The Beat Goes On; Oilers Coast To 10th Win Of The Season
Jared Grindlinger shines on both sides of the ball, setting the tone towards the Oilers 9th straight win
The Huntington Beach Oilers (10-2-1) make easy work of the Corona Del Mar SeaKings (6-9) by the final of 8-2, Wednesday afternoon from Corona Del Mar High School. This is the second straight day the Oilers pick up the victory by the exact same score, while also extending their season-high winning streak to nine games, the longest since 2023 where they won 15 in a row (March 9 - April 13).
Scoring came early and often for Huntington Beach as they broke the 0-0 deadlock in the third with three straight doubles to open the frame. Jason Dunham and Parker Leoff were responsible for the first two, then Jared Grindlinger helped his own cause by delivering a clutch two-run double to give the Oilers the early 2-0 lead. Today marked the 10th game this year where the Oilers scored first, improving to 9-1 overall in that particular situation.
Grindlinger, who earlier in the day announced his commitment to the University of Tennessee to join older brother Trent Grindlinger (Class of 2025), found perfect rhythm on the mound all afternoon. Striking out the side in order in the first led to only one batter reaching base through the first time around the order. The senior would finish the afternoon with a grand total of five punch outs in four innings, yielding just one run (unearned) and two walks.
Owen Bone would deepen the hole for the SeaKings as the senior drilled his second home run of the season over the left field wall. This home run snapped an 0-for-11 skid, which had been ongoing since March 18 in the first inning versus Marina.
With a 3-1 advantage in the bottom of the fifth, Corona Del Mar would threaten with the tying run at the plate, but reliever Christian Haupt induced a 4-3 inning-ending double play turned by second baseman Sol Moriyama. Defense quickly turned into offense as the Oilers dropped the hammer with a four-run sixth inning, sending nine batters to the plate with four hits, a walk and an error. The clutch run-producing hits came off the bat of Dunham (two-RBI single), Grindlinger (RBI double) and Dane Cunningham (Sac-Fly), giving the Oilers a commanding 7-1 lead.
Both teams would exchange runs in the seventh, first as Grindlinger netted his fourth hit and fourth RBI of the game on a single to right, scoring Moriyama from third. This dynamic hitting display by Grindlinger is the first four-hit game of the season by any Oilers batter and matches Cunningham (March 11) with four runs batted in a single contest.
In his Varsity debut, sophomore Evan Moorhead closed out the second game of this week's series with an exclamation point courtesy of a strike out to SeaKings left fielder Jacob Olson.
With back-to-back 8-2 victories, the Oilers stay perfect within Sunset League play at 8-0. Also, eight of nine starters reached base with a hit or a walk, with five of those eight reaching with at least one extra-base hit. The Oilers now have scored 73 runs on 104 hits during this nine-game winning streak.
Oilers Scoring Plays:
Top 3: Jared Grindlinger Doubles to RF, Jason Dunham & Parker Leoff Scores (2-0 HB)
Top 4: Owen Bone Home Run to LF (3-0 HB)
Top 6: Jason Dunham Singles to LF, Steel Kurtz & Brayden Wood Scores (5-1 HB)
Top 6: Jared Grindlinger Doubles to RF, Jason Dunham Scores (6-1 HB)
Top 6: Dane Cunningham Sac-Fly, Parker Leoff Scores (7-1 HB)
Top 7: Jared Grindlinger Singles to RF, Sol Moriyama Scores (8-1 HB)
Stars of the Game:
Jared Grindlinger: 4-5, 4 RBI + 4 IP (W), 0 ER, 5 K
Jason Dunham: 2-4, 2 RBI, 2 R
Sol Moriyama: 2-3, R
Parker Leoff: 1-3, 2 R
Owen Bone: Solo Home Run
Christian Haupt: 2 IP, 0 ER, 1 K
The Oilers conclude this week's three-game series against Corona Del Mar on Friday (April 3), returning to HBHS Stadium. You'll be able to listen to all the action on hbhsathletics.mixlr.com with the "Voice of the Oilers" Dominick Lorenz, beginning with the pregame show at 3:00 PM, followed by first pitch at 3:15 PM (projected times).
LISTEN TO HUNTINGTON BEACH VS. CORONA DEL MAR SEAKINGS HIGHLIGHTS HERE (CLICK IMAGE BELOW):
