Hudson Beamon sent a high looper toward center field that looked like a short wedge at Torrey Pines South. No one screamed “Get in the hole,” but the Granite Hills faithful sure were hopeful.
When it finally dropped a few feet in front of charging center fielder Kien Vu, Alex Gibaud easily raced home to give the Eagles a 3-2 walk-off win and CIF San Diego Section Division I title over Point Loma on Saturday afternoon at Poway High.
“I knew I needed to get one to the outfield,” Beamon said of his one-out, first-pitch swing. “I knew it had a chance, and then I saw it drop.
“Insane. My heart is still pounding. Crazy. Whatever gets the job done.”
Top-seeded Granite Hills (25-10) needed a three-run, walk-off home run by Grant MacArthur to beat Westview 5-4 in eight innings on Tuesday. The Eagles then beat Westview 12-7 on Thursday to be able to claim its fourth title under coach James Davis and seventh overall.
“We’re usually a big-swing team,” Davis said. “We had a couple Punch-and-Judy’s today.”
No. 2 Point Loma (20-13) took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI double off the left-field fence by Corbin Chianello and a sharp singe to center by Duke Ekstrom. On the mound, Ekstrom (1.95 ERA) allowed four hits and single runs in the second and fifth innings.
Tanner Vielguth scored on a groundout by James Taylor in the second, and MacArthur singled up the middle to plate Taylor in the fifth. Beamon’s heroic hit came after Gibaud singled to right. On a missed bunt attempt, Gibaud was caught between bases but advanced to second on a throwing error and went to third on a groundout by Taylor.
One of only two senior starters for the Eagles, Noa Ponciano (1.06 ERA) allowed four hits and two runs in four innings, and 6-foot-4 freshman Chandler Henry (5-2) yielded only two walks and a hit batter in three scoreless innings for the win.
“Gritty and tough,” Davis said. “We had to come back all week long. To have a freshman out there to finish was special.”
Point Loma was attempting to win its first title since David Wells led the Pointers to a 1982 title.
“Our guys battled hard,” said Jeff Solis, who took over for Wells as coach three years ago. “They’ve been doing it all year. We did some things really well but made a couple of mistakes. That’s too good of a team to make a mistake in the bottom of the seventh inning.”
Open Division
Eastlake 8, Grossmont 3: Sophomore Daniel Mora roped two doubles and had three RBI as No. 8-seed Eastlake beat No. 3 Grossmont for its third section title in the past four completed seasons.
Bret Leonhardt blasted a long home run to right field to make it 6-3. Sebastian Sanchez followed with a single and Mora his second double. Ethan Lizama added a sacrifice fly to finish the scoring.
Ray Cebulski (7-2, 2.44 ERA) pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the third inning and struck out 10 in 61/3 innings. He yielded only four hits and two walks.
The Titans got two unearned runs in the first inning and then two more unearned runs in the second on a two-run double by Daniel Mora. Grossmont got one back in the second on a single by Justin Brown and RBI double by Barron Zamora. A double by Marcelo Mayer (3-for-4) and RBI single by Nico Libed made it 5-1.
Both teams qualified for this week’s Southern California Championships.
Division II
Carlsbad 16, Steele Canyon 3: Konrad Bohnert went 3-for-5 with six RBIs to lead No. 2 Carlsbad (21-9) to its first section title since its only one in 1989. Bohnert, a senior shortstop headed to San Diego State, gave the Lancers a 4-3 lead in the fifth inning with a three-run homer to left-center field.
“We’re a big family,” Bohnert said. “It felt great to win as a family. It was awesome.”
Bohnert’s fifth homer followed two walks and ignited a 10-run inning for the Lancers, who previously had only three hits off Sebastian Granados (6-3), who entered with a 0.98 ERA but developed a blister on his pitching hand at the start of the inning.
The Lancers sent nine batters to the plate without an out and 15 before scoring 10. They added five more in the sixth inning as every starter scored at least once in their last two at-bats.
“The wheels came off,” Cougars coach Jesse Evans said. “Sometimes you get snakebit, and you can’t get an out. It happens sometimes. It just hadn’t happened to us.”
No. 4 Steele Canyon (22-11) was chasing its first title and beat No. 1 St. Augustine twice to get to the final.
Bohnert’s twin, Derek, was 1-for-2 with three walks, two runs and an RBI. Cole Friend (two runs), Brock Bass (two runs, RBI) and Jack Ochoa (run, RBI) each provided two hits. Junior right-hander Peter Knorr (3-3) scattered eight hits and three runs in the second, yielding RBI hits by Ray Marrero, Nate Custeau and Will James.
“I’m not surprised in the least,” Carlsbad coach Jake Savicki said. “Our guys rally. (Konrad) has been our guy all year. It doesn’t surprise me he’d come through with the big blast.”
Division III
Christian 7, San Dieguito Academy 4: Vaughn Major hit a two-run homer, doubled, scored three runs and threw a complete game to run his record to 10-0 as No. 1 Christian (26-4) won its 17th game in a row.
Josh Meekins had a two-run homer for Christian, Will Carlock added a single, double and two RBIs, and Shane Blainey posted a double, two singles and an RBI.
Ian Hoslett homered for No. 10 San Dieguito Academy (21-14).
Division IV
West Hills 4, Mission Vista 0: Connor Evans slugged a two-run homer in the first and right-hander Kyle Dobyns made it stand up, throwing a three-hit shutout at Eastlake High. Dobyns struck out 11, including the side in the first and seventh. Only one runner reached second base for No. 3 Mission Vista (22-11). Dobyns s his father, Tommy, who won a section baseball title with Patrick Henry in 1980.
Top-seeded West Hills (16-17) put the game away in the sixth on consecutive doubles by Ryan Rodgers, Ezekial Sadler and Braden Wilson.
Division V
Orange Glen 5, Escondido Charter 4: No. 6 Orange Glen (13-15) scored twice in the bottom of the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Seth Dolan and an RBI double by AJ Marquez to win the title at Eastlake High.
Andy Gonzales scored twice for the Patriots, while Rafa Juarez had a two-run single. Nathan Kells was the winning pitcher, going the distance.
Mateo Encinas drove in two for No. 8 Escondido Charter (12-13). Jackson Nuaker scored twice and drove in a run while Diego Pena scored a pair of runs.
Lindgren is a freelance writer.
