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Ocean View misses opportunity

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While most local schools are on a break from league play during spring break, Ocean View High continued its journey though its Golden West League season Tuesday.

The Seahawks had the chance to move back into a tie for first place when it met league-leader Loara, but couldn’t take advantage of the opportunity and dropped a 6-0 game to the host Saxons.

Ocean View got off to a promising start. Braydon Salzman started the game with a double and moved over to third on a single by Brian Schlosser. The pair, however, was left stranded.

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“We let the game slip away from us,” Ocean View Coach Shane Borowski said. “We had our chances early on in the game and it would have been a whole different feel to the game, had we been able to bring in some runs. After that, their pitcher [Tyler Johnson] got in a rhythm and we couldn’t do anything against him.

“I feel as though we are kind of jinxed against Loara. They have beaten us five games in a row.”

Salzman had two hits to pace the Ocean View offense. In addition to Scholosser, James Wilson singled for the Seahawks.

In a complete-game effort, Johnson (2-0) allowed Ocean View four hits and a walk, and struck out eight.

The loss left the Seahawks at 3-3 in league, while Loara (11-7 overall) improved to 5-1.

Ocean View (10-7 overall) had fallen from a share of the GWL lead Friday following a 4-3 home loss to Orange. The Seahawks clawed their way back from a 4-0 deficit, only to fall short in seeing their three-game league win streak come to an end.

The Seahawks scored their initial run in the bottom of the third inning when Mike Giacone drew a one-out walk and Salzman then delivered an RBI single straight up the middle to score pinch runner Matt Myer. In the Ocean View half of the fourth, Steven Cotton singled to left and with two out, Jett Volo drove an RBI double to the fence in left field to make it 4-2. The double was the first of a pair of sharp, two-baggers by Volo, a left-handed hitter who started the bottom of the seventh by lining a double to the right-field corner. He moved to third on a groundout by Giacone, and scored when Salzman grounded out up the middle to pull the Seahawks within 4-3.

Ocean View had entered the Orange game tied with Loara for first place.

“We made some young mistakes which cost us, but I’m proud of the way our guys battled back,” Borowski said. “We didn’t play our best, and yet it was a one-run game.”

Ocean View closed out its league series with Loara Wednesday. The score wasn’t available at press time.

•Three Sunset League teams, Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley and Marina, are vying for tournament titles during spring break.

Huntington, the top-ranked team in CIF Southern Section Division 1, began its quest for the Hard 9 National Classic championship Monday by defeating Elsinore, 6-1, at Esperanza High. Hagen Danner and Daniel Amaral both went two for three and scored twice, and Logan Pouelsen had an RBI single, as the Oilers won their ninth consecutive game in improving to 12-2.

Ryan Abady threw five scoreless innings, scattering three hits in running his record to 2-1.”

“Ryan Abady was very good [Monday] and our defense played well behind him,” Huntington Coach Benji Medure said. “Turning three double plays helps. We stunk at the plate, though.

“If we plan on sticking around at the end of this thing, we better learn how to make adjustments quicker.”

Fountain Valley also started its Hard 9 National Classic run Monday and defeated Bingham (Utah), 6-3. The Barons (11-4) won for the sixth straight time.

Huntington faced Santa Margarita and Fountain Valley took on Sacramento Rocklin in winner’s bracket games Tuesday. Scores from both games weren’t available at press time. The tournament quarterfinals were Tuesday, semifinals Wednesday, and the tournament concludes Thursday with championship bracket and consolation bracket title games, plus placement (third through 11th-place) games. The championship bracket title game is 7:30 p.m. at Cal State Fullerton.

Marina evened its record at 1-1 at the Ryan Lemmon Invitational by winning, 4-3, over Sacramento El Camino in a consolation bracket game Monday. Garrett Malter (triple), Landon Marshall, Jacob Maisano and Connor McCollum had hits for the Vikings (5-9 overall) who led, 4-0, through two innings. Sophomore Riley Ohl allowed only three hits, walked three and struck out nine in a complete-game victory, his fourth win in five games.

The Vikings had dropped their tournament opener, 2-1, to Northwood Saturday.

Marina went up against Long Beach Poly in a consolation bracket semifinal game Tuesday. The score wasn’t available at press time. The winner moved on to Wednesday’s consolation championship game.

In Sunset League games prior to spring break, Huntington blanked Newport Harbor, 4-0, Fountain Valley rolled at Los Alamitos, 12-3, and Edison won, 9-5, at Marina on April 10.

Jesse Kuet doubled and homered in Huntington’s 4-0 win over visiting Newport Harbor. Noah Davis threw five innings and improved to 6-0, and Danner and Clay Morris threw the final two innings to finish the shutout, as the Oilers completed a three-game sweep of the Sailors.

Huntington leads the Sunset pack at 7-0.

A triple play turned in by the Huntington defense in the bottom of the fourth inning, a 1-4-3-2 stunner, was a key highlight from the Oilers’ 3-0 win at Newport Harbor April 8. The Oilers took a 2-0 lead in the top of the fourth on a two-out outfield error by the Sailors, and junior Tyler Murray hit a solo home run in the sixth to complete the scoring. Senior Sean O’Toole, the first of three pitchers for Huntington, got the win to improved to 3-0. Pouelsen got the save.

Medure called the triple play “sweet.”

Brock Lundquist had two hits and four RBIs and Willie Aguilar had a hit and drove in three runs, in Fountain Valley’s 12-3 win at Los Alamitos. Senior Scott Schultz got the pitching win to stay perfect at 4-0 in league, and 7-0 for the season.

The Barons improved to 6-1 in league and has outscored their league opponents, 58-12.

They took the league series from the Griffins, 3-0.

“Schultz was outstanding,” Fountain Valley Coach Deric Yanagisawa said. “(He) threw 68 pitches in six innings, with a 75% strike rate.

“Our offense is starting to gel and good at bats are getting contagious. Guys are believing in our philosophy of using the whole field and shortening up their swings. Were starting to hit the ball harder and cutting down on our strikeouts. It’s fun to watch these guys have success at the plate.

“We’re a tough out, from one through nine. We’re not allowing pitchers to get too comfortable. We’re making them work for everything. Our pitching has really stepped up to the challenge. As a unit, they have kept us in every ball game and have given us a chance to win. I give these guys a lot of credit because they continue to throw strikes and limit the amount of walks. I’m proud of this group.”

Fountain Valley scores its seven runs in the first three innings in a previous, 7-0 shutout of Los Alamitos April 8. Daniel Patzlaff (double), Dan Rosica and Justin Cobb each had two hits, and Aguilar doubled. Junior right-hander Hunter Margain (3-0) threw a three-hitter in six innings for the win, and senior Joe Loranger pitched the seventh.

Edison (5-2 league) twice defeated Marina last week, 4-3 and 9-5, to sweep the league series between the teams, 3-0.

In the 9-5 win April 10, Brian Schales went three for three and walked with a home run, two RBIs and scored twice to power Edison’s offense. Noah Kronfly got the win in moving to 4-1, and Michael Mahony earned his third save of the season.

“After struggling for about 12 of our last 14 innings to play competitive baseball, we put together a strong performance from the beginning with highly competitive at-bats and solid defense,” Edison Coach Cameron Chinn said. “We got a little sloppy in the seventh, but Michael Mahony was able to put out the fire.”

Jake Maisano had two RBIs, Griffin Hennessey doubled, and Landon Marshall had a hit, walked and was hit by pitch for the Vikings who are 1-6 in league.

“We are a young and inexperienced team and it shows with how we are playing,” Marina Coach Bob Marshall said. “We gave Edison the game with mistakes in the Tuesday (April 8) game, and then Edison came out swinging and took the game on Thursday (April 10).

“Our players are working their tail ends off to compete. We work hard at each practice and take small steps forward but during the ballgame we can’t finish and we take steps backward. We have had the lead in most ballgames and then we find away to give the game away.”

In the April 8 meeting between the teams, Edison, 12-5 overall and ranked seventh in CIF Southern Section Division 1, rallied for a 4-3 win over visiting Marina. Adam Moses had two hits and an RBI and Nate Madden (3-0) threw four scoreless innings in relief as the Chargers overcame a 3-0 deficit.

Prior to the April 8 game, Edison honored Dave Tallman and his 39 years as a coach at Edison (1971-2009). Tallman, a member of the Edison baseball coaching staff, threw out the first pitch during pregame ceremonies.

Local teams get back to league play Wednesday. In 3:15 p.m. Sunset League games, Fountain Valley visits Huntington for a key game, Edison plays host to Newport Harbor, and Marina travels to face Los Alamitos. In the Golden West League, Ocean View is at Santa Ana for a 3:15 p.m. start.

In the first meeting between Huntington and Fountain Valley, the Oilers scored a 2-1 win over the host Barons March 26.

CIF Weekly Rankings

Baseball: Huntington Beach (No. 1, Division 1); Edison (No. 7, Division 1).

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