Huntington Beach earns spot in Boras Classic final with victory over Aquinas - OCRegister

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• Huntington Beach relief pitcher Wyatt Thomas, number 20, is congratulated by the rest of the Oilers after finishing off the Aquinas Falcons in the semifinal in the Boras Classic baseball tournament at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana on Thursday, April 13, 2023. (Sam Gangwer, Contributing Photographer)

• Huntington Beach starting pitcher Brad Grindlinger cranks up to throw a pitch against Aquinas in the semifinal in the Boras Classic baseball tournament at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana on Thursday, April 13, 2023. (Sam Gangwer, Contributing Photographer)

• Huntington Beach’s Dean Carpentier is tagged out at home by Aquinas catcher Josh Cunnigan to end the sixth inning of the semifinal in the Boras Classic baseball tournament at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana on Thursday, April 13, 2023. (Sam Gangwer, Contributing Photographer)

• Aquinas infielder Frank Estrada tags out Huntington Beach baserunner Trevor Goldenetz in the semifinal in the Boras Classic baseball tournament at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana on Thursday, April 13, 2023. (Sam Gangwer, Contributing Photographer)

• Aquinas’ Eric Bitonti is tended to by a trainer after fouling a pitch off his own ankle against Huntington Beach in the semifinal in the Boras Classic baseball tournament at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana on Thursday, April 13, 2023. (Sam Gangwer, Contributing Photographer)

• Aquinas’ Nate Christman is out at second base as Huntington Beach second baseman CJ Weinstein tries to turn the double play in the semifinal in the Boras Classic baseball tournament at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana on Thursday, April 13, 2023. (Sam Gangwer, Contributing Photographer)

• Aquinas’ Eric Bitonti slides into second base under the throw as Huntington Beach second baseman CJ Weinstein gets airborne to catch the errant throw in the first inning of the semifinal in the Boras Classic baseball tournament at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana on Thursday, April 13, 2023. (Sam Gangwer, Contributing Photographer)

• Aquinas’ Eric Bitonti, number 10, is congratulated after scoring a run against Huntington Beach in the semifinal in the Boras Classic baseball tournament at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana on Thursday, April 13, 2023. (Sam Gangwer, Contributing Photographer)

• Aquinas starting pitcher Cody Kiemele fires off a pitch against Huntington Beach in the semifinal in the Boras Classic baseball tournament at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana on Thursday, April 13, 2023. (Sam Gangwer, Contributing Photographer)

• Aquinas second basemant Josh Torres turns the double play against Huntington Beach in the semifinal in the Boras Classic baseball tournament at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana on Thursday, April 13, 2023. (Sam Gangwer, Contributing Photographer)

• Huntington Beach’s Brian Trujillo slides into home to score against Aquinas in the semifinal in the Boras Classic baseball tournament at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana on Thursday, April 13, 2023. (Sam Gangwer, Contributing Photographer)

• Huntington Beach’s Aidan Espinoza can’t connect with a pitch from Aquinas in the semifinal in the Boras Classic baseball tournament at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana on Thursday, April 13, 2023. (Sam Gangwer, Contributing Photographer)

SANTA ANA — Huntington Beach extended its winning streak to 15 in a row with a 4-1 victory over Aquinas in the semifinals of the Boras Classic South Thursday at Mater Dei High School.

The Oilers (17-6), who are ranked No. 5 in Division 1 of the CIF Southern Section, will play Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks, the top-ranked team in Division 1, for the championship Friday at 6 p.m. at JSerra.

The Knights defeated Orange Lutheran 1-0 in the other semifinal Thursday.

“We’re playing a good team tomorrow but we are going to go out and compete our tails off,” Oilers starting pitcher Bradley Grindlinger said.

After allowing a run in the top of the first, Grindlinger pitched four scoreless innings before reliever Wyatt Thomas came in and shut out the Falcons over the final two innings.

Grindlinger minimized the damage in the first by getting the final out with two runners on base. He then pitched out of trouble with runners in scoring position in the second, fourth and fifth innings.

“He made huge pitches in big counts against tough hitters,” Oilers coach Benji Medure said. “They had really good swings and good approaches, so for him to pitch like that against those hitters says a lot about him and his toughness.”

Huntington Beach starting pitcher Bradley Grindlinger pitched four scoreless innings after allowing a run in the first as the Oilers defeated Aquinas 4-1 in the Boras Classic South semifinals Thursday, April 13. (Photo by Lou Ponsi)

In the seventh, the Falcons (14-3) had the bases loaded with two outs when Thomas struck out Jordan Murillo on a three-ball, two-strike pitch to end the game.

Earlier in the inning, Oilers left fielder Trevor Goldenetz made an excellent running catch on a deep fly ball hit by Owen Egan.

Oilers right fielder Bradley Navarro made a terrific diving catch on a sinking line drive that was tailing away from him.

The Oilers were also clutch on offense, scoring two runs in the first on back-to-back two-out hits.

Ralph Velazquez walked with two outs, stole second and scored on a double from Aiden Espinoza.

Trent Grindlinger then singled home Espinoza, giving the Oilers a 2-1 lead.

“To have an answer against them right away was huge,” Medure said.

Velazquez also came through with a two-out hit in the fifth, driving home Brian Trujillo with a double to give the Oilers a 3-1 lead.

The Oilers’ game against Notre Dame will be a rematch of last season’s CIF SS Division 1 semifinal, won by the Knights 2-0.

Huntington Beach then bounced back to defeat JSerra 2-0 to win the CIF Southern California Regional Division I championship.

The winner of Friday’s championship game will play the Boras North champion, Cardinal Newman of Santa Rosa, in the tournament’s state final on April 29 at Santa Clara University.

The Oilers won the Boras Classic’s South title and the state title in 2017.

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Huntington Beach earns spot in Boras Classic final with victory over Aquinas - OCRegister
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