Clovis, The First Academy reach 2014 NHSI final

Clovis and The First Academy will meet in the championship game of the National High School Invitational on Saturday after winning two games each during a long slate of games Thursday in Cary, N.C.

Clovis defeated Gainesville in the quarterfinals and Coral Springs Christian in the semifinals to advance while The First Academy topped Dyer County in the quarterfinals and Regis Jesuit in the semifinals.

A total of 15 games were played Thursday. Following is a brief rundown of each game:

Clovis (Calif.) 6, Coral Springs Christian 4
Clovis built a 6-0 lead and held off a late rally by Coral Springs Christian to advance to the championship game. Jacob Gatewood was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and McCarthy Tatum drove in a pair of runs for Clovis.

The First Academy (Orlando, Fla.) 6, Regis Jesuit 2
The First Academy scored three times in the first inning, benefiting mostly from a wild pitch, in beating Regis Jesuit. Adam Haseley was 2-for-2 with two runs scored while Foster Griffin was 2-for-2 with two runs, two RBIs and a double. Trenton Fiscus also knocked in a pair of runs. Max George was 3-for-4 for Regis Jesuit.

Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.) 2, Venice (Fla.) 0
Mac Marshall allowed just four hits and kept Venice scoreless to even Parkview's record at 1-1. Marshall struck out six and walked just one in the win. Parkview had just two hits, but got RBIs from Brandon Hill and JP Chamblee in the fourth inning to score both runs.

Dyer County (Newbern, Tenn.) 3, Gainesville (Ga.) 1
Adam Shell went 3-for-3 with a double and an RBI to lead Dyer County to a win over Gainesville. Trysten Barlow struck out eight in gaining the win

Milton (Ga.) 2, Mountain Pointe (Phoenix) 1
Dalon Farkas went 1-for-2 with an RBI, a double and a run scored to spark Milton past Mountain Pointe.

Coral Springs Christian (Fla.) 4, Huntsville (Ala.) 2
Coral Springs Christian scored two runs in the sixth inning to break a 2-2 tie and advance. Pemron Burrows, James Buckley and Joey Depalo each had two hits with Burrows driving in two runs. Zac Newmann had two hits for Huntsville. Eric Hepple got the win, giving up two runs on five hits with five strikeouts.

Milton (Ga.) 3, Aliso Niguel (Aliso Viejo, Calif.) 2
Milton held off a late rally by Aliso Niguel to gain its first win of the tournament. Matt Geiger gained the win, giving up two runs on four hits with five strikeouts. Alec Cease had a double for Milton while Ryan Gridley and Alec Miller each had two hits.

Clovis (Calif.) 1, Gainesville (Ga.) 0
McCarthy Tatum limited Gainesville to no runs on four hits with eight strikeouts to give Clovis its second win of the tournament. Alan Crowley scored the only run of the game in the fifth inning on an RBI by Matt Sparks.

ThunderRidge (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) 9, Roberson (Asheville, N.C.) 7
Roberson had a better offensive outing compared to its tournament opener, but the hosts still fell in the second round. ThunderRidge scored five runs in the second inning to build a 6-2 lead. Josh Brown came through with a 3-for-4 effort that included three runs scored and three RBIs. He also had a pair of doubles while Brody Westmoreland and AJ Jones had one each. Braxton Davidson was 2-for-5 with an RBI while Garrett Blaylock was 2-for-5 with two RBIs for Roberson.

Bishop Verot (Fort Myers, Fla.) 4, Orange Lutheran (Calif.) 2
Bishop Verot bounced back from a tournament-opening loss by scoring three runs in the first inning. Christian Hammond was 3-for-3, including an RBI single in the first inning. Danny Tufariello and Evan Dougherty added a pair of hits.

Regis Jesuit (Aurora, Colo.) 8, Mountain Pointe (Phoenix) 4
Regis Jesuit picked up its second win with an 11-hit attack that included three-hit efforts by Matt Schmidt and Quin Cotton. Cotton drove in three runs while Schmidt scored three times. Cotton, Schmidt, Jack Brett and Max George each had a double in the win. For Mountain Pointe, Cole Tucker had a double and an RBI while Ernie De La Trinidad was 2-for-4.

The First Academy 2, Dyer County (Newbern, Tenn.) 0
One day after bashing 19 hits, Dyer County was limited to a pair of singles. Adam Haseley picked up the win, giving up no runs and striking out nine with only two walks. Chadwick Word led The First Academy with a 3-for-4 effort while Trenton Fiscus was 2-for-2 with an RBI.

Aliso Niguel (Aliso Viejo, Calif.) 8, ThunderRidge 1
Kyle Molnar limited ThunderRidge to one run on three hits with nine strikeouts. He also went 3-for-3 with a double and three RBIs. Anthony Sommer added a 3-for-4 effort with a double and four RBIs while Blake Sabol was 2-for-4 with three runs scored.

Venice (Fla.) 4, Orange Lutheran 1
Venice used a three-run rally in the fourth inning to hand Orange Lutheran its third loss of the tournament. Michael Rivera was 2-for-3 with a double while Ryan Miller and Trevor Holloway each had one RBI for the Indians.

Bishop Verot 8, Roberson 2
Roberson lost for the third time in the tournament as it managed only two hits against Bishop Verot. Evan Dougherty had a big game for the winners as he went 3-for-3 with an RBI, a double and triple and four runs scored. In addition, Jeff Passantino went 4-for-4 with two RBIs and Christian Hammond knocked in three runs.