Oilers playing perfect ball
Will Huntington Beach High lose a baseball game this year?
The Oilers have won each of their eight games, outscoring opponents, 48-10. The program’s first test will surely come next week at the National High School Invitational in Cary, N.C.
Huntington Beach won the prestigious tournament last year.
Huntington Beach, ranked No. 2 in the country by PerfectGame.org, opens the four-day, 16-team tournament on Wednesday against No. 28 Winder-Barrow, from Georgia.
“We try to play the same exact way that we play here because we feel the baseball in Southern California can compete with anywhere in the United States,” Huntington Beach Coach Benji Medure said. “We don’t try to move on to the next day. We don’t really care who we have the next day. We’re just focused on that day and the task at hand, and we try to play the best baseball that we can. The more simple that we make it, the easier it is for the kids to handle the moment. We have seen other teams who get swallowed up by the moment, and we’ve learned our lesson.
“We’re 7-1 in the last two years in North Carolina against the best teams in the nation. We’re not going to change much. Whatever we’ve been doing, we’re going to keep doing, and we’re going to have fun doing it.”
The only team to beat the Oilers the last two years at the tournament was San Clemente, which went on to win it in 2015.
With Hagen Danner and Nick Pratto, don’t be surprised if the Oilers are the third straight team from Orange County to claim the National High School Invitational.
Lefty success
Pratto and Chazz Martinez, two of the top left-handed pitchers in the area, threw shutouts this week.
Pratto made his first start on the mound for Huntington Beach this year, and the left-hander threw a gem on Wednesday.
The senior threw a five-hitter and struck out seven in the Oilers’ 1-0 win against rival Edison in a Sunset League game at Angel Stadium.
On Tuesday, Martinez allowed four hits and struck out in Corona del Mar’s 5-0 win at home against defending Pacific Coast League champion Woodbridge.
Pratto, who signed with USC, and Martinez, a junior committed to UC Santa Barbara, have their teams blank their first two opponents in their respective leagues.
Le hauls in another football offer
Corona del Mar junior wide receiver TaeVeon Le said he has received an offer from Princeton, joining Yale as the two Ivy League schools hoping to land the 6-foot-4, 225-pounder.
Le excels in the classroom, he has a 4.2 weighted grade-point average, and on the field
Other schools who have offered Le are Iowa State and Colorado State. Even though Le lines up at receiver, many consider Le to be the best tight end college prospect in Southern California.
Battle of the Bay lacrosse
Newport Harbor (2-5) and CdM (4-0) meet in the Battle of the Bay boys’ lacrosse game on Friday at Jim Scott Stadium at 7 p.m.
The Sea Kings have won the annual rivalry the last 11 times. Newport Harbor last defeated CdM in 2005.
The programs have one common opponent in Foothill this year. The Sea Kings beat the Knights, 11-4, while the Sailors lost to the Knights, 16-9.
Battle for the Bell baseball
Estancia plays host to Costa Mesa in the first of three games in the Battle for the Bell baseball series on Tuesday.
Brian Rodriguez is batting .472 with 12 runs batted in for the Eagles (6-5, 2-0 in the Orange Coast League).
Omar Muñoz is hitting .485 with six RBIs for Costa Mesa (6-5, 1-1).
Twitter: @ByDCP
