Huntington Beach baseball hits Foothill with powerful punch in CIF-SS quarterfinals – Orange County Register

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SANTA ANA >> When the 2022 high school baseball season got underway, Huntington Beach coach Benji Medure figured offense would be the team’s strength.

As the season unfolded, however, the majority of the Oilers’ victories came in close, low-scoring affairs.

Then, from late April through the playoffs, the Oilers have displayed the power Medure always knew they had.

Huntington Beach’s latest offensive surge came in a 12-5 victory over Foothill in the quarterfinals of the CIF-SS Division 1 playoffs Friday at Foothill High School.

The Oilers (21-8) will host Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks in the semifinals Tuesday afternoon.

After a bye in the first round of the playoffs, the Oilers have scored a total of 25 runs in two playoff games and 57 runs over their past five games overall.

Five of the Oilers ’10 hits Friday against the Knights (20-10) were for extra bases, including a three-run home run by Dean Carpenter and a three-run homer by Ralph Velazquez, who finished with five RBIs.

“That was the one thing I thought we were going to be able to do is score a lot of runs,” Medure said. “It was only a matter of time before these guys started to hit, so now it’s starting to happen at the right time.”

Carpenter’s shot came in the top of the first inning and was a sign of what was to come for the Oilers.

A two-run single from Velazquez in the second made the score 5-0, and the Oilers added one more run in the third on Jackson Brummett’s sacrifice fly, which scored Trent Grindlinger.

In the Knights ‘half of the third, Aiden Taurek belted a three-run home run to cut the Oilers’ lead in half.

But the Oilers weren’t close to being done, adding a run in the fourth and a run in the fifth before Velazquez’s homer highlighted a four-run sixth.

“I was looking for something off-speed and he hung a changeup right down the middle and I took advantage of it,” Velazquez said.

The offensive standouts for the Oilers included Grindlinger, who scored three runs, and Brad Navarro, who went 2 for 3 with two runs scored.

When the Oilers stole a base and attempted to sacrifice a runner to third with a seven-run lead in the seventh, it drew a negative reaction from some Foothill coaches and fans.

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