Prep baseball: Orange Lutheran wins national tournament title
This week started with Orange Lutheran having played only four baseball games while others had played 10 or more. The Lancers were saving their best and it certainly showed when they won four straight games to win the National High School Invitational on Saturday in Cary, North Carolina.
After needing back-to-back hits to win in the quarterfinals and semifinals, Orange Lutheran (7-1) had an even more trying time before defeating defending champion Venice (Fla.) 7-6. In the bottom of the seventh, Venice put two runners on with two outs before Anthony Tomminelli got a strikeout to secure the win.
Orange Lutheran started quickly with a two-run triple from CJ Weinstein in the first inning. Eric Zdunek finished with two hits and two RBIs while Brady Murrietta added two hits. The Lancers have about 24 hours to celebrate because next week they will face St. John Bosco in a critical three-game Trinity League series.
Harvard-Westlake 10, Arizona Casteel 8: Jake Kim flexed his muscles for the second straight game, hitting a home run and a double to finish with three RBIs. Ethan Price hit a two-run double. Freshman Nate Englander had two hits and three RBIs.
Jacksonville (Fla.) Trinity Christian 5, St. John Bosco 0: The Braves return from North Carolina with a 9-2 record and are scheduled to face Orange Lutheran this week in a three-game Trinity League series. Jack Champlin had two hits in the loss.
Thomas Aquinas 4, Gloucester (NJ) 0: Eli Martinez pitched the shutout with seven strikeouts.
