San Dieguito gets best of rival Eagles

North County Times – Escondido,CA,USA
LEUCADIA — The San Dieguito Academy baseball team has long played
in the shadow of Santa Fe Christian. The Eagles have controlled the Coastal
League North …

LEUCADIA — The San Dieguito Academy baseball team has long played in the shadow of Santa Fe Christian.

The Eagles have controlled the Coastal League North for quite some time, including the entire tenure of 14 Mustangs now in their senior season.

That core group, however, has finally earned its time in the sun. San Dieguito Academy defeated its nemesis for the second time this season on Wednesday, earning a 3-0 win that brought the Mustangs closer to their first Coastal League North title.

“Santa Fe has always played the spoiler,” Mustangs coach Dennis Koolhaas said. “But this group is special. They came out focused and ready to meet this challenge.”

The Mustangs (16-4, 7-0) moved two games ahead with three to play, thanks to a complete effort that featured a complete-game shutout from Steve Taft, excellent defense and offense that generated runs both with small ball and a big blast.

“We’re not a team that’s going to score a ton of runs,” Koolhaas said. “But I thought if we could get a solid outing from Steve and manufacture some runs, we’d be in good shape.”

Koolhaas got everything he wished for, especially from his ace. Taft struck out the first batter on three pitches and dispensed of many others in no time at all. He stranded eight runners, including six in scoring position.

This was a must-win game for San Dieguito, which was determined to beat the rival Eagles (19-5, 5-2).

“I found out I was going to start five days ago and I’ve been thinking about this game ever since,” Taft said. “To be honest, I don’t think I ever imagined the game going as well as it actually did.”

San Dieguito took the lead with a first-inning RBI double from Jeff Butera, then expanded it in the fourth with a sacrifice fly from Taft and Jeremy Baum’s first home run of the season.

Taft made the lead stand up with help from near-perfect defense, especially on the left side of the infield. The Eagles had a few scoring opportunities, but never got the clutch hit necessary to drive runs across.

“San Dieguito’s coaching staff has created a quality program,” Santa Fe Christian coach Rick Aguilera said. “They’re fundamentally sound and never let up. You’ve got to give them credit. They outplayed us both times this season.”