Swart Mowing 'Em Down as Pennant Races Heat Up

If there is a better pitcher than La Costa Canyon’s Trent Swart in the San Diego CIF Section, he must be wearing a disguise. Nobody throwing in any part of the county is putting up better numbers than the Duke-bound left-hander.

For the third game in as many starts, Swart struck out 15 batters as the No. 4 Mavericks (19-4, 5-1) edged Rancho Buena Vista 4-3 in a recent Avocado West League encounter.

The Mavericks were coming off a second-place finish in the Lions Tournament Classic Division. In the Classic semifinals, LCC pulverized Poway 18-8 but lost to Cathedral Catholic 6-5 in the final.

Previously, Swart (6-0, 0.78 ERA) had fanned 15 in a perfect game effort against Oceanside and registered the same K total in a 12-1 romp over Grossmont.

Shortstop Philip Evans (. 394, 6 home runs, 22 RBI) and catcher Matt Hall (.457, 3 home runs, 22 RBI) are the mainstays of the LCC offense.

Prior to suffering that lopsided loss to LCC, Poway had posted key Lions Tournament wins over nationally top-ranked Huntington Beach Edison 2-1 and Nevada powerhouse Green Valley 10-0.

Ryan Moreno is the main stick for the Titans with a .473 average. Kevin Newman is batting at  a .447 clip with 18 RBI and Chris Dennis (.403) adds to the offensive arsenal. However, it was No. 9 hitter Nick Sharpe who carried Poway past Palomar League rival Ramona 10-3 with a 3-for-3 effort and seven RBI. That batting spree hoisted Sharpe’s average to .415.

Andrew Dages (6-1, 1.59) and Jordan Godwin (5-0, 3.12) are the cornerstones of a deep Titans pitching staff.

Poway (17-4, 7-0) shares the Palomar League lead with Rancho Bernardo (16-5, 7-0).

These two teams will meet in a single game on May 10 at Poway and then in a doubleheader at Rancho Bernardo on May 14. That three-game series should determine the league championship.  

The Broncos, under the tutelage of the section’s all-time winningest baseball coach, Sam Blalock, are paced by senior shortstop Andrew Daniel (.380, 6 home runs, 21 RBI) and catcher Becker Sankey (.385, 5 homers, 23 RBI).

Max Homick (5-1, 0.83), David Gabel (4-2, 1.77) and Max Lai (3-0, 0.93) handle the bulk of the work for a solid Rancho Bernardo pitching corps.

Ramona (12-9, 2-5) appears to be a bit overmatched in the Palomar League. The Bulldogs hope to get some bite out of double-threat Beau Sulser (.362, 4-2) and Blake Drake (.319, 2 home runs, 19 RBI) and Jackson Willeford (.359, 10 doubles).

After a slow start, Carlsbad (9-10, 2-1) has come on to win seven of its last nine including a strong start in Avocado West play. The Lancers, of course, must deal with La Costa Canyon if they plan to capture a league crown. Those two teams will close the regular season with a three-game series (May 13, 16, 18).

Isidro Perez has been a standout on the mound for the Lancers, while Thomas Eshelman has been carrying the torch for the Carlsbad offense.

San Dieguito Academy (9-12, 2-1) is chasing Del Norte (12-10, 5-1) in the run for the Valley League pennant. Pitcher-infielder Ryan Daspin is the Mustangs’ main man. San Dieguito reached the championship game in the 2A Division of the Lions Tournament before falling to University High of Irvine.

In the 5A Division of the Lions Tournament, La Jolla Country Day edged Monte Vista 7-5 in the finals. Primary challengers of Santa Fe Christian and Horizon in the Coastal South League, the Torreys (16-4, 1-1) count on Alex Guenette (.481) and Anthony Torres (.394) on offense.

 Special to Patch from East County Sports.com