Huntington Beach Bats Berate Temecula Valley In Round One Victory
Ely Mason torches the Golden Bears for three hits, seven runs batted in and a home run, leading the charge and advancing the Oilers in Pool B
The Huntington Beach Oilers (22-6-1) advance to the winner's portion of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 Pool B bracket, throttling the Temecula Valley Golden Bears (24-5), 11-0, Tuesday afternoon from Temecula Valley High School. This is only the second shutout for the Oilers pitching staff this season (first was on February 21 vs. Servite) and first 10+ run game since April 17 vs. Fountain Valley (11-1 win).
Similar offensive woes that have plagued the Oilers of late found a way to creep back in early on as the bats left five runners in scoring position, failing to score on three different occasions. At the same time, starting pitcher Jared Grindlinger kept his end of the bargain by throwing up zeros in each of the first three innings and showing dominance in the second by striking out Temecula Valley in order.
In the fourth, the Oilers offense finally found a way to capitalize off Golden Bears starter Taden Krogsgaard as they forced him out in the middle of the frame, knocking the future UCLA right-hander for five runs (four earned). Taking advantage of miscues also helped the Oilers cause as the first run crossed the plate on a Jason Dunham fielder's choice, scoring pinch-runner Charlie Henderson who advanced home on a ball not picked properly by the first baseman. With a run in hand, Huntington Beach's top of the order pounced at the opportunity to add on as Grindlinger delivered a missile RBI double to center, bringing home Dunham for a 2-0 lead. More helpful insurance came off the bat of Ely Mason, dropping in a two-run single to right and Sol Moriyama following up with an RBI single.
At a 5-0 mark, Grindlinger went straight into cruise control. Throughout the remainder of his outing, the Tennessee commit would not yield another hit while only issuing two free passes and one hit batsman. His final line would be six innings, one hit, no runs, two walks and six strikeouts.
Huntington Beach kept applying pressure with a pair of runs in the fifth as Mason once again deposited a hit into right, cashing in on his 12th multi-hit game of the season. With the backend of the bullpen in for Temecula Valley, the Oilers would not stop the scoring parade in a massive way. After manufacturing runs all afternoon, the meat of the order brought the thump with two back-to-back behemoth blasts from Mason (3-Run) and Dane Cunningham (Solo). Both players have gone back and forth for the team-lead in homers, but Cunningham now stays atop with four overall this season.
With this win, the Oilers improve to 6-4-1 in games versus non-league opponents and extend their winning streak to four games. In terms of trends, Huntington Beach picks up their 17th win of the year when scoring first and are now 9-4 when wearing their black uniforms.
Oilers Scoring Plays:
Top 4: Jason Dunham Fielder's Choice, Charlie Henderson Scores (1-0 HB)
Top 4: Jared Grindlinger Doubles to CF, Jason Dunham Scores (2-0 HB)
Top 4: Ely Mason Singles to RF, Parker Leoff & Jared Grindlinger Scores (4-0 HB)
Top 4: Sol Moriyama Singles to RF, Ely Mason Scores (5-0 HB)
Top 5: Ely Mason Doubles to RF, Eddie Lucero & Parker Leoff Scores (7-0 HB)
Top 7: Ely Mason 3-Run Home Run to RF (10-0 HB)
Top 7: Dane Cunningham Solo Home Run to LF (11-0 HB)
Stars of the Game:
Ely Mason: 3-5, HR, 7 RBI
Dane Cunningham: Solo HR
Jared Grindlinger: 6 IP, 0 ER, 6 K (W)
Parker Leoff: 1-2, 3 R
Jason Dunham: 1-2, R
Up next, the Oilers advance to the winners portion of Pool B play, hosting the Harvard-Westlake Wolverines on Friday, May 15th from HBHS Stadium. Harvard-Westlake edged the Oilers 4-3 (8 Innings) back on March 3, so Huntington Beach will be chomping at the bit for an opportunity at redemption. You'll be able to listen to all the CIF-SS Division 1 action on hbhsathletics.mixlr.com with the "Voice of the Oilers" Dominick Lorenz, with the pregame show at 3:00 PM, followed by first pitch at 3:15 PM (projected times).
LISTEN TO HUNTINGTON BEACH VS. TEMECULA VALLEY GOLDEN BEARS HIGHLIGHTS HERE (CLICK IMAGE BELOW):
