League excitement

A prep baseball season that is only a day shy of two weeks old already takes the excitement level to the next step: league play.

On Friday, Edison and Marina will begin Sunset League play against one another while Huntington Beach begins Sea View League play and Ocean View begins defense of its Golden West League title.

Marina won its first three games at the Loara Tournament then dropped its final two, losing in the semifinal round to eventual tourney champion and Sunset League rival, Los Alamitos, March 7 and then fell 11-3 to El Toro March 8 in the third-place game.

Edison concluded the Loara Tournament Saturday with an 11-9 victory over Downey in consolation bracket action. Senior Kyle Higashioka hit a solo home run in both the first and sixth innings, freshman Eric Snyder had three hits, and freshman Henry Owens recorded his first varsity pitching win for the Chargers, who are 2-3 overall.

“Our ballclub — and I attribute it to our youth — has been a bit inconsistent,” Edison Coach Steve Lambright said. “We’re going to get better as the season goes along, though. Friday’s test at Marina is going to be tough. They’re a really good team.”

Ocean View hosted El Dorado Tuesday for a nonleague doubleheader, which the visiting Hawks swept by scores of 22-8 and 1-0.

In the first game, El Dorado scored eight runs in the first two innings. Ocean View battled back behind home runs by Sean Burleson, Scott Baxter (two-run) and Kevin Nance (three-run). El Dorado pulled away again in the top of the fourth by scoring three more runs.

The nightcap was a tight ballgame as Baxter, coming off a three-hit shutout against Mater Dei last week, pitched a complete game four-hitter. He gave up one run, though, in the fourth inning and that was all El Dorado needed in an eventual 1-0 win.

The Seahawks didn’t muster a hit in the game.

Ocean View begins its quest Friday for another Golden West League title when it visits Santa Ana.

“I’m looking forward to starting league,” Ocean View Coach Shane Borowski said. “It is a brand new season and we need a fresh start. Of our first six opponents, four have been ranked in the county’s top 10, and we’re thankful for the learning experience we gained. Now I’m hoping we can take good lessons from those games and apply them to our league competition. As far as I’m concerned, it’s opening day on March 12, 2008.”

“No matter how good or bad we may be, I always let our kids know we expect them to challenge for the league championship. It’s our goal every year and it is something within our reach. This year like the past will be difficult, Santa Ana has some good returning players and Orange is definitely going to contend. Mix in a new coach at Westminster with lots of experience, a good young Segerstrom team with a knowledgeable head coach and a Saddleback team that always plays us tough, and anything is possible.”

Huntington begins Sea View League play Friday at Foothill. The Oilers (3-3) are coming off an 8-2 nonleague loss March 10 at Beckman.

In softball

Kellie Cuadras had the last of her four RBI in the eighth inning Monday (March 10) to lift Marina past Trabuco Hills in a first-round game at the Laguna Hills Tournament.

The win allowed the Vikings to bounce back from a 1-0 loss to host Cypress in the championship final of the Cypress Tournament March 8.

Marina is 6-1 overall and its No. 1 pitcher, Taysia Kaufman, is 5-1.

Also at the Laguna Hills Tournament Monday, Huntington Beach broke up a potential no-hitter for Capistrano Valley’s Heather Schwartzburg in the top of the seventh inning and rallied to pull out a big, 5-1 victory over the Cougars.

Trailing 1-0 heading into their final at-bat, the Oilers began their comeback when sophomore Lauren Stuhr led off the seventh by beating out a slap bunt to third base. Cory Schinsog then singled to right, moving Stuhr to third. Hot-hitting freshman Vicki Galasso tied the game with a line drive to center field.

Clean-up hitter Courtney Dial then sacrificed both runners two second and third with a bunt. Senior Jenny Driver then executed a perfect delayed squeeze to bring in Schlinsog for the go-ahead run. Sophomores Allison Dufault and Meghan White continued the surge with RBI singles, and Dufault scored the final run on a wild pitch.

Sophomore Amanda Horowitz continued her solid play, throwing all seven innings. She allowed three hits and one earned run while striking out seven Capistrano Valley batters to earn her fifth win without a defeat.

Huntington also won its final two games March 8 at the Downey Tournament

The Oilers first defeated Carson, 4-3, getting the victory after White singled and later scoring the winning run in the sixth inning. Stuhr, Galasso and Dial all had multiple hits with Stuhr, Dial and Schlinsog all getting doubles. Driver singled and had an RBI and Chelsea Lipski also singled.

In their second tourney game Saturday, Huntington downed Garden Grove 8-3. Driver, Dial and Lipski had multiple hits with Driver driving in two runs. Stuhr and Schlinsog both doubled. Freshman Kelsey Granger singled twice with an RBI as did Galasso.

Horowitz went the distance, striking out three.

In prep lacrosse

Huntington opened its Sea View League schedule on March 6 and scored a 7-5 victory over visiting Trabuco Hills in its first home game of the season at the Huntington Beach Sports Complex.

Senior Kyle Peterson led the offensive attack for the Oilers with four goals and an assist. Junior attacker Nick Refice scored two goals and Shayne Thomas scored once. Nick Soresi handed out three assists, and Liam Powers and Patrick Soriano had two and one assists, respectively.

Freshman goalie Kevin Shepley finished with 17 saves.

Prior to opening up its league slate, Huntington dropped a 7-5 match at Laguna Hills. The score was tied at 5 in the final quarter before the Hawks pulled away.

Refice and Peterson each scored twice, and Soresi had a goal and assist. Powers had a pair of assists and Thomas one assist.