Ohl leads Marina past Huntington Beach
March Madness wasn’t limited to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament Friday.
The Sunset League had a taste of it, too.
In a league opener at Marina, the host Vikings rode the standout pitching of Riley Ohl to a big victory, a 4-0 shutout of defending league and CIF Southern Section Division 1 champion Huntington Beach.
Ohl got his first win of the season in spectacular fashion. The senior (1-3) struck out 10, allowed just one hits, one walk and hit two batters.
The University of Nevada-bound 6-foot-7 right-hander didn’t face more than four batters in an inning in the game. He sent the Oilers down in order in their first two at-bats, and struck out three of the four batters he faced in the top of the third where he also gave up his only hit to Nick Lopez who singled to the left side of the infield.
“Phenomenal,” is how Marina Coach Bob Marshall described Ohl’s performance. “He was attacking the zone throughout the game, he got his fastball over the plate, and he allowed us to get our offense going. Riley was terrific.”
Huntington Coach Benji Medure agreed.
“He was dominant,” Medure said of Ohl. “He was continually ahead of us all game. He was great, and they are good. We’ll have to keep an eye out for him next time.
“This is the Sunset League where everyone is tough. We didn’t execute today and we weren’t ready, and that’s totally on me. I take blame for not having us ready today.”
Marina (5-4 overall) had been on the short-end of a few close games this year but against Huntington (3-4), the Vikings took the lead in the fourth, and held firm.
Both teams were playing for the first time since Monday. Marina lost in 11 innings at Crean Lutheran, while Huntington, ranked No. 3 in CIF Southern Section Division 1, split a doubleheader at top-ranked JSerra.
“We’ve been involved with some close games, and we could have been 8-0 coming into today,” Marshall said. “We put 16 guys on base against Crean Lutheran, and 11 of those runners were in scoring position. We just lacked getting that key hit.”
That wasn’t the case against the Oilers.
Huntington starter Hagen Danner limited Marina to a lead-off double to Joe Waked (second inning) and a hit batter through three innings. In the bottom of the fourth, the Vikings, though, got to the junior right-hander, with two freshmen playing key roles.
One of those freshmen, Steven Casas, started the Marina-half of the fourth with a double to right-center field. Senior Griffin Hennessey next drew a walk on a full count, and both runners advanced a base on a passed ball. Casas would come in for the game’s first run on a low pitch to Chris Reynolds and with two out, Cory Lewis, Marina’s other freshman starter, took a full-count pitch to right-center field. The ball fell between hustling center-fielder Dominic Abbadessa and right-fielder Ben McConnell, and the two-run double extended the Marina lead to 3-0.
The Vikings threatened again in the bottom of the fifth but couldn’t score. Facing Huntington reliever Mitch Kovary, lead-off hitter Will Pingle hit a lead-off single to the top of the infield, was sacrificed to second on a bunt by Casas, and Hennessey dropped a bloop single into shallow center field. With runners at the corners, Kovary got out of the jam by ending the inning on a strikeout and infield ground out.
The Vikings wouldn’t waste their final scoring opportunity in the bottom of the sixth.
Lewis delivered his second hit with a lead-off single to right field. One out later, Marina catcher Tommy Verdugo sent a sharp grounder through the left side of the infield into left field and pinch runner Eric Anderson raced home from second to push the Vikings’ lead to 4-0.
Cory Moore drew a lead-off walk for Huntington in the top of the seventh but the Oilers’ attempt at a comeback ended on a fielder’s choice force out at second base, a fly out to deep center field by McConnell, and a pop up to Verdugo behind the plate.
“This is a great way to start league,” said Marshall whose team went 6-9 in league last year and was swept (3-0) by Huntington. “[The Oilers] are missing (starting third baseman/pitcher Logan) Pouelsen (out due to injury) big-time. They will be back.”
Marina is right back in Sunset action Saturday. The Vikings will square off against Newport Harbor at 2 p.m. at Angel Stadium. Another local team, Ocean View, takes on Redondo Union at 9 a.m. in a nonleague game at the stadium.
Next week, the Vikings play two more league games before heading into spring break. They host Edison Tuesday and travel Thursday to Fountain Valley. Both games start at 3:15 p.m.
Huntington, meanwhile, travels next Tuesday to Cary, N.C., to take part in the National High School Invitational. The Oilers open the tournament Wednesday against Poly Prep Country Day (Brooklyn, N.Y.).
