Telepeer

San Juan Hills baseball beats Beckman with strong outing from Cameron Morrissey

April 29, 2026

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO – Going into the final week of the regular season, teams vying for a playoff berth want to win as often as they can. Three games, three victories is the goal. And on Tuesday at San Juan Hills, two teams played like their playoff lives depended on it.

San Juan Hills walked away with a 3-1 victory over Beckman in a Sea View League contest that highlighted great pitching, power hitting and even a bit of fundamental small ball.

Cameron Morrissey outdueled Carter Head in the pitching matchup as second-place San Juan Hills improved to 16-10 overall, 6-4 in league. Beckman dropped to 15-9-1, 4-6. Mission Viejo (7-3 league) is in first place in the Sea View League.

Morrissey struck out six in the first three innings. He allowed only three hits (two of them in the seventh inning) as he went 6 1/3 innings with eight strikeouts and a walk.

“I had everything today,” Morrissey said. “Fastball was hitting spots, slider was good, curve ball was iffy but when I needed it, it was there.”

Alex Landie got the save. He entered after an error, strikeout and two singles chased Morrissey. Landle walked in a run, then struck out the Nos. 9 and 1 hitters to end the game.

Beckman’s Carter Head took the loss. He gave up four hits in six innings, struck out five, walked two and hit two.

Two of those hits came off the bat of Garrett Gandolfo. The first hit was a massive – and rare – home run over the fence in center field.

“When you face (Head), you know it’s going to be tough and you’re not going to get a lot of hits,” San Juan Hills coach Bret LeVier said. “Garrett put together two good swings. It’s 370 to center but the wind kinda blows in. In my nine years, only one other ball was hit over that part of the field.”

San Juan Hills senior Garrett Gandolfo had a two-run homer and an RBI single to provide the offense in the Stallions' 3-1 victory over Beckman in a Sea View League game Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (Photo by Martin Henderson) — San Juan Hills senior Garrett Gandolfo had a two-run homer and an RBI single to provide the offense in the Stallions’ 3-1 victory over Beckman in a Sea View League game Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (Photo by Martin Henderson)

Gandolfo wasn’t even sure his blast was going the distance.

“Honestly, I thought I popped it up, maybe got over his head for a double,” Gandolfo said. “Rounding first base and looking out, it was like, ‘Dang, it got out of here.’ Pretty good feeling.”

Morrissey was feeling it too. That homer was all he needed.

“That’s what I said as soon as he hit that two-run bomb,” he said. “I can work with two runs. Now I can go out and have fun and pitch to them the way I want to pitch to them instead of pitching around them.”

It’s been a great season for Morrissey (6-2), who has emerged equal to Gandolfo as the staff ace. Gandolfo is a senior committed to High Point (N.C.) University. Morrissey’s just looking to attract attention.

“This year, I started off as a reliever, but the first game I went three innings, then I threw six innings in relief, and then coaches put me in starting spot, which is what I wanted to be at the beginning of the year,” said the slender junior, who is 6-foot-1, 150 pounds. “That was big for me. Really glad about how I’ve been doing, had a lot of success. The season’s everything I could dream of right now.”

Gandolfo added a run in the fifth inning. Grant Bailey singled from the No. 8 spot in the order, pinch-hitter Boston Brenon laid down a great sacrifice bunt, Bailey took third on a pop foul down the first-base line near the fence, and scored on Gandolfo’s single up the middle.

Beckman had a chance to respond to Gandolfo’s homer in the fourth inning. Kai Carney’s leadoff single, a stolen base, a sacrifice and an error gave the Patriots runners at second and third with one out and their No. 5 hitter at bat. Morrissey got his seventh strikeout and then a ground ball to end the rally.

“It was one of those days,” Beckman coach Kevin Lavalle said. “(Morrissey) was really good. I don’t think we were great. I can’t fault the effort, maybe fault the execution a little bit, but it’s baseball and there’s always a door at some point in the game you can get through and we had that opportunity in the fourth and we didn’t execute, and you’re supposed to lose when you don’t execute.”

The teams will play again Wednesday at Beckman and finish the regular season Friday at San Juan Hills.

San Juan Hills baseball beats Beckman with strong outing from Cameron Morrissey Orange County Register

News Details

San Juan Hills baseball beats Beckman with strong outing from Cameron Morrissey

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

News

CONTACT INFO

QUICK LINKS

SERVICES

CURRENT NEWS