Edison upsets Huntington Beach to keep baseball playoff hopes alive

There still is a glimmer of hope for the Edison High baseball team after it posted a 5-1 upset Tuesday over visiting Huntington Beach, ranked No. 3 in the state by CalHiSports.com.

By beating the Sunset League champion Oilers, the Chargers improved to 7-7 in league play and 15-14 overall. Edison coach Cameron Chinn was matter-of-fact in his analysis of the Chargers’ chances of making the upcoming CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs.

“We need to sweep Huntington Beach, and Marina needed to sweep Fountain Valley for us to finish in third place,� Chinn said of the final two games each team had going into the final week of the regular season. “We did, however, qualify as an at-large team with this win [because we will finish with at least a .500 overall record], but getting an at-large berth is determined on how many other teams are in our situation.�

The Chargers will find out whether they made the postseason as an at-large entry on Monday, when the section releases the playoff pairings.

Fountain Valley (17-11, 8-6 in league) defeated Marina 12-4 on Tuesday to secure third place and the program’s first playoff berth in three years. Even if the Barons lose on Thursday and the Chargers win, putting both teams at 8-7, Fountain Valley will be the league’s No. 3 playoff representative because it holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Chargers by having won two of the three games in the series.

The Chargers got off to a quick start against Huntington Beach (24-5, 12-2), taking a 3-0 lead in the first inning. With one out, the left-handed hitting Chase Hanson doubled to the opposite field. Following another out, Matt Swartz drew a walk, and Spencer Severn was hit by a pitch from Huntington Beach’s Dylan Ramirez to load the bases. Ted Burton then lined a double off the left-field fence to drive in all three runs.

Edison increased its lead to 4-0 in the third inning when Swartz blasted a solo home run to left-center field. Swartz scored the Chargers’ final run in the fifth when he hit a one-out single and advanced on a fielder’s choice and later scored when the bases were loaded and Nolan Funke was hit by a pitch to force in the run.

For the day, Swartz and Hanson had two hits each while starting pitcher Kevin Hultgren was holding the Oilers at bay. Hultgren (6-3) threw 6 1/3 innings, striking out four while allowing six hits.

“Kevin was great today,� Chinn said. “He was getting his first pitch in for a strike a high percentage of the time and he mixed his speeds really well.�

The coach also praised freshman reliever Caden Aoki, who relieved Hultgren with one out in the seventh inning. He struck out two.

“This was not a save opportunity for him,� Chinn said, “but he has four saves on the year.�

Huntington Beach coach Benji Medure complimented the Chargers, who have won seven of nine games in the league since starting 0-5.

“They did a great job against us,� Medure said. “We normally have been able to make adjustments when we fall behind — that has been our calling card — but today we made zero adjustments.�

DAVE DANIEL is a contributor to Times Community News.