Marina’s Blake Partis throws five-hit shutout against Edison

Hits were a rarity for the Marina High baseball team in a Sunset League opener against Edison on Thursday.

Thanks to a dominant performance from senior left-hander Blake Partis, an abundance of offense would not be necessary.

Partis struck out two batters and walked none in his five-hit shutout, carrying the Vikings to a 2-0 victory at home.

As Marina coach Toby Hess noted, Partis’ complete game took the pressure off his hitters. Edison’s Lucas Hansen allowed just two hits in 5 2/3 innings.

“They’re so well coached and make the playoffs every year, so we know it’s going to be tough when we play them,” Hess said of the Chargers. “Our senior lefty just gave us what we needed. They say when offense scores, it makes it easier on the pitcher, but he makes it easy on the offense. We didn’t have to do too much because he was so precise.”

Marina (5-4 overall) remained dormant offensively for the majority of the game, failing to reach base in five of six innings at the plate.

The bats came alive in the bottom of the fourth, however.

Rocco Peppi scorched a single down the left-field line for the Vikings’ first hit. Dylan Holt drew the only walk allowed by Hansen in the following at-bat, and a single from Steven Casas through the right side of the infield would load the bases with no outs.

Cleanup hitter Cory Lewis took the plate next and capitalized, grounding out to short while driving in Peppi for the first run of the game. On the ensuing at-bat, designated hitter Braden Wylde drove in Holt on a sacrifice fly to stretch the lead to two runs.

“I was just looking for a pitch to drive,” Peppi said. “I missed the fastball, then I saw a slider … and I hit it right down the left-field line. We weren’t really piecing the ball up and having good at-bats, but we pulled it together and came through with two runs.”

Hansen struck out Jyles Sellers to prevent any more runs from crossing the plate. He would not allow another hit in the contest. In what could only be categorized as a pitcher’s duel between two lefties, though, all of the damage was already complete.

Unlike Marina, whose entire offensive output was limited to one inning, Edison (5-6) had scoring opportunities throughout the game. The Chargers left four runners on base, including three in scoring position, with a pair of notable miscues on the base paths.

The first occurred with two outs and two on in the second inning, as Ted Burton was caught in a rundown between third and home on a single from Caden Kendle that would have loaded the bases. The next came two innings later, when Derek Cleland was caught stealing third on a strikeout for an inning-ending double play.

Between Edison’s own shortcomings and a gritty showing from Marina in the field, scoring chances never materialized into runs.

“It helps because I know my defense will be behind me,” said Partis, who threw a first-pitch strike to 20 of the 24 batters he faced. “I know they can handle it, so I rely on them.”

Connor Aoki had a double, the Chargers’ only extra-base hit off Partis.

As Edison moves forward in league, finding more consistency and competitiveness at the plate will be critical.

“Do I like our chances [in league]? I’ll like our chances if we start to put together more competitive at-bats on a regular basis,” Edison coach Cameron Chinn said. “That’ll give us a chance to compete in games. Until then, it’s going to be a little bit of a struggle. But we have some competitors, and we have a lot of experience on this team.”

JOSH CRISWELL is a contributor to Times Community News. Follow him on Twitter: @joshccriswell