Huntington Beach Wins Sunset League

It’s a little early to place Huntington Beach High on equal footing with the other talent-rich baseball programs in this coastal city, but the Oilers definitely made progress this week.

Huntington Beach, ranked No. 20 in the Southland by The Times, clinched the program’s first Sunset League title since 1993, and third since 1992, by defeating defending Southern Section Division I champion Huntington Beach Marina, 6-0, on Friday.

The victory, its second this week against No. 5 Marina, also completed a three-game season sweep against the Vikings.

“They really bowed their necks and got the job done,” Marina Coach Paul Renfrow said.

In the first three seasons under Coach Benji Medure, Huntington Beach was 35-48, including 11-15 last season when the Oilers were 3-12 in the league.

But Medure’s dedication and enthusiasm have helped inspire and improve the team.

He has developed a steady pitching rotation that includes senior right-handers Colin Balester, who shut out Marina on four hits Friday, Nathan Keadle and Jordan Hargrave. They have combined to limit league opponents to just over two runs a game and their teammates have averaged only 2.8.

“The key to their success is their three pitchers, no ifs ands or buts about it,” Renfrow said.

Medure has also trained his defense to play with poise and confidence. So far this season, the Oilers have committed only 10 errors in league play, four in a 7-0 loss to Los Alamitos on April 28.

But perhaps the most important development for Medure was attracting Hank Conger to the program. Conger, a sophomore switch-hitting catcher, hit 33 home runs in 38 games in the Huntington Beach Ocean View Little League four years ago.

His all-star team advanced to the Western Regionals in San Bernardino and Conger hit what is believed to be the longest home run in the stadium’s history at an estimated 300 feet. In a loss in the regional final, he was walked intentionally in all three at-bats.

“I remember watching him on TV when he was in sixth grade,” Medure said. “He looked like a monster.”

Though Conger and his father, Yun, were aware of the balance of power among high school teams in their hometown, they decided to check out Huntington Beach, where several former Little League teammates were headed.

After playing for Medure on an American Legion team the summer before he began high school, Conger was convinced Huntington Beach was the right fit.

“I really struggled over the summer,” Conger said, adding that Medure tried to give him as many opportunities as possible. “The whole summer, he just tried to get me better.”

Conger, who started for the Oilers as a freshman, got off to a slow start this season but has improved his average to .349 with six home runs and 19 runs batted in. Conger has also thrown out 16 of 19 potential base stealers.

In Wednesday’s 6-2 victory over Marina, Conger hit a two-run homer in the first and a solo home run in the seventh.

In his next best showing this season, Conger had a run-scoring single and a three-run home run off Mission Viejo Capistrano Valley right-hander Jason Corder in an Irvine tournament game earlier this month, leading the Oilers to a 4-2 victory. Corder (6-1) has signed with California.

With the Oilers struggling for runs, their pitching staff has remained consistent. Half of their league victories are by one run, and the offense hasn’t produced more than six runs in any win.

Keadle, who has signed with Loyola Marymount, is 7-3 with a 2.51 earned-run average; Hargrave is 5-0 with a 2.17 ERA, and Balester, who is drawing the most interest from professional scouts because of his 6-foot-6 frame and 90-mph fastball, is 5-4 with five saves and had a 2.30 ERA before Friday’s shutout.

“I knew our strength was going to be pitching,” Medure said. “We just tried to put the best defense behind it.”

That includes one of the best young catchers in the Southland.