Excellence At The Plate Tames Panthers En Route To CIF Regional Finals
Tanner Brown takes care of business on the mound, while the entire starting lineup produced back-to-back 10+ run efforts and launch a pair of home runs
The Huntington Beach Oilers (24-8-1) secure their rightful spot in the CIF Regional Championship by knocking down the Corona Panthers (24-9), 11-3, Thursday afternoon from Corona High School. This win becomes the 8th this year when scoring 10 or more runs in a contest and the second time the Oilers have prevailed versus the Panthers this year.
Rising to the occasion once again was the Oilers offense as they summoned power right out of the gates in the second with a first pitch solo home run from Maxx Hopkins, his first round tripper of the season. The junior, who is batting .556 (5-for-9) during the postseason, is now on a four-game hitting streak which is his personal best. The top of the order would help the cause the very next inning as fellow junior Ely Mason added to his team-high total in runs batted in with a sacrifice fly scoring Jared Grindlinger to make it 2-0 Oilers through three.
With early run support, starter Tanner Brown stayed locked in from the jump, striking out a total of six through five innings and inducing a pair of double plays. His only blemish came in the fifth when allowing two runs, even though they were unearned, he kept poised and evaded any deeper threat.
Prior to the bottom of the fifth, the Oilers put a stranglehold on the lead as they dropped a five spot in the road portion of the fifth to take a 7-0 advantage. Four extra-base hits set the tone as Jared Grindlinger roped an RBI triple, Dane Cunningham blasted his sixth home run of the year (second in as many games), Sol Moriyama snapping a hitless streak with a RBI double and Owen Bone collecting his first RBI triple of the season.
After a clean 1-2-3 sixth inning for reliever Jared Marchbank that included two punch outs, the Huntington Beach offense would not take a backseat to simmer down. Sending eight batters to the plate, the first five would reach on three singles, a walk and a hit by pitch. Luke Crespo's RBI single and Bone taking a pitch in the dirt and off his body, extended the Oilers lead to 9-2. After adding a run via a double play, Jason Dunham would not be denied as he lasered a double off the left field wall, scoring Crespo from third and making the lead stretch to 11-2. With this hit, every Oilers starter picked up at least one hit.
Senior Grady Ream took the ball in the seventh with plenty of insurance, retiring three of five batters faced and yielding only one run. As Corona third baseman Kobee Finnikin flew out to center fielder Mason Tapia for out 21, the Oilers dreams of a Regional Championship grow stronger leading into the final game on Saturday.
With this win, the Oilers now have scored 21 runs in the past two games and a combination of 27 hits. Two Oilers tallied multi-hit games (Grindlinger - 2, Bone - 2) and as a team, set a season-high in extra-base hits with seven.
Oilers Scoring Plays:
Top 2: Maxx Hopkins Solo Home Run (1-0 HB)
Top 3: Ely Mason Sac-Fly, Jared Grindlinger Scores (2-0 HB)
Top 5: Jared Grindlinger Triples to LF, Parker Leoff Scores (3-0 HB)
Top 5: Dane Cunningham 2-Run Home Run (5-0 HB)
Top 5: Sol Moriyama Doubles to CF, Maxx Hopkins Scores (6-0 HB)
Top 5: Owen Bone Triples to RF, Sol Moriyama Scores (7-0 HB)
Top 7: Luke Crespo Singles to LF, Ely Mason Scores (8-2 HB)
Top 7: Owen Bone Hit By Pitch, Charlie Henderson Scores (9-2 HB)
Top 7: Rex Fox Double Play, Maxx Hopkins Scores (10-2)
Top 7: Jason Dunham Doubles to LF, Luke Crespo Scores (11-2)
Stars of the Game:
Maxx Hopkins: Solo HR, 3 R
Dane Cunningham: 2-Run HR (8-game hitting streak)
Jared Grindlinger: 2-4, RBI, 2 R
Owen Bone: 2-3, 2 RBI
Tanner Brown: 5 IP, 2 R (0 ER), 6 K
Next stop, the Oilers make their way to the CIF Regional Championship game which will be on Saturday, June 6 at 1 PM. The opponent is yet to be determined as #5 La Mirada hosts #8 Cathedral Catholic on Friday at 4 PM. IF La Mirada wins, the Oilers will head back on the road, IF Cathedral Catholic wins, the Oilers will get one last home game in 2026. Either way, you'll be able to listen to all the CIF Regional Playoff action on hbhsathletics.mixlr.com with the "Voice of the Oilers" Dominick Lorenz, with the pregame show at 12:45 PM, followed by first pitch at 1:00 PM (projected times).
LISTEN TO HUNTINGTON BEACH VS. CORONA PANTHERS HIGHLIGHTS HERE (CLICK IMAGE BELOW):
