defeated Coronado (22-13) by a 12-7 score to win the Division III championship while second-seeded Santa Fe Christian (21-7) edged top-seeded Horizon Christian (20-5) by a 2-1 score in extra innings in the Division IV championship game.