The first day of the 2024 National High School Invitational presented by the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance at the National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina, was full of action. Read up on everything that happened in the first round of the event.
ST. JOHN’S 5, HAGERTY 3
After taking the lead in the bottom of the first thanks to an RBI single from Chris Armah, St. John’s would hold on the rest of the way as it added four more runs in the third for a lead it would not relinquish in a victory over Hagerty in the opening game of the 2024 National High School Invitational presented by the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance.
Armah showcased his talent at the plate and on the mound, as he earned the win as well by allowing one earned run and striking out five over five innings of work.
After taking the lead in the first inning, St. John’s was able to add four more runs in a huge third inning performance at the plate. Armah notched his second RBI single of the game, followed by a well-executed bunt from Breyden Ruiz-Weiss to bring another runner home for a 3-0 lead.
A pair of throwing errors from Hagerty allowed two more runs to come in for St. John’s, as it took a 5-0 lead going into the fourth inning.
Hagerty looked to rally, with Talan Bell able to reach on a triple before Brayden Toro brought him home with an RBI single to put his team on the board. Later in the frame, after a passed ball put Hagerty runners on second and third, a line drive into right from Alex Pantoja brought Hagerty to within two, with the score now 5-3.
Armah (1-0) would be relieved after the fifth inning by Marcus Martin, who earned the save with a pair of shutout innings that included escaping a bases-loaded jam with two outs for the win. For Hagerty, Bell (0-1) took the loss after allowing four earned runs across four innings, while striking out six.
At the plate for St. John’s, Armah and Nicholas Francuzenko both tallied a pair of hits, as did Austin Jacobs and Brandon Levy for Hagerty. Pantoja and Armah tied for the game high with two RBI’s apiece.
TRINITY CHRISTIAN 9, APEX FRIENDSHIP 2
Trinity Christian (1-0) struck first on a Bradyen Harris sacrifice fly in the first inning and never looked back as it cruised to a 9-2 victory over Apex Friendship (0-1) in the opening round of the 2024 NHSI.
The Conquerors proceeded to tack on three more runs in the third inning on an Apex Friendship error and a two-run single from Maddox Lee to take a 4-0 lead, and then exploded for five runs on eight hits in the sixth inning to hold a 9-0 advantage heading into the final frames of the contest.
The Patriots got on the board in the bottom half of the sixth when Connor Payne delivered an RBI single with the bases loaded, which was followed by a defensive miscue on the same play to narrow the score to 9-2.
Trinity Christian closer Griffin Edenfield tossed a hitless inning in the seventh to close out the contest and allow his team to advance to the quarterfinals. Starting pitcher Harris (1-0) earned the win after scattering four hits and surrendering one earned run across six innings, while Apex Friendship’s Luke Hemric (0-1) was saddled with the loss after giving up two earned runs in five innings pitched.
At the plate, Gage Petrutz led all players with a 3-for-4 outing and two runs scored, while four other Trinity Christian players, Aiden Arnett, Harris, Lee, and Eithan Wheeler, turned in two hits apiece to contribute to the team’s 14 on the day.
BISHOP GORMAN 10, CHAPARRAL 3
Burke-Lee Mabeus led the Bishop Gorman Gaels to a dominant 10-3 win over the Chaparral Firebirds in the opening round of the 2024 National High School Invitational. Mabeus recorded a perfect 4-for-4 day at the plate with a double and a towering home run that was good for a team-leading five RBI’s.
While Mabeus recorded hit after hit on offense, pitcher James Whitaker (1-0) dealt on the mound for the Gaels, throwing 4.1 innings and seven strikeouts while only giving up one earned run. While he was backed up with a combined 2.2 innings from pitchers Noah Ramos and Kekoa Young, Whitaker earned the win on the first day of the NHSI.
Bishop Gorman jumped on the board in the bottom of the first via a fielder’s choice. However, Firebirds pitcher Brady Short (0-1) escaped a bases-loaded jam and limited the damage to just one.
The Gaels didn’t let Short get any hotter than that, though. After juicing the bases in the second, a walk doubled the Gaels’ lead to 2-0. From there, Mabeus hit the first of his two highlight-reel plays by ripping a bases-clearing, three-run double into the gap to give his team a 5-0 lead and leave Short with a loss.
While Chaparral chipped away at the lead in the top of the third by taking advantage of an error, the Gaels continued to extinguish the Firebirds with three runs between the third and fourth innings. Chaparral put one run on the board in both the fifth and sixth innings, but the Firebirds couldn’t muster enough power at the plate to threaten Bishop Gorman’s lead.
From there, Mabeus put an exclamation mark on the Gaels’ win and his dominant day at the plate with a towering two-run shot he crushed into the trees behind left field. The Gaels’ score ticked up to 10-3 as Mabeus took his trot, and just half inning later, Bishop Gorman finalized its opening day win.
While Colton Chris Boardman trailed Mabeus’ effort with three RBI’s, Whitaker proved himself a dual-threat with his solid outing on the mound and two RBI’s.
CORONA 8, PUYALLUP 0
Corona High School (1-0) started its week at the National High School Invitational presented by the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance with an 8-0 run-rule victory over Puyallup (0-1) to advance to the quarterfinal round. All eight of Corona’s runs came in the second inning on six hits and an error, which was highlighted by Ethan Schiefelbein’s bases-clearing double to put the Panthers on the board.
Seven different Corona players tallied a hit. Along with Schiefelbein, Daniel Rivera and Brady Ebel each recorded a double, and Josh Springer and Billy Carlson contributed a hit each. Schiefelbein led all players with three RBI’s and Ebel drove in two. On the mound, Seth Hernandez and Mason Sims combined to limit Puyallup to just one hit, as Hernandez tossed the first two innings and Sims pitched the last three to earn the win.
HUNTINGTON BEACH 6, ST. JOHNS COUNTRY DAY 1
Riding a four-run first inning and a strong performance on the mound from starter Nathan Aceves, Huntington Beach (1-0) cruised to a 6-1 victory over St. Johns Country Day (0-1) at the 2024 National High School Invitational presented by the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance.
Aceves (1-0) nearly went the entire game, exiting after allowing just one run in 6.1 innings of work while striking out six batters for the win. Andrew Berdelis finished the game, striking out one of two batters faced to ensure the win.
The Oilers struck first thanks to a fielder’s choice that allowed Ethan Porter to reach home, before CJ Weinstein launched a two-RBI triple into right field to add two more runs for a 3-0 lead. Weinstein would put Huntington Beach up 4-0 before the end of the first, scoring himself on another fielder’s choice.
St. Johns Country Day would be on the board in the third inning, with Kolt Myers able to reach home for the team’s lone run of the game as George Gilson was attempting to steal second base.
Huntington Beach added its fifth run in the bottom of the third, with an RBI double from Porter bringing in Travis Curry to make it 5-1. The lead would become 6-1 in the bottom of the fifth inning, as Linkin Garcia launched Huntington Beach’s second triple of the game into right for another run.
Austin Stratmann (0-1) took the loss after allowing five runs in 2.2 innings of work, with Gavin Coffey (1.1 IP) and Ethan Bissell (2.0) finishing the game for the Spartans.
Huntington Beach’s Garcia led all players with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate, with Weinstein, Porter, and Spartans’ right fielder Nick Bowden each tallying a pair of hits.
HARVARD-WESTLAKE 10, KEY WEST 2
Starting pitcher Duncan Marsten (1-0) and the Harvard-Westlake Wolverines pulled off a 10-2 rout over the Key West Conchs in the opening round of the 2024 National High School Invitational.
Marsten showed his show-stopping, two-way prowess in the blowout win by flaming five strikeouts and driving in a team-leading three RBI’s that was highlighted by a flashy RBI-triple. He led a relentless Harvard-Westlake attack that kept the pressure on the Conchs from the first pitch.
The Wolverines scored in four of seven innings and amassed 10 runs on 13 hits. They also took advantage of three Key West errors and stole a whopping seven bases to keep the bases juiced for nearly the entire bout.
Marsten earned his first RBI of the day on a fielder’s choice in the first, while the rest of the Wolverines drove up the pitch count of Key West starting pitcher Anthony Lariz, who threw nearly 50 pitches by the end of the first two innings. By the end of his five frames, Lariz threw 96 pitches for five earned runs, dealing him a loss in the opening round of the NHSI.
Meanwhile, Marsten continued to deal for Harvard-Westlake, protecting his team’s 2-0 lead in the second inning with two strikeouts. His impressive six-inning, two-earned run day helped limit the Conchs to five hits and earn himself a win.
Key West was able to limit the Wolverines’ attack for the first three innings, and with Harvard-Westlake only holding a 3-0 lead by the end of the third, the Conchs looked to get on the board. However, the Wolverines jumped out to a 6-0 lead with a big fourth inning, engineered by a walk, fielder’s choice, and a Marsten sac-fly.
The Conchs fought back in the bottom of the frame with an RBI courtesy of Lariz and scored another in the following inning to cut the deficit to four. Just after though, the Wolverines put the contest out of reach with a four-run sixth inning headlined by Marsten’s RBI-triple
With Marsten’s day done at 76 pitches, the Wolverines finished cruising through to the next round with one inning of work from Cameron Cetaro. Cade Goldstein and Jack Laffitte backed up Marsten’s offensive effort with two RBI’s each while Bryce Rainer got on base in all four of his at bats with three hits and a walk.
CASTEEL 10, WESLEYAN CHRISTIAN 0
Casteel (1-0) won its opening game at the 2024 National High School Invitational presented by the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance in historic fashion, with pitcher Mason Russell lights-out on the mound as he hurled just the second no-hitter in NHSI history and the offense put in a similarly terrific effort with 10 runs against Wesleyan Christian (0-1) in a six-inning game.
Russell (1-0) hurled a gem, fanning 10 batters and walking just two over all six innings for the Colts. He joins Mount Carmel’s Alex Pappas in 2018 as the only other pitcher to complete a no-hitter in a NHSI game.
Casteel got the best of Wesleyan Christian at the plate as well, jumping on Trojans’ starter Sam Cozart for a three-run first inning. Landon Hairston opened the scoring with an RBI single, and a fielder’s choice and a groundout gave the Colts a 3-0 lead.
Casteel’s batters found their groove at the plate again in the fifth inning, with a single into center field from Kyler Anderson bringing in a pair of runs to make it 5-0 before Hairston tallied the Colts’ second two-run single of the inning to give Casteel a 7-0 advantage.
A wild pitch allowed the Colts to tack on another run in the sixth inning, and Bobby Pierce made it 10-0 Casteel thanks to a line-drive single into right field that allowed another two runners to score.
For the Trojans, Sam Cozart (0-1) took the loss after allowing three runs in 3.2 innings of work. Nick Papciak relieved him on the mound for two innings, surrendering four earned runs before Roddy Woodard finished the final 0.1 of the inning.
Offensively for Casteel, Hairston led the way with a 4-for-5, three-RBI day at the plate. Kyler Anderson and Pierce both tallied two RBIs for the Colts.
ORANGE LUTHERAN 4, FARRAGUT 1
In a game that came alive late after pitching dominated the opening five innings, Orange Lutheran (1-0) plated four runs in an opening-game victory over Farragut (0-1) as the Lancers’ bats came alive in the sixth inning for the win at the 2024 National High School Invitational presented by the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance.
Orange Lutheran threatened first in the third inning, with Hamilton Friedberg and Nate Savoie getting aboard with back-to-back doubles, though they would be left stranded as Delph struck out Gavin Hottle to keep the game scoreless.
Farragut broke the deadlock in the top of the sixth inning, as the Admirals finally got the best of Lancers’ starter Gary Morse. Lukas Buckner and Landis Davila opened the inning with a pair of singles, before Jake Merrick drew a walk to load the bases with no outs.
Faced with a difficult situation, Morse was able to force a fly out before Buckner was beaten to home on a fielder’s choice. However, Brennon Siegler was able to break the deadlock with an RBI single, though it would prove to be the only run scored thanks to another fielder’s choice afterwards.
Down 1-0, Orange Lutheran’s hitters found the zone, loading the bases with three walks and just one out to set the stage for Josiah Hartshorn to clear the bases with a three-RBI triple into right field. A fielder’s choice from Ben Reiland allowed Hartshorn to score on the next play, giving the Lancers a 4-1 lead going into the final inning
Farragut looked to rally in the top of the seventh when Gavin Brewer led off the frame with an infield single, but a fly out followed by a 4-6-3 double play ended the threat.
At the plate, Farragut’s Landis Davila and Orange Lutheran’s Hamilton Friedberg led all players with two hits apiece. On the mound, Ross Clark was credited with the win after tossing the final 1.2 innings and keeping the Admirals off the board, while Stratton Scott took the loss after he surrendered two earned runs across 5.1 innings.
