Mission Hills beats Torrey Pines, setting up big final week
After losing the first two games of a first-place Palomar League showdown, playing poorly in the second game and losing by 12 runs, Mission Hills High School baseball coach Griffin Teisher said his team had one thing on its mind.
“This is a game we had to win,” Teisher said of the Friday showdown at Torrey Pines.
The Grizzlies scored seven times in the fifth inning, highlighted by home runs from Noah Litchfield, Zeke Munoz and Micah Mecucci, pushed across three more in the sixth and added a run in the seventh en route to a 12-8 Palomar League victory, spoiling Senior Day for the Falcons.
The win moves Mission Hills to 15-12 overall and 10-4 in the league. Torrey Pines falls to 17-10, 10-4 in the league, tying Mission Hills for the top spot.
Mission Hills hosts El Camino on Wednesday, while Torrey Pines is at San Pasqual.
Despite the loss, Torrey Pines figures to be a top-four seed in Division 1 when the playoff pairings are revealed next Saturday.
Mission Hills came into Friday’s game as the sixth seed in Division 2, but could move into one of the top-four seeds with a win and some help.
“Anything can happen that last game,” Teisher said. “We’re 2-0 against El Camino. Torrey Pines has lost twice to San Pasqual. But there are no givens in this game.”
Mission Hills trailed 4-1 Friday before sending 12 batters to the plate and scoring seven runs. The Grizzlies sent seven batters to the plate in the sixth, scoring three times.
Uncharacteristically, Torrey Pines pitchers threw six wild pitches in the game, walked two batters and hit two others. The Falcons also committed three errors.
Mecucci had a big day for Mission Hills, scoring three runs.
“We strung some hits together in that fifth,” he said. “Hitting is contagious. Once we got going, we got a lot of confidence at the plate.”
Torrey Pines had plenty of chances to win the game, leaving the bases loaded in the third and sixth innings.
Leading 4-1 in the fourth, the Falcons had runners on first and second with one out and a chance to extend the lead, but Bram Schwartz came out of the bullpen to get the final two outs, and then pitch a scoreless fifth.
“Big spot right there,” Teisher said of the fourth inning.
The Falcons scored three times in the seventh on Ian Tseng’s home run. But that’s as close as Torrey Pines would get.
“We have a young group, and so does Torrey Pines,” Teisher said. “We’re fighting a league title. There was a lot of emotion, a lot of talk. Now we’re rooting for San Pasqual. And I’m sure Torrey Pines will be rooting for El Camino to get us.
“Should be a fun day Wednesday.”
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This story was originally published May 8, 2026 at 8:17 PM.