Corona High can call itself the best high school baseball team in California, if not the nation, after winning the National High School Baseball Invitational on Saturday in Cary, N.C.
The Panthers (19-2) turned to standout junior pitcher Seth Hernandez, who gave up four hits and struck out five in a 3-0 win over Orange Lutheran in the championship game.
Hernandez was backed by stellar defense from third baseman Brady Ebel and first baseman David Rivera to turn back the Lancers, who own one of the two losses inflicted on the Panthers.
Ethan Schiefelbein and Trey Ebel had RBI hits for Corona.
It was a great week for Southern California baseball after Huntington Beach and Harvard-Westlake joined Corona and Orange Lutheran as the four teams to advance to the semifinals in the 16-team national tournament. Corona and Orange Lutheran qualified for the final after walk-off wins in the semifinals.
Corona has little time to celebrate. It will return to Southern California on Sunday and begin a critical three-game Big VIII League series against rival Corona Centennial to decide the league title. Freshman Mason Sims is expected to take the mound for Corona on Monday after pitching a couple of innings earlier in the week.
Harvard-Westlake 12, Wesleyan Christian 9: James Tronstein went four for four with a home run and two RBIs to help the Wolverines finish 3-1 in North Carolina.
Knoxville (Tenn.) Farragut 5, Huntington Beach 3: The Oilers finished their trip to North Carolina at 2-2. Cole Clark had two hits and two RBIs in the loss.
Arlington 8, Capistrano Valley 2: Nick Velazquez had three hits for 18-2 Arlington.
La Mirada 7, Maranatha 0: Justin Torres had two hits and three RBIs.
Saugus 3, Narbonne 2: Kalob Haag threw 6 2/3 innings for the victory.
Los Alamitos 6, Servite 3: Jake Evans contributed two hits and two RBIs.
Calabasas 2, Santa Monica 1: The Coyotes prevailed in five innings. Nate Castellon and Calvin Sokolsky each had an RBI for Calabasas.
Sierra Canyon 12, Chatsworth 0: Former Chatsworth coach Tom Meusborn took his team to his old field. Julian Areliz had four RBIs.
JSerra 4, Granada Hills 3: The Lions scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh after an error. Justin Barnett had a double and triple for Granada Hills.
West Ranch 5, Bishop Amat 2: Landon Hu had three hits for West Ranch.