Three California teams advance to National High School Invitational semifinals

Three California teams and one Florida squad advanced to the semifinals after the second day of action at the National High School Invitational in Cary, N.C.

San Clemente (Calif.) stayed undefeated at 10-0 with a win over College Station (Texas) while College Park (Pleasant Hill, Calif.) used another fine pitching performance to edge Loyalsock Township (Pa.). Meanwhile, Huntington Beach (Calif.) has been the surprise of the tournament with two easy wins after entering the event with a 2-5 record.

Mosley, which upped its record to 14-0, also advanced to the semifinals with a win over Whitewater (Ga.). Semifinal matchups have not been determined yet.

San Clemente (Calif.) 5, College Station (Texas) 3

With Triton pitcher Kolby Allard out for the next six to eight weeks, San Clemente needs the rest of the pitching staff to fill the void left by the All-American candidate. Will Tribucher did just that in the second round Thursday.

Tribucher went 6 1/3 innings and gave up three runs, one of them earned, on three hits with four strikeouts and four walks to get the win. He also came up big at the plate, batting 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored. Tanner Lawson, who got the final two outs of the game on the mound in relief of Tribucher, also went 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs.

Ryan Johnson was 2-for-2 for College Station.

Mosley (Lynn Haven, Fla.) 4, Whitewater (Fayetteville, Ga.) 2

Mosley remained undefeated on the season with a come-from-behind win.

Mosley, now 14-0, rallied for four runs in the fourth inning after Whitewater grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second inning. Sean Maddox drove in a pair of runs for Mosley while Brendan Fox and RJ Yeager each plated one run apiece.

JJ Bleday got the win for the Dolphins, giving up two earned runs on seven hits with six strikeouts and two walks in 5 1/3 innings pitched.

Whitewater fell to 9-2 with the loss.

Huntington Beach (Calif.) 6, Puyallup (Wash.) 0 The Oilers are showing that their early-season struggles might be behind them.

Hagen Danner shut out the Vikings, going seven innings and limiting Puyallup to just three hits. Danner struck out 13 batters and walked just two.

The Huntington Beach offense wasn't nearly as explosive as it was in an opening-round 13-2 win over St. Thomas Aquinas. Cooper Moore led the five-hit attack with a 2-for-3 effort.

College Park (Pleasant Hill, Calif.) 5, Loyalsock Township. (Williamsport, Pa.) 1

College Park moved into the semifinals with another strong pitching performance, this time from Chris Brown.

Brown outdueled Luke Glavin, who gave up five runs, one of them earned, in 2 2/3 innings pitched. Brown limited Loyalsock Township to just one run on five hits while striking out six and walking only one.

Like in the first round, where pitcher Joe DeMers also excelled at the plate, Brown followed suit. He went 1-for-3 with a triple and an RBI.

College Park is 5-1 on the season while Loyalsock Township fell to 1-1.

First Round - Thursday morning

College Station (Texas) 3, Trinity Prep (Winter Park, Fla.) 1

MacGregor Hines struck out 12 batters to lead College Station past Trinity Prep.

Hines also limited Trinity Prep to just one run on two hits while walking three. Ryan Olenick went the distance for Trinity Prep, giving up three runs on five hits with seven strikeouts and two walks.

Baylor Rowlett led the offensive attack for the winners, going 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs. Matthew Bennett also had a double.

Consolation Bracket

JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) 6, Horizon (Scottsdale, Ariz.) 2

JSerra Catholic bounced back from its first loss of the season to defeat Horizon.

After going scoreless in a 1-0 loss to Mosley in the first round, JSerra scored four runs in the first inning against Horizon. Royce Lewis, Sam Cohen and Ryan Pena all hit doubles in the contest with Lewis (2-for-4) and Pena (2-for-3) each getting two hits.

St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) 4, Leesville Road (Raleigh, N.C.) 2

St. Thomas Aquinas scored three runs in the first inning en route to the win. The Raiders banged out 11 hits in the win, including two each from Andrew Garcia, Nick Marchese and Kenny Hornig. Marchese also had a double while Gary Mattis had a triple.

Jordan Spicer went the distance on the mound, giving up two runs on six hits with six strikeouts and no walks.

Derrick Barnes went 2-for-3 with a double for Leesville Road while Ryan Sande also went 2-for-3 and took the loss on the mound.

Farragut (Knoxville, Tenn.) 7, Lambert (Suwanee, Ga.) 2

Farragut handed Lambert its second loss of the tournament late Wednesday thanks to a four-run rally in the first inning.

Duncan Pence went 2-for-4 and Chase Fullington went 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles to lead the Admirals to their first win of the tournament. Nico Mascia also hit a double.

Dylan Pacifico went six innings for the win. He struck out three and walked two while allowing two runs on four hits.

DeSoto Central (Southaven, Miss.) 10, Trinity Prep (Winter Park, Fla.) 0

Keegan James gave up no runs on just four hits while striking out six and walking none to even DeSoto Central's NHSI record at 1-1.

DeSoto Central's Austin Riley continues to be the top hitter in the tournament, as he went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and an RBI. In two games, Riley is 4-for-8 with three doubles and a home run.

Tre Spann, Hayden Tapper and Carson Klepzig all had doubles for DeSoto Central, which banged out 13 hits in the win.