Prep Baseball: Bristow, Weese lead Titans to win at Petco Park
Kevin Bristow sprinted down the first baseline as the baseball he had just scorched continued to elevate, drawing “oohs and ahhs” from the Poway High faithful in the stands at Petco Park.
At about the same time the junior stepped on first base, the ball dropped safely over the 357-foot sign in left field for a solo home run. Bristow smacked his hands together and now had a memory he will cherish forever.
The first baseman’s third home run of the season and sophomore Dylan Weese’s dominating performance on the mound, highlighted the Titans’ 7-0 win over Mt. Carmel under the lights at Petco Park on Friday night.
The victory completed a three-game sweep of the Sundevils (6-10, 0-3) by Poway (10-7, 3-0). It is the first time the Titans have started Palomar League play 3-0 since 2013, when it swept Mt. Carmel in the first three games.
“Sweeping them is huge,” said Bristow, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound right-handed hitter. “It gives us a ton of momentum going into the next series. We were struggling a little bit early on, but now we are hitting on all cylinders.”
Bristow’s home run came on a 2-1 pitch in the fifth inning and gave the Titans a 2-0 lead.
“I was looking fastball and he threw me a curveball and I got the barrel on it,” Bristow said. “I didn’t think it was going to go out because of the wind, but when it hit the bleachers it was unreal. Just a great feeling and something I will remember forever.”
Poway pulled away in the sixth, when it plated five runs. Tyler Nevin stroked an RBI double, Blake Wagenseller had an RBI single and Noah Lyons drove in two with a single to highlight the inning.
That was more than enough for Weese, who tossed his second complete game this year. The right-hander struck out eight and allowed just four hits en route to improving his record to 5-0.
“It was incredible,” Weese said of pitching at Petco Park. “Just knowing that so many great pitchers have thrown on that mound is insane. It was just an insane experience.”
Weese pitched around a few errors early, but also got some help from his defense. The Titans turned two double plays, one in the first and one in the fourth, and left fielder Filip Banjac gunned down a runner at the plate in the third to preserve a scoreless tie.
Weese and Mt. Carmel starter Jack Melton put up zeros through three innings. Poway had just one hit in that span, but ended up finishing with 10 in the game.
Brett Singer went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored. Sloan Blanscet hit a one-hopper off the wall in left field for a double and Alex Blaszyk stroked a pinch-hit single in the fifth for Poway.