Birmingham finds another standout pitcher in 4-1, nine-inning win over Hart

There was big City Section baseball news made on Thursday.

Birmingham, last year’s City runner-up at Dodger Stadium, returns its top two pitchers in Daniel Flores and Kaden Taque. So when Mike Figueroa, a right-hander who played junior varsity last season, put on a stunning performance against Hart, it was all smiles from Birmingham coach Matt Mowry. Now he has a third standout pitcher.

All Figueroa did in his first varsity start was yield no hits for 6 2/3 innings, retiring 16 consecutive batters, during Birmingham’s 4-1, nine-inning win over host Hart to advance to the semifinals of the Easton tournament.

“He threw outstanding,” Mowry said. “It’s a good sign to have another arm like that.”

Birmingham (3-0) tied the score 1-1 in the fourth on back-to-back doubles from Gavin Taylor and JB Dalumpines. Left-hander Sean Elsee matched Figueroa for seven innings, giving up one run. The Patriots broke through for three runs in the ninth, with Ricky Rodriguez supplying an RBI single. Dennis Ramirez threw a scoreless eighth and nine for Birmingham.

In Saturday’s semifinals, Oaks Christian will play at Birmingham and Crespi will be at Calabasas.

Calabasas 7, Maranatha 2: Desi Gonzalez and Phoenix Call each had two hits for the Coyotes (3-0).

Oaks Christian 6, Quartz Hill 0: Christopher Tampoya had a three-run home run, Elijah Clayton had two hits, including a home run, and sophomore Ty Hanley threw six shutout innings to lead the Lions (3-0).

Crespi 6, West Ranch 1: Chris Arce had three hits and Charlie Greenleaf yielded one run in five innings for Crespi (3-0).

Newbury Park 13, Sun Valley Poly 0: Sam Wesner hit a grand slam and Tyler Field finished with four RBI to lead the Panthers.

Westlake 3, Santa Barbara 2: Andrew Cusworth had three hits and Dillon Marrisett added two hits for Westlake.

Granada Hills 6, Saugus 3: Miles Ortiz had two hits and three RBIs for the Highlanders.

Valencia 7, St. Francis 0: Lance Mittelman went three for three and Matthew Sherwood struck out 10 and walked one in a complete game.

Gahr 6, Etiwanda 0: Victor Morales and Noah Andrunas combined on a two-hit shutout for Gahr (3-0).

Orange Lutheran 7, Corona 2: The Lancers’ first four hitters _ Ben Reiland, Derek Curiel, Casey Borba and Josiah Hartshorn _ combined for nine hits in a semifinal game of the PBR tournament.

Norco 2, Foothill 1: Ryan Jenkins struck out six and allowed four hits in six innings for Norco, which scored two runs in seventh.

Trabuco Hills 6, Newport Harbor 4: Bobby Gray hit a three-run walk-off home run for Trabuco Hills.

Harvard-Westlake 6, Cypress 2: Bryce Rainer struck out four in two shutout innings of relief as he continued his comeback after not pitching in 2022.

Villa Park 9, Aliso Niguel 0: Brandon Luu and Andrew Grove combined on a no-hitter and Gavin Grahovac began his senior season with two hits and two RBIs.

Lakewood 4, Los Alamitos 2: Nate Dowdell and Jake Fowler each had two hits for Los Alamitos.

El Dorado 10, Redondo Union 1: Isaac Cadena, AJ Frausto and Dane Abbott each had two hits for El Dorado.

Servite 4, Yucaipa 3: Nick Rossetti and Kyle Buchanan each had two hits for Servite.

Moorpark 4, Agoura 1: Two Moorpark pitchers combined for a six-hitter.

Ayala 3, Loyola 1: Andrew Torres contributed two hits and two RBIs for Ayala.

Laguna Beach 7, Tesoro 0: Shea Blanchard threw a complete game, striking out six with no walks.

Camarillo 4, Buena 3: Blake Uribe threw three innings of shutout relief for Camarillo. Brandon Contreras hit a home run.

King 10, Capistrano Valley 8: The Wolves scored seven runs in the seventh to overcome an 8-3 deficit. Gavin Warner hit a walk-off three-run home run, his third hit of the day.

Crean Lutheran 3, St. John Bosco 1: Alex Linda struck out six in five shutout innings for Crean Lutheran.

Long Beach Wilson 12, Sonora 5: Gavin Piechota and Diego Orozco each had two hits for Wilson (2-0).

Simi Valley 2, El Camino Real 1: Matthew Cuccias struck out eight for Simi Valley. Ethan Granillo had two hits for ECR.

Estancia 2, Sage Hill 0: Miles Moyer struck out six in six innings for 4-0 Estancia.

Softball

Esperanza 2, Garden Grove Pacifica 1: The Aztecs knocked off Pacifica for the second time this season. Mia Sanchez struck out seven and gave up three hits.