EARNIE GRAFTON / Union-Tribune
Cathedral Catholic players swarm the field after defeatng Montgomery 5-3 to clinch the San Diego Section Div. III baseball title Saturday at SDSU's Tony Gwynn Stadium. Casey Hubbard's tie-breaking homer in the fifth was the key hit. Also Saturday, Poway won the Div. I title; Grossmont took the Div. II crown; and Coronado beat Christian in Div. IV. (See below)
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From part-time player last year to full-time starter this season, Cathedral Catholic junior Casey Husband kept delivering key hits until adding the biggest of all in the section Division III championship game yesterday.
Husband connected for a tie-breaking two-run homer in the fifth inning, lifting the fifth-seeded Dons past Montgomery 5-3 for their fourth crown in eight years at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
“I just got the chills running around first base,” Husband said. “It's the best feeling ever to win it for the team.”
Husband had homered in the previous two games. He opened the final with singles in his first two at-bats before stepping to the plate in the fifth with Tyler Gaffney aboard on a two-out triple.
What followed was Husband's ninth homer of the season, a blast over the right-center-field fence on a 1-2 fastball.
“What a great year it's been,” said Husband, who went 3-for-4 to finish the season with a .413 batting average and 40 RBI. “For me, it was just growing up and getting stronger. Also, I improved my eye at the plate, just everything.”
Cathedral (27-8) twice overcame early deficits to end a 14-game winning streak by the second-seeded Aztecs (24-8), who had allowed only one run in sweeping three earlier playoff games.
The Dons scored twice in the fourth to pull even at 3-3. Gaffney and Husband opened with back-to-back singles before Tommy Cheek hit a sacrifice fly. Ryan Wilkins added an RBI single.
Cheek and fellow senior Chris Wilson each played on the 2006 Cathedral team that last reached the finals. The Dons had nine other returnees from last season.
“We have many quality players,” Cathedral coach Gary Remiker said. “Guys knew their role and really played fantastic.”
Cathedral junior Jonathan Meyer allowed three runs on eight hits in six innings, including one run in the first and two in the third. The right-hander avoided further damage after the Aztecs loaded the bases with none out in each instance.
“After a while, I got more in a groove and got the ground balls when I needed them,” said Meyer, who had no strikeouts after entering the game with 62 on the season.
Sophomore Kevin Carreon went 4-for-4 to spearhead Montgomery.
“We had our chances and we let a few of them go by,” Aztecs coach Manny Hermosillo said. “They connected when they needed to.”
