CARY, N.C.-- Winder-Barrow (Ga.) knocked off defending champion Huntington Beach (Calif.) 3-1 in 10 innings Wednesday, making the biggest waves on opening day of the 2017 National High School Invitational.
Bulldogs lefthander Daniel Buice threw eight innings, using 103 pitches to out-duel USA Baseball national team veteran Nick Pratto and keep Winder-Barrow in the game. He allowed just five hits and a walk while striking out four.
"When I woke up this morning, I got a feeling," Buice said. "They're human beings just like us. So what, they've got draft prospects; yeah, great for them. I loved going out there and putting it right back at them. I enjoyed every moment of that." Pratto pitched 9.1 innings, striking out nine, but gave up two runs in the ninth as the Bulldogs rallied with a Beau Hanna single, an RBI double to right by Zach Smith and an RBI single by Darren Woodall, who also finished the game on the mound for Winder-Barrow to earn the victory.
The rest of Wednesday's first-round action:
Dana Hills (Calif.) 4, Cullman (Ala.) 3
Top 2017 draft prospects Hans Crouse and Jacob Heatherly were the marquee attractions, but it was more unheralded players who made the difference in the matchup between Dana Hills (Calif.) High and Cullman (Ala.). Jeremy Ciolek hit the tiebreaking RBI double and Thomas Van Hoomissen made a diving catch in right field to end the game, lifting Dana Hills over Cullman 4-3 on Wednesday afternoon.
Crouse and Heatherly each pitched 5.1 innings. Crouse, ranked No. 31 on BA's draft Top 100, struck out nine and retired seven of his last nine to earn the victory. Heatherly gave up two hits and four runs, hitting three batters and walking four while striking out six. "I just wasn't feeling it today," Heatherly said. "It wasn't one of my days, so I just tried to compete and fight through."
South Hills (West Covina, Calif.) 2, Brother Rice (Chicago) 0
South Hills High scored only two runs in the first inning against Brother Rice (Chicago) on Wednesday afternoon, but behind a strong start from senior lefty Karlos Morales, that's all they would need in a 2-0 victory.
Leadoff hitter and shortstop Jacob Amaya, a Cal State Fullerton commit, started it off with a single in the top of the first, stole second and later scored on a single by John Dearth to right. Dearth, a San Diego State commit who is a righthanded pitcher and first baseman normally but the DH Wednesday, scored when Morales singled right behind him out of the cleanup spot.
A Long Beach State commit, Morales plowed through four hitless innings and wound up allowing two hits and a pair of walks in 5.2 innings while striking out five. Senior Andres Alvarez got the final four outs, including a strikeout in the sixth to escape a first-and-third jam. They out-dueled Illinois commit Ryan Kutt, who tossed a complete game for Brother Rice while allowing one walk and striking out nine. South Hills advances to play top-ranked Archbishop McCarthy on Thursday.
Canterbury School (Fort Myers, Fla.) 7, Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.) 0
Three righthanders combined on a shutout as Canterbury School opened its first NHSI appearance with a victory. Sam Keating started, and the Clemson commit showed a low-90s fastball in four innings, walking one and striking out four. He added a sacrifice fly RBI at the plate. Cooper Swanson (a Florida State signee) got the next five outs, walking the bases loaded but getting two strikeouts, before junior Danny Cunningham got the final four outs.
Hamilton left 10 runners on base while Canterbury scored all seven of its runs with two outs, including four two-out RBI hits.
Orange (Calif.) Lutheran 7, Merritt Island (Fla. ) 3
On a team heavy with upperclassmen, a freshman reserve notched the big hit for Orange (Calif.) Lutheran in its NHSI opener. Elijah Buries delivered a pinch-hit, go-ahead RBI single to start a four-run fourth inning, and the Lancers rallied past Merritt Island (Fla.) for a 7-3 victory. Buries' single up the middle snapped a 3-3 tie and gave the Lancers the lead for good. Orange Lutheran batted around in the fourth inning with Hanoian, Caleb Ricketts and Zach Busalacchi adding RBI knocks of their own.
Overall the Lancers pounded out 12 hits on the day. Hanoian went 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored; Zach Lew went 2-for-4 with two runs; Garrett Mitchell went 1-for-3 with two runs and a stolen base; and Ricketts drove in three.
American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.) 10, Rocky Mountain (Fort Collins, Colo.) 0
American Heritage High (Plantation, Fla.) senior righthander Christian Santana worked a seven-inning complete-game shutout, striking out 11 and thoroughly dominating Rocky Mountain High (Fort Collins, Colo.).
Santana walked only one batter-with two outs in the seventh-and gave up just four hits. His fastball sat 88-91 mph, and he also showed a snap curveball at 74-77 and threw a few changeups that ranged 82-84.
Several scouts were in attendance to see American Heritage senior Mark Vientos, who went 4-for-5, and junior Triston Casas, who was 2-for-5 and drove in Vientos with the first run with a first-pitch double to the right center field gap in the first. But when Santana was on the mound, there were a phalanx of radar guns behind him.
Archbishop McCarthy (Southwest Ranches, Fla.) 3, Arlington (Tenn.) 1
Archbishop McCarthy High (Southwest Ranches, Fla.) righthander Joe Perez didn't have his best stuff Wednesday against Arlington (Tenn.) High in the second game of the 2017 National High School Invitational, but it didn't matter.
Perez, who is Baseball America's No. 42 overall draft prospect, worked three innings on 67 pitches as McCarthy topped Arlington 3-1. Perez sat 91-93 with his fastball, scattering a few 94s and touching 95 once during the outing, while also utilizing an upper 70s/lower 80s slider. Archbishop McCarthy ranks No. 1 on the Baseball America/BCA Top 25 rankings.
Right fielder Adan Fernandez paced McCarthy offensively, going 2-for-3 with a solo homer in the second inning that sparked a three-run inning, and a screaming double off the bottom of the left field fence in the sixth.
Alex Toral, the No. 55 overall draft prospect, went 1-for-3 and a hit-by-pitch after seeing a steady diet of breaking balls from Arlington senior lefty Blake Dallas, who gave his team 6.2 innings and 100 pitches.
Trinity Christian (Jacksonville, Fla.) 2, Hough (Charlotte) 1
Trinity righthander A.J. Labas struck out 13 to lead the Conquerors to a 2-1 walk-off victory against Hough High in the first game of Wednesday's action in the NHSI.
Labas threw 72 of his 92 pitches for strikes, with a fastball up to 92, using his changeup as a successful out pitch to both righties and lefties. He allowed one unearned run on six hits, walking none.
He dueled Huskies lefthander Nicholas Swiney, a North Carolina State signee, who kept his team in the game through three errors. Swiney couldn't get past the two miscues that drove in runs for Trinity Christian, including the final play that saw a leadoff walk come around after a sacrifice bunt and an infield error to end the contest. Swiney allowed two unearned runs on just two hits with two walks and four strikeouts.
Contributing: Alexis Brudnicki, Carlos Collazo, Kyle Glaser, Vince Lara-Cinisomo

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