Chaminade, Huntington Beach to meet in NHSI championship game

Video: Hagen Danner high school highlights
Huntington Beach standout homered to help team advance to NHSI title game.

For the fourth time in five years, it will be an all-California final at the National High School Invitational in Cary, N.C.

Chaminade (West Hills, Calif.) knocked off Florence (Ala.) 8-2 in the early semifinal game Friday while Huntington Beach (Calif.) held off Allatoona (Acworth, Ga.) 3-1 in the late semifinal to advance to the championship game.

The two teams will meet at 11:30 a.m. EST on Saturday. The championship game will be broadcast on MLB.com.

This marks the fourth time that two California teams have reached the championship game. Last year, San Clemente topped College Park (Pleasant Hill) for the crown while Mater Dei (Santa Ana) defeated Harvard-Westlake (Studio City) in 2012 and 2013 for the championship.

Huntington Beach fell just short of reaching the championship last year, falling to San Clemente in the semifinals. This year, the Oilers scored three runs in the fourth inning and made those run stick for the win over Allatoona.

Cory Moore went six innings for the win, giving up one run on five hits with two strikeouts. Hagen Danner paced the offense with a solo home run.

Meanwhile Chaminade broke out to a 4-0 in the first inning and lengthened that advantage to 7-0 by the end of the second. Nick Kahle and Blake Rutherford continue to be the catalysts for Chaminade. Kahle went 2-for-3 with a double and a pair of RBIs while Rutherford was 2-for-4 with a triple and two runs scored.

Aidan Dolan got the win, going six and two-thirds innings with two earned runs on six hits and two strikeouts.

Three of the eight games on Friday went into extra innings with a fourth game ending with the winning run in the bottom of the seventh.

Walton (Marietta, Ga.) 7, Trinity Christian Academy (Jacksonville, Fla.) 3
The Raiders bounced back from their loss to Chaminade to defeat Trinity Christian Academy 7-3. Chris Rolick went five and a third innings and gave up three runs on three hits with five strikeouts for the win. Christian Furr led the offense with a 3-for-3 effort.

Flanagan (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) 4, Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) 3
The Falcons scored three runs over the final three innings, including the winning run in the bottom of the seventh, to knock off Mater Dei.

A walk to Dylan O'Connell brought home Eric Rivera for the winning run. Rivera had a double while Arrison Perez was 2-for-2 with two runs scored.

Houston (Germantown, Tenn.) 6, The First Academy (Orlando, Fla.) 5
Jack Kenley doubled home Ayrton Schafer in the bottom of the eighth to give Houston the win over The First Academy. Bridges Tipton also helped out on offense with a double and a triple.

Liberty Christian (Lynchburg, Va.) 5, North Broward Prep (Coconut Creek, Fla.) 3
The  Bulldogs scored two runs in the top of the 12th inning and held on to edge North Broward Prep in a consolation game. Zack Hess singled home Wesley Clarke for the winning run and finished with three hits, including a double, and two RBIs in the contest. Clarke and Kyle Horton also had doubles in the win, Liberty Christian's first of the tournament.

Aaron Antonini had a double and a triple for North Broward Prep.

Bingham (South Jordan, Utah) 4, Topsail (Hampstead, N.C.) 3
Colin Gordon scored the winning run in the top of the ninth to lead the Miners past host Topsail in a consolation game. Sean Keating, Logan Leatherwood and Chad Wilson all had two hits for Bingham with Wilson knocking in two runs.

Poly Prep Country Day (Brooklyn, N.Y.) 10, Rocky Mountain (Fort Collins, Colo.) 7
The Blue Devils picked up their first win of the tournament by bashing 11 hits in a victory over Rocky Mountain. Anthony Prato was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and four RBIs while Nick Storz had a triple and Tyler Wincig went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.

Saturday's schedule

Houston vs. Trinity Christian, 8 a.m.

Rocky Mountain vs. Florence, 8 a.m.

Poly Prep vs. Topsail, 8:15 a.m.

Allatoona vs. Liberty Christian, 8:30 a.m.

Flanagan vs. Walton, 11 a.m.

Bingham vs. The First Academy, 11:15 a.m.

Mater Dei vs. North Broward Prep, 11:30 a.m.

Chaminade vs. Huntington Beach, 11:30 a.m.