Reigning CIF-SS champs Huntington Beach sinks Los Alamitos baseball at home

LOS ALAMITOS >> Los Alamitos High School had a tough afteoon at home on Wednesday against reigning CIF Southe Section Division 1 champion Huntington Beach in Sunset League play.

The Griffins, ranked No. 9 in the CIF-SS poll, fell behind early and lost their starting center fielder in the process as the Oilers, who are ranked No. 4, held on for a 4-2 victory. The loss ends a seven-game wiing streak for Los Alamitos (10-4, 3-1) and is the fifth consecutive win for Huntington Beach (12-5, 2-1).

Huntington Beach ace Nick Pratto tossed a three-hit complete game by limiting the Griffin offense to weak contact. The junior induced 12 ground ball outs and only five balls left the infield.

In the top of the first iing the Oilers took the lead with a two-out rally. Pratto reached on an error and took second on a passed ball. Junior Hagen Daer drove an 0-2 pitch over the left-center field fence. On the play, Los Alamitos center fielder Jack Keller ran into the fence trying to track down the home run. The senior injured his ankle, was carted off of the field and was taken to a local hospital for observation.

“He’s the heart and soul of this team, especially defensively,” Los Alamitos coach Matt Nuez said. “Losing him took the wind out of our sails, but the team responded.”

Los Alamitos starting pitcher Kyle Mora scattered seven hits over six iings with two eaed runs. Huntington Beach padded its lead in the third iing with a sacrifice fly from senior Landon Silver, but the Griffins got on the board in the bottom of the iing.

Junior Mike Townsend led off with a walk and senior Brett Corwin moved him to third with a single. Junior Josh Agnew drove in Townsend with a sacrifice bunt up the first base line to make it 3-1, but after a fly out, Corwin was thrown out trying to steal third base to end the iing. It was the second time Los Alamitos ended an iing on the base paths.

“We run aggressively and I’ll never be angry at competitive mistakes,” Nuez said. “The Sunset League isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. I’ll take my chances with us. These kids are ready for the grind.”

Long Beach State commit Dominic Abbadessa helped drive in another run for the Oilers thanks to a fourth-iing single and a Griffin error. Townsend cut the lead to 4-2 with a one-run home run in the fifth iing.

Los Alamitos will visit Marina on Friday to continue Sunset League play before hosting No. 1 JSerra Catholic in a nonleague doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. on Saturday.

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