2016 NHSI: Huntington Beach Advances To Finals

CARY, N.C.—Huntington Beach (Calif.) High has faced its fair share of adversity so far this season.

After beginning the season atop Baseball America’s high school rankings, the Oilers slipped early on, and eventually fell out of the rankings. What looked to be one of the nation’s most promising rotations took a big hit when senior righthander Logan Pouelsen went down with an arm injury, and the Oilers will be without lefthander Nicholas Pratto until April 4, as Pratto has to sit out after transferring from Mater Dei.

But none of that adversity has held back the Oilers this week; after a 3-1 victory over Allatoona High (Acworth, Ga.) on Friday afternoon, Huntington Beach is headed to the NHSI finals.

The Oilers got a strong performance from lefthander Cory Moore, who allowed just one run over six innings, but junior Hagen Danner set the tone for the victory. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Danner launched a 2-0 fastball over the wall in left field for a solo home run, giving Huntington Beach a 1-0 lead. The Oilers tacked on two more runs in the inning, and they never looked back.

“Hagen got a 2-0 count, and 2-0 and 3-1 the player has to check in with me to get the green light,” coach Benji Medure said. “He didn’t really check in with me. He kind of got back in the box and glanced out of the corner of his eye, but he was going for it, and he got a pitch to hammer and he did.”

Danner, well known in the amateur scouting community for his efforts on the mound, has hit the ball hard this week, and his line drive blast turned out to be all his team needed to get into a rhythm.

Huntington Beach will take on Chaminade College Prep (Canoga Park, Calif.) in the NHSI finals on Saturday. Chaminade will throw freshman Jack Whisnant, and Huntington Beach has yet to announce a starter. The two teams faced each other in winter ball, though the Oilers used Pratto in that game.

In the tournament’s four-year existence, three champions have emerged from Southern California. Because both teams hail from SoCal, this year’s champion will mark the fourth victor from the region in five years.