Ocean View misses opportunity against Orange

The Ocean View High baseball team had Orange’s number the first two times the teams had met in Golden West League play, and the Seahawks Friday were looking for a third win that not only would give them a league sweep of the Panthers, but also would clinch the league championship.

Those title hopes will have to wait.

Orange took an early lead, fell behind by two runs but pushed across the winning run in the top of the eighth inning to earn a 6-5 victory at Ocean View and handed the Seahawks their first league loss.

Despite the setback, Ocean View still has a comfortable lead in the league race. Orange, their closest competitor in the standings, is three games behind the Seahawks with four games remaining.

Ocean View can clinch the league title with a win next Wednesday against Segerstrom.

Michael Long dropped in a bloop single inside the foul line in shallow left field with two out in the top of the eighth which scored Joe Leczel from third to put the Panthers in front for good.

Ocean View fell to 10-1 in league and 12-9 overall.

“We just didn’t execute today,” Ocean View Coach Tanner VanMaanen said. “It was as simple as that. It was the little things that we didn’t do today that cost us. But, it’s a credit to our guys for being right there and with a chance to win the game.”

Ocean View appeared poised to pull out a win in the bottom of the seventh. Derek Chumacero reached base on a catcher’s interference call and with one out, Braydon Salzman was intentionally walked. Jake Volo ripped a liner to right field that was caught for the second out and Long, who came on in relief at the outset of the bottom of the sixth, caught Miguel Abascal looking at strike three to send the game to extra innings.

In the top of the eighth, Leczel reached base on a fielder’s choice and advanced to third on consecutive wild pitches by Ocean View’s Brandon Nicholson (who went the distance), and scored on Long’s bloop single.

The Seahawks’ James Williams opened the bottom of the eighth by ripping a shot to left-right field off Jacob Ayala, the third Orange pitcher in the game, but Panthers center fielder James Endersby, a Cal State Fullerton commit, made a great diving catch on the run.

The Seahawks put the tying run on base when Adam Meyer drew a walk, but Ayala ended the game on a strikeout and infield grounder.

“Endersby made a great play,” VanMaanen said. “Ninety-nine percent of the time, that would fall for a double. He came up big for them.”

Ocean View, which previously defeated Orange by 9-1 and 11-5 scores, fell behind 2-0 after the top of the first. The Seahawks answered right back. Devin Lacy knocked in their first run with a one-out single to left field, and scored the tying run on an Orange throwing error.

The Seahawks took their first lead in the bottom of the second. Nicholson drew a one-out walk and Jake Legg, batting in the No. 9 spot, crushed a home run over the fence in left field to make it 4-2.

Orange (13-10, 7-4) produced two lead-off singles, a lead-off double and lead-off triple in the first four innings. The Panthers pulled to within 4-3 when Zack De La Cruz, who started the top of the third with a double to the fence in left field, scored on a fielder’s choice.

Ocean View got the run back in the bottom half of the inning when Meyer sent a hard shot toward the left side of the infield. The ball glanced off the tip of Orange third baseman Marcus Romo and into left field, and Abascal scored from second to put the Seahawks up, 5-3.

Orange drew within 5-4 in the top of the fourth when Randy Cancino started the inning with a triple to center field, and scored on a ground out. The Panthers evened the score in the fifth on a two-out, RBI triple to the corner in right field by Ethan Helm.

Ocean View travels Palos Verdes Saturday to face Peninsula in its final game of the Redondo Union Tournament.