This week began with Orange Lutheran having played in only four baseball games while others had played in 10 or more. The Lancers were saving their best to come and it certainly showed when they won four consecutive games to capture the National High School Invitational on Saturday in Cary, N.C.
After needing consecutive walk-off hits to win in the quarterfinals and semifinals, Orange Lutheran (7-1) had more nerve-racking moments before knocking off defending champion Venice (Fla.) 7-6. In the bottom of the seventh, Venice put two runners on with two outs before Anthony Tomminelli got a strikeout to secure the win.
Orange Lutheran started fast with a two-run triple by CJ Weinstein in the first inning. Eric Zdunek finished with two hits and two RBIs while Brady Murrietta added two hits. The Lancers have about 24 hours to celebrate because next week they face St. John Bosco in a critical three-game series in the Trinity League.
Harvard-Westlake 10, Arizona Casteel 8: Jake Kim flexed his muscles for the second consecutive game, hitting a home run and double to finish with three RBIs. Ethan Price had a two-run double. Freshman Nate Englander had two hits and three RBIs.
Jacksonville (Fla.) Trinity Christian 5, St. John Bosco 0: The Braves return home from North Carolina with a 9-2 record and set to face Orange Lutheran this week in a three-game Trinity League series. Jack Champlin had two hits in the loss.
Aquinas 4, Gloucester 0: Eli Martinez threw the shutout with seven strikeouts.
There are All-Star teams. Then there’s Sierra Canyon’s boys’ basketball team, made up of two McDonald’s All-Americans, a former Trinity League MVP, a star guard from North Carolina and several other newcomers that complete a nine-man rotation that no one in Southern California has been able to beat.
Coach Andre Chevalier pushes the buttons and has so much depth that it gives him the kind of options any coach would welcome. About the only question regarding the Trailblazers has been with so many top players, would they be unselfish enough to share the ball with teammates?
The answer is a resounding yes. The Trailblazers (27-1) won their first Southern Section Open Division title since the pandemic season of 2020 on Saturday night, defeating Mission League rival Harvard-Westlake 59-53 at Toyota Arena in Ontario.
Maxi Adams of Sierra Canyon celebrates the Open Division championship.
(Steve Galluzzo)
Harvard-Westlake kept battling despite trailing by 11 points at halftime. They trailed 56-53 with 19 seconds left after a three by Joe Sterling. The Trailblazers were able to clinch victory thanks to one free throw from JJ Sati-Grier and two from Brannon Martinsen. Martinsen finished with 18 points, Brandon McCoy had 13 points and Maxi Adams had 12 points.
“This group has been amazing,” Chevalier said. “It’s been one of the best seasons, maybe ever.”
Said Harvard-Westlake coach David Rebibo: “I thought they made some big shots in big moments, but I’m incredibly proud of our fight.”
No opponent had finished within 13 points of Sierra Canyon over the last month, and Chevalier gave credit to Rebibo and the Wolverines for taking them to the brink.
“David Rebibo is a heck of a coach,” he said. “No matter what roster we have, he always manages to have an elite team every year.”
Sterling finished with 18 points and Pierce Thompson scored 15 points.
Sierra Canyon has reached peak form. One curiosity was seeing how well the Trailblazers would fare leaving their comfortable home court in Chatsworth to play in an arena setting. But there was little difference.
More important is Sierra Canyon’s depth, which was put on display with seven minutes left in the fourth quarter after McDonald’s All-American McCoy picked up his fourth foul and went to the bench with a 45-39 lead. Over the next 2½ minutes, Sierra Canyon’s lead expanded to 12 points, aided by threes from Sati-Grier, a sophomore guard from North Carolina, and Martinsen, who was the Trinity League MVP two years ago at Mater Dei. That’s the challenge in trying to topple the Trailblazers — there’s always someone ready to step forward to deliver.
Now the Trailblazers can get ready to be the No. 1 seed in the Southern California Open Division regional playoffs, with an opportunity to advance to the state championship game in Sacramento in two weeks. The team looks focused, and even if one or two top players are off their games, the magic of being nine deep is knowing there’s always someone ready to come to the rescue.
Chevalier, though, wondered, “Can we stay hungry?”
McCoy answered that he’s “starving” for a state championship in the postgame news conference, which made his coach smile.
It’s been pretty clear for more than a month that Sierra Canyon has separated itself, and it will take a major upset to halt the Trailblazers’ clear path to Sacramento.
