Baseball: HB, Marina score playoff wins
Four local prep baseball teams had the daunting task of playing first-round CIF Southern Section playoff games on the road Friday, each traveling to different pockets of the Southland. Edison, Huntington Beach, Marina and Ocean View all played well in their first-round games, but only Huntington and Marina returned home with victories.
Huntington traveled to face Moore League champion Long Beach Poly and the Oilers, an at-large entry from the Sunset League, pulled out a 2-1 win over the fourth-ranked Jackrabbits in a Division 1 game. Senior Shane Grace struck out eight and tamed Poly (24-7) for the win. Senior Matt Urabe went three for three with two RBIs and senior LJ Brewster went two for three and scored a run. The Oilers scored the winning run in the top of the sixth inning.
Huntington earned the right to face Poly after defeating Great Oak, 7-0, in a wild-card game Tuesday. The Oilers (19-8) advance to face Century League runner-up El Dorado at 3:15 p.m. next Tuesday. The Golden Hawks scored a 2-0 win at Tesoro Friday.
In another Sunset League vs. Moore League Division 1 battle, Marina went to Lakewood and came away with a 2-0 shutout of the Lancers (25-7). The Vikings (17-10), who finished second in the Sunset League, scored a run in the top of the first and sixth innings. Senior Trevor Zeller went two for two with an RBI, junior Jake Bauers had a hit and drove in a run and sophomore Austin Sojka went two for two and scored once. Junior Austin Olivas threw a complete game and struck out four in a performance Vikings Coach Bob Marshall said the left-hander “dominated.”
The Vikings outhit the Lancers, the No. 2 team from the Moore League, 9-4.
“He kept [Lakewood] off balance. Phenomenal game,” Marshall said of Olivas’ effort.
Marina advances to a second-round game at 3:15 p.m. Tuesday. The Vikings will host Century League champ Esperanza which knocked off Simi Valley, 5-2, Friday.
Edison, the No. 3 team from the Sunset League, went to Riverside for a date with defending Division 1 champion J.W. North. The Charges (12-14) trailed by only 2-1 entering the fifth but the third-ranked Huskies (25-5, Big VIII League champ) erupted over the next two innings to pull away. Sophomore Brian Schales went two for three and drove in two runs and sophomore Dante Capoccia doubled twice for Edison which started the postseason Tuesday with a 2-0 wild-card game win over Chaparral.
In Division 3, Ocean View was on the road to face Del Rio League runner-up Whittier and the host Cardinals (17-10) scored the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning, to emerge with a 5-4 win at Santa Fe High in Santa Fe Springs.
The Seahawks, the No. 2 team from the Golden West League, end their year at 13-14.