About the only surprise Friday night in the championship game of the Boras Classic South was La Mirada preventing Corona from tying a state record for consecutive shutouts.
Otherwise, it was all Corona in an 8-3 victory that leaves the No. 1-ranked Panthers at 11-0. Corona was seeking its seventh consecutive shutout, but Aiden Aguayo ended that with a one-out RBI single in the sixth inning. La Mirada (10-2) is the only team to score against the Panthers this season.
Pitcher Jason Gerfers of Corona gave up three hits in six innings — two by Aguayo, a UCLA commit.
Senior Billy Carlson got the Panthers going in the first inning by smashing the first pitch he received over the left-field fence for a three-run home run. La Mirada couldn’t stay close because its five pitchers combined for six walks and were hurt by two errors.
Meanwhile, Gerfers kept letting his talented collection of infielders make plays. There were nine ground-ball outs through five innings. Carlson at shortstop and Brady Ebel at third base were putting on a defensive clinic.
La Mirada unveiled two pitchers who became eligible Friday after transferring. Noah Dabela, from Orange Lutheran, gave up five runs in two innings. Conner Jones, from Mira Costa, threw a scoreless seventh, striking out three.
Corona pitchers have thrown shutouts in nine of 11 games. La Mirada lost to Corona 10-1 on March 4. Corona resumes Big VIII League play with a three-game series against King next week before heading to Cary, N.C., on April 9 for the National High School Baseball Invitational. La Mirada is in its bracket.
Corona advances to the Boras Classic championship game on April 26 against the Northern California champion to be determined.
Aquinas 7, Santa Margarita 3: A five-run sixth inning lifted Aquinas. Esteban Olazaba finished with three RBIs.
Huntington Beach 9, Vista Murrieta 1: Jayton Greer had a grand slam and six RBIs to lead 9-1 Huntington Beach.
Gahr 6, Ayala 5: Trailing 5-1 going into the bottom of the seventh, Gahr scored five runs and Oscar Grijalva had the walk-off, two-run single.
Paloma Valley 2, Birmingham 0: It took 12 innings for Paloma Valley to prevail. Freshman Carlos Acuna of Birmingham threw eight scoreless innings, striking out six and walking three while giving up four hits. Senior Brody Smearer threw 8-2/3 scoreless innings for Paloma Valley, giving up two hits.
Maranatha 3, Cypress 1: Will Suslow had an RBI single for Maranatha.
Oxnard Pacifica 15, San Fernando 1: Dario Navarro had three hits and five RBIs for Pacifica.
Bishop Amat 4, St. Paul 0: Justin Peinado threw a five-hit shutout with six strikeouts for Bishop Amat.
Mira Costa 13, Peninsula 1: Cole Bernstein hit a home run and two doubles and finished with three RBIs for Mira Costa. Garret Jacobs struck out six with no walks in four innings.
Villa Park 6, El Dorado 3: Joseph Ramirez went three for three to help give Villa Park the Crestview League win.
Oaks Christian 7, Calabasas 1: Quentin Young hit two home runs, giving him nine, to help the Lions win the Marmonte League matchup.
Agoura 8, Thousand Oaks 3: Tyler Starling homered for the Chargers.
Westlake 4, Newbury Park 1: Noah Stead hit a walk-off, three-run home run in the seventh inning.
Granada Hills 10, Taft 2: Max Szczech homered in the first inning and Tristan Jennings added a two-run home run in the fourth for the Highlanders in the West Valley League win.
Chatsworth 3, Cleveland 1: Michael Guerrero threw the complete game, striking out seven and walking one, to lift Chatsworth to the West Valley League win.
Narbonne 9, San Pedro 2: The Gauchos won the Marine League matchup.
Edison 9, Newport Harbor 8: The Chargers won in the bottom of the seventh on a passed ball. Wyatt Gahm had four RBIs for Newport Harbor.
Los Alamitos 6, Marina 3: Dave Porch finished with three hits for Los Alamitos.
Fountain Valley 4, Corona del Mar 3: Tyler Peshke hit a two-run home run for Fountain Valley.
Hart 22, Golden Valley 0: Dominic Miraglia had four RBIs and Michael Hogen had three hits and four RBIs for Hart.
West Ranch 11, Saugus 9: Landon Hu had three hits and three RBIs and Nolan Stoll homered and had four RBIs for West Ranch.
Valencia 5, Castaic 1: Tyler Wertz hit a two-run home run and Caleb Crawford threw two shutout innings in relief to pick up the save for Valencia.
Carlsbad 1, JSerra 0: The winning run came home on a balk in the 10th inning.
Royal 5, Santa Monica 3: It took eight innings for Royal to win. Jackson Myrow and Erick Gonzalez each had two hits for Santa Monica.
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 3, Stockdale 0: AJ LaSota struck out 10 in five scoreless innings of relief for Notre Dame. Dominic Cadiz drove in all three runs.
Trabuco Hills 5, Aliso Niguel 1: Tyler Hill had two RBIs during a four-run fourth inning for Trabuco Hills.
Softball
Santa Margarita 5, Mater Dei 2: Alyssa Grajeda had a home run and double to lead the Eagles in their Trinity League opener.
Orange Lutheran 3, JSerra 2: Freshman Rylee Silva struck out 11 and Olivia Oskorus had three hits to lead the Lancers. Madeline Capek and Annabel Raftery homered in the seventh for JSerra.
Norco 4, Aquinas 0: Peyton May struck out 15 to lead Norco. Tamryn Shorter had an inside-the-park home run.