Baseball: Danner big for HB
Hagen Danner was definitely looking fastball.
The Huntington Beach High senior saw one on a 2-and-1 count in the first inning from Orange Lutheran senior left-hander Jason Farese. Another inside fastball came on the first pitch Danner saw in the third.
Both left the yard.
“I was probably going to swing at any fastball he gave me the whole day,” Danner said. “I got three today in all, and I hit two of them.”
Those two swings were more than enough for the Oilers, along with a strong performance from the UCLA-bound Danner on the mound. He pitched six innings as Huntington Beach beat Orange Lutheran, 7-2, in a matchup of nationally ranked teams Saturday at Huntington Beach High.
The Oilers (4-0), ranked No. 5 in the country by PerfectGame.org, beat top-ranked Orange Lutheran (2-1). It continued a strong start to the season for Huntington Beach, which has outscored opponents, 28-3, over its first four games.
Danner finished Saturday’s contest three for three with the two home runs, a double and four runs batted in. On the mound, he carried a shutout into the sixth inning. He ended up allowing two runs on six hits, striking out six while walking one.
“He was locked in from the time that he got here,” Huntington Beach Coach Benji Medure said. “He had some early treatment to make sure that his legs and his back were ready to roll, and he didn’t disappoint. He always steps up on a big stage, whether it’s on the mound, or hitting or behind the plate. He usually steps up, and he definitely did that today.”
Cory Moore also had a solo home run for Huntington Beach. But before Danner gave his team the lead in the bottom of the first, he had to pitch around some trouble in the top of the frame after the Lancers’ Zachary Lew hit a one-out triple.
Danner got out of it, striking out his future UCLA teammate Garrett Mitchell looking before getting Jasiah Dixon to ground out to the pitcher.
Danner then put the Oilers ahead, 1-0, in the bottom of the inning on his shot to left-center. The lead got bigger in the third, when USC-bound leadoff hitter Nick Pratto drew a one-out walk and stole second. Ben McConnell followed with a grounder to shortstop, and the shortstop tried to throw Pratto out at second, but everybody was safe on a close play.
The next pitch spelled trouble for Orange Lutheran, as Danner launched it to deep left field for a three-run homer. Moore’s solo blast in the fourth, to the right of the “310” sign, gave the Oilers a 5-0 advantage and ended Farese’s day on the mound.
The hosts added two more in the fifth, after Pratto drew a leadoff walk. With one out, Danner doubled to left, and Pratto scored on Trevor Windisch’s groundout to shortstop. Pinch-hitter Justin Brodt followed with an RBI single to deep left, and the Oilers were rolling and up 7-0.
“Our offense is amazing right now, we’re swinging it well, and the pitching is great,” Danner said. “We’ve given up [three] runs in four games. I don’t know if you can do too much better than that.”
Danner had faced just one more batter than the minimum through five innings, the beneficiary of a runner caught stealing and two double plays started by the shortstop, Windisch. Orange Lutheran did score twice in the sixth, as Lew’s single to left brought home Isaac Martinez. Mitchell followed with a double to left before Dixon had a sacrifice fly.
But Moore set the Lancers down in order in the top of the seventh to end the game. It was a better result for the home team than the last time the teams played, when Orange Lutheran beat Huntington Beach, 4-3, in the second round of last year’s CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs at the Oilers’ field. Huntington Beach was the defending Division 1 champion.
Medure said Saturday’s win wasn’t about last year, though.
“They’re different teams, different years and different circumstances,” Medure said. “And it’s early. I made sure I said to our guys, ‘Let’s make sure that this isn’t the biggest thing that we do this year.’ They’re good, they’re a quality program, they do things right. I have a ton of respect for [Orange Lutheran Coach] Eric [Borba] and their staff. We played a very good game against a good team, but we’re not going to make it bigger than it is. It’s just one win.”
Huntington Beach returns to action next Saturday with a home doubleheader against JSerra, starting at 10 a.m.
Nonleague
Huntington Beach 7, Orange Lutheran 2
OLu 000 002 0 – 2 6 1
HB 103 120 x – 7 6 0
Farese, Avventino (4), Rodriguez (5) and Ricketts; Danner, Moore (7) and Lopez. W - Danner. L - Farese. 2B - Mitchell (OLu), Danner (HB). 3B - Lew (OLu). HR - Danner (HB) 2, Moore (HB).
Twitter: @mjszabo
