Spring break turned out to be very productive for the Mater Dei and Sherman Oaks Notre Dame baseball teams.
Mater Dei entered the week with an 8-6 record. Notre Dame was 9-6-1. Both ended up going 4-0 to win prestigious tournament championships.
Mater Dei pulled off the stunner of Friday night, knocking off No. 1-ranked Corona 5-3 in the championship game of the Southern Division of the Boras Classic. The Monarchs trailed 3-0 in the second inning. Sophomore Jackson Campbell was brought in from the bullpen with the bases loaded. He struck out Corona’s two best hitters, Seth Hernandez and Josh Springer, and proceeded to throw scoreless ball for 5 2/3 innings.
Meanwhile, Mater Dei scored two runs in the fourth on a two-run double from Lawson Olmstead and added three runs in the fifth, with Brody Connors supplying an RBI double. Sophomore Ezekiel Lara had three hits for the Monarchs, who won consecutive 11-inning games to reach the final and inflict a rare defeat on Corona (15-2).
Levi Sterling of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
Notre Dame won the National Classic with a 4-0 win over El Dorado. Texas commit Levi Sterling came through with his best start of the season, striking out eight, walking none and giving up three hits. Jacob Madrid had three hits.
Corona will have a busy two weeks ahead. Next week, the Panthers travel to North Carolina to play in the four-day National High School Baseball Invitational. They return to play a critical three-game Big VIII League series against rival Corona Centennial, starting April 15.
Mater Dei will play Granite Bay, the Northern California champion, in the Boras Classic championship game on April 20 at noon at Santa Clara University.
Huntington Beach 4, Etiwanda 3: John Petrie hit a three-run home run to power the Oilers.
JSerra 10, San Dimas 1: Charlie Caruso had three hits and four RBIs for JSerra.
Crespi 5, La Costa Canyon 4: Sean Sapp hit a two-run home run in the 10th inning to break a 3-3 tie. Diego Velazquez had three hits for Crespi.
Aquinas 8, Maranatha 5: Leadoff hitter Carter Hadnot had three hits and Nathan Christman contributed a home run, single and two RBIs for Aquinas. Jacob Yun had two hits and two RBIs for Maranatha.
La Mirada 6, Oaks Christian 5: Aiden Aguayo hit a two-run walk-off home run in the seventh inning for La Mirada. He finished with three RBIs. Jack Laubacher had two hits, including a home run, for Oaks Christian.
South Hills 14, Ganesha 0: Steven Jimenez had four hits and four RBIs for South Hills.
Santa Margarita 14, Granada Hills 2: Brody Schumaker hit a grand slam during an eight-run first inning and Jake Lavin finished with two hits and four RBIs to lead Santa Margarita in a five-inning win.
Servite 8, Cypress 0: Gustavo Gutierrez threw five scoreless innings and Hayden Woodson had three hits to lead Servite.
Simi Valley 8, Moorpark 1: Danny Pina hit a home run and Landen Adair and Quentin McGahan each had two hits for Simi Valley. Diego Barajas struck out 10 in a complete game.
Royal 7, Oak Park 0: Caden Sramek threw five scoreless innings.
Santa Monica 7, Carson 3: The Vikings improved to 14-3.
El Camino Real 10, Chatsworth 5: Luke Howe contributed three RBIs in a West Valley League win.
Hamilton 6, Palisades 5: Jacole Wilson finished with an RBI double and two-run single for Hamilton.
