Baseball: No. 4 pitcher lifts Huntington Beach past Norco, 4-0

With ace Hagen Danner unavailable because of inflammation and tenderness in his elbow, Huntington Beach turned to its No. 4 pitcher, Mitchell Kovary, and he responded by throwing a four-hit shutout in the Oilers’ 4-0 victory over Norco on Tuesday in a Southern Section Division 1 semifinal game at Blair Field.

Huntington Beach, the No. 2 seed in the playoffs, will face Hart in Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. final at San Manuel Stadium in San Bernardino.

Danner, Tyler Murray and Landon Silver each had two hits for Huntington Beach. Hart defeated Saugus, 3-2, in 10 innings, getting a 10th-inning home run from Robert Reeves.

The big upset of the day was in Division 3, where Walnut handed unbeaten San Dimas its first defeat, 4-1. San Dimas came in with a 31-0 record.

Junior pitcher Christian Longoria came through for Walnut, which won its 18th consecutive game. He walked one and allowed six hits in a complete game. Brennan McKenzie had a triple and RBI. Jake Rodriguez went three for three.

Walnut will face Redondo in Saturday’s 1 p.m. final in San Bernardino. Redondo defeated Bishop Amat, 6-2. Sophomore Danny Zimmerman contributed two hits and allowed just three hits in a complete game.

In Division 2, Mission Viejo handed a rare defeat to UCLA-bound Brian Gadsby in a 4-2 win over Crescenta Valley. Sophomore Tanner Bibee threw a complete game. Mission Viejo will face Chino Hills in Saturday’s 4 p.m. final. Chino Hills defeated No. 1-seeded San Clemente, 4-3. Trevor Walker allowed two runs in six innings and Bailey Falter got the save. Will Tribucher had three hits for San Clemente.

In Division 4, Serrano will take on South Torrance in the 10 a.m. final.

Twitter:@LATSondheimer