The San Diego Padres honored the top high school baseball players in the CIF-San Diego Section at the National League club’s annual High School All- Star Night on Sunday, June 18, at Petco Park.
The game showcased the section’s best players in an East- West format that included a pregame home run derby hitting contest.
The East team, braced by 10 players from East County schools, defeated the West team 9-2. For many, if not most, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to suit up and play in Petco Park, which is considered one of America’s top MLB stadiums.
The all-star teams and home run derby contestants were chosen by the section’s baseball advisory committee on May 13.
Each geographic team included 24 players. Christian High School’s Mike Mitchell coached the East squad while Cathedral Catholic’s Gary Remiker coached the home West squad.
Grossmont Hills League cochampions Granite Hills and Santana accounted for half of East County’s contribution to the game.
Senior first baseman Jacob Embleton, senior infielder Camden Sos and senior pitcher Nico Tomasello represented Granite Hills while seniors Destin Allen- Fox and Landen Bailey represented Santana, which went on to win this year’s Division I section championship and advance all the way to the Southern California regional championship game in which the Sultans (21-11, 8-4 in league) finished runner-up by a tenuous 1-0 score to Calabasas.
Allen-Fox, who finished the season 11-1 on the mound with a spectacular 0.60 earned-run average, notched a five-hit shutout in the CIF final, an 8-0 win over Patrick Henry, and tossed a three-hitter with seven strikeouts in a 3-1 regional semifinal win over Crespi.
Bailey, who topped Santana with a 0.290 hitting average to go with 15 RBI and four doubles, drove in two runs in a regional opening 11-8 victory over Aquinas.
Overall, the Sultans validated themselves with a 6-1 record in seven postseason games.
“It was awesome,” Bailey said. “Everyone doubted us, but we kept pushing. Hard work paid off and it showed.” Bailey said it was a humbling experience to be able to play in Petco Park.
“It’s definitely surreal to be in the ballpark you’ve grown up watching the big leaguers play in,” Bailey said. “To come to play on this field and win is awesome.”
“It’s awesome,” said Tomasello, who earned honors as Granite Hills’ Athlete of the Year for 2022-23. “You get to play with your brothers who you’ve known since you were 5 years old. It’s a great feeling. Hopefully, I’ll be here as a professional one day.”
All-star cast
Sos led the Eagles (16-9 overall, 8-4 in league) with a 0.378 hitting average, 16 RBI and five doubles while Embleton hit 0.320 with 15 RBI and a teamhigh four home runs. Tomasello excelled on the mound with a 1.67 earned-run average and 51 strikeouts in 58.2 innings. Tomasello, who is bound for SDSU next season, pitched a scoreless bottom of the fourth inning in Sunday’s all-star tilt while Embleton dove in a run in the first inning and later stole a base and scored on a base hit by Grossmont senior River Diaz De Leon.
Tomasello, a three-sport athlete at GHHS in football, basketball and baseball, improved to 2-0 in two all-star game appearances, the first as a junior last year.
He passed for 1,107 yards with 11 touchdowns as the Eagles won the Grossmont Hills League, San Diego Section Division II and Division 2A state football championships this past fall.
“It was a good year for pitchers,” he said of his spring exploits that took the Eagles three rounds deep into the Open Division playoffs (losing twice to eventual division runner-up Eastlake).
Bailey and Allen-Fox opened as battery mates in the bottom of the first inning for the East, with Bailey catching and Allen- Fox pitching one shutout frame. Bailey later scored on a base hit by Poway senior Ryan Kropeel to increase the East lead to 5-2 in the top of the fourth inning.
Christian junior Xavier Farnum batted 0.337 with 27 RBI, nine doubles and three home runs while classmate Ashton McCurty was 7-1 on the hill with a 1.02 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 62 innings for the City Eastern League champion Patriots (20-11 overall, 10-2 in league).
McCurty, who pitched a scoreless bottom of the seventh inning, rocked a ground-rule double in the top of the eighth inning and later scored on a base hit by Eastlake senior Isaiah Lane. McCurty later drove in the East’s final run in the top of the ninth.
Diaz De Leon hit 0.293 with 18 RBI, seven doubles and three home runs for the Foothillers (10-17, 6-6 in league).
He made the best defensive play in the game with a diving catch in the outfield in the bottom of the second inning.
Molina batted 0.253 with 21 RBI and five home runs for the Cougars (12-16, 3-9 in league). He served back-up duty behind the plate in Sunday’s game.
Helix Charter senior Anthony Matthiesen made another great catch while running into the wall in foul territory in left field. Lane earned game MVP honors with three runs scored and one RBI.
“I’m just so grateful, it’s so blessed by God to be here to show off the talent. I’ll remember it for the rest of my life,” said Lane, who is bound for the University of Oklahoma to continue his baseball career after helping lead the Titans (29-6, 11-1 in league) to a runner-up finish in the Open Division championship game with a 0.291 hitting average, 30 runs scored and team-high 33 RBI.
Eastlake head coach Dave Gallegos, who attended Sunday’s game, called Lane’s performance “awesome.”
“He was able to showcase how good a player he really is,” Gallegos said. “His last high school game, being MVP at Petco Park is awesome.”
