Prep Baseball: Rancho Bernardo High steamrolls Hilltop 14-2

By Michael Bower

Rancho Bernardo High shortstop Matt Jervis and second baseman Gosuke Katoh have been turning double plays together since they were 9-years-old. This year will be the last run for the duo and they want nothing more than to finish it off with a section title.

The Broncos certainly had the look and the swagger of a championship squad Thursday, as Katoh and Jervis led a 14-hit attack en route to a 14-2 crushing of Hilltop in a Lolitas Tournament game.

UCLA-bound Katoh launched a three-run homer over the right-center field wall at Rancho Bernardo and finished with four RBIs, while Jervis went 2-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs. LSU-bound, righty Parker Bugg was masterful, allowing just one hit through five innings of work to get his first win of the season.

“Time has really flown by,” said Jervis, who will play at Point Loma Nazarene next year. “But we really feel like we still have some unfinished business to take care of this season.”

Rancho Bernardo is trying to erase last year’s disappointing loss to La Costa Canyon in the Division II title game. The Broncos (2-0) are one of the eight teams in the newly formed San Diego Section Open Division playoff field, which will crown the King of San Diego Baseball in early June.

Rancho Bernardo was up 10-0 through three innings Thursday and hit around in both the third and fifth frames. The Broncos showed off their depth at the plate, as everyone in the lineup had at least one hit.

“Our entire lineup can hit,” Katoh said. “It isn’t just the top three or four guys. We have great hitters at the bottom of the order, too.”

The bottom five hitters for Rancho Bernardo had a combined eight hits, highlighted by the 3-for-4 performance by Nikko Holm out of the No. 5 slot. The first baseman had a double, two singles and an RBI.