CARY, N.C. – In its first-ever appearance in the National High School Invitational presented by the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance, Corona High School shut out three-time champion Orange Lutheran, 3-0, to capture the 2024 title in Cary, North Carolina, at the USA Baseball National Training Complex.
Tournament MVP Seth Hernandez was the star of the show on the mound as he scattered just four hits and fanned four batters in his complete-game shutout performance. At the plate, the Panthers tallied 10 hits and were led by Sam Burgess (2-for-2, 2R), Brady Ebel (2-for-3), and Ethan Schiefelbein (2-for-3), who was one of 15 players named to the NHSI All-Tournament Team.
Corona got on the board early with a run in the second inning. Sam Burgess and Ethan Schiefelbein led off with back-to-back singles, then Burgess went to third on a pop fly to second and scored on an error to give Corona the 1-0 lead through two complete.
The Panthers looked to add to their lead in the next two innings by putting multiple runners on base in each frame, and broke through again in the fifth with a pair of runs to take a 3-0 lead. Burgess and Schiefelbein once again started a two-out spark, as Burgess tallied another base hit, moved to second on a wild pitch, and then scored on Schiefelbein’s second hit of the game. Then, after Daniel Rivera drew a walk to put runners at first and second, Trey Ebel roped a double to left field to send Schiefelbein home.
Orange Lutheran looked to get on the board in the two innings when Josiah Hartshorn drew a leadoff walk and Gabe Fraser singled to put runners at first and second, but Hernandez induced a double play and fly out to end the threat. Hernandez then managed to cap off his stellar outing with a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the seventh to help his team win the tournament title.
2024 NHSI All-Tournament Team
- Billy Carlson - Corona
- Owen Cirasole - Apex Friendship
- Derek Curiel - Orange Lutheran
- Landis Davila - Farragut
- Cole Draper - Farragut
- Brayden Harris - Trinity Christian
- Seth Hernandez - Corona (MVP)
- Burke-Lee Mabeus - Bishop Gorman
- Bryce Rainer - Harvard-Westlake
- Mason Russell - Casteel
- Ethan Schiefelbein - Corona
- Brayden Toro - Hagerty
- James Tronstein - Harvard-Westlake
