JSerra to play Huntington Beach in championship game of National High School Invitational

JSerra and Huntington Beach started the high school baseball season ranked No. 1 and No. 3, respectively, in the Los Angeles Times’ preseason rankings. Then they dropped after horrific beginnings. JSerra started 2-6 in Trinity League play. Huntington Beach lost six of its eight nonleague games.

Those early season stumbles appear to be over. The two surging teams will meet Saturday afternoon (1:30 p.m. Pacific) in the championship game of the National High School Invitational in Cary, N.C.

Huntington Beach (11-6) won its ninth consecutive game, a 3-2 victory over Las Vegas Bishop Gorman on Friday. Dean Carpentier went four for four as the leadoff batter for the Oilers. Ralphy Velazquez had a hit, making him six for 10 in the tournament. Colin McNiven struck out three in two innings of relief.

JSerra (9-6) defeated fellow Trinity League rival Santa Margarita 4-1 in the semifinal. Dominic Smaldino had a key two-run single and Matt Champion threw a complete game, striking out five and walking none. Charlie Caruso had two hits.

Santa Margarita (13-3) received six shutout innings of relief from Brennan Bauer.

“I think both teams were both highly rated and had great players,” JSerra coach Brett Kay said of early season expectations. “Maybe we read the headlines too much. We weren’t playing good baseball. Maybe it was good to get away from the bubble of Orange County.”

Crespi 3, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 1: In his first pitching start of the season, the 2022 Mission League pitcher of the year, Isaiah Magdaleno, threw 104 pitches, striking out seven and walking two, to help the Celts end the nine-game winning streak of No. 1-ranked Notre Dame (16-2). Chris Arce had an RBI single for the Celts. Notre Dame’s only run came home when Magdaleno dropped a pop fly. Notre Dame is off until playing in the Boras Classic on April 11.

Corona 4, Norco 0: The Panthers completed a sweep of Norco. Gavin Duke threw six shutout innings. Anthony Murphy had two doubles and a single.

Cypress 10, Ayala 1: Playing at JSerra, Cypress received three RBIs from Nick Montgomery and two doubles from Matthew Thomas in the nonleague victory.

Mission Viejo 7-6, Dana Hills 0-5: Two pitchers combined on the shutout for Mission Viejo in the first game. In the second game, Jack Wade and Jack Boucher each had three hits.

Castaic 7-3, Hart 1-4: Kyler Freude struck out four in a complete game and also had two hits for Castaic in the first game. In the second game, Ryan De La Maza had two RBIs and Chris Downs threw 2 1/3 scoreless innings of relief.

Golden Valley 2, Saugus 1: Francisco Agredano had two hits for Golden Valley, which won its first Foothill League game.

Valencia 9, Canyon Country Canyon 1: Ricardo Ojeda struck out seven and gave up two hits in six innings.

Bishop Amat 3, Paraclete 1: Miguel Perez had two doubles and two RBIs for Bishop Amat.

Garden Grove Pacifica 4, Villa Park 0: The Mariners won the championship game of the Loara tournament. Chad Gurnea and Logan Brady combined on the shutout. Ryland Chastain had a two-run single.

Newbury Park 7, Oaks Christian 0: Derek Turner struck out nine in five scoreless innings for the Panthers.

Westlake 6, Agoura 2: Nolan Johnson contributed two hits and two RBIs for the Warriors.

Calabasas 10, Thousand Oaks 5: Sean Sims hit a grand slam to power the Coyotes.

Loyola 5, Bishop Alemany 3: Augie Lopez hit a home run and Alex Cohen struck out six in 4 2/3 innings to lead the Cubs. Jarrett Segura had a home run and three RBIs for Alemany.

Carson 7, Narbonne 5: The Colts picked up a two-game Marine League sweep of the Gauchos.

San Clemente 4, El Toro 0: Brock DellaVedova had two hits and three RBIs for San Clemente.

Servite 4, La Mirada 3: Kyle Buchanan and Tyler Thorsteinson each contributed two hits for Servite.

Crescenta Valley 5, Muir 1: Nico Terenzi threw a complete game, striking out seven, and he also contributed two hits in the Falcons’ Pacific League victory.

Arcadia 2, Glendale 1: Devon Eskridge had the game-winning walk-off RBI in the eighth inning for Arcadia.

Edison 3, Laguna Beach 2: The Chargers won with a run in the top of the 10th on an error. Tyler Eastham struck out seven in five innings of scoreless relief. Trent Johnson and Gavin Gayle each had three hits.

Mater Dei 2, Charter Oak 1: Brennan Seiber threw the complete game for the Monarchs.

Corona Centennial 1, Corona Santiago 0: ESPN Simpson hit a home run in the fourth inning to lead the Huskies. Michael Malki threw the shutout, striking out 10.

Trabuco Hills 9, Tesoro 5: Bobby Gray homered and finished with three RBIs for Trabuco Hills.

Orange Lutheran 13, Alabama Hoover 1: Justin Lopez and Casey Borba hit home runs for the Lancers.

Softball

JSerra 2, Corona Santiago 0: Eva Hurtado threw a one-hit shutout for JSerra.

Sierra Canyon 5, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 4: Ava Debs hit a two-run walk-off home run for Sierra Canyon in the seventh in a battle for first place in the Mission League. It was Sierra Canyon’s fourth home run of the game. Izzy Mertes hit two and Hailey Shuler added another. Notre Dame’s Ella Parker had given the Knights a 4-3 lead in the top of the seventh with her second home run. Notre Dame dropped to 11-2.

Birmingham 3, Canyon Country Canyon 2: Jessica Rose had a walk-off single for Birmingham.

Huntington Beach 2, Norco 0: The Oilers won in nine innings in the Carew Classic.

Orange Lutheran 3, Chula Vista Mater Dei 0: Brianne Weiss struck out 20 and allowed two hits for the Lancers.

Esperanza 2, Beaumont 0: Charley Duran struck out 12 and allowed two hits for Esperanza.