Oilers win three straight

The Huntington Beach High baseball team is off and running in the Newport Elks Tournament.

The Oilers opened up their 2008 campaign this past week with three impressive victories, the most recent being a 9-0 shutout of host Ocean View Monday. Huntington blew open a tight game by posting a four-run third-inning, then tacked on two runs in each of the fifth and seventh innings to put the game away.

The Oilers outhit the Seahawks, 9-3. Senior MJ Forsberg notched his second win of the young season in a complete-game performance.

“[It was] just a good team offense performance,” Huntington Coach Benji Medure said of Monday’s win. “We did a good job of moving runners, drawing walks and getting key base hits when we needed them.

“It is nice to beat any team in town because all teams in the Huntington Beach area are quality. You must be doing something right if you are beating teams from H.B.”

Saturday, Huntington scored the final six runs of the game — five of those coming in the fifth inning — to come from behind to defeat host Mission Viejo, 11-8. Forsberg came on in the fourth inning to get the win in relief of starter Andy Ragsdale. Senior Derek Neugebauer pitched the sixth, and senior Chris Murphy threw the seventh to get his second save of the season.

Huntington began the tournament and opened its season Friday by rallying to edge visiting Mater Dei, 3-2.

The Oilers tied the score at 2-2 on sophomore Sean Guite’s two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth off Monarchs junior starter Aaron Northcraft, then scored the eventual winning run on a base hit by Clayton Prestridge in the fifth.

Guite, Prestridge and Blake Cestr each went two for three, and Sean Clarke had the other Huntington hit.

Senior Calvin Drummond, a returning all-league player, got the win in a five-inning performance. Neugebauer and Murphy each pitched scoreless innings in the sixth and seventh, respectively, with the save going to Murphy.

“Mater Dei is a great team and it was a nice win, but we need to expect to win big games if we want to be successful,” Medure said. “People make a big deal about us beating them because we are Huntington Beach High School and they are Mater Dei, but if we are going to be a premier baseball program in Orange County, we have to expect to beat quality opponents.”

Ocean View also took care of Mater Dei by blanking the Monarchs Saturday, 3-0. A day earlier, the Seahawks launched their season with a 6-0 loss at Mission Viejo.

Senior Scott Baxter was a bright spot in the loss to Mission Viejo with a double and single.

But Ocean View battled back Saturday to beat Mater Dei. Baxter was a key to the win as he tossed a complete-game performance that included five strikeouts and on offense, had two RBI walks.

Senior Nathan Holz drove in the other run on a fielder’s choice grounder in the second inning.

“It was important for us to come out strong against Mater Dei,” said Ocean View Coach Shane Borowski. “We did not get to reveal the real us on Friday against Mission Viejo, albeit they earned the win.

“Right now we’re more focused on how we play, regardless of the outcome. If we can play to the expectations we set, and the output and execution is there, then as coaches that is all we can ask.”

Marina got off to a hot start at the Loara Tournament by winning its first two games.

Last Friday the Vikings used a standout pitching performance by Paul Strong to blank visiting Santa Margarita, 2-0. The junior struck out eight and walked two.

Senior Robbie Herron gave Marina a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third with a solo home run. Sophomore Robert Chavarria and junior Slater Davies both doubled with Davies’ coming in the fifth inning where the Vikings scored their final run. On Saturday, Marina handed San Clemente its first loss by coming up with a big final at-bat to hand the host Tritons an 8-3 defeat.

The Vikings scored five runs in the top of the seventh to break a 3-3 tie. Sophomore Chad Lewis and senior Ryan Donohue each doubled during the decisive inning. The win went to reliever Austin Hill.

Edison picked up its first win Tuesday with a 10-0 victory over Artesia in the Loara Tournament. Bryan Adams threw a seven inning shutout. Kyle Jones hit a three-run home run. Jones, Eric Snyder and Kyle Higashioka each had three hits. In earlier tournament play, the Chargers fell 9-1 to El Toro , and lost 2-0 in eight innings to host Canyon of Anaheim. Freshman Henry Owens threw seven shutout innings against Canyon.

Junior Ryan Miller hit a second-inning home run in the loss to El Toro.