Northwood baseball team wins three in Santa Ana Elks tourney

Northwood High’s baseball team put together three victories in the Santa Ana Elks Tournament to improve its record to 10-5 overall.

Northwood opened with a 6-2 victory over Segerstrom on Saturday. 

Sophomore Andrew Kim pitched six innings, allowing only four hits. Kevin Lee pitched a scoreless seventh inning.

Northwood's offense was led by Riley Golden and Kevin Okuda, who both drove in two runs.

“It was a tight game and we just couldn’t seem to get that one big hit,” said Coach Rob Stuart. “Dillon Brine played great defense today. He pretty much won the game for us with his glove.”

Northwood defeated Godinez, 5-2, in the second round.

Northwood received an extraordinary performance from sophmore Kevin Yonamine, who struck out 13 while allowing only one hit in seven innings. 

“We had a sense that Kevin Yonamine was a going to have a great day,” Stuart said. “He had life on his fastball and was able to make a lot of big pitches. That was a great performance.”

Northwood collected seven hits, the most important being a two-run double by Brandon Kim. 

In the sixth inning, Kim came off the bench to make a momentum-changing play at shortstop then delivered the big hit to put the game out of reach, Stuart said.

“Brandon has been excellent this season at short,” Stuart said. “On offense, he has developed into a very confident hitter. He continues to lead us on offense, defense and on the mound.”

On Tuesday, Northwood defeated Saddleback Valley Christian, 9-6. Okuda earned his fourth victory.

“Dillon Brine relieved Okuda in the sixth and went on to earn the save,” Stuart said. “Andrew Kim and Okuda both had two hits on the day. Brandon Kim continued to deliver big hits with a bases-loaded triple that broke the 3-3 tie.”

Northwood was to meet Calvary Chapel in the semifinals on Wednesday.