Huntington Beach erupts in the ninth to win National High School Invitational

Huntington Beach and JSerra spent Saturday afternoon in Cary, N.C., refusing to concede in the championship baseball game of the National High School Invitational tournament.

The game went into extra innings after a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh from Charlie Caruso of JSerra tied the score, 1-1. In the eighth, both teams had chances to score but failed.

Not until the top of the ninth inning did Huntington Beach finally break away with a seven-run outburst, featuring a three-run triple from Aidan Espinoza and a two-run triple from Bradley Navarro to come away with an 8-1 championship victory.

It was the 10th consecutive victory for the Oilers (12-6) and came against an opponent that has some of the best pitching depth of any Southern California team. But it was Huntington Beach’s pitching that proved best. Sophomore Tyler Bellerose limited JSerra to one run in six innings, striking out six and walking none. Two relievers came on to support Bellerose.

These two teams have a history of playing extra-inning games. It went to eight innings in the CIF Division I regional final last season, which was won by Huntington Beach 2-0 on a home run from Ralphy Velazquez. They could meet again in two weeks at the Boras Classic.

Both teams come back to Southern California feeling good about their performances as they prepare for the Southern Section Division 1 playoffs.

Villa Park 2, Foothill 0: Zach Brown struck out seven in six scoreless innings and Brandon Luu got the save with two strikeouts in the seventh for Villa Park.

Etiwanda 10, Chino Hills 2: Dylan Goff struck out seven in six innings and Anthony Huezo had three hits and five RBIs for Etiwanda.

Quartz Hill 3, Valencia 0: Logan Reddemann threw a two-hit shutout with 12 strikeouts to help Quartz Hill win its 13th consecutive game. He has given up one run in 40 innings with 56 strikeouts.

Tesoro 7, Trabuco Hills 3: Owen Faust had two hits and three RBIs for Tesoro. Bobby Gray homered for Trabuco Hills.

Sylmar 6, Canyon Country Canyon 4: Matt Benzor went three for three to lead Sylmar.

Ventura 5, Granada Hills 3: Josh Woodworth had a home run and four RBIs to lead Ventura.

Hart 3, Lakewood 1: Brayden Jefferis had a triple and double for Hart.

Farragut 5, Orange Lutheran 4: In Alabama, the Lancers were beaten. Finnegan Stewart hit a home run.

Corona Santiago 3, Arlington 1: Barrett Ronson had two hits for the Sharks.

Softball

Esperanza 1, Rancho Bernardo 0: Mia Sanchez threw a no-hitter with eight strikeouts for Esperanza.

Norco 5, Mission Viejo 0: Marley Goluskin threw a three-hit shutout while Mya Perez had a home run.

Orange Lutheran 8, Canyon View 0: Freshman Peyton May had a five-inning no-hitter with eight strikeouts for Orange Lutheran. Later, Orange Lutheran knocked off the No. 1-ranked team in Southern California, Murrieta Mesa, 7-2. Brianne Weiss struck out seven in five innings.

Crescenta Valley 1, Burbank 0: The Falcons won in the 13th inning on an RBI single from Jasmine Hernandez. Freshman Maddison Kellogg struck out 22 batters in 12 2/3 innings for Burbank.

Los Alamitos 12, Huntington Beach 3: The Griffins won their semifinal game of the Carew Classic. Gabby Terrones had four hits and five RBIs.