High School Roundup : Beam’s 3-Run Homer Wins It for Poway

It’s rare that the ninth hitter becomes a hero. But Mike Beam, the last batter in Poway High School’s lineup, came through Friday, and Poway remained in a tie with Mt. Carmel atop the Palomar League with an 8-6 victory over visiting San Dieguito.

Beam climaxed a five-run fifth-inning rally with his first home run of the season, a three-run shot that put Poway ahead, 8-2.

San Dieguito rallied for three runs in the sixth off starter John Youngkin, but reliever John Uglow came on for his second save of the week and third of the year.

Beam was 2 for 3 with 4 runs batted in and is 8 for 12 in his past four games. Ed Cornblum was 3 for 4 with 2 RBIs for Poway (7-2, 13-7). Youngkin is 5-1.

In other Palomar League games:

Mt. Carmel 9, Orange Glen 0--Byron Klemaske of No. 9 Mt. Carmel (17-10, 7-2) threw a three-hitter. John Tejcek hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning for Mt. Carmel. Orange Glen dropped to 6-14, 0-8.

Torrey Pines 5, Vista 4--John Lynch gained his fifth victory without a loss and scored the winning run in the bottom of the seventh. Lynch led off the last inning with a double, stole third and scored on a passed ball for No. 4 Torrey Pines (19-3, 6-3). Vista is 9-13, 3-6.

GROSSMONT LEAGUE

Grossmont 9, El Capitan 4--Mike Rendina hit his eighth home run, and Roy Neder scattered seven hits for host Grossmont. Rendina hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the second to give Grossmont (13-8, 8-3) a 6-2 lead. Todd Cady was 3 for 4, and Neder improved to 3-1.

Helix 13, Monte Vista 0--Catcher Rick Page hit two home runs, went 4 for 5 and drove in six runs for No. 2 Helix (18-2, 11-0). Richie Haar also hit a homer for Helix, and pitcher Damon Luban improve his record to 8-1 with a three-hit shutout. Monte Vista is 11-13, 4-7.

Santana 4, Granite Hills 3--Santana rallied for three runs in the fifth inning, and Paul Newark pitched four scoreless innings at Granite Hills (13-8, 7-5). Fifth-ranked Santana is 17-6, 8-4.

CITY CENTRAL LEAGUE

San Diego 8, Christian 3--Junior Guzman was 2 for 3 with 4 RBIs, and Cesar Ochoa went the distance at Christian. San Diego (7-5, 14-8) took advantage of seven Christian errors and remains in third place.

AVOCADO LEAGUE

El Camino 4, Rancho Buena Vista 2--Sophomore James Zoucha, in his first varsity start, threw a four-hitter. Ricky Spears and Kirk Shankle each had two hits and one RBI for El Camino (3-17, 2-8). Rancho Buena Vista fell to 7-14, 3-7.

Escondido 2, San Marcos 1--Robert Erp improved to 3-1 by striking out five and throwing a four-hitter against San Marcos (11-7, 6-4). Escondido is 12-10, 6-4.

Ramona 12, Oceanside 10 (10 innings)--Ty Wilson hit a bases-loaded double in the top of the 10th inning to drive in two for Ramona (9-9, 3-6). Ramona led with two outs in the seventh and eighth innings, but Oceanside (8-13, 3-7) rallied to tie each time.