Winter allowed four hits and struck out five in a 10-0 win over La Costa Canyon, was 1 for 1 with an RBI in a 5-3 win over Valhalla, allowed six hits and struck out 11 in a 6-2 win over Westview and was 3 for 4 with three RBI in a 9-7 win over West Hills in the Cougar Classic.
As sparkling as she has been, the Notre Dame-bound Winter saved her best early season performance for the Cougar Classic championship, spinning a one-hitter with 12 strikeouts as the Broncos busted Granite Hills 8-0 in the championship game at Escondido’s Kit Carson Park.
The lone hit Winter surrendered was a first-inning triple in the five-inning game shortened by the mercy rule to improve her record to 4-0.
Lahitte delivers the heat
El Cajon Granite Hills senior pitcher Jenny Lahitte pitched four shutouts in as many starts as the Eagles reached the Cougar Classic Cougar Classic semifinals at Escondido’s Kit Carson Park.
The University of San Diego-bound senior, playing in front of her future coaches, struck out 17 El Camino Wildcats, including three in the eighth inning during the tiebreaker as Granite Hills prevailed 1-0 in nine innings.
In the tournament opener, Lahitte spun her Grossmont Conference-record tying seventh no-hitter in a 2-0 nod over Mt. Carmel with her freshman sister Kristina Lahitte behind the plate.
Fallbrook sophomore dazzling in Cougar Classic
Fallbrook sophomore softball standout Kaylie Drew was 7 for 12 with a double, two homers, six RBI and posted a 3-1 pitching mark in the Cougar Classic.
Boys basketball: Powell propels Lincoln to SoCal final
Lincoln (San Diego) (27-2) pulverized Pasadena in the Division II semifinals 81-45 to advance to the Southern California CIF finals at USC on Saturday (Mar. 20).
Lincoln was led by Norman Powell, who set the pace for the high-flying Hornets with 29 points playing in only three quarters. The 6-foot-3 junior forward nailed 12 of 14 shots from the field, including a pair of 3s and two dunks. He was also 3 for 3 from the free-throw line, helping the Hornets (27-2) crush the Bulldogs (27-8). Powell also had six rebounds and three steals.
Cai can, but Maranatha Christian can’t
Six-foot-8 Chen Cai tallied 40 points and collected 16 rebounds in a 78-54 Maranatha Christian romp over Visalia Central Valley Christian in the SoCal Division V quarterfinals. The junior post had 22 points, nine rebounds and four blocks in a 67-50 loss to La Verne Lutheran in the regional semifinals.
Track: La Costa Canyon’s Fox-ey vaulters soar
Twins Justin and Dillon Fox of La Costa Canyon dominated the pole vault at the Rancho Bernardo Bronco Invitational. Justin won with a vault of 14 feet, 7 inches and his brother Dillon landed tied for second at 14-1.
Other top performances
— Senior Dillon Dooney was a single shy of hitting for the cycle and drove in three runs as top-ranked Poway knocked off Valhalla 6-3.
— Sophomore Darren Fahy of La Costa Canyon won the 3,200 meters in 9 minutes, 17 seconds in the Bronco Invitational, smashing the 12-year-old record by nearly four seconds.
— El Camino’s Dylan Navarro was 6 for 8 with nine RBI in the Wildcats’ wins over La Jolla and Spring Valley Mount Miguel.
— Patrick Henry senior catcher Andrew Katz slugged a grand slam and finished with six RBI to lead Patrick Henry past Sweetwater 12-4.
— El Cajon Christian senior catcher Michael Gruber was 3 for 3 with three doubles, two sacrifice flies and six RBI against Mountain Empire.
— Mission Bay junior Robert Phiakeo drove in five runs with a pair of homers against Lakeside El Capitan.
— Santee Santana’s Chris Camarda was 3 for 4 with six RBI in a 13-11 win over Vista.
— Grossmont banged out eight consecutive hits in a seven-run third inning that resulted in an 8-1 victory over Chula Vista.
— Junior Andrew Daniel went 4 for 5 with three doubles and three runs scored in Rancho Bernardo’s 14-5 romp over St. Augustine.
— Six-foot-7 Valhalla senior Josh Austel laced a grand slam as the Norsemen nailed Escondido 14-2.
— University City senior Abel Salas was 3 for 4 with four RBI against San Diego Serra.
— Escondido’s Tyler Moore won the long jump (22-1 1/4) and the triple jump (44-6 1/2) at Rancho Bernardo’s Bronco Invitational.
Coming attractions
Five CIF-SDS baseball tournament championships will be up for grabs on Saturday. The dockets include: the 29th annual Pirate-Falcon final at Oceanside at 11; the Foothiller-Aztec title bout at Grossmont at 10:30; Hilltop-Lolita’s at Hilltop, 10:30; Andy Sanchez-Bully’s East at Sweetwater 11; and the Christian Patriot Invitational at 2 p.m.
Troy Leaf, Foothills Christian
File photo by Kirt Winter
Dickens dealings
When Los Angeles Windward eliminated Foothills Christian 78-73 in overtime in the SoCal Division V semifinals, it marked the third consecutive year the Knights from El Cajon had stumbled one win shy of reaching the SoCal championship game.
Some believe it is the end of an era. Nobody in the Foothills camp has made any such decision public.
No question it was a hurt that was felt all over the tiny El Cajon Foothills Christian campus where students, parents and faculty had grown accustomed to viewing the Brad Leaf-coached Knights provide weekly basketball excitement over the past five seasons.
The Knights finished 32-5 this year and 120-35 with three league championships and four Division V section titles during coach Leaf’s five-year reign. Leaf is a winner to be sure. Prior to his arrival at Foothills Christian (formerly Venture Christian) he directed Steele Canyon to a 72-22 three-year record, which included a pair of Grossmont League titles and section crowns in Division II and Division III.
Foothills Christian’s marks in time don’t stop there.
Troy Leaf became the most prolific scorer in CIF-SDS history with 3,318 points, which also ranks third-best in the state. The 6-3 UC Santa Barbara-bound Leaf netted 271 3-pointers, which ranks third on the state’s annals.
Kalob Hatcher broke NBA All-Star Jason Kidd’s state record for assists with 1,209 in his four seasons, which also included netting 282 3-pointers – second-highest on the state books.
It is all but assured that coach Leaf will not return at Foothills Christian even though the Knights do have some talent coming back, led by 6-6 freshman Jamal Aytes. That in itself is a shame because there is a good chance this classy basketball program will vanish into history.
