By Robbie Loeb

At the inaugural USA Baseball National High School Invitational in Cary, N.C., the Harvard-Westlake baseball team took second place after falling in extra innings to Santa Ana Mater Dei in the championship game.

Day 1: Round of 16 vs. Russell County (Ala.) 

The Wolverines opened the four-day tournament on Wednesday with a 6-2 victory over Russell County behind two hits and two RBIs from Max Fried ’12, who plays right field when he’s not on the mound.

Jack Flaherty ’14 struck out six and walked none in the complete-game win and in 100 total pitches the right-hander threw 72 strikes.

Joe Corrigan ’13, Fried, Alex Horowitz ’13 and Arden Pabst ’13 each had two hits.

In the three-run fourth inning, Corrigan singled then stole second before Pabst’s single sent him home for the Wolverines’ first run of the game. Fried singled and Horowitz walked, then with the bases loaded Tyler Urbach ’14 singled and Ken Grodin ’13 walked to punch in the second and third runs of the inning.

The Wolverines added two runs in the fifth, when Fried singled to send Pabst home then Horowitz singled for a Fried score.

Pabst earned his second hit of the game on a seventh inning triple.

Russell County came into the first round matchup on a 17-game win streak.

 

Day 2: Quarterfinals vs. Parkview (Ga.)

Fried got the start in day two against Parkview and impressed after allowing two first-inning runs, throwing a complete game and striking out eight in the 10-3 win.

Fried tripled with an RBI, Brian Ginsburg ’14 doubled and drove in two runs and Horowitz added two hits and one RBI.

Day 3: Semifinals vs. American Heritage (Fla.) 

Hans Hansen ’12, who is normally a closer, started and threw complete-game shutout in a defensive battle with American Heritage, a 1-0 win that went two extra innings.

“I was hoping to go seven,” Hansen said to USABaseball.com. “Heck, I was hoping to go five. I would have been happy with five. I just wanted to do the best I could for my team.”

This was the third complete game for a Wolverine pitcher in as many days.

The game was scoreless until the bottom of the ninth. Flaherty bunted with one out for a hit and Pabst drew a walk, then Flaherty took third on a wild pitch and scored the game’s only run on Max Fried’s grounder to short.

Links to videos from this game via USABaseball.com:

Hidden ball trick

Hansen’s big game

Fried hits game-winner

Day 4: Championship vs. Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.)

Although the two schools are just 48 miles apart, the Wolverines and the Monarchs had to travel 2,200 miles to face off in the championship round.

The game was scheduled for 9:00 a.m. EST but due to a rain delay did not start until 12:15 p.m..

The Wolverines lost 3-2 in the eight inning after leading much of the game. Brandon Deere ’12 pitched through seven innings, but could not earn the win despite holding the lead until the bottom of the seventh.

In the first inning, a Pabst double knocked in Corrigan following Corrigan’s double for an early one-run lead.

Then in the third, Fried hit a line drive double with two outs off a high fastball, sending centerfielder Casey Rosenfeld ’13 home to put the Wolverines up 2-0. 

Mater Dei first baseman Davis Tominaga took the mound to relieve pitcher Chase Radan in the fourth inning after Radan had given up four hits and two runs. Tominaga struck out Ken Grodin ’13 and Tyler Urbach ’14 and retired Brian Ginsburg ’14.

Right-hander Brandon Deere ’12 gave up his first hit of the game in the fourth inning on a Ty Moore single. A 6-4-3 double play cleared the bases, but Mater Dei got on the board with a homer to right-center field by Ryan McMahon.

After the Monarchs’ big fourth, Moore, who threw 46 pitches in four innings two days prior, shifted from the outfield to pitcher and was effective. He struck out Rosenfeld, Corrigan grounded out and Flaherty flew out to right field for out three.

Deere regained his composure in the fifth following the home run in the fourth with a 1-2-3 inning, then in the sixth he gave up a single to right field to Austin Monte. Deere tried to pick off Monte at first but overthrew Corrigan, allowing Monte to advance to second on the error. With a runner in scoring position and one out, LaCour held a meeting at the mound to settle his pitcher down. Deere responded well, retiring the next Moore and Jeremy Martinez, preserving the 2-1 lead entering the final inning.

Moore remained on the mound in the seventh and retired Urbach, Ginsburg and Rosenfeld in quick succession.

In the bottom of the final inning, Deere needed three outs to hand the Wolverines the championship. McMahon flew out for the first out, but after that the Wolverines broke down.

Tominaga hit a solo shot to the same spot as McMahon did in the fourth to knot it up and extend the game, however, on a similar inside pitch. Following the home run, Ryan Barr hit a single up the middle and Tyler Atkinson did the same for the Monarchs’ third consecutive hit. Brandon Perez hit a single to shortstop and Atkinson was thrown out at second but Barr advanced to third on the play. Austin Perez hit a high foul ball left of third base, which Flaherty caught to stop the bleeding and enter extra innings for the second game in a row.

In the top of the eighth, Moore faced Corrigan, who hit a leadoff single up the middle. Flaherty then hit a sacrifice bunt up the first base side to advance Corrigan to second. With Corrigan in scoring position, Pabst connected on a breaking ball up 3-1 in the count but his fly ball was caught in left field. Moore intentionally walked Fried in order to face Horowitz for a righty-righty matchup and Horowitz hit one in the air to center field for out three.

Right-handed closer Alex Rand-Lewis ’12 entered the game for Deere, seeing his first action of the tournament. Monty flew out to center field then Corrigan fumbled a ground ball hit by Moore, who made it to first. Moore then stole second and Martinez was intentionally walked. Facing McMahon with one out, Rand-Lewis overthrew the pick off at second and Monty was just 90 feet from winning the game. Rand-Lewis baited McMahon on an inside overhand curveball for the strikeout, then intentionally walked Tominaga. With two outs, Barr drove a single to left field on a first-pitch curveball for the 3-2 win.

Links to videos from this game via USABaseball.com:

Pabst hits RBI double in first

Fried extends lead with RBI single

McMahon gets on board with homer

Mater Dei’s Tominaga’s solo shot to tie

Barr’s walk off single tops Wolverines