Oaks Christian wins Division 4 title behind Phil Bickford’s 18 strikeouts

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Standout senior pitcher Phil Bickford of Oaks Christian made his final high school game a memorable one on Saturday night at UC Riverside.

He struck out 18 batters and threw a one-hitter to lead the Lions to their first Southern Section baseball championship, a 4-0 victory over El Rancho in the Division 4 final.

Bickford, who could be taken in the first round of next week’s amateur draft, is tough enough to hit during the day time. But under lights, he’s even tougher, and El Rancho was limited to an infield single in the fourth inning.

Austin Sreden had a two-run double for Oaks Christian, which finished 29-3 under Coach Tim Penprase.

-- Eric Sondheimer