Vikings Lemmon Invite champs again

Make it a repeat championship for the Marina High baseball team.

The title game of the Ryan Lemmon Invitational March 30 had a familiar feeling to it when the Vikings took on Long Beach Millikan. One year earlier, the Vikings and Rams met in the tournament final and in that game, Marina emerged through an 11-inning battle with a one-run (3-2) victory and the title.

This year, the outcome nearly mirrored its predecessor: the Vikings this time needed nine innings to get past the Rams, doing so with a 2-1 win at Windrow Park in Irvine for the crown.

The victory — and title, came when Will Pingle was hit by a pitch by Millikan’s Michael Killeen (nine innings, four hits, six strikeouts) with the bases loaded which forced home the winning run in the bottom of the ninth.

Corey Lewis collected the other RBI in the fourth inning for the Vikings who took a 1-0 lead.

Senior right-hander Riley Ohl (seven strikeouts, one unearned run) led a Marina trio on the mound that produced a no-hitter. Ohl threw six innings, Ryan Marks threw an inning, and Jared Minor (3-0) went two innings.

Ohl, who previously had recorded shutout wins in Sunset League play against Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley, was named MVP of the tournament. Teammate Eric Anderson made the all-tournament team.

“Our pitchers threw a no-hitter against a very good Millikan squad,” Marina Coach Bob Marshall said. “I’m very proud of our team for staying focused and winning back-to-back championships in the tourney.”

The title game win gave Marina its second triumph over Millikan this year: the Vikings also edged the Rams, 4-3, at the Loara Tournament last month.

Marina’s march to the title included previous wins over Paramount (9-8), Woodbridge (3-2) and against Millikan’s Moore League rival, Long Beach Poly (8-6). The four tourney wins put the Vikings at 10-6 overall.

Marshall called his team’s run to the championship in the 16-team event, which started with the March 26 win over Paramount, a “gutty performance.”

“We fought and scratched our way throughout this tournament,” he said. “Three of the four victories were extra innings and our team showed a lot of resilience and determination in each and every game. Our young players came through and showed their competitiveness with how they were put into some key situations where they showed the future of Marina is bright.”

Marina was back in Sunset League action Wednesday against Newport Harbor. The score wasn’t available at press time. The Vikings play host to Los Alamitos, ranked No. 9 in CIF Southern Section Division 1, in a 3:15 p.m. league game Friday.