CARY, N.C. – Behind six strong innings from Matthew Lopez on the mound in which he allowed just one run on four hits, Huntington Beach High School (Huntington Beach, Calif.) secured a close 3-1 victory over McQuaid Jesuit High School (Rochester, N.Y.) in the opening round of the USA Baseball National High School Invitational (NHSI) presented by the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance.

After a quiet first inning, the Oilers scored the first run of the game with an RBI groundout from Marco Martinez that plated Brian Trujillo for a 1-0 lead they would carry into the fifth inning. The team then took a 3-0 lead when three consecutive two-out singles in the top of the fifth scored two insurance runs that would come in handy in the bottom frame as McQuaid Jesuit got on the board to make it a 3-1 game. The Oilers then held off a seventh inning rally by the Knights to secure the victory.

Aidan Espinoza and Nicholas Dumesnil paced the Huntington Beah offense in the win. Espinoza went 2-for-4 with a run scored while Dumesnil collected two of the team’s three RBIs. Taylor, Tanner DeGrazia, and Edward Hall each recorded a hit for the Knights while Aiden Stewart had the team’s only multi-hit game.

Lopez began the game with four scoreless innings for the Oilers to earn the win, while Taylor, who supplemented his production at the plate with five innings on the mound, suffered the loss after allowing two earned runs on four hits. Hunter Drake got the save after giving up just one hit and striking out one in his inning of relief.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

• Huntington Beach broke onto the scoreboard first in the contest, taking advantage of a McQuaid Jesuit miscue and a Brian Trujillo single to put runners in scoring position for Marco Martinez whose RBI groundout gave the Oilers a 1-0 lead in the top of the second.
• Back-to-back two-out singles by Cade Hart and Aiden Espinoza in the top of the fifth set things up for Nicholas Dumesnil who came through in the clutch, plating both runners with a single of his own through the left side to give Huntington Beach a 3-0 lead.
• McQuaid Jesuit scored its first run of the contest in the bottom of the fifth on a Will Taylor RBI single that brought home Connor Antonelli and made it a 3-1 game.
• Down to its final three outs, McQuaid Jesuit tried to rally in the bottom of the seventh with a single and a walk to lead things off but Huntington Beach’s Hunter Drake sat down the next three batters to eliminate the threat and secure a 3-1 victory for the Oilers.

NOTABLE INFORMATION

• Huntington Beach is looking for its second NHSI title in 2022 after winning the championship in 2016.
• Aidan Espinoza and Matthew Lopez lead the Oilers in slugging percentage (.500) and on-base percentage (.500).
• Matthew Lopez allowed just three hits and no runs in his first four innings of work on Wednesday.

ON DECK

• Huntington Beach advances to the quarterfinals of the 2022 NHSI with the win. The Oilers will face Hamilton High School (Chandler, Ariz.) on Thursday.
• McQuaid Jesuit falls into the consolation bracket with the loss. Their next opponent will be announced this evening.

SOCIAL MEDIA

• Stay tuned with all of the action at the 2022 National High School Invitational by following @USABEvents on Twitter and @USABaseball on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Fans and media can use #NHSI22 in their posts.