Editor’s Note: The San Diego region is a landmine for high school athletics. The beautiful weather lends itself to play and history and coaching drives it to succeed. Some of the all-time greats produced there include Bill Walton, Marcus Allen, Gail Devers and most recently Adrian Gonzalez, Tiger Woods and Reggie Bush. Of all the sports, perhaps the region’s most fertile is on the baseball and softball diamonds. New MaxPreps correspondent Bill Dickens, a legendary scribe who has thrived and reported in the area for more than 40 years, plucked out five top diamond highlights from the just completed high school season.
By Bill Dickens
MaxPreps.com
1. Barber on the Hill. Baseball: The Barber of the Hills
Josh Barber, a 6-foot-2, 215-pound senior at obscure Mountain Empire (Pine Valley), California, compiled some gaudy numbers during his four-year career. Many dismiss Barber’s efforts as inflated, considering the Redhawks baseball team did not face the San Diego Section elite.
However, those closer to the soft-spoken slugger know better. Even though Barber is perhaps a year or two away from attracting national attention, his ability to swing the bat can’t miss.
On the surface Barber’s claim to fame is a 37-game hitting streak, which broke the record held by now-Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, who set the mark of 29 as a senior at Eastlake High in 1999.
Barber’s numbers are seemingly never-ending as they include 24 school records as well as state marks for on-base percentage and doubles in a career. His five section records include 187 career RBI and a career batting average of .587.
“To be honest, I don’t even think about records till somebody tells me,” said Barber, who will attend Grossmont College this fall and play baseball. His ultimate goal is to become a firefighter. He leaves the talk of professional baseball to others.
2. Softball shocker: Helix trips top-ranked Escondido
Escondido softball coach Cary Weiler rated his Cougars as the best team he’s ever coached. Yet, in a single pitch his top-ranked team was eliminated 1-0 by upstart Helix in the San Diego Section quarterfinals.
Even though Escondido ace Lisa Akamine allowed only one hit, that blow was a first-inning home run by the Highlanders’ Alyssa Dronenburg – her eighth of the year – which spoiled what had been an undefeated season for the two-time defending champion Cougars (28-1-2). The decision snapped Escondido 's 37-game unbeaten streak.
“Lisa did her job,” said Weiler. “We just didn't do our job at the plate.”
Terese Diaz, one of the top pitchers in the county was hit on her pitching hand by an Akamine pitch and left in the second inning. Unheralded Natalie Smith picked up the slack in what wound up to be a three-hit shutout.
“Natalie went out there with virtually no notice – we took her out of right field in the second so she could warm up – and she did a fantastic job,” noted Highlanders coach Mark Paule. “And when Terese got the feeling back in her hand, she went back in and did a great job, too. It was just like nothing had happened to her.”
Akamine lost for the first time in more than a year despite registering 14 strikeouts.
Helix, by the way, lost in the semifinals to eventual champion Granite Hills, which beat La Costa Canyon 7-1 in the finals.
3. Baseball/Softball: His and Her K Kings
Players in baseball and softball have been striking out in record numbers in the San Diego Section this season.
Sophomore Michael Fagan of the San Diego Jewish Academy fanned 181 in 97 1/3 innings, breaking a 36-year old record of 170 set by Monte Vista’s Ron Scagliotti. The 5-foot-8, 145-pound left-hander threw 1,491 pitches en route to his record-breaking effort. He also compiled an 11-3 record with two saves.
His softball counterpart, Rachel Brown of Scripps Ranch also shattered the season strikeout record with 400 whiffs in 208 1/3 innings. Her effort obliterated the previous mark of 347 set by Sarah Dawson of Christian in 1993.
According to the San Diego Section record book, Brown’s 738 career strikeouts ranks eighth all-time. Brown finished the season 26-3 with 19 shutouts and three no-hitters.
El Camino junior Jonny Hoffman threw two no-hitters – becoming just the sixth pitcher in section history to twirl two no-no’s in the same year. Hoffman is the only pitcher in El Camino history to throw a no-hitter. He no-hit Kearny in the season opener and blanked Carlsbad 4-0 on May 14. In the Carlsbad game Hoffman also struck out 12, which is an El Camino record. His efforts left him only one short of the section record for career no-hitters.
5. Baseball: Coaching Milestones
It’s was a record-breaking season for veteran baseball coaches in the San Diego Section. Rancho Bernardo’s Sam Blalock became the fifth high school coach in California history to eclipse the 700 win plateau when his Broncos defeated his former school, Mt. Carmel, on April 26.
The section’s victory parade also includes milestones for Montgomery’s Manny Hermosillo, who reached 500 on May 1. Christian’s Mike Mitchell, Grossmont’s Rob Phillips and Santana’s Jerry Henson broke the 300-win barrier this season.
Keep the pulse of San Diego high school sports with a new offering from Bill Dickens each week. You can reach him at EastCountyScribe@aol.com.