SAN DIEGO HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL PREVIEW : Grossmont League : Santana to Face Some Challenges

SAN DIEGO —  For the first time in several seasons, there doesn’t appear to be a clear-cut favorite in the Grossmont League baseball race, which begins today.

“There is no dominant team in the league,” Valhalla Coach John Marlow said. “It could be a five- or six-team race. It could go to anybody.”

Said Jim Saska, coach of Santana, defending league and San Diego Section 3-A champion: “You could see the league champ losing four games this year.”

Santana has won two league and two section titles in the past three seasons.

Grossmont appears to be the most balanced team, but league coaches said the Foothillers will be joined by Santana, Granite Hills and El Capitan as favorites.

“Whoever gets hot at the right time is going going to win the pennant,” El Capitan Coach Steve Vickery said.

El Cajon Valley

Last season’s record: 1-15, 2-18

Finish: Ninth

Coach: Doug Hartung

Top returners: Catcher Larry Brown (senior, bats right, throws right); pitcher/third baseman Rusty Pennock (senior, bats right, throws right); outfielder Gregg Velasco (senior, bats right, throws right).

Top newcomers: Pitcher Kevin Davis (sophomore, bats right, throws right); outfielder Bill Rudd (sophomore, bats right, throws right).

Outlook: El Cajon Valley already has surpassed last season’s total victories with a 3-2 record after playing in the GMC tournament last week. Hartung takes over the program after coaching the El Cajon Valley softball team the last five seasons. The Braves are much improved. Brown is hitting .375 this season. Davis, the Braves’ No. 2 pitcher, and Rudd are up from the junior varsity. “I see a whole lot of improvement all the way around,” Hartung said. “We’re definitely one of the most improved teams.”

El Capitan

Last season’s record: 6-10, 11-15

Finish: Sixth, tie

Coach: Steve Vickery

Top returners: Pitcher Rob Arnold (senior, bats right, throws right); first baseman Carlos Gutierrez (junior, bats left, throws left); shortstop Jerry Aldridge (senior, bats right, throws right).

Top newcomers: Third baseman Jason Escoto (sophomore, bats right, throws right); second baseman Dan Freeman (sophomore, bats right, throws right).

Outlook: El Capitan (4-2) is averaging nearly 12 runs a game. Pitching depth will be a question mark. Arnold was 7-8 last season, but coaches regard him as one of the league’s better pitchers. Gutierez hit .408 last season and Aldridge is batting .500 after the first six games this season. El Capitan also is young, starting three sophomores: Escoto, Freeman and left fielder Jeremy Ellis.

Granite Hills

Last season’s record: 11-5, 15-9

Finish: Third

Coach: Gordy Thompson

Top returners: Pitcher George Bishop (senior, bats right, throws right); outfielder Donnie Carroll (senior, bats left, throws left); outfielder Curt Southworth (senior, bats right, throws right); catcher Jason DeGroote (junior, bats right, throws right).

Top newcomers: None

Outlook: Granite Hills (3-2) returns 10 players from last season’s third-place team, but Thompson said the returners are inexperienced. The Eagles are sound offensively with team MVP DeGroote, Carroll and two-year letterman Southworth returning. “I don’t think we’ll have any trouble scoring runs,” Thompson said. “Out situation here is, how far will our pitching take us?” Bishop was 3-1 last year and is the Eagles’ No. 1 pitcher. Mike Raskin, 4-1 as a sophomore, will pitch in the No. 2 spot.

Grossmont

Last season’s record: 9-7, 13-12

Finish: Fourth

Coach: Bill Gray

Top returners: Pitcher Lane Dickson (senior, bats left, throws left); pitcher Roy Neder (junior, bats left, throws left); first base Mike Rendina (junior, bats right, throws right); second baseman Dave Entrekin (junior, bats right, throws right).

Top newcomer: Infielder Donnie O’Brien (junior, bats right, throws right).

Outlook: Grossmont probably has the league’s deepest pitching staff with Dickson and Neder. Dickson was 7-4 with 82 strikeouts last season, and Neder was 4-5 as a sophomore. The Foothillers also have offensive strength with Entrekin (.345 last season) and Rendina (.364). Grossmont may be the team to beat after going 18-0 through a high school summer league. Helix

Last season’s record: 6-10, 8-16

Finish: Sixth, tie

Coach: Jeff Boutelle

Top returners: Pitcher Damon Luban (junior, bats left, throws left); catcher Rick Page (junior, bats right, throws right).

Top newcomers: Outfielder Joe Appolito (senior, bats right, throws left); shortstop Richie Haar (sophomore, bats right, throws right).

Outlook: Helix is a young team as Boutelle has started four sophomores in nonleague play. The Highlanders (2-3) have been playing without Page, who injured his knee in the last game of winter league. Page hit .375 for the varsity last season as a sophomore. “We really need him,” Boutelle said. Appolito will add some experience. The outfielder played his sophomore season at Valhalla and then transferred to a school outside the county last season. “We’re young and inexperience but I think we’ll do fairly well,” Boutelle said.

Monte Vista

Last season’s record: 4-12, 8-16

Finish: Eighth

Coach: Chuck Downing

Top returners: Pitcher Richard Garmo (senior, bats right, throws right); outfielder/pitcher Nick Richard (senior, bats right, throws right); designated hitter Ed Poulson (junior, bats right, throws right); shortstop/third baseman Scott Paul (senior, bats right, throws right).

Top newcomers: Shortstop/third baseman Dennis Nichols (senior, bats right, throws right); catcher Mike Moore (junior, bats right, throws right).

Outlook: Downing takes over a struggling program in his first season. Monte Vista won eight games last year, but the Monarchs are 3-3 in nonleague play. Offensively, Monte Vista will be led by Paul, who hit .392 last season. Nichols returns after missing last season with a broken arm. Downing said he has four solid pitchers “who can pitch varsity level ball.” Downing, a teacher at Monte Vista, last coached the junior varsity team during the 1980-81 season. “We can’t afford to make mistakes,” he said. “We’re going to have to scrap.”

Mount Miguel

Last season’s record: 7-8-1, 12-12-1

Finish: Fifth

Coach: Mike Triggs

Top returners: Shortstop Eddie Cervantes (senior, bats right, throws right); pitcher Anthony Garnica (senior, bats right, throws right); pitcher Delfin Merlin (senior, bats left, throws left); catcher Rick Ayala (senior, bats right, throws right).

Top newcomers: Second baseman Mike Baker (junior, bats right, throws right); first baseman Devin Rainer (junior, bats right, throws right).

Outlook: Mount Miguel has jumped to a 5-1 nonleague record and may have enough punch to move up in the standings after finishing fifth last season. Mount Miguel is led offensively by Cervantes. The Matadors also return pitchers Garnica and Merlin. Baker will hit No. 2 after playing on the junior varsity last season. “We’re working to just give ourselves a chance,” said Triggs, beginning his second season.

Santana

Last season’s record: 17-1, 23-2

Finish: First

Coach: Joe Saska

Top returners: Pitcher/outfielder Bill Reed (senior, bats left, throws left); outfielder/pitcher Mark Sherman (senior, bats right, throws right); outfielder Scott Oliver (senior, bats right, throws right).

Top newcomer: Catcher Raul Padilla (senior, bats right, throws right).

Outlook: Santana returns Reed, probably the county’s top pitching prospect. Reed was 10-0 last season in leading the Sultans to the 3-A section title. It was the Sultans second section title in the last three years. Saska, who won the championship last season in his first year as Santana coach, said it may be difficult to repeat. “We have a good pitching staff and we’re pretty sound defensively,” he said. “We just don’t have the firepower we had last year.”

Valhalla

Last season’s record: 12-3-1, 19-7-1

Finish: Second

Coach: John Marlow

Top returners: Outfielder Jon Perez (senior, bats right, throws right); shortstop Johnny Ace (senior, bats right, throws right); catcher/utilityman Eric Yetta (senior, bats right, throws right); third baseman/pitcher Joe Crisci (senior, bats right, throws right); pitcher Justin Post (senior, bats left, throws left).

Top newcomer: Pitcher/outfielder Bobby Runeborg (junior, bats left, throws left).

Outlook: Before the season started, pitching looked to be the biggest question mark for Valhalla, but the Norsemen (2-4) have struggled offensively and have been one-hit twice. The ace will be the 6-foot 3-inch Post, who was 4-1 as the No. 3 pitcher last season. Runeborg and Crisci will back Post. Yetta hit .350 last season. “We should be right in the thick of it,” Marlow said. “If we can get the pitching, we’d have a good chance of winning it.”