The action began on Wednesday at the 2025 National High School Invitational (NHSI) presented by the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance and Netting Pros. Catch up on all the action from the opening day of the NHSI!
Christopher Columbus 5, Edwardsville 3 (BOX SCORE)
Christopher Columbus (Miami, Fla.) held off the Edwardsville Tigers (Edwardsville, Ill.) in a tightly-contested, 5-3, match to open up the 2025 NHSI. Columbus struck first in the top of the first inning when Mario Magana scored via an Aquiles Arzeno infield single. The Tigers fought back with three runs of their own thanks in large part to a pair of infield singles from Tyler Powell and Augie Johnes. Down 3-2, Matthew Fernandez played hero for Columbus after he slammed a three-RBI bases-loaded double to put his side up 5-3. The Explorers grabbed the lead in the top of the fifth and would not relinquish it. Wyatt Goins was lockdown on the bump over the last 3.2 frames, striking out two batters while keeping Edwardsville scoreless in the back half of the game.
Huntington Beach 5, Poly Prep 4 (BOX SCORE)
Huntington Beach (Huntington Beach, Calif.) staged a late comeback in an instant classic first round game at the NHSI, taking down Poly Prep (Brooklyn, N.Y.), 5-4. Poly Prep jumped out to an immediate lead in the opening inning on the strength of an RBI triple by Mateo Noto and a sacrifice fly by Felix Heller to go up 2-0. That lead grew to 3-0 in the third inning when Aidan Colasante worked an 11-pitch at-bat for a bases-loaded walk. The scoring stayed quiet in the middle frames as Blue Devils’ starter Justice de Jong helped the Oilers at bay, but the two-time NHSI champs woke up in the sixth and came within one on a two-run double by Ethan Porter. Huntington Beach then tied the contest in the seventh on a sacrifice fly by Matt Haidl to send the game to extras. Poly Prep regained the lead on a passed ball, taking a 5-4 advantage, but a game-tying single by Porter and a game-winning fielder’s choice hit by Cole Clark sealed the walk-off win. Porter went 3-for-4 with three RBIs in the victory, also earning the win on the mound. Noto picked up a team-high two hits for Poly Prep.
Corona del Sol 10, Granada 3 (BOX SCORE)
​​Corona del Sol (Tempe, Ariz.) opened play at the NHSI on Wednesday with a 10-3 victory over Granada (Livermore, Calif.) for its second win in program history (first since 2019) at the event. The Aztecs used timely hitting and capitalized on defensive miscues to score a combined seven runs across the first four innings. Despite Granada’s Tommy Brown bringing in two runs on an outfield single and pair of errors in the third, and Chase Nadeau’s RBI single to center field to cut their team’s deficit to four in the sixth, Corona del Sol pushed three late runs on as many hits across in the seventh to provide insurance. Starting pitcher Zane Burns (1-0) tossed six strong innings and fanned seven batters in his NHSI debut. At the plate, four different Aztec batters and Granada’s Tyler Kennedy tallied multiple hits, while Ben Jacobus led all players in the contest with three RBIs.
Venice 3, La Mirada 1 (BOX SCORE)
Venice (Venice, Fla.) took the win over La Mirada (La Mirada, Calif.) in dramatic fashion to open up play at the NHSI. La Mirada was the first team on the board after Kevin Jeon doubled on a line drive to center field. In response, Jonathan Mauro evened the score at one each with an RBI single to center. Defense was key over the next few frames as both teams were held scoreless, leading the game to be pushed into extra innings. La Mirada was first to take a swing at the lead, but after a sacrifice bunt and two consecutive outs the Matadores were held scoreless. With the game in its clutch, Venice started hot with a Graham Houston single. Eddie Zaun stepped to the plate after Houston and shattered a ball over the left field wall to complete the 3-1 walk-off victory.
Trinity Christian Academy 8, The Stony Brook School 2 (BOX SCORE)
Trinity Christian Academy (Jacksonville, Fla.) put up a five-spot in the first inning en route to an 8-2 victory over The Stony Brook School (Stony Brook, N.Y.) in the NHSI’s opening round on Wednesday. The Conquerors opened the scoring in the bottom of the opening frame on an RBI single by Parker Loew, followed by a two-run knock by Gage Petrutz. Jordan Martinez followed immediately with an RBI double to plate Petrutz, and Tyler Ellis sent a sac fly to left to cap the five-run inning. As Aaron Watson shoved on the bump, Trinity Christian added on with three runs in the bottom of the fourth; Brady Harris sent an RBI knock up the middle and Petrutz had an RBI fielder’s choice to put the Conquerors up by eight. The Stony Brook School struck for two runs in the fifth on a two-run single by Colin Raymond, but Watson shut it down from there to secure the 8-2 win. Watson pitched a complete game with 10 strikeouts for Trinity, who got a pair of multi-hit games from Aiden Arnett and Harris. Aiden Ruiz had two hits to lead the Bears
Regis Jesuit 3, Wesleyan Christian 1 (BOX SCORE)
Starting pitcher Luke Reasbeck spun a gem as Regis Jesuit (Aurora, Colo.) downed Wesleyan Christian (High Point, N.C.) 3-1 in the first round of the NHSI Wednesday evening at the USA Baseball National Training Complex. Three early runs were all the Raiders needed behind a stout defense and immaculate pitching. After picking up a pair of hits early in the first frame, Regis Jesuit executed on the base paths as Christian Lopez and Diesel Bernosky each swiped home on back-to-back fielder’s choices to make it 2-0. The Raiders extended their lead in the second after Chase Massey delivered a line drive to center field, scoring Gavin Cronin who reached on a leadoff base hit. 2024 18U National Team alum Josh Hammond cut into the deficit for Wesleyan Christian with a booming RBI-double in the top of the fifth, plating Walker Parsons who reached on a defensive miscue. Reasbeck hurled 6.0 innings of three-hit ball and punched out six batters en route to earning the win. Ryan Neumann came on in relief in the seventh and earned the save. The team’s seven hits were scattered among six Regis Jesuit batters, highlighted by Lopez who went 2-for-2. Hammond, Blake Goff, and Walker Parsons each picked up a hit for Wesleyan Christian.
Corona 8, Casteel 7 (BOX SCORE)
Defending champion Corona (Corona, Calif.) opened up NHSI play with an 8-7 walk-off thriller over Casteel (Queens Creek, Ariz.) in a game that saw five lead changes. Ryan Harwood got things started early for the Colts, driving in a run with an RBI single in the first inning, but the Panthers responded with a pair of runs in the second on base hits from Trey Ebel and Anthony Murphy to take the lead. Casteel responded with a four-run third to take its lead back at 5-2, which was fueled by back-to-back singles from Harwood and Ryne Barker. But, once again, Corona made it a one-run game in the fourth with a pair of runs via an RBI groundout and a bases-loaded walk. In the fifth, the Panthers knotted things up at 5-5 on a sac fly by Jesiah Andrade, but the Colts managed to take a 7-5 lead in the sixth when Jose Bingochea and Andres Armenta each tallied an RBI double. Down to its final out in the bottom of the seventh, Murphy drew a bases-loaded walk to put the game-winning run on second, and then Ethin Bingaman played hero by roping a two-run single to left center for the 8-7 walk-off win. Bingaman led all players with three RBIs while Harwood went 3-for-4 at the plate.
Collierville 8, Holly Springs 1 (BOX SCORE)
A seven-run third inning propelled Collierville (Collierville, Tenn.) past Holly Springs, 8-1, in opening round action at the NHSI on Wednesday. Collierville’s offense got started immediately in the first when JD Whitworth led off with a single, advanced on a wild pitch, and scored on AJ Greene’s RBI single to go up by a run. Two innings later, the Dragons rattled off seven runs to put the game out of reach. Greene scored the first run on an error and Jack Bogenreif followed with a two-run triple before scoring himself on a sacrifice fly by Preston Sumner. Three batters later, Hayden Short capped the rally with a three-run blast over the left field wall to put Collierville up by eight. Brennan McKenna scored on a wild pitch for Holly Springs in the bottom of the frame to get the host team on the board, but Collierville shut it down from there and won 8-1. Greene had a game-high three hits to pace the victors, who collected 12 total hits as a team. Ari Bethea tossed six innings with eight punchouts for Collierville.
