IRVINE — The JSerra baseball team didn’t create many scoring opportunities against Corona in the semifinal round of the Prep Baseball Report Spring Invitational on Thursday at the Great Park.
And the Lions, who are ranked No. 3 in the CIF- SS Division 1 preseason rankings and No. 3 in Orange County, couldn’t capitalize on the few chances they did have against the Panthers, who are ranked No.1 in the Division 1 preseason rankings.
Led by a fine pitching performance from TCU commit Sam Burgess, the Panthers defeated the Lions 4-1.
The loss was the first of the young season for the Lions (2-1), who scored a combined 18 runs in the first two games of the tournament before facing Burgess, who allowed one run on six hits and struck out seven over five innings to keep the Panthers (3-0) undefeated.
“We talked early before the game about who he was,” JSerra coach Brett Kay said. “We talked about not hitting fly balls and not striking out. We struck out 11 times and we hit five fly balls. So, 16 out of the 21 outs were not what we were trying to do.
“You’ve got to tip your cap to them. He did a great job and they’ve got a great team and a great staff and a great offense and everything else.”
The best scoring chance for JSerra, the designated road team, came in the sixth after Burgess was removed from the game with a 2-0 lead.
Jordan Marian and Marcus Greis hit back-to-back singles to lead off the inning for the Lions.
However, Marian was thrown out at third for the first out on a failed sacrifice bunt attempt.
Gavin Flores then singled to load the bases and Cole Strane followed with a walk one out later to force in JSerra’s only run.
But the Lions couldn’t get a two-out hit and left the bases loaded.
The Panthers added two insurance runs in their half of the sixth.
The Lions started two freshmen, two sophomores and a junior, and Kay said his team’s youth could be a factor early in the season.
“I like how we competed at times,” Kay said. “We just didn’t get the big hits in the big moments. We’re going to live and die by our youth right now. We know our future is bright, but we’re JSerra. Everybody is gunning for us.”
In the other semifinal Thursday:
Orange Lutheran 4, Harvard-Westlake 3: The Lancers will face Corona in the tournament final on Tuesday, Feb. 20, at the Great Park in Irvine.
-Check back later for highlights from the tournament’s other semifinal.