In the final day of the 2018 National High School Invitational (NHSI) presented by the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance and the Town of Cary, 14 teams played consolation games while Orange Lutheran High School (Orange Calif.) and Green Hope High School (Cary, N.C.) battled for the title in the championship game.
Championship Recap
Calvary Christian Defeats John Curtis, Finishes 2018 NHSI with 3-1 Record
CARY, N.C. - Calvary Christian Academy (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) wrapped up its visit to the 2018 National High School Invitational (NHSI) presented by the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance and the Town of Cary with a strong showing against John Curtis Christian School (River Ridge, LA.), earning a 3-0 win in a morning matchup.
The Eagles were led by a strong performance on the mound from Andrew Painter, who tossed all seven innings and allowed just one hit, striking out seven and walking just two.
Calvary Christian, which finishes the week with a 3-1 record, got eight hits from the lineup and put the game away in the bottom of the fifth. A double from Raynel Delgado and a single from Daley Weppner drove in a pair of runs, advancing the score to a 3-0 lead that ultimately proved to be too much.
For John Curtis, Cade Beloso was strong on the mound to close out the tournament for the Patriots. He tossed four innings of one-run ball, picking up three strikeouts along the way.
Calvary Christian finished the week with a 3-1 record while John Curtis earned a 2-2 record at the tournament.
Florence Coach Gets 400th Win with Victory Over Mater Dei
CARY, N.C. - Florence High School (Florence, Ala.) Head Coach Steve Garrett notched his 400th win in Saturday's 9-5 victory over Mater Dei High School (Santa Ana, Calif.) in a consolation game of the 2018 National High School Invitational (NHSI) presented by the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance and the Town of Cary.
Mater Dei jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the top of the first, courtesy of a leadoff walk and back-to-back RBI doubles. Alonzo Tredwell scored on a wild pitch and Grant Burton crossed the plate on a ground out.
Down 4-0 with two outs in the bottom of the first, Florence's Carson Sweetwood singled to give the Falcons their first run of the game.
Mater Dei answered right back in the top of the second with a one-out pop out to center field from Joey Yeste to extend the Monarchs' lead to 5-1.
The Falcons' bats came alive in the second and third, tallying four runs in each inning. Ben Boggus hit a 2 RBI ground ball to left field to cut the Monarch's lead to two. Zeke Bishop popped out to right field to send Boggus home and Sweetwood hit a hard grounder to right field for the game-tying run.
The final runs of the game came in the third inning. With one out, Pierce Miles singled on a fly ball to left field, scoring Sam Daniel. Ben Arnett followed with an RBI double to center field, and Bishop followed with a double to score Miles and Arnett and give the Falcons the 9-4 victory.
The Falcons finished NHSI play with a 3-1 record, while Mater Dei finished 0-4.
Pappas Tosses First No-Hitter in NHSI History to Lead Mount Carmel to Victory
CARY, N.C - On the final day of the 2018 National High School Invitational (NHSI) presented by the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance and the Town of Cary, Mount Carmel High School (Chicago, Ill.) starting pitcher Luke Pappas tossed a no-hitter to help the Caravan claim a 6-0 victory over Trinity Preparatory School (Winter Park, Fla.).
In his complete game effort, Pappas gave up no hits, no runs and just one walk while striking out seven and his dominant performance not only helped earn his team the win, but also made NHSI history. In the seven years the event has been going on, no pitcher or team has ever recorded a no-hitter.
The Caravan backed up Pappas' outing with a strong offensive showing too, jumping on the board early with two runs in the first and three in the second to take a 5-0 lead. They tacked on one more in the bottom of the fifth for a 6-0 final score.
Joey Egan led at the plate for Mount Carmel, going 2-for-3 with a RBI and a run scored. Edward Howard also went 2-for-3 with a run scored.
Trinity Prep starting pitcher Jake French took the loss, giving up four earned runs in his two innings of work.
With the win, Mount Carmel finishes the 2018 NHSI with a record of 2-2 while the Saints of Trinity prep collected a 1-3 record at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C.
George Jenkins Finishes 2018 NHSI with Win to Improve to 3-1
CARY, N.C. - It was a great end to the 2018 National High School Invitational (NHSI) presented by the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance and the Town of Cary for George Jenkins High School (Lakeland, Fla.), which picked up its third win of the tournament, defeating Santiago High School (Corona, Calif.) 5-0.
The team started the game's scoring in the top of the second inning by putting three runs on the scoreboard. A double from Brandt Sundean, who was 2-for-3 on the day, and a two RBI single from Daniel Batcher helped the Eagles jump out to an early 3-0 lead.
On the mound, starter Jackson Ross was dominant. He threw five innings, allowing just three hits and no runs, adding five strikeouts along the way without walking a batter.
Santiago had a strong showing all around but came up just short. The bullpen tossed three innings of one-run baseball, but the early lead from George Jenkins ended up being a bit too much to overcome. Brice Turang had the team's only multi-hit performance of the game, going 2-3 with a pair of singles.
George Jenkins moved to 3-1 on the week with the win and Santiago finished the 2018 NHSI 2-2.
American Heritage finishes 2018 NHSI with Extra Innings Win
CARY, N.C. - American Heritage High School (Plantation, Fla.) finished the 2018 National High School Invitational (NHSI) presented by the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance and the Town of Cary with an extra innings 4-3 defeat of Sandra Day O'Connor High School (Phoenix, Ariz.).
Sandra Day got on the board first in the top half, courtesy of a single and a bases-loaded walk but American Heritage immediately responded with three runs in the bottom half to take a 3-2 lead.
The Eagles then had an immediate response of their own, scoring one in the top of the sixth to tie the game 3-3 and eventually force extra innings.
American Heritage didn't waste any time in the bottom of the eight as the Patriots got a leadoff single by Enrique Bradfield to set up a one-out, bases-loaded situation. And Cory Acton took advantage, launching a RBI single to bring the game-winning run home and give American Heritage the 4-3 lead.
Bradfield (2-for-4, 1 run) and Acton (2-for-4, 1 RBI) both had multi-hit games and Justin Quintana went 1-for-2 with two RBI. Starting pitcher Jordan Carrion had a solid outing for the Patriots, giving up just two runs on two hits and striking out eight in 4.1 innings.
For O'Connor, Amari Bartee led the way on offense, going 1-for-2 with a RBI, a walk and a run scored. Barrett Skaugrud started on the mound for the Eagles and tossed a solid 5 innings, giving up just four hits and no earned runs.
With the win, American Heritage improved to 2-2 at the 2018 NHSI, while Sandra Day O'Connor finished the tournament with a 1-3 record.
Big Fourth Inning Propels Hanover Over Hattiesburg
CARY, N.C. - Hanover High School's (Mechanicsville, Va.) four runs in the fourth inning were the deciding factor of its 7-5 victory over Hattiesburg High School (Hattiesburg, Miss.) in a consolation game on the final day of the 2018 National High School Invitational (NHSI) presented by the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance and the Town of Cary.
Hattiesburg struck first in the bottom of the first, courtesy of a Dexter Jordan double to center field. Kameron Wells followed with a ground out to send Joe Gray Jr. across the plate. The Tigers struck once more in the inning to take a 3-0 lead.
Down by three in the top of the third, Hanover's Jack Dragum popped out to left field to score Colby Hutnan.
The Hawks' offense came alive in the fourth inning, scoring four runs. Colby Hutnan singled on a ground ball to tie the game. Cole Wallace singled on a ground ball for the Hawks' first lead of the game, and Hutnan scored on an error to give Hanover the 5-3 advantage.
The Hawks weren't done yet. In the top of the fifth, Camden Grimes scored on a balk and Hutnan tacked on a RBI single to make it a 7-3 game in favor of Hanover.
The Tigers' seventh inning rally fell short as they were only able to get one on the board. Stinson hit a two out single to the shortstop to score Joe Gray, Jr, but it was not enough.
This win was Hanover's second win of the tournament, giving them a 2-2 record. Hattiesburg finished tournament play with a 1-3 record.
Walton Records Big 12-2 Win Over Mountain Ridge on Final Day
CARY, N.C. - Walton High School (Marietta, Ga.) finished its 2018 National High School Invitational (NHSI) presented by the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance and the Town of Cary strong on Saturday afternoon, capturing an impressive 12-2 five-inning win against Mountain Ridge High School (Glendale, Ariz.). The win marked the team's third of the weekend.
Things got started quickly for the Walton offense, as the team put nine runners across the dish over the course of the first two innings. Four of the team's first five at-bats in the bottom of the first inning resulted in runs, including RBI hits from Cam Bloodworth and Justin Carr.
The day's standout performer for the Raiders was Pierce Gallo, who went 3-for-3 with a trio of doubles, a walk and two RBI.
Mountain Ridge scattered four hits over the course of the game against the duo of Brandon Nikitaides and Evan Condon for Walton. Zach Roth and Jason Harayda scored the two runs of the game for the Mountain Lions.
Mountain Ridge finishes the tournament in Cary with a 2-2 record, while Walton's win advanced them to 3-1.