One Last Ride Leads Oilers To CIF Regional Championship
Jared Grindlinger becomes the hometown hero as he powers and punches the Oilers into the history books with their second regional title in the last four years
The Huntington Beach Oilers (25-8-1) finish the 2026 season on top of the mountain as they secure the 2026 CIF SoCal Division 1 Regional Championship, defeating the Cathedral Catholic Dons (28-7) by the final of 5-3, Saturday afternoon from HBHS Stadium. This victory silences the critics after the Oilers fell one game short of the CIF Division 1 quarterfinals two weeks ago and finishes the season on a three-game winning streak.
As the Oilers offense has flashed their power throughout the week, it continued right away in the bottom of the first as Jared Grindlinger launched his third home run of the season, 333 feet over the right field wall, to garner the early 2-0 lead. This home run makes three in the team's last four games for a grand total of eight during the postseason.
The early lead gave way to the pitching staff as Duncan McLeod began the ball game on another level. Striking out four over two innings while also worming out of back-to-back one on, one out jams. The four strikeouts during his appearance became a season-high and career-high. The Oilers would then turn to the bullpen and get another stellar outing from senior Mason Tapia. The "bulldog" spun four shutout frames with one strikeout and helped his own cause by picking off Dons' centerfielder Hunter Harrington following a leadoff single in the fourth.
With the game standing firm with a 2-0 Huntington Beach lead, the Oilers offense got back on track in the sixth after Cathedral Catholic starter Kaden Kuhn settled in, retiring 13 of 15 batters between the end of the first to the fifth. Parker Leoff led off the inning with a double off the netting in left, which forced a bases loaded situation after an intentional walk to Grindlinger and a hit by pitch to Ely Mason. Slugger Dane Cunningham, sporting an eight-game hitting streak, collected his team-high 25th walk off the season, scoring a 3-0 lead. With one out, Sol Moriyama joined the party by slapping a single to right, bringing home Grindlinger, adding to the now 4-0 advantage. The final run of the season slid across home as pinch runner Charlie Henderson advanced on a wild pitch, increasing the Oilers lead to 5-0.
In the end, the Dons would force a rally in the seventh as they knocked reliever Jared Marchbank out of the game with two outs, following a pair of walks and a hit batsman. The Tennessee commit in Grindlinger entered the mound in relief looking for out 21, however tense times rose to the surface as Cathedral Catholic scored three runs between an error, wild pitch and dropped third strike. With the tying run at second and leading run at the plate, Grindlinger took matters into his own hands by firing a two-strike 96 MPH fastball past the check swing of Trey Kotsay to complete the game and send the 2026 Oilers team into the record books.
With this win, the Oilers have the privilege to hoist the 2026 CIF SoCal Division 1 Regional Championship plaque and help manager Benji Medure creep closer to 500 wins as he now stands at 471 throughout a 26-year run at the helm with the Oilers that is not stopping anytime soon.
Oilers Scoring Plays:
Bot 1: Jared Grindlinger 2-Run Home Run (2-0 HB)
Bot 6: Dane Cunningham Walks, Parker Leoff Scores (3-0 HB)
Top 5: Sol Moriyama Singles to RF, Jared Grindlinger Scores (4-0 HB)
Top 5: Wild Pitch, Charlie Henderson Scores (5-0 HB)
Stars of the Game:
Jared Grindlinger: 2-Run HR & 0.1 IP, 2 K (Save)
Duncan McLeod: 2 IP, 0 ER, 4 K
Mason Tapia: 4 IP, 0 ER, 1 K (W)
Sol Moriyama: RBI Single (Game Winning Hit)
Up next… the 2027 season! Baseball will now officially give way to "summer vacation" and the preparation will soon begin for the next season of Huntington Beach Oilers baseball. Thank you once again to all the players, coaches, families and fans who continue to support and cheer for the black and orange of Huntington Beach. Each and everyone represents the heartbeat of this program and we all get to celebrate this tremendous accomplishment as a whole! As manager Benji Medure poignantly states often… THE TEAM!!
LISTEN TO HUNTINGTON BEACH VS. CATHEDRAL CATHOLIC DONS HIGHLIGHTS HERE (CLICK IMAGE BELOW):
