The quarterfinal round of the National High School Invitational (NHSI) presented by the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance and Netting Pros took place on Thursday, setting the stage for an epic final two days of the tournament. Catch up on all the action from the quarterfinal round!

Trinity Christian 3, Regis Jesuit 1 (BOX SCORE)

Starting pitcher Ethan Wheeler went the distance and Trinity Christian (Jacksonville, Fla.) defeated Regis Jesuit, 3-1, in a pitchers’ duel on Thursday afternoon at the USA Baseball National Training Complex. With the win, Trinity Christian advances to the NHSI Semifinals, which will take place on Friday. Jordan Martinez kicked off the scoring and tallied an early RBI for Trinity Christian in the second inning by driving in Gage Petrutz, who reached second base with a booming leadoff double. The Conquerors flaunted its two-out hitting and tacked on two more runs in the fourth frame, as Tyler Ellis’ RBI line drive was followed up by a throwing error to make iit 3-0. Regis Jesuit cut into the lead in the home half of the fourth, courtesy of Nick Wiley, who punched a 1-1 offering up the middle to score Diesel Bernosky. Outstanding pitching was front and center in Cary, North Carolina, as Wheeler hurled a complete game and yielded only four hits, one run, and punched out 11 batters. Regis Jesuit’s Hudson Alpert went toe-to-toe with Wheeler, tossing a complete game of his own while allowing only three hits and one earned run. The middle of the lineup for Trinity Christian was responsible for its offense today, as Petrutz and Wheeler each picked up a hit and a run scored apiece while Ellis went 1-for-3 with an RBI. Four Regis Jesuit batters notched a hit including Wiley, who drove in the lone run for the Raiders. Trinity Christian will face Huntington Beach (Huntington Beach, Calif.) in the semifinals on Friday.

Corona 4, Christopher Columbus 1 (BOX SCORE)

Corona (Corona, Calif.) scored three runs in the top of the first inning and got a strong outing from ace Seth Hernandez en route to a 4-1 win over Christopher Columbus (Miami, Fla.) in quarterfinal action on Thursday afternoon in Cary. The Panthers took advantage of a trio of Columbus miscues in the first inning to plate their three runs; with runners on first and second and one out, Hernandez singled up the middle to plate the game’s first run. The base hit was bobbled which allowed the runners to advance, and then a throw got away from the third baseman to bring Brady Ebel home. On the same play, another throw went awry and Hernandez came around to score to make it 3-0. Corona added another on a sacrifice fly by Billy Carlson in the third inning and Hernandez took it from there, holding the Explorers off the scoreboard until an RBI groundout by Jose Correa in the sixth. Hernandez returned to the mound for the seventh and set the side down in order to secure the 4-1 victory for the Panthers. The right-hander struck out 12 batters in the contest, yielding just three hits–all singles. Matthew Rios was solid in his start for Columbus, allowing two earned runs in five innings. Corona will battle the winner of Corona del Sol (Tempe, Ariz.) and Venice (Venice, Fla.) in Friday’s semifinal round.

Huntington Beach 12, Collierville 1 (BOX SCORE)

Huntington Beach (Huntington Beach, Calif.) used a seven-run second inning to defeat Collierville (Collierville, Tenn.) 12-1 (5 inn.) in run-rule fashion. This marks the Oilers’ fifth trip to the NHSI semifinals in its eight appearances in the event. The Oilers took advantage of defensive miscues and wary pitching from Collierville in the second to score on a pair of bases-loaded walks, run-scoring singles, and a two-base error. Huntington Beach tacked on three more runs in the third to extend its lead to 10-0. Jared Grindlinger led off the frame with an infield single, and then Matt Haidl’s walk followed by Trevor Goldenetz’s bunt single loaded up the bases to allow CJ Weinstein’s sac fly and Trent Grindlinger’s two-run double to bring the combined three runs in. Collierville got on the board in the bottom frame thanks to Cael Allen’s two-out double that drove in JD Whitworth after he drew a one-out walk, but the Oilers’ responded to extend its lead back to 10 in the fourth inning on a bases-loaded sac fly by Goldentez. Huntington Beach’s 12th and final run of the contest came on another sac fly in the fifth, this time by Sol Moriyama after back-to-back singles, a fielder’s choice, and a stolen base put Easton Shortle in scoring position. Jared Grindlinger surrendered one run on one hit across four innings, walked three and struck out as many to earn the win. At the plate, Trent Grindlinger led all players with a 2-for-3 performance with three RBIs, while Goldenetz, Easton Porter, and Weinstein all tallied two RBIs to contribute to the team’s 11 on the day.

Venice 4, Corona del Sol 1

Venice (Venice, Fla.) struck for three runs in the top of the ninth and held on to win an extra-innings thriller, 4-1, over Corona del Sol (Tempe, Ariz.) on Thursday evening in Cary. The game was tight all throughout, with Corona del Sol grabbing an early lead before Venice rallied for a run in the sixth to tie it. Conor Rae was responsible for Corona del Sol’s early run, plating Connor Long with a sac fly to left to give the Aztecs a 1-0 edge. Brett Crossland was dominant deep into the contest, keeping the Indians’ bats off balance until they finally cracked the scoreboard with a two-out rally in the sixth. August Backman ripped a single back up the middle, stole second, and came around to score on an RBI single by David Dubrule to even the contest at one. Jackson Lucas returned to the mound for Venice, continuing a masterful performance in the sixth to get his team to the plate in a tie game. He then led off the seventh inning with a single and eventually advanced to third with two outs, but Crossland coaxed an inning-ending ground out to keep it tied. Moss led off the Corona del Sol half of the seventh with a single but was stranded to send the game to extra innings. After both teams went scoreless in the eighth, Graham Houston doubled on the first offering of the ninth to kickstart a Venice rally. An intentional walk later in the frame loaded the bags for Brodie Whitlock, who drove in the go-ahead run with a fielder’s choice. Carter Cox then stepped up to the plate and roped a line-drive single back up the middle to extend the lead to four, and Kasen Poplin struck out the side on just 14 pitches to secure the quarterfinal win and a matchup with Corona in Friday’s semifinal. Lucas was lights-out for Venice on the mound; he tossed 7.1 innings and allowed just two hits and no earned runs. Poplin struck out four in 1.2 innings to get the win. Crossland was equally dominant for the Aztecs, logging eight innings and permitting just four hits and one run.