Prep Baseball Report’s Shooter Hunt and Nathan Rode are in Southern California to cover the 2017 Boras Classic. Rode will primarily focus on draft prospects while Hunt will mostly highlight underclassmen with On The Hunt.

By Nathan Rode
National Supervisor

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA—The 2017 Boras Classic ended with a wild championship game between Huntington Beach HS, CA, and Mira Costa HS, CA. Huntington Beach opened the scoring in the third with three runs, highlighted a big two-run home run to right-center field by OF/LHP Cory Moore, the starting pitcher for the game. The Oilers have a physical lineup with four starters over 6 feet and six tipping the scales at 190 or more. The top of the lineup was quiet with the first four hitters collecting just two hits. The five through eight hitters did the damage, going a combined 9-for-11 with seven RBIs.

Mira Costa chipped away a couple different times, but couldn’t keep up with Hunting Beach offense. The Oilers tacked on five runs in the fifth on the way to the 9-4 win. They will now face Bellarmine College Prep, CA, winners of the Northern California tournament, on May 6 at UCLA for the state championship game.

Here are a few more highlights from the final day of Boras Classic action…

+ The first game I saw Friday was JSerra HS, CA, vs. Damien HS, CA. JSerra trailed 5-4 going into the seventh and with one on and one out, SS Royce Lewis stepped to the plate. He was 0-for-8 in the tournament before that at-bat, but he ended the week on a good note. Jumping all over a 2-0 pitch, he launched the ball to left-center field for a no-doubt, walk-off home run. While Lewis only had the home run on the week, he did not strike out.

+ After seeing JSerra walk off, I ran back to Mater Dei HS, CA, to see the Monarchs one more time. On the mound was 2019 RHP Hunter Cope, who was making his varsity debut. A basketball player, he has a tall, lanky frame at 6-foot-7, 196 pounds. He is athletic and has an easy, loose and coordinated delivery. He pitched four innings, allowing one run on six hits and a walk while striking out two. His fastball started out at 85-87 mph in the first inning, but settled into the low 80s after that. He also mixed in a loopy curveball with 11/5 shape at 67-72.

+ Cope was given a big cushion to work with as Mater Dei went up 8-0 through two innings. Most of that was thanks to 2018 SS Emilio Rosas, who had two home runs. He hit a three-run shot in the first, followed by a two-run home run in the second.

+ The third-place game featured Orange Lutheran HS, CA, against Corona Santiago HS, CA. That meant more looks at OF Garrett Mitchell and 2018 SS Brice Turang. Mitchell was 1-for-2 with two walks and two runs scored, while Turang went 2-for-4 with a bases clearing triple in the second inning. He later added an RBI single in the fourth, while also showing off his easy, athletic actions on defense throughout the game.

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