Prep sports roundup: Norco serves notice of its baseball talent with win over No. 1 St. John Bosco

The opening day of the 16-team Boras Classic on Tuesday was the perfect opportunity for Norco High to demonstrate that it’s a serious candidate to win the Southern Section Division 1 baseball championship.

A 3-2 win over No. 1-ranked St. John Bosco proved the 13-1 Cougars are the real deal.

“This is really a big win for us,” said Norco pitcher Jacob Melendez, who picked up the save with a scoreless seventh.

Landon Hovermale of Norco threw six innings on Tuesday in a 3-2 win over St. John Bosco at the Boras Classic.

(Nick Koza)

As if Norco didn’t have enough talent, Melendez and catcher Codey Brown became eligible last month after sitting out the first part of their junior season following their transfers from Paloma Valley and Ayala, respectively. Melendez has hit three home runs in four games since becoming eligible and Brown is also contributing.

“It was difficult,” Melendez said.

He used practices to prepare and stay positive even though he couldn’t play.

“He’s pretty good,” coach Gary Parcell said.

Both teams went to left-handers to start the game, with Norco’s Landon Hovermale taking on St. John Bosco’s Griffin Tagliaferri. There was no scoring until the bottom of the fourth. That’s when an error opened the door for the Cougars to take a 2-0 lead. Jordan Ayala hit an RBI double and Elijah Alvarez added a sacrifice fly.

An RBI single by Zion Martinez made it 3-0. St. John Bosco closed to 3-2 in the sixth on RBI doubles from Jack Champlin and Jhett Ohira. Then Melendez came in to close out the win.

Now the Cougars are no longer under the radar.

“That’s what we want,” Melendez said. “We want the target behind our backs.”

Orange Lutheran 13, Fountain Valley 1: The Lancers scored nine runs in the fourth inning to win by mercy rule after five innings. Marcus Greis had a two-run single and CJ Weinstein finished with two RBIs. The Lancers will play Gahr on Wednesday at 3 p.m. at JSerra.

JSerra 5, Corona 0: Otto Graham struck out 12 and threw a two-hit shutout. Joey Koenig had three hits and Blake Bowen hit a two-run home run. JSerra will host Aquinas in the 6 p.m. quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Mater Dei 5, Newport Harbor 2: Ezekiel Lara had a home run and Brady Guth had two hits and two RBIs for the Monarchs. Kai Bratton struck out eight in 6 2/3 innings. Mater Dei will host Ayala in a 6 p.m. quarterfinal on Wednesday.

Los Osos 1, Huntington Beach 0: Kyle Humphrey threw a two-hit shutout to outduel Cayden Hammond, who struck out eight and gave up one hit in 6 1/3 innings. Los Osos scored its only run in the top of the seventh on an RBI single by Dominic Rodriguez. Los Osos will play Norco on Wednesday at 3 p.m. at Mater Dei.

Gahr 11, Patrick Henry 1: Andres Gonzalez had four hits for Gahr.

Aquinas 7, Arcadia 4: Max Lopez had two hits and four RBIs in the Boras Classic opener.

Ayala 13, Corona Centennial 6: Jaden Valenzuela hit a grand slam to lead 13-1 Ayala.

Agoura 4, Calabasas 1: Tyler Sterling homered and Cooper Stutler struck out five in five innings.

West Ranch 2, Camarillo 1: Orlando Gutierrez struck out seven in six innings and Ty Diaz drove in the go-ahead run.

Katella 4, Fullerton 2: Ben Villela homered for Katella. Caleb Brown had three hits for Fullerton.

Maranatha 12, Westlake 0: Dylan Hoang gave up two hits in five innings and Bryce Geeting contributed three hits and four RBIs for Maranatha.

Santa Barbara 5, Saugus 4: Jetner Welch hit a two-run walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh for Santa Barbara.

Harvard-Westlake 17, St. Joseph 0: Drew Rico hit a three-run home run and Ira Rootman and Louis Lappe each had two hits and two RBIs for the Wolverines.

Servite 13, Capistrano Valley 9: Tommy Hauben, John Sullivan, Jaden Liu and Eli Rubel each had two hits for Servite.

Cypress 2, La Habra 1: In the 13th inning, Cypress finally scored to pull out the victory on an error following a single by Tyler Vladic. Landon Smith threw five scoreless and hitless innings of relief after Drew Slevcore went the first eight innings. Angel Acuna gave up one run in 8 1/3 innings for La Habra.

Bishop Alemany 3, Nevada Sierra Vista 0: Noel Barrientos threw six innings and Chase Stevenson had three hits for the 11-4 Warriors. Brody Thompson and Mikey Martinez each had two hits.

Birmingham 12, Taft 1: Larkin Fleming had three hits and four RBIs. Carlos Acuna struck out 10 in five innings.

Softball

Anaheim Canyon 4, Garden Grove Pacifica 3: The Comanches rallied for four runs in the bottom of the seventh, getting the winning run on a passed ball. Leyla Ayers contributed three hits for Pacifica.

Murrieta Mesa 13, Murrieta Valley 0: The unbeaten Rams (17-0) received three hits apiece from Finlee Angle and Jaylene Guadagnolo in the five-inning victory.