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Orange Lutheran baseball reaches title game in Boras Classic South

April 10, 2026

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO – Orange Lutheran baseball is on the verge of winning another big tournament.

The Lancers beat Aquinas 8-0 on Thursday at JSerra High in the semifinal of the Boras Classic Southern Section tournament.

Orange Lutheran (11-3) will play Norco (15-1) in the championship game Friday at 6 p.m. at Mater Dei High. Norco beat Mater Dei, 11-4, in Thursday’s other semifinal.

The Lancers are No. 2 and Norco is No. 4 in the Prep Baseball Report state rankings.

Orange Lutheran won the championship of the National High School Invitational two weeks ago. Friday’s game against Norco will be Orange Lutheran’s first Boras Classic championship game. This is the Lancers’ seventh Boras Classic.

Lancers senior center fielder Hamilton Friedberg drove in five runs, including a three-run double in the Lancers’ six-run third inning.

Orange Lutheran starting pitcher Gary Morse struck out five over his four innings of work. Morse, a senior right-hander who signed with Tennessee, allowed two hits and walked two. Junior righty Eli Phillips no-hit Aquinas over the final three innings with four strikeouts.

The Orange Lutheran defense was solid, too. First baseman Jordan Kurz made a diving back-handed stop of Carter Hadnot’s sharp grounder down the line for the first out of the first inning. Lancers All-Orange County catcher Brady Murrietta threw out an Aquinas base-runner’s late-break, attempted steal of second base on a wild pitch that reached the backstop.

“We had a couple things that happened early that set the tone,” said Orange Lutheran coach RJ Farrell. “Kurz makes the play down the line in the first inning. Then they (Aquinas) had a miscue on a double play up the middle and we were able to strike.”

That miscue was part of Orange Lutheran’s six-run fourth inning.

Zion Avina started it with a one-double down the right-field line. Ricardo Hurtado was hit by a pitch. Murrietta’s hard-hit ground ball was snagged on one bounce by Aquinas pitcher Hayden Vanderhoof whose high throw to second base enabled Hurtado to be safe there and loaded the bases.

CJ Weinstein walked to send home Avina, Hurtado scored on a wild pitch, Zdunek walked to reload the bases and Friedberg followed with a liner to add to the lead.

Friedberg hit a line-drive single into center field to drive in Murrietta and Weinstein to make it 8-0.

Friedberg, who signed with UCLA and was an All-Trinity League second-team selection last season, went into the game batting. 278.

“In his head he feels like he’s been struggling,” Farrell said, “but he’s been fine. It was good to see him let it go.”

Friedberg said he has been frustrated at times but continues to find ways to contribute.

“So far it hasn’t gone my way too much,” he said. “But I’ve got to stick with it and believe in the guys around me, and when it comes to my turn I’ll come through for them as well.”

Morse, last season’s Orange County pitcher of the year, is 3-1 with a 1.40 ERA. He has 54 strikeouts in 30 innings.

When the Boras Classic South tournament ends, the Lancers will resume Trinity League play with three games next week against JSerra. Then comes three-games series against, in order, Santa Margarita, Servite and Mater Dei. Orange Lutheran lost two of its three league games last week against St. John Bosco.

JSerra and Mater Dei are the host schools for the Boras Classic tournament that is in its 14th season.

The schedule for Friday’s games:

At JSerra: Fountain Valley vs. St. John Bosco, 9 a.m.; Los Osos vs. JSerra, noon; Newport Harbor vs. Corona, 3 p.m.; Huntington Beach vs. Patrick Henry, 6 p.m.

At Mater Dei: Corona Centennial vs. Arcadia, 9 a.m.; Ayala vs. Gahr, noon; Aquinas vs. Mater Dei, 3 p.m.; Orange Lutheran vs. Norco, 6 p.m.

Also in The Boras Classic:

Huntington Beach 2, Corona 1: Dane Cunningham and Owen Bone drove in the runs for the Oilers (13-3-1).

Three pitchers — Ernest Marchbank, Benny Breese and Steel Kurtz — combined to hold Corona to one run. Huntington Beach will play Patrick Henry in the tournament’s consolation final Friday at 6 p.m. at JSerra.

Corona is No. 3 and Huntington Beach is No. 5 in the Prep Baseball Report state rankings.

Orange County Register

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Orange Lutheran baseball reaches title game in Boras Classic South

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