Crespi too much for Huntington Beach

ANAHEIM- The memorable playoff run for the Huntington Beach baseball team came to end Saturday in the CIF-SS Division II final.

Huntington Beach, which finished third in the Sea View League, was the only CIF finalist to start the playoffs in the wild-card round.

"If you would have told me that at the beginning of the year, I never would have believed it," Huntington Beach coach Benji Medure said of his team advancing to the finals.

The Oilers had defeated three league champions on their road to the finals, but couldn't find an answer for Crespi of Encino right-hander Ryon Healy.

Healy allowed one run on seven hits and went 3 for 4 with a home run and three RBIs to lead Crespi to an 8-1 victory over Huntington Beach at Angel Stadium.

"The (Ryon) Healy kid was a great pitcher, he did a good job," Medure said. "They hit the ball hard consistently. They were showing up at the plate looking for their pitch and when they got it, they took advantage of it."

Barry Luke started for the Oilers and couldn't make it out of the third inning. Luke pitched six innings in a semifinal victory Tuesday. He allowed four runs in the first inning.

"He was leaving his change-up up and that hurt us," Medure said. "He wasn't his normal self. He didn't have his normal rest between starts …he did his best."

The game didn't go by without some controversy, however.

In the fifth inning, Huntington Beach's Sean Guite tried to check his swing on a 2-2 count, but plate umpire John Bentz didn't indicate either way making the count 3-2. On the next pitch, which was a pitch out, he called Guite out.

Both coaches' had different opinions.

"I still don't understand," Medure said. "He said that he called the strike three on the swing but then the catcher called time. … I think he called strike three, but didn't want to and he didn't know what to do."

Crespi coach Scott Muckey said: "We had a swing strike three and the catcher came up with a little bit of dirt in his glove, so we're yelling at him to tag the runner.

"The umpire then told the catcher that you have to get on the mound and throw the ball back to the plate and tag the runner …we didn't step off (the mound), we just called a pitch out. The umpire then said he (Guite) was out then he came back and changed his call."

Eventually, the umpiring crew awarded Guite first base, loading the bases for the Oilers. They were unable to score in the inning.

"We're not going to blame any umpires for us losing," Medure said. "Even with this loss, I'm proud of this team and for Huntington Beach baseball."

Contact the writer: dcalchoun@ocregister.com