Atascadero tops SLO in Mountain League baseball action as season winds down

As the regular San Luis Obispo High School baseball season comes to an end next week, Atascadero High has played steady baseball ahead of CIF-Central Section playoffs.

The Greyhounds (16-9, 6-7 Mountain League) are the top Mountain League team from SLO County this year, and they are poised for a third-place finish after an 8-3 win over San Luis Obispo on Friday. The Greyhounds are 8-4 over their last 12 games.

The Tigers (8-17, 4-9 Mountain) split this week’s series against the Greyhounds, winning 11-0 on Wednesday.

Atascadero was buoyed by the strong pitching of senior Drew Cappel, whose ERA is 1.24 on the season. Cappel, a 5-11 right-hander, struck out 11 batters in 5.2 innings Friday, giving up three earned runs. Cappel throws fastballs that clock in the mid-80s and can hit up to 90 miles per hour.

Chase Viale went 2-for-4 with two RBI and Cappel was also 2-for-4 with two runs scored to lead the Greyhounds at the plate.

“Every game is a battle,” Cappel said. “I think the whole Mountain League has a rivalry with each other. But SLO is a good team. They capitalize on mistakes, and we do too. And I think we just came out on top today.”

The Greyhounds took a 4-1 lead in the fourth, helped by a double in the gap by Damon Mitchell, who knocked in a run and scored a run. An error in the inning on a ground ball to third kept the rally alive.

But in the sixth, SLO was able to cut the lead to 4-3, including a hit from Chris Johnson, who led the Tigers with a 2-for-4 game at the plate, including a double. Felix Stork went 1-for-3 with an RBI.

Cappel, who plans to play baseball at Cuesta College next year, is batting .355 on the season with 27 hits, two home runs and 16 RBI.

“I feel like I’ve matured the most this year as a hitter, just going up to bat not stressing out,” Cappel said. “It’s my senior year, and so it’s about having fun and hitting the ball. There’s no reason to stress; it’s just baseball.”

Cappel credits his off-season improvement to his time playing with the Orange County Travel baseball team, BPA.

“Then I made a Dodgers scout team in the fall and played for Tom Myers,” Cappel said. “I had months and months of just training and pitching. So, I came into this high school season just wanting to pitch. It’s nice to show off the work I put in.”

Cappel said he hopes to be a two-way player at Cuesta, but it’s yet to be determined.

A balanced league

Atascadero Coach Paul Teixeira said the Mountain League is competitive and SLO is a solid team.

“It shows how evenly balanced the Mountain Leauge is,” Teixeira said. “You make a couple mistakes, the other teams capitalize. We made mistakes and they scored, and they made mistakes and we scored. Cabrillo is the runaway league champion, but everyone else is kind of in the middle.”

Teixeira said the Greyhounds have been led by a strong infield, including Cappel, who plays shortstop and has moved into a starter role from closer responsibilities this season, and Viale, also a starting pitcher.

“Chase Viale has been a beast on the mound,” Teixeira said. “He’s our number one starter and you can bank on six innings every game..”

Other key contributors have been Jarom Damery, who had an RBI single Friday.

“Jack Thompson also has played solid defense and had good hitting,” Teixeira said. “Zach Savino, our catcher, has been hitting better as the season goes along. Those guys have been the heart of the team.”

Next week, Atascadero plays St. Joseph on Wednesday and Friday to conclude the regular season as SLO faces league leader Cabrillo, also Wednesday and Friday.

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