Marina edges HB, takes first in Sunset League

Having gone 20 games in the 2016 prep baseball season, the Huntington Beach High Oilers finally played a home game Friday.

The Oilers had been tough road warriors through those 20 games, winning 14 of those contests away from their home field while a major stadium renovation was nearing completion. They played host to Marina in a key Sunset League game that not only marked their home debut, but drew a capacity crowd that included city dignitaries and a field dedication prior to a battle that would determine which team would take sole possession of first place in the league standings.

Marina put a damper on Huntington’s celebration by holding off the Oilers late for a 2-1 victory that unfolded before a dramatic setting and ended in dramatic fashion.

The win allowed the Vikings to sweep the league series, 3-0. It also put them at 5-2 in league, with a one-game advantage on the Oilers and Edison who both are 4-3.

Edison defeated Los Alamitos Friday, 4-3.

Marina had scored a 5-2 home win Wednesday over Huntington to move into a tie for the league lead.

“It’s pretty awesome to get this sweep,” Coach Bob Marshall said of his club which won for the eighth-straight game to improve to 13-6. “This was such a great atmosphere here and there was a lot riding on this game.

“We are a scrappy group. We play together and it’s all about execution. We had our big dude [pitcher Riley Ohl] out there who was phenomenal, and we made some terrific defensive plays to back him. This team has exceeded my expectations, and our coaches’ expectations. There’s still a long way to go but we’re happy to be where we are right now.”

Marina was sitting pretty heading into the bottom of the seventh with a 2-0 lead and Ohl, an outstanding 6-foot-7 right-hander who will play next year at Nevada, trying to shut out Huntington for the second time this year (he threw a one-hitter to power the Vikings to a 4-0 win over Huntington in a league opener March 18). But on the first pitch of the bottom half of the frame, Landon Silver got a hold of a fastball from Ohl and homered deep over the fence in left field. Suddenly, it was a one-run game.

“I felt good on that pitch but [Silver] is a really good hitter and he made the connection,” Ohl said. “I just knew I had to get through the inning so that we could get the win.”

Ohl got the next two Huntington batters to ground out. Freshman first baseman Cory Lewis made a nice snag of a bad-hopper past the bag for the first out, then third baseman Joe Waked bobbled a grounder but made a nice recovery to throw to first where Lewis made a wide stretch to just beat a hustling Trevor Windisch for the second out.

But the Oilers (14-7), ranked fourth in CIF Southern Section Division 1, weren’t done yet.

Ben McConnell sent a single through the hole between third and second and past diving shortstop Griffin Hennessey. J.J. Muratore then sent a grounder back to the mound, the ball hitting off Ohl who couldn’t recover in time. The Oilers now had the tying run at second and winning run at first, with the top of their order waiting. Lead-off hitter Dominic Abbadessa hit a sharp grounder toward the middle of the infield but Hennessey came up with a stop and forced out Muratore at second on a close play that ended the game.

Marina also had a two-run edge heading into the bottom of the fifth where it also dodged a bullet, thanks to two outstanding defensive plays in the outfield that would protect the lead.

Ohl recorded his eighth and final strikeout of the game to start the inning but singles by Windisch and McConnell put the tying runs on base. It looked as though the Oilers would score when Muratore lined an 0-1 pitch into right field. Marina right-fielder Tyler Abend came up with the ball and fired a shot toward home where he gunned down Windisch who attempted to score from second. Vikings catcher Tommy Verdugo came up with a clean tag for a huge out.

“[Huntington] had been hitting to the gap in right-center but [Muratore] had hit a few foul balls my way, so I scooted over toward the [foul] line,” said Abend who previously had a key hit that gave Marina the lead in the fourth. “I’m glad I did, because I was there to make the play.”

Abbadessa then came to the plate and sent a shot deep into center field where Will Pingle backtracked and came up with a big catch to end the threat.

“Our defense is phenomenal,” Ohl said. “Everybody played great, and I am where I am because of our defense.”

Huntington Coach Benji Medure agreed.

“They made some big-time plays,” he said. “When Landon [Silver] hit that home run [in the bottom of the seventh] to get us in the game I thought to myself, why did I send [Trevor] Windisch around to score from second [in the fifth]? That was on me, my mistake.”

Both Marina and Huntington had their aces on the mound. The Oilers countered with talented junior Hagen Danner who held the Vikings scoreless until two outs into the fourth. Waked began a Vikings rally that would end with two runs. He singled to right field and then scored when Abend doubled high off the screen in left field. Eric Anderson, hitting in the No. 9 slot, singled to center field and Abend came in from second to score for a 2-0 lead.

Ohl (4-3) sent the Oilers down in order in the bottom of the seventh, starting the game’s first 1-2-3 inning with a pair of strikeouts. Danner put the Vikings down in order in both the fifth and sixth innings.

In addition to striking out eight, Ohl ended up with an eight-hitter without allowing a walk. Danner gave up five hits and struck out nine.

“The kid did a good job,” Medure said of Ohl. “He stayed away from us most of the day and was tough with his pitches. I thought Hagen [Danner] also pitched real well and looked good. He hung up that one change-up where they got that double [Abend in the fourth inning].

“This isn’t the way we wanted things to go in our home opener in our new stadium, but there’s still a lot of baseball to be played. We fought and I’m proud of the way our kids battled back.”