Draft prospect Curiel's five-tool approach pays dividends at NHSI '24
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CARY, N.C. -- Derek Curiel had been here before, playing for Orange Lutheran as it tried to win a fourth National High School Invitational in 2022. The Lancers had won it three years running -- from 2017-2019 -- and Curiel was an underclassman on a team trying to four-peat when the NHSI returned post-pandemic that spring.
That team lost in the semifinal to eventual champion Stoneman Douglas. Curiel wanted to do everything he could to make sure he didn¡¯t repeat that feeling.
¡°Last time, we had a loaded team in 2022, with players like [Red Sox No. 11 prospect] Mikey Romero, Oliver Santos [at the University of Texas], Louis Rodriguez [at Texas Christian University]. Now it¡¯s my turn to be the senior leader,¡± said Curiel following Orange Lutheran¡¯s eight-inning, walk-off 3-2 win on Friday night against Harvard-Westlake to send them to the title game once again. ¡°Me and Ben Reiland were here as young sophomores. It¡¯s our time to take the throne and help lead this team to a championship. We did that today. We have to move on to the next game.¡±
Curiel played a large part in making that happen. The Lancers leadoff hitter and center fielder went 3-for-3 with a pair of RBIs and a stolen base and also made a huge defensive play to end a Harvard-Westlake threat. He had gone 1-for-4 in the team¡¯s quarterfinal win, beating the ball into the ground a little bit more than he might have liked. He was able to flush it right away when he led off the bottom of the first with a hard single to right.
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¡°For me to lead off the game with the hard single to the 3-4 hole was big,¡± Curiel said. ¡°I think it carried over to my other two hits I had in the game. For me, it was a momentum changer.¡±
Harvard-Westlake had unlocked a scoreless tie with two in the top of the fifth and Curiel came to the plate in the bottom of the frame with a couple of runners on. Long known for his impressive contact skills, there have been some questions about Curiel¡¯s ability to impact the ball. He answered some of them by crushing a 2-2 pitch 101 mph off the bat to deep right-center field that cut the Wolverines¡¯ lead in half.
¡°Today, I was able to bounce back, be a little more calm in the box, know that people can¡¯t beat me with the fastball and be able to drive pitches to all places of the field,¡± Curiel said. ¡°I took what happened yesterday and used it today.
¡°He got 0-2 on me early. But he hung a changeup to me and I did some damage with it. We¡¯re all good hitters here at the NHSI -- good, talented players. You have to locate pitches. And for me, he left one over the plate and I was able to drive it and stay back on the changeup.¡±
His heroics in the seventh to tie things up with an RBI single -- which set the stage for Vinny Hudson¡¯s pinch-hit game-winner in the bottom of the eighth -- might not have even happened if he hadn¡¯t impacted the game with his defense in the sixth. Top 2024 Draft prospect Bryce Rainer had dumped a single in front of Curiel with a runner on first, but when the runner tried to go first-to-third on the hit, Curiel came up throwing and delivered a laser to third to throw him out by at least 10 feet, ending the inning.
¡°I take pride in my defense. I always have since I was a little kid,¡± Curiel said. ¡°You can take away a lot of runs, either diving, or in this case I did it with my arm. We do that in practice day in and day out. When it¡¯s time to do it in the game, I¡¯m prepared and ready to do it. I could help my team with that throw and the momentum carried over. I was able to get a big knock and the dominoes kept falling.
¡°There are five tools to a baseball player and I try to focus on all five of them. Whether I¡¯m doing bad at the plate, baserunning, whatever it is, I know the other tools are going to carry over for me to stay in the lineup and help my team win.¡±
Corona advances behind Carlson
This was the first NHSI appearance for Corona High School (Calif.), and they¡¯ve made the most of it, advancing to Sunday¡¯s championship game. In its semifinal victory over Huntington Beach (Calif.), it was junior Billy Carlson at the center of everything.
The team¡¯s shortstop took over on the mound in the sixth inning with his team trailing, 5-4, and using a fastball that touched 97 mph and a breaking ball that topped out with a spin rate of around 2,900 rpm, he tossed two hitless frames. That kept the Panthers in the game, before they tied it in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Carlson, a Vanderbilt recruit, then drilled a ball to right-center (registering at 99 mph off the bat) to win it. He¡¯s gone 3-for-8 (.375) with three RBIs over his first three games at the event.
He wasn¡¯t the only Corona underclassman to stand out Friday, as sophomore center fielder Anthony Murphy picked up three hits. Senior catcher and Oregon recruit Josh Springer also had three hits and a pair of RBIs.