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HUNTINGTON BEACH — Veteran Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks baseball coach Tom Dill said Knights junior Oliver Boone pitched “the game of his life” against Huntington Beach in the CIF-SS Division 1 semifinals Tuesday.
The right-hander quickly agreed after firing a three-hitter for his first complete game in a 2-0 victory that propelled the Knights to their first Division 1 final.
“Considering the circumstances,” Boone said of the assessment, “for sure.”
Boone, who started the season in the bullpen, used an effective slider to collect four strikeouts and walk only one in outdueling UCLA commit Ben Jacobs (8-2). He also quieted the offense of No. 4-seeded Huntington Beach (22-9), which scored a combined 25 runs in its past two playoff games.
Boone (2-1) donned a chain with a yellow, shutout zero on it after the victory, as the Knights (24-7-1) celebrated advancing to the Division 1 final Friday at Cal State Fullerton against JSerra, which defeated Villa Park 4-1 in the other semifinal.
“He was mixing his pitches really well, keeping them off balance,” Dill said of Boone, who debuted as a starter in the Boras Classic in April. “I never would have thought that he would go complete game and give up three hits.”
“Wow,” Dill added, “he was dealing.”
Boone closed the game by recording five consecutive groundouts, two of which were stopped at the corners to rob Huntington Beach of potential extra-base hits.
With one out in the sixth inning, Notre Dame third baseman Greg Pierantoni knocked down a sharp chopper by Brian Trujillo with runners at first and second base. The junior threw out Trujillo from foul territory and the Knights escaped the jam one batter later.
“The composure to knock that ball down and throw our guy out at first was amazing,” Huntington Beach coach Benji Medure said. “That was a huge part of the game.”
In the seventh, Jack Gurevitch slid to his knees behind first base to snag another grounder for the second out.
Boone’s favorite play by his defense came from center fielder Dean West, who tracked down a drive into the gap in left by Anthonio Ventimiglia for the first out of the fifth.
“That was so huge,” Boone said. “He (was) just running as fast as I’ve ever seen him run.”
Pierantoni, the Knights’ No. 9 hitter, earlier led off the Knights’ fifth with a bloop single that barely cleared leaping shortstop Dean Carpentier. West followed by laying down a slick bunt in front of home plate, which the Oilers threw away for an error.
Pierantoni and West scored on a passed ball and wild pitch in the inning.
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Jacobs recorded nine strikeouts with three walks in six innings.
“(Notre Dame) didn’t beat themselves today and we did,” Medure said. “I thought we pitched well enough to win but we made mistakes when it was crucial.”
Huntington Beach qualified for the CIF State SoCal Regional playoffs and will play in the tournament that begins May 31, Medure said.
“Hopefully, we get them again,” he said of Notre Dame. “We want a little revenge.”