Orange (Calif.) Lutheran became the first team to three-peat as National High School Invitational champions on Saturday, completing a perfect run through the four-game tournament with a 6-2 win over Harvard-Westlake (Studio City, Calif.) in a SoCal finals matchup at Coleman Field in Cary, N.C.
With their three consecutive titles, the Lancers supplant Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) -- back-to-back champs in 2012-13 -- atop the list of schools with the most NHSI titles since the inception of the USA Baseball event in 2012.
Scoring in three of the first four innings, Lutheran’s offense backed a strong pitching performance from senior right-hander Evan Adolphus, who came within one out of tossing a complete game.
The Cal State Fullerton recruit was untouchable early, retiring the first 13 batters he faced while touching 91 mph with his fastball before finally allowing a one-out single in the fourth inning. He ultimately allowed two runs on four hits, striking out four and walking three while throwing 105 pitches (71 strikes) over 6 2/3 frames.
Caden Connor reached base four times and scored four of the Lancers’ six runs as part of a 3-for-3 performance that included a double and a walk. The senior outfielder was named the 2019 NHSI MVP after finishing the tournament with seven hits. Jared Thomas also collected multiple hits in the victory, going 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI single.
After scoring a pair of runs against Adolphus in the sixth inning, Harvard-Westlake threatened again in their final trip to the plate, putting runners on first and second base with two outs to force the Lancers’ starter from the game. He was replaced on the mound by freshman Karson Bowen, who induced a groundout to second baseman Max Rajcic to end the game.
Lutheran did not trail at any point in their four games en route to their three-peat. After defeating South Forsyth (Cumming, Ga.), 8-2, in the tournament’s opening round, the Lancers won a pair of games on Thursday, edging Desert Oasis (Las Vegas), 2-1, in the quarterfinals followed by a 12-0 rout of Monsignor Pace (Miami Gardens, Fla.) in the semis.