CARY, N.C. – Orange Lutheran scored four runs in the first inning and went on to a 5-1 win over Trinity Christian Academy of Florida in a quarterfinal game in the National High School Invitational on Thursday afternoon at the USA Baseball Training Center.
The Lancers (10-1), ranked No. 2 in Orange County, advanced to the semifinals, where they will face South Hills of West Covina (11-1) on Friday. (The semifinal will be streamed live on web.usabaseball.com/video/play at 11:00 am PDT.)
In the other semifinal, Dana Hills will play Winder-Barrow of Georgia on Friday at 2:15 p.m. (PDT). The championship game is scheduled for Saturday at 9:15 a.m. PDT.
“This is Southern California baseball, and it’s great to see three teams in the semifinals,” Lancers coach Eric Borba said.
Orange Lutheran jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning lead, and that’s all the runs the Lancers would need to advance in the tournament.
Senior Tristan Hanoian (2 for 3) scored the first run on an error, followed by a two-run double to right field by senior Zach Busalacchi (2-3), which scored Garrett Mitchell (2-4, 2 runs) and Caleb Ricketts (1-4, 2 RBI).
Junior Sawyer Chesley (1-3, RBI) hit a double that drove in Busalacchi to make it 4-0.
“That fourth run, actually, was big for us,” Borba said.
The Lancers added another run in the fifth inning on a single to right by Mitchell, along with a stolen base and run-scoring single by Ricketts.
“This is a great experience for all of us from the Southern California area,” Mitchell said.
“It was good to get off to a quick start in the first inning,” he added.
The Lancers were succesful on seven of eight stolen base attempts, with Mitchell and freshman Elijah Buries getting two each.
Trinity Christian scored a run in the sixth inning so spoil the shutout by starter Jason Farese (6 innings, two walks, one strikeout).
In other NHSI games Thursday:
Dana Hills 6, Canterbury (Florida) 3: With their quarterfinal victory, the Dolphins earned a spot in Friday’s semifinal against Winder-Barrow of Georgia. (The semifinal will be streamed live on web.usabaseball.com/video/play at 2:15 p.m. PDT.)
Canterbury scored three runs in the second inning to take a 3-1 lead, which put the Dolphins in a familiar spot.
Dana Hills, which is not ranked in the county top 10, also trailed in its first-round win on Wednesday.
“Here we go again like (Wednesday), and ‘let’s go,’” Dana Hills coach Tom Faris said of the team falling behind again Thursday.
Dana Hills scored five runs in the next three innings to take control of the game.
Junior pitcher Jack Sterner picked up the win for Dana Hills.
Leading the Dolphins with two hits apiece were senior Joe DeBaca (2 RBI) and senior Cameron Crugdale (2 runs).
“This (NHSI Tournament) is the best environment to have a lot of fun as a coach and bonding experience which helps the team,” Faris added.
Huntington Beach 8, Merritt Island (Georgia) 3
Cullman (Alabama) 6, Huntington Beach 2: The Oilers, who won the NHSI championship last season, split their consolation games and have one game remaining in the tournament.
