For a third straight year Orange (Calif.) Lutheran will play in the National High School Invitational championship game.

The Lancers’ offense backed a stellar pitching performance from starter Jonathan Guzman with a slew of timely hits on Thursday afternoon as they cruised to a decisive 12-0 victory in the semifinals over Monsignor Pace (Miami) at Coleman Field.

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With a victory in Saturday’s championship game, Lutheran will become the first team to ever win three titles -- let alone three consecutive titles -- since the NHSI’s inception in 2012.

Guzman’s outing began inauspiciously, as he issued a leadoff walk, hit the next batter and then yielded a single to load the bases with no outs. He quickly regrouped, though, inducing an infield popup followed by back-to-back swinging strikeouts to end the Spartans’ threat.

It began a streak of 13 straight batters retired by the senior right-hander, who ultimately allowed just two hits over six innings. He struck out four, issued one walk and hit two batters, throwing 55 of his 78 pitches for strikes in the victory.

With the performance, Guzman, a San Diego State commit, became the third Lutheran hurler in as many starts to complete six innings. Max Rajcic racked up 10 strikeouts while accomplishing the feat in Wednesday’s opening round, and Christian Rodriquez went the distance on Thursday morning to help the Lancers reach the semifinals.

Junior infielder Tank Espalin went 3-for-3 with three RBIs to pace Lutheran’s offense against the Spartans, and Carl Lawson finished 2-for-2 with a two-run double after entering the game in the sixth inning as a pinch-hitter.

Rajcic also swung the bat well, delivering a two-run double in the fifth inning that blew open the game, while two-hole hitter Caden Connor was the only Lancer to score two runs.

Lutheran’s bid for a third straight NHSI title continues Saturday when they take on Harvard-Westlake (Studio City, Calif.) in the championship game with first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m. ET at Coleman Field.

Harvard-Westlake seeking first NHSI title

Harvard-Westlake (Studio City, Calif.) is back in the NHSI championship this year after knocking off Blessed Trinity, 6-1, in the semifinals on Thursday night at Coleman Field.

It’s the third time in eight years that the Wolverines have reached the finals, though the program is still in search of its first NHSI title after finishing runner-up to Mater Dei in back-to-back years (2012-13).

Sophomore right-hander Christian Becerra went the distance for Harvard-Westlake, allowing one unearned run on three hits over seven innings. He struck three and walked four in the outing, throwing 52 of his 97 pitches for strikes.

Altogether, the Wolverines’ pitching staff allowed just one unearned run over 21 innings during the first three games en route to the championship round. 

At the plate, Pete Crow-Armstrong showed exactly why he’s the top-ranked Class of 2020 prospect at this year’s NHSI by going 3-for-4 with two runs scored and a stolen base out of the leadoff spot for Harvard-Westlake. The Vanderbilt commit hit a pair of line-drive singles to left and right field, respectively, in his first two trips to the plate, then put his power-speed combination on full display when he laced a ball deep into the right-center gap and raced around the bases for an RBI triple.

Michael Synder and JP Corrigan combined for three hits and three RBIs from the middle of the Wolverines order, and sophomore nine-hole hitter George Cooper finished 2-for-3 with an RBI triple, two runs scored and a walk.

Leiter, Volpe star for Delbarton

Two of the top Class of 2019 Draft prospects stole the show at the NHSI on Thursday afternoon as Delbarton (Morristown, N.J.) blanked South Forsyth (Cumming, Ga.), 17-0, in a consolation bracket matchup.

Right-hander Jack Leiter, MLB Pipeline’s No. 20 Draft prospect and the fourth-best 2019 prospect at this year’s event, fired a one-hit shutout in which he allowed two baserunners over six dominant innings. He racked up eight strikeouts and walked one while finding the strike zone with 47 of 69 pitches.

The Vanderbilt recruit was up to 94 mph with his fastball and sat in the low 90s for the duration of the outing, with his final pitch of the game registering at 93. He paired his heater with a big, top-to-bottom curveball at 74-77 mph that netted him consistent whiffs both inside and outside of the zone. At the plate, Leiter doubled off the left-field wall in the third inning before finishing 2-for-3 with three RBIs. 

Shortstop Anthony Volpe -- also a Vandy commit -- backed his pitcher’s performance by going 4-for-4 with four runs scored and three RBIs from the third spot in the lineup. His first hit of the game, a loud two-run homer to straightaway left field, put Delbarton on the board, and he added three singles and a walk while reaching base in all five plate appearances.