The quarterfinal round of the 2024 National High School Invitational presented by the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance provided some thrilling results, as four teams will move on to the semifinals on Friday. Read up on the action below.
CORONA 2, TRINITY CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 0
For the second straight game, the Corona Conquerors (2-0) rolled to a shutout victory at the 2024 National High School Invitational presented by the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance as it took down the Panthers of Trinity Christian Academy (1-1) in the quarterfinals.
Corona starter Ethan Schiefelbein (1-0) was electric on the mound, nearly becoming just the third player in NHSI history to throw a no-hitter as he allowed just one hit and struck out 12 batters over a stellar seven-inning performance. He also led Corona at the plate with a game-high two hits in three appearances.
Schiefelbein and Trinity Christian starter Ethan Wheeler dueled for the first four innings, with the pair allowing just five hits and four walks combined. Corona threatened in the bottom of the second, getting runners aboard at first and second with just one out, but a pair of ground outs would extinguish the danger.
The Conquerors loaded the bases with two outs in the third inning, but a flyout kept the game scoreless. Trinity Christian looked to take the lead in the fourth inning with runners on first and second with two outs, only for Shiefelbein to leave them stranded with another strikeout.
The deadlock was finally broken in the fifth inning by Corona’s Sam Burgess, who crushed a 390-foot home run into right field to make it 2-0 after Billy Carlson had reached on a single.
Shiefelbein punched out three more Trinity Christian batters as Corona held firm for the shutout win, while the Panthers’ starter Wheeler (0-1) took the loss after allowing the homerun and fanning four batters in five innings of work. Aaron Watson pitched the final inning for Trinity Christian.
Brayden Harris tallied the only hit of the game for the Panthers, while for Corona it would be Anthony Murphy and Seth Hernandez joining Burgess and Carlson with a hit each on the day.
HUNTINGTON BEACH 3, BISHOP GORMAN 2
Linkin Garcia was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to lift Huntington Beach (2-0) to a 3-2, walk-off victory over Bishop Gorman (1-1) in the second round of the 2024 National High School Invitational presented by the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance.
In a tie game in the bottom of the seventh, the defending-champion Oilers loaded the bases on two walks and a single to make way for Garcia. The designated hitter was hit by the first pitch he saw to secure the win.
The victory puts the Oilers in the NHSI semifinal round for the third straight year.
Trent Grindlinger got the scoring started for the Oilers in the bottom of the first. With runners on the corners and one out, the catcher ripped a two-run triple down the left field line to bring home a pair of baserunners and give Huntington Beach a 2-0 lead. The Oilers had a chance to extend the advantage later in the inning, but a fielder’s choice and fly out kept Bishop Gorman within two runs.
Huntington Beach’s Ty Bellerose and Bishop Gorman’s Henry Prindl exchanged zeros for the next few innings before the Gaels knotted it up on one swing. Coming off a perfect day at the plate on Wednesday, Burke-Lee Mabeus smoked a two-run homer over the right field wall to tie the game at two. It was the second home run of the tournament for the Gaels’ backstop.
After Mabeus’ homer, Bellerose and Prindl continued to put up zeros for the next couple of frames. Bellerose, the 2023 NHSI MVP, finished his day with 6.2 innings pitched and seven strikeouts, allowing just three hits and two runs. Prindl also turned in a solid outing, allowing just the two first-inning runs. He finished with six innings pitched and four strikeouts.
Huntington Beach was led offensively by Ethan Porter, who had a game-high two hits and a run scored. Trevor Goldenetz drew two walks to go along with a hit for the Oilers. Bishop Gorman had three hits as a team, including Mabeus’ two-run homer. Drake Kajioka picked up a hit and Kekoa Young notched a pinch-hit knock for the Gaels.
ORANGE LUTHERAN 8, ST. JOHN’S COLLEGE 0
Orange Lutheran (2-0) scored three runs in the third and four more in the fourth to pull away and beat St. John’s College (1-1), 8-0, in the second round of the 2024 National High School Invitational (NHSI) presented by the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance.
The Lancers’ victory secures their spot in the NHSI semifinal round for the fifth time in program history.
Wyatt Hanoian hit a two-out single in the second inning to kick off the scoring in Thursday’s contest, bringing home Nate Savoie and putting the Lancers in front, 1-0. St. John’s was poised to respond in the bottom half as a walk and a single put the first two runners on, but after a sacrifice bunt advanced both runners into scoring position, Lancers’ starter Colt Peterson got a strikeout and coaxed a flyout to escape unscathed.
Three more runs crossed the plate for Orange Lutheran in the top of the third as the three-time NHSI champs’ lead became 4-0. The second run of the contest came on an RBI single by Ben Reiland, which was followed by a run-producing bunt laid down by Hamilton Friedberg. Savoie capped the three-run outburst with an RBI single to bring home Reiland and extend Orange Lutheran’s lead to four.
Staked to a 4-0 lead, Peterson continued to keep St. John’s off the scoreboard in the third. G. Weber began the frame with a single to left but was erased on a smoothly turned 4-6-3 double play, followed by an inning-ending fly out to left.
The Lancers struck for four more runs in the fourth inning, putting the game out of reach. A hit-by-pitch, walk, and single loaded the bases for the heart of the Orange Lutheran order, and Josiah Hartshorn came through with a single right back up the middle to plate a run. A wild pitch and two bases-loaded walks followed to make it an 8-0 lead for the Lancers.
St. John’s threatened to cut into its deficit in the both the bottom of the fifth and sixth but came up just short each time. In the fifth, a two-out rally loaded the bases before Peterson got his final out of the game on a fielder’s choice to shortstop. The Cadets filled the bases again an inning later, but Lancers’ reliever Murdoch Taylor got a groundout to first to maintain the shutout.
Caden Miller took the hill in the bottom of the seventh and got the final three outs to secure the 8-0 win for Orange Lutheran.
Brady Murrietta and Savoie paced the Lancers with two hits apiece as part of an eight-hit attack in the victory. Savoie’s second-inning double was the only extra-base hit of the contest, and the senior was the only player with multiple RBIs. St. John’s had four hits as a team in the shutout defeat.
HARVARD-WESTLAKE 3, CASTEEL 2
James Tronstein was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth inning to give Harvard-Westlake (2-0) a lead it would hang on to to for the win over Casteel (1-1) in the second round of the 2024 National High School Invitational presented by the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance.
With the score 2-2 with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, Harvard-Westlake’s Drew Rico would be hit by a pitch and Miguel Villegas singled into left to put two runners on. Bryce Rainer was intentionally walked to load the bases, setting up Tronstein to take a pitch and advance the winning run late.
Casteel struck first thanks to an RBI single from Ryan Harwood in the second inning, but the Colts would only hold the lead for an inning. Singles from Rainer and Tronstein set up Cade Goldstein to bring Rainer home for the tying run on a sacrifice, making it 1-1.
The Wolverines wasted no time in retaking the lead, as Kade Thompson launched a single into right field to score Tyler Hatch from first.
Harvard-Westlake tied the game once again in the fifth inning thanks to a triple of its own, as Tronstein put himself in position to score on a ground out by Goldstein to make it 2-2.
Rainer (1-0) earned the win on the mound after pitching for the final 1.2 innings, striking out a pair of batters and preserving the Wolverines’ late lead. Jackson Alex started the game, allowing two runs and striking out four batters in 3.2 innings of work. Jake Chung relieved Alex, striking out a pair of batters and keeping the game at 2-2.
For Casteel, Tyler Hatch (0-1) took the loss, allowing three runs and striking out one over six innings on the mound.
At the plate, Rainer and Tronstein led the way with two hits apiece as part of a nine-hit effort from Harvard-Westlake, while Goldstein’s two RBIs were a game high. Hatch tallied two of Casteel’s six hits on the day, with both Harwood and Thompson notching RBIs.
