Jim Ozella has coached some pretty good catchers through the years, from Mike Sims at Bishop Alemany to Trevor Brown at Hart. They’re all going to rank behind junior Matt Quintanar, who Ozella is convinced can be a future standout.
Quintanar, who has committed to Pepperdine, had a triple, double and single in his season debut Friday to help Hart defeat Golden Valley 12-1. Eddie Tejada led the way with four hits.
Quintanar has always been a top hitter, but he improved his arm strength last December by spending three weeks in Pittsburgh visiting his brother and working out at a throwing therapy camp. He blocks pitches, calls pitches and keeps improving as a hitter and defender. He also can run the bases like an infielder.
Simi Valley 4, Westlake 1: Shane Alderete struck out eight and walked none and Donnie Silecchio had two hits and two RBIs for the Pioneers.
West Torrance 1, Mira Costa 0: West Torrance got a run in the fifth to pull out the win. Nick Bacura had two hits for Mira Costa.
Etiwanda 6, San Dimas 5: Abraham Zapata contributed two hits and two RBIs for Etiwanda.
Thousand Oaks 15, Rio Mesa 2: Miles Weiss struck out 10 and Max Muncy finished with three hits for the Lancers.
Laguna Hills 6, Beckman 2: Travis Williams went three for three with four RBIs and a home run for Laguna Hills.
Fountain Valley 13, Westminster 3: Ryder Brooks had three RBIs in the win.
Loyola 11, Lakewood 7: Nick Valdez had three hits and four RBIs while Daniel Marquez added three hits for the Cubs.
Eastvale Roosevelt 5, La Quinta 3: Preston Allen went three for three and Aden Rubio hit a home run for Roosevelt.
Sonora 7, San Clemente 6: Sonora got a walk-off victory.
Arcadia 8, California 0: Harrison Meyers struck out six in five shutout innings.
Gardena Serra 8, Santa Monica 1: Miles Blackwell, Cameron Robertson and Nigel Buckley each had three hits for Serra. Buckley had a triple, double and three RBIs.
Vista Murrieta 10, Los Osos 3: LeTrey McCollum had a home run and Joseph Castillo finished with three RBIs in the victory.
Moorpark 2, Oxnard Pacifica 1: Jake Thrift had the walk-off hit and struck out 11 in four innings.
West Ranch 9, Saugus 4: Jake Schwartz and Logan Mandel each homered for West Ranch.
JSerra 8, Corona 4: David Horn hit a grand slam for the walk-off hit in the ninth inning.
Orange Lutheran 9, King 1: Justin DeCriscio, Maxwell Andeel and Derek Curiel each had two hits. Louis Rodriguez struck out nine in five innings.
Camarillo 12, St. Bonaventure 2: JT Schardt went three for four and freshman Boston Bateman hit a home run in his first high school at-bat to give Dimitri Young a victory in his coaching debut.
Damien 14, Claremont 3: Kaden Moeller had three hits and four RBIs and Ivan Aguirre added three hits.
Crescenta Valley 6, Alta Loma 4: Noah Maddox struck out seven in four innings.
