Jack Limongelli Shuts Out Orange Lutheran In Boras Round 2

Image credit: Jack Limongelli (Photo by Gene Blevins/LA DailyNews/SCNG)

SANTA ANA, Calif.—After winning USA Baseball’s National High School Invitational for the second year in a row last week, and then beating a talented El Toro (Lake Forest, Calif.) High team 9-1 on Tuesday, it seemed like Orange (Calif.) Lutheran was primed for even more success in this year’s Boras Classic.

However, Harvard-Westlake (Studio City, Calif.) High and starting pitcher Jack Limongelli had different ideas in the tournament’s second round at Mater Dei High Wednesday afternoon.

Limongelli—an uncommitted 2019 righthander and outfielder—threw seven shutout innings just one day after teammate Sam Hliboki did the same thing against Santiago (Corona, Calif.) High in the first round.

The 6-foot, 175 pound righty used a mid-80s fastball and a mid-70s curveball to stymie Orange Lutheran’s offense, allowing just four hits while striking out three batters on 106 pitches. Limongelli’s performance allowed Harvard-Westlake to avoid using a second pitcher for the second straight game, and backed up an impressive offensive showing against talented 2020 righthander Max Rajcic.

Rajcic—a UCLA commit—showed three impressive pitches in a fastball in the low-90s, a slider with occasional late-breaking action and a low-80s changeup with fastball arm speed. That arsenal didn’t intimidate Harvard-Westlake’s lineup, however, as the Knights put up two runs in the first inning and another in the third, chasing Rajcic after 3.1 innings of work.

Harvard-Westlake leadoff hitter Pete Crow-Armstrong—a 2020 Vanderbilt commit—went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI, while shortstop Drew Bowser—also a member of the 2020 class, but committed to Stanford—went 1-for-4 with a massive home run to left field on a 90 mph fastball from Rajcic in the first inning. Bowser will be an interesting player to follow over the next few years as a lithe, 6-foot-3, 190-pound athletic infielder with power and intriguing defensive actions at shortstop.

 

JSerra 3, Simi Valley 0

JSerra (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) shutout Simi Valley (Calif.) on its own field in the second round of the Boras Classic Wednesday, riding a one-hit, 6.2-inning outing from freshman lefthander Gage Jump. Owen Sharts was the only Simi Valley batter to manage a hit against Jump, singling to right field in the bottom of the second and also drawing a pair of walks.  

Jump let his defense work behind him, striking out just a pair of batters on 92 pitches, with 11 flyouts and six groundouts.   

JSerra leadoff hitter Cody Schrier went 1-for-3 with a walk, a run and a stolen base while senior Nick Lopez went 1-for-2 with a pair of steals.

South Hills 5, Etiwanda 4

After a walk-off win in the round one, South Hills (West Covina, Calif.) played another tight game in the second round, beating Etiwanda (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) 5-4 on Wednesday and avoiding a late comeback effort from the Eagles in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Senior lefthander Mike Ortega got the ball for the Huskies and tossed six solid innings, allowing four runs, though only one of those was earned. Freshman outfielder/third baseman Will Medina led the South Hills offense out of the No. 3 spot in the lineup, going 2-for-4 with an RBI. 

For Etiwanda, junior infielder Max Clark went 2-for-3 with a double while senior infielder Ryan Meza went 1-for-3 with a triple, a run, an RBI and also drew a walk.  

 

La Mirada 6, Mater Dei 1 

La Mirada (Calif.) jumped all over Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) in the bottom of the first inning Wednesday, acting as the home team on Mater Dei’s own field and eliminating the Monarchs from the Boras Classic in the second round.

The Matadors batted around the order in the bottom of the first inning, scoring all six of their runs during the opening frame. Despite the outburst, senior outfielder Brandon Rho was the only La Mirada batter to notch a multi-hit game, going 2-for-3 with a double.

Senior righthander Erik Carmona—who is currently uncommitted—threw an efficient complete game for the Matadors, striking out six batters and walking none while surrendering just one run on six hits. Carmona threw 59 of his 89 pitches for strikes, including first-pitch strikes to 15 of the 24 batters he faced.