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Preseason Invitational: Day Three Recap

February 19, 2023
PBR California Staff

New Episode LIVE now! - At The Yard Podcast

IRVINE, CALIF. - Day Three of the PBR CA Preseason Invitational brought not only two big time semifinal matchups, but also several matchups that included some of the top teams in the state and the country. And while it’s early in a long season, we were treated to a sample of teams that will undoubtedly make runs in the postseason and others who, regardless of their results in this tournament, will be fine teams come seasons end.

With all eyes on the stadium it was the backfields that provided all the fireworks with a walk-off, a no doubt bomb to centerfield, and some high profile player matchups in the consolation bracket as well. 

You can catch up on the first two days of coverage here, Be sure to follow PBR California on Twitter and Instagram for videos/notes throughout the weeks of the high school season. 

Consolation Bracket

Ayala 3

Loyola 1

Tied at one in the top of the seventh, Andrew Torres singled on a 1-2 pitch cashing in Anthony Hernandez who had led off the inning with a single before advancing to second on an error. After a hit by pitch loaded the bases, Aiden Erlandsen hit into a fielder's choice, scoring Torres for the Bulldogs third and final run. Jeremy Byers started for the Bulldogs who struck out three, scattered two hits and walking one over five strong innings. Sebastian Olivia earned the win with two hitless shutout innings that included three strikeouts. Walter Urbon tied the game in the bottom of the sixth with an RBI triple for Loyola who as a team committed two uncharacteristic errors. Henry Boylston started for the Cubs and surrendered one run on four hits over 3.1 innings pitched. 

El Dorado 10

Redondo 1

Isaac Cadena and AJ Frausto each had multi-hit and multi-RBI games as El Dorado scored six runs over the last three innings to pull away from Redondo. Garvey Rumary had it working in his two inning start allowing one hit with two strikeouts and a walk. Nathan Huy followed with four strong innings of his own scattering four hits with a strikeout and run allowed. Third baseman Cooper Couig of Redondo finished with a pair of hits and an RBI for the Seahawks. Among a group of three others that registered hits, Tomas Lopez also worked a walk and had a run scored. 


Servite 4

Yucaipa 3

Hayden Woodson doubled on a 2-2 count in the top of the sixth scoring Ryan Villanueva to break a 3-3 tie and provide the Friars with the winning run. Servite would add an insurance run in the top of the sixth. It was bullpen day for the Friars who started Ben Dominguez who went two innings with one hit, two walks, three strikeouts and a run allowed. Luke Scherrer provided a big boost with a solo shot to center field in the third that gave Yucaipa the lead at 2-1. After a fielder's choice the Thunderbirds held a 3-1 lead. Noble Ortega added two hits for Yucaipa out of the seven-hole in the lineup. When Trevor Busby was good on the mound he was really good as his six strikeouts show, but when he missed spots it led to four walks which led to three earned runs. 

Harvard Westlake 6

Cypress 2

Harvard Westlake used a five run fourth inning to pull away from Cypress for good. After a pair of walks and a hit-by-pitch, Eli Weinbach cashed in two with a two-RBI double giving the Wolverines the lead for good. Harvard Westlake would score again on a fielder’s choice and a sac fly before Bryce Rainer finished the scoring with an RBI double to right center field. Rainer also finished the game on the mound where allowed one hit, one walk, and struck out four over two innings of work. Bradley Parsonage is having a strong tournament for Cypress adding a couple more hits moving him to a .625 batting average against some stiff competition early in the season. Abbrie Covarrubias continues to impress with the bat-to-ball skills early in the season for Cypress. John Short got the start on the mound for Cypress going 3.1 innings and took the loss. Short was very good through three innings before running into trouble in the fourth. 

Aquinas 4

Huntington Beach 2

Tied at two after four, this one needed an eighth inning to be settled. Nate Christman reached on an error to lead off the eighth before coming all the way around to score on a base to center field from Chase Davidson for Aquinas. Davidson would later score the insurance run on the fourth Huntington Beach error in the game. Eric Bitonti, who went 4.1 innings of work in relief, worked around a two out single to get the strikeout for the final out of the game. Josh Torres kept Aquinas in the game going 3.2 innings of three hit, two run, five strikeout work before giving way to Bitonti who was intentionally walked twice in the game. Carson Lane was once again masterful for Huntington Beach going 3 innings of no hit, six strikeout work. He was followed by Tyler Bellerose who, despite some inconsistencies, showed enough in his two innings to see the depth he’s going to provide as the season wears on. Senior Bradley Navarro led the Oilers with their only multi-hit game. Ralph Velazquez connected on a ball in the bottom of the seventh that would have left the park during the day. 

Norco 2

Foothill 1

Down 1-0 in the bottom of the seventh, uncommitted senior Ethan Barela was at the plate with runners on first and second and down in the count before getting enough barrel on a breaking ball to dump into right to score the game tying run. An error on the relay allowed the game winner to come in from third giving Norco their second tournament win. Steve Jones and Jason Arriola started the rally with back-to-back one out singles. Ryan Jenkins was very good on the mound for Norco scattering four hits, striking out six, walking one and allowing one run over six innings of work. After a walk by Ezekiel Vargas, Ty Cowley smoked a ball to right field that would’ve left the yard during the day, but instead resulted in an RBI triple to give the Knights a 1-0 in the Top of the sixth. Davidson started on the mound going two innings of one hit ball. He gave way to Andrew Parker who went the rest of the way and took the loss.  

Gahr 6

Etiwanda 0

After scoring one in the top of the first, Gahr broke the game open in the second inning and never looked back after RBI’s from Bryce Morrison, Andres Gonzalez, Angel Cortez and Kyle Panganiban to make the score 5-0. Panganiban is having an MVP type tournament thus far with multiple triples, RBI, and batting .625 through three games. He certainly has piqued the interest of MLB Scouts in attendance as he’s shown his entire tool set both offensively and especially defensively. Noah Andrunas was unhittable in his four innings on the mound for Gahr finishing with four strikeouts and no walks on just 40 pitches. Vic Morales finished the last three innings surrendering just two hits and two walks over his outing. The offensive magic that Etiwanda had in the quarterfinals was gone in the semifinals as the Eagles mustered just two hits and five baserunners total in the game. 

Orange Lutheran 7

Corona 2

Orange Lutheran had five players with multi-hit games led by Josiah Hartshorn’s three and Casey Borba’s big day. The Lancers scored two in the first, one each in the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and two in the sixth to earn their spot in the championship. Borba is off to a good start for OLu hitting .428 with an RBI, 3 BB, and run scored. Evan Miranda earned the win with four innings pitched with one hit, five strikeouts, and two walks on 57 pitches. Jaylon White led off the sixth for Corona with a line drive double to center field that was followed by a Jared Saldana single and walk to load the bases. After a strikeout and flyout, Ethan Schiefelbein delivered a two RBI single to center to make it 5-2 late in the game. Orange Lutheran would answer with two of their own in the seventh for the final score. 

Be sure to follow PBR California on Twitter and Instagram for videos/notes throughout the weeks of the high school season. 


UPCOMING EVENTS

SHOWCASE STATE DATE LOCATION
Rising Stars ID: Los Angeles CA 2/26 O'Malley Field
Rising Stars ID: Sacramento CA 3/12 McBean Stadium - Lincoln
Rising Stars ID: San Diego CA 3/19 Eastlake
Rising Stars ID: Inland Empire CA 4/16 Santiago HS
Rising Stars ID: Bay Area CA 4/23 College of San Mateo
SoCal Rising Stars Game CA 5/21 TBD
NorCal Rising Stars Game CA 6/06 Islanders Field