Baseball Roundup: Oilers have work to do

After rain delayed the start to the season for several local prep baseball teams, the locals finally got their respective seasons underway in the past week.

Huntington Beach played three games over a three-day period, and went 2-1 in the process. The Oilers, ranked 10th in CIF Southern Section Division 1, won their opener, 7-2, Friday against Foothill, came back Saturday to play at JSerra and lost, 11-8, to the Lions (No. 5, Division 1), and bounced back Monday to defeat visiting Palm Desert (No. 5, Division 3), 3-1.

Senior infielder Jesse Kuet turned in big performances in all three games where he went a combined six for nine with three doubles and five RBIs. Junior pitcher Noah Davis threw five scoreless innings to earn the win against Foothill, and senior pitcher Andrew Arledge allowed one run and got the win and sophomore Logan Pouelsen earned the save in the win over Palm Desert.

“We have played so many games in the winter that I expected us to be in mid-season form right away,” Huntington Coach Benji Medure said. “I was wrong. We were shaky against Foothill and JSerra, but we found our stride against a very tough Palm Desert team. Hopefully, we can keep it going one game at a time.”

The Oilers (2-1) started play Wednesday at the Newport Elks Tournament, taking on Orange Lutheran. The score wasn’t available at press time. The tournament continues Friday.

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•Fountain Valley played its first game of the season March 6, and scored a 10-4 win over host El Toro in an opening round game of the Loara Tournament. Seniors Junior Aguilar, Dillon Persinger, Justin Brand and junior Justin Navarro each had two hits for the Barons.

“We’ve had to piece together our pitching over the first couple of weeks until some guys get healthy,” Fountain Valley Coach Deric Yanagisawa said. “We’ve had some guys step up and give us some quality innings. Offensively, these were the best at-bats we’ve had in a long time. Our guys used the middle of the field all night. It was nice to see us make some adjustments against a quality pitcher.”

The Barons, ranked sixth in CIF Southern Section Division 1, picked up their second tournament victory Saturday by edging Pacifica, 3-2. Senior pitcher Scott Schultz, whom Yanagisawa said “gave us six huge innings,” took the win. Navarro earned his first save.

“He threw 75% strikes and was able to throw all three pitches for strikes,” Yanagisawa said of Schultz. “He was very good for us. Junior Aguilar had a clutch, two-out hit to drive in the go-ahead run. He has been good for us so far.”

Fountain Valley continues Loara Tournament play Thursday and the tourney wraps on Saturday.

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•Marina also is vying for the Loara Tournament title. The Vikings opened with a 5-0 shut out of visiting Artesia Friday. Sophomore right-hander Riley Ohl threw four innings and struck out one to get his first varsity win. Shadi Asad threw three innings of relief and struck out seven.

Junior Tyler Mathews drove in a run in the first inning and seniors Landon Marshall and Jake Maisano, sophomore Griffin Hennessey and junior Danny Jasperson all singled for the Vikings.

In its second tournament game played Saturday at Glover Park in Anaheim, Marina committed eight errors and was edged by El Dorado, ranked ninth in CIF Southern Section Division 1, 1-0.

“In order for us to win, we must improve in every aspect of our game,” Marina Coach Bob Marshall said. “A lot of our young players are learning as we progress through the games. I have seen many of our players to start to step up to the challenge and improve their game.

The Vikings continue Newport Elks Tournament play Thursday and Friday.

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Ocean View traveled to Laguna Beach Tuesday for a Newport Elks Tournament game. The Seahawks lost, 2-0.

Ocean View on Monday took a 4-3 decision from visiting Sunny Hills. Junior Michael Giacone doubled among two hits and scored twice, junior Christian Adams and sophomore Braydon Salzman both had a hit and RBI, sophomore Brian Schlosser doubled, and sophomore Ben Myers and freshman Joseph Romero both singles in the win.

The Seahawks started the Newport Elks Tournament March 6 and defeated host Troy, 2-1. Salzman, who started on the mound and threw three innings, went two for two. Schlosser and senior Dustin Fisher each had a hit and RBI and sophomore Brandon Nicholson threw the final four innings and notched his first pitching win.

In a tournament game Saturday, Ocean View was edged, 3-2, by host La Serna. Salzman and junior Jett Volo each had two hits.

Ocean View returns to tournament action Friday. The Seahawks start play Monday in the Rancho Cucamonga Cougar Classic. They play host to El Rancho at 3:15 p.m.

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Edison was an 8-1 winner March 5 over Dana Hills. Senior shortstop Brian Schales homered and doubled, walked twice, drove in three runs and scored twice, and senior designated hitter Parker Quenneville went two for three and scored twice. Sophomore pitcher Kaz Akamatsu allowed only two hits and an unearned run in four innings pitch and recorded his first varsity victory.

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CIF Weekly Rankings

Baseball: Fountain Valley (No. 6, Division 1); Huntington Beach (No. 10, Division 1).