Area boys’ volleyball teams ousted from playoffs

The season came to an end Saturday for the Huntington Beach High boys’ volleyball team when the Oilers were swept by top-seed Mira Costa, 25-21, 25-18, 25-19, in a quarterfinal game in the CIF Southern Section Division I boys’ volleyball playoffs at Mira Costa.

Nick Siegle had 18 kills and Eric Bartlett added 14 digs for the Sea View League champion Oilers, who end their year at 27-5.

Edison also saw its dream of a Division I title halted Saturday by visiting Corona del Mar, which rallied for a 25-23, 25-18, 21-25, 27-23 victory. Senior middle blocker Nick Capriccio had a match-high 17 kills for the Chargers. Edison, the No. 3 team from the Sunset League, ended its season 21-9.

The Sea Kings are champions of the Pacific Coast League and the division’s No. 2 seed.

Golden West League champion Ocean View had its season end May 13 when Thousand Oaks defeated the host Seahawks, 25-12, 25-15, 25-18, in a Division II second-round match.

Baseball

The 2010 season also came to a close for the Huntington Beach baseball team May 13 when the Oilers failed to capitalize on opportunities and were upended by host Foothill, 7-3, in a Sea View League and regular-season finale.

The Oilers went up, 2-1, in the fourth inning on a run-scoring double by LJ Brewster. Foothill responded with a six-run rally in the bottom of the fourth, four coming on a grand slam by Chris Poplawski, to take the lead for good.

The loss left Huntington with a 7-8 league record and 13-13 overall mark and eliminated the Oilers from playoff contention.

“It is disappointing to lose, obviously, but I am proud of my kids,” Oilers Coach Benji Medure said. “We played half the season with three starters injured. We started league 1-4. To go through that adversity and have an opportunity to get into the playoffs in the last game of the season, is an accomplishment.

“There were a lot of teams playing meaningless games on Thursday (May 13), but we were not one of them. My kids battled all year to get us in that position. They are a great group of kids.”

Marina ended its year on a high note May 13 by defeating visiting Los Alamitos, 7-2, in Sunset League play. Senior Robert Chavarria hit a three-run home run to power an eight-hit attack and junior starter Jake Tillinghast earned his third win of the season for the Vikings, who ended their campaign 5-10 in league and 14-12 overall.

Fountain Valley’s season also ended May 13 when the host Barons lost, 6-4, to Sunset League foe Esperanza.

Softball

It was Senior Day for seven members of the Huntington Beach softball team May 13 when the Oilers fell in nine innings to visiting Woodbridge, 5-2. Five of those seniors — Meghan White, Lauren Stuhr, Amanda Horowitz, Courtney Dial and Cory Schlinsog — started and lettered all four years for the Oilers. The other two seniors are two-time varsity player Stephanie Breeze and first-year varsity player Kari Boyer.

Huntington took a 1-0 lead on a bases-loaded walk to Horowitz that forced home freshman Jillian Martinez. The Oilers trailed, 2-1, in the sixth when Dial singled, stole second and scored the tying run when White singled up the middle. The game went to extra-innings and Woodbridge scored three runs, two unearned, in the top of the ninth.

Horowitz went the distance in her final game as an Oiler and allowed three earned runs while striking out 13. Other Oilers with hits were freshmen Nicole Minnicucci, who went two for three and Justice Walker with a single, and Breeze, who singled.

The Oilers finished Sea View League play at 4-6 and in fourth place. At 16-12-1 overall, they received on Monday an at-large berth to the CIF Div. I playoffs. They traveled Tuesday to face Tustin of the Century League in a wild-card game.