HUNTINGTON BEACH – Huntington Beach baseball coach Benji Medure described one his of players, Cooper Moore, as a “man-child,” but he could have been talking Friday about most of his lineup.
The Oilers look as if they could play a few downs at linebacker or defensive end during football.
“Honestly, they were skinny, but we lift our (tails) off,” Medure said. “We lift (weights) like a football team.”
Fifth-ranked Huntington Beach flexed its muscles Friday at windy Edison, pounding out six doubles and a three-run homer by Moore en route to a 13-1 victory to stay atop the Sunset League.
Proceeds from game concessions went to the Be Aware Foundation, which supports early detection for breast cancer.
In beating No. 4 Edison (14-4, 4-3) for the second time in three meetings this season, Huntington Beach (12-7, 4-1) finished with 16 hits and nearly had at least another double, but Nick Mailman scaled the fence in center in the fifth to rob Moore of a hit. Huntington Beach still produced its second five-run inning, which was more than enough support for Hagen Danner (3-2).
“We knew it was going to be a tough game, and we just happened to put good at-bats (together),” said Huntington Beach leadoff hitter Daniel Amaral, who went 4 for 5 with three RBI.
Moore delivered an early knockdown in the third by launching a three-run homer to left off Edison ace Noah Kronfly (4-3). Moore smashed the first pitch from Kronfly for his second homer of the season and made Edison pay for two errors that put runners on base for Moore.
Moore added a double and a single to finish 3 for 5.
“He’s one of our best hitters if not our best hitter,” Medure said of his cleanup hitter. “He looked like a man-child today.”
Kyle Coburn added a two-run double in a five-run third inning that featured three errors by Edison.
Huntington Beach’s first seven batters reached base in the fifth. The Oilers received run-scoring singles from Tyler Murray, Landon Silver and Coburn and a two-run double by Amaral.
“They awoke when we opened the door for them,” Edison coach Cameron Chinn said. “(It’s the) same thing that happened (on Wednesday in the Oilers’ 9-5 victory). We had a commanding lead and we made some mistakes and they took advantage.”
Danner allowed one run, an opposite-field homer by Michael Mahony in the first, in five innings. The sophomore allowed four hits and struck out four.
With consecutive victories against Edison, Huntington Beach appears to be playing closer to its lofty preseason expectations.
The season “started terrible,” Medure said. “We’re starting to get it rolling.”
Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com
