*Editor’s note: This story has been updated with more photos from the game.**
ANAHEIM – Angel Stadium played host to two high school baseball games Thursday, and both games featured excitement fitting for a major league ballpark.
Fullerton beat Troy, 1-0, in a pitchers’ duel in the first game of the day, while No. 7 Edison won a marathon battle with No. 6 Huntington Beach, 6-5 in 12 innings, in the night game.
The afternoon game was highlighted by two dominant pitching performances. Troy’s Jacob Alvarez threw a complete game and allowed just one run on four hits, keeping Fullerton’s hitters off balance and locating his pitches well all game.
But Alvarez was forced to take the hard-luck loss thanks to the outing by Fullerton’s Brent Bell. Bell took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and threw a two-hit shutout, striking out 13 in the process. He fanned the last four batters he faced and was able to stave off the pregame nerves that came with pitching at Angel Stadium.
“I was nervous, big time,” Bell said. “My coaches were just telling me, ‘It’s just another game,’ so I just had to go out there and throw. That was something special. I’ll remember this game forever.”
The day was memorable for all teams involved in the Halo Classic program, which the Angels started last year. Win or lose, it was impossible to deny the effect the atmosphere had on the players, coaches and fans.
“The loss was a little frustrating, but it was such a wonderful experience to be here that it’s hard to sit here and be upset,” Troy coach David Shirota said. “It’s Angel Stadium. From the point you get in here, walking through the back where the big leaguers hang out, it was just a really awesome experience.”
In the nightcap, Huntington Beach and Edison featured plenty of fireworks early on in the Sunset League opener for both teams. Each team scored four runs in the first inning, with 18 batters coming to the plate.
Oilers first baseman Cooper Moore had two doubles, an RBI and a run scored. Edison scored a run in the second inning to take a 5-4 lead, and that’s how the score stayed until the seventh.
Daniel Amaral singled to lead off the inning for Huntington Beach and went to second on a sacrifice bunt. After a strikeout and a walk, catcher Tyler Murray hit a ground rule double to tie the score.
Edison had a chance to win the game in the bottom of the eighth inning, but had a runner thrown out trying to score from second on a single to center field.
In the 12th, the Chargers loaded the bases, and Kevin Ando singled to right, scoring Michael Mahony with the winning run.
The Halo Classic was initiated by Mike Abraham, the Angels’ ticket sales account executive. Abraham held a similar event during his time with the Arizona Diamondbacks organization, and brought the idea to Anaheim last season.
“It’s a nice way to give the kids an experience they wouldn’t be able to have otherwise,” Abraham said. “Its great to reach out to the fans in a unique way and to reach different groups of people in the area.”
