By Ed Piper
La Jolla bats continued their recent high-scoring ways in City League play Wed., April 22, at Morse, as the Vikings ran around, through, and over the Tigers 15-2.
The victory Wednesday built on Coach Gary Frank's squad's 12-4 win in the first game of the week's three-game series against Morse Mon., April 20.
Two-three-four slot hitters Reed Turner, Joseph Crudo, and Charlie Martin, along with Harper Lane, all drove in a pair of runs apiece as the red-and-black once again piled on for 12 hits.
Will Griebe-Arzate, with his dad recording parts of the game on his phone from behind the backstop, went the distance against Coach Dallas Booker's Tigers, striking out nine, walking only one. The 11th-grader notched his third win against five losses and lowered his ERA to 3.07, yielding both earned runs.
In the first inning, leadoff hitter Carter Strauss singled, then scored on Turner's hit into centerfield. The visitors led, 1-0.
In the second, after Morse tied the game in the bottom of the first, La Jolla scored three more runs. First baseman Ryan Khourajian singled to center. He was picked off by pitcher Moises "Moi" Davison.
Lane then struck out, but he reached base on the mishandled pitch by the Tiger catcher, Tommy Killingsworth. Luke Cripe walked.
Brady Wilson drove a basehit over rightfielder Evan Prihoda's head, driving in Lane. With runners on first and third, Strauss came up to the plate. Wilson stole second base, and Killingsworth's throw was ill-advised and went into centerfield. Cripe came around for the second run of the inning.
Strauss walked. Cripe, nicknamed "Freaky" by his teammates for some unknown reason, popped out to second. Crudo also walked to load the bases.
With Martin, "Chubs" to his mates, at the plate, Brady scored on a passed ball for a 4-1 lead.
By Ed Piper
Scott "Juice" Hughley said today (Mon., April 20) that he was waiting on word to join the Point Loma High staff to coach the offense.
"Juice", who works at Del Norte High, tried out a position at a local high school last fall--after five years as Associate Head Coach at La Jolla High--before leaving early in the season. His daughter can throw a pretty good spiral, as coached by then-La Jolla High senior Huddy Smith in 2024.
Hughley, sporting a "butterfly" Afro and bushy beard on the DNHS campus at present, would join Ryan Price at PLHS. Point Loma was highly successful under Price, who served as Defensive Coordinator for the Vikings in 2023, last season.
Scott said eight starters would be returning on offense, including Ryder Watson, a 5'11", 175-pound quarterback, who alternated at QB with Henry Heuser, formerly at La Jolla, 6'2", 175. Watson will be a junior, Heuser a senior.
Meanwhile, Viking head coach Tyler Roach said recently that the program is going to go ahead "with who is in the building" at present, lefty thrower/rising senior Emerson Rota, and rising sophomore Ty Tortorice. Both shared time at quarterback in an up-and-down season, along with Carson Diehl in the wildcat and even a try of baseball player Harper Lane behind center.
Smith's concussion status sidelined him most of the season after the first game, necessitating Roach's considerable ingenuity on offense.
"Juice" agreed that the group two and three years ago, headed by Jackson Diehl and Hank Hansen and others, had more players who could be vocal and challenge their teammates than the most recent group.
