The competition on the baseball and softball diamonds will continue despite high schools having spring breaks over the next couple of weeks.
Corona, the consensus No. 1 high school baseball team in the nation, headlines a group of five Inland squads competing at this week’s Boras California South Classic with opening-round games scheduled for Tuesday.
The Panthers (7-0) opens with Gahr at 9 a.m. at JSerra High School in San Juan Capistrano. Corona was the Boras Classic runner-up last season.
Aquinas, Ayala, Paloma Valley, Vista Murrieta are the other Inland squads included in the 16-team field this season.
Aquinas (5-0) opens with Huntington Beach at 9 a.m. at Mater Dei High in Santa Ana. Huntington Beach is ranked No. 3 in the nation by Maxpreps.com.
Ayala (6-3) faces tourney co-host Mater Dei at 6 p.m. Mater Dei is the defending champion and ranked No. 7 in the nation by MaxPreps.
Paloma Valley (7-2) takes on Santa Margarita at noon at JSerra. Santa Margarita was ranked No. 5 in the nation by MaxPreps but lost twice last week.
Vista Murrieta (7-1-1) opens against Maranatha at 6 p.m. at JSerra.
CAREW CLASSIC
Several of the top high school softball teams in Southern California will be competing in the Michelle Carew Classic in Orange County from April 2-5.
Most games will take place on the three fields at Peralta Canyon Park in Anaheim, with a few others at nearby Yorba Regional Park and Canyon High School.
Norco, No. 7 in the most recent MaxPreps.com national rankings, leads a group of seven Inland teams in this year’s tournament. The Cougars (12-1) square off against Esperanza at 1 p.m. at Peralta Canyon Park. Norco was last year’s co-champion because the tournament’s final day was rained out.
The other Inland teams in the 32-team field this season are Chino Hills, Grand Terrace, Great Oak, King, Roosevelt and Vista Murrieta.
Opening-round games are scheduled for Wednesday, April 2.
Inland teams scheduled to open at Peralta Canyon Park:
Roosevelt (6-4-1) vs. tournament host Canyon, at 11 a.m.
Vista Murrieta (6-5) vs. Rosary, 1 p.m.
Great Oak (6-3-1) vs. Capistrano Valley, 1 p.m.
Chino Hills (8-5) vs. Los Alamitos, 3:15 p.m.
Grand Terrace (6-3) vs. Orange Lutheran, 5:30 p.m.
Inland teams scheduled to open at Canyon High School:
King (7-4) vs. Marina, 3:15 p.m.
NORCO HOSTING DARRYL KILE MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT
The Norco baseball program once again in hosting the Darryl Kile Memorial Tournament, with this year’s event taking place April 2-5.
This year’s tournament features six teams — Bonita, Great Oak, Norco, Paloma Valley, Santiago and Temecula Valley — with each team playing four games.
Games will be played at noon, 3 p.m., and 6 p.m. each day at Norco High School. Below is daily schedule for the tournament.
Wednesday, April 2: Bonita vs. Great Oak, noon; Norco vs. Temecula Valley, 3 p.m.; Santiago vs. Paloma Valley, 6 p.m.
Thursday, April 3: Santiago vs. Temecula Valley, noon; Great Oak vs. Paloma Valley, 3 p.m.; Bonita vs. Norco, 6 p.m.
Friday, April 4: Great Oak vs. Norco, 3 p.m.; Bonita vs. Santiago, noon; Paloma Valley vs. Temecula Valley. 6 p.m.
Saturday, April 5: Bonita vs. Temecula Valley, noon; Norco vs. Paloma Valley, 3 p.m.; Great Oak vs. Santiago, 6 p.m.
AROUND THE HORN
Etiwanda second baseman Dailynn Battee has been one of the most impressive freshmen softball players this season. She went 3 for 4 with two home runs and four RBIs in an 11-1 nonleague win over Oaks Christian last week. She is batting .500 with four homers and 17 RBIs overall. …
Norco sophomore Coral Williams tossed a perfect game with 18 strikeouts as the Cougars beat Corona 11-0 in a Big VIII League softball opener. …
Hemet junior Rylee Womack went 3 for 3 with three home runs and six RBIs and also struck out seven batters as the Bulldogs beat San Jacinto 18-1 in a nonleague softball game. …
Hillcrest senior shortstop Melody Acevedo leads all Inland softball players with nine homers, while North junior shortstop Angelina Martinez is the area leader with 27 RBIs…Redlands East Valley senior infielder Grace Twente already has 26 stolen bases this season and 113 in her career. …
Senior shortstop Brock Foulds is off to a strong start for the Rancho Cucamonga baseball team. He is batting .533 and leads all Inland players with 18 stolen bases. …
Arroyo Valley sophomore Jake Jimenez became the first Inland baseball pitcher to record five wins this season. Jimenez is 5-0 with 0.46 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 30 1/3 innings. …
Redlands East Valley senior Cash Dabbs has registered 46 strikeouts in 29 innings this season. That leads all Inland baseball pitchers. Hamilton senior Seth Aanestad and Colony senior Steven Gonzales are right behind with 44 strikeouts.
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