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Huntington Beach baseball rallies to beat Marina with spark from home run

March 19, 2026

Huntington Beachâs Jared Grindlinger (28) hits the ball against Marina...

Huntington Beach’s Jared Grindlinger (28) hits the ball against Marina during their Sunset League baseball at Marina High School in Huntington Beach, CA, on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. The Vikings lost to the Oilers, 5 to 3. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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HUNTINGTON BEACH — A home run kicked off a big rally, batters came through with clutch two-out, run-scoring hits and the relief pitching was outstanding.

The Huntington Beach baseball team, ranked No. 2 in Orange County, did all that and more in a come-from-behind victory over Marina, 5-3, in the Sunset League on Wednesday at Marina High School.

The victory was the fifth in a row for the Oilers (6-2-1, 5-0), who can sweep the three-game series against the Vikings (3-6, 1-4) when the teams play Friday at Huntington Beach High School.

Marina led, 3-1, going into the fifth inning. The Oilers scored three in the fifth to take the lead and then added an insurance run in the sixth.

On Tuesday, the Oilers trailed by one run before coming back for a 6-1 victory over the Vikings.

“We talked about it in the fall and we did it a lot in the fall,” Oilers coach Benji Medure said of the comeback. “In the winter, we were down and we always found a way of coming back. We kind of have a knack for it. And that is something you can’t teach. It just kind of happens and these guys believe that they are going to get it done.”

In the first inning, an RBI single from Max Conde and an RBI on a groundout from Liam Haynes gave the Vikings a 2-0 lead.

Marina led by two runs when Tanner Brown led off the fifth with a home run to right to get the Oilers within one run.

“I was just trying to get the offense going,” Brown said. “(The pitcher) missed middle-in and I just took it that way and got the offense going. I know that the wind here blows out to right and it carries and that ball carried and I just got lucky.”

Later in the inning, the Oilers’ Jason Dunham hit a two-out single that scored Eddie Lucero from second with the tying run. Two batters later, Jared Grindlinger doubled home Ely Mason with the go-head ahead run for Huntington Beach.

Dane Cunningham scored on a fielder’s choice with two outs in the sixth to give the Oilers a 5-3 lead.

Huntington Beach was trailing by two runs when left-hander Christian Haupt entered the game in relief in the fourth.

Haupt gave his team a chance to come back by shutting out the Vikings over his four innings of work.

The biggest out came in the seventh, when the Vikings had runners on first and third with one out and Max Conde was batting. Conde’s average is .417 and the senior catcher was already 3 for 3 coming into the at-bat.

Haupt retired Conde on a fly out to right and the runner was held at third.

“He’s been raking,” Haupt said. “I actually know him so we kind of have insight on how to pitch him.”

Dunham, who plays shortstop, made an outstanding running catch to end the game on a ball that was hit into shallow left field.

Huntington Beach baseball rallies to beat Marina with spark from home run Orange County Register

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Huntington Beach baseball rallies to beat Marina with spark from home run

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