High School Roundup: Local stars Danner and Pratto to play at Wrigley Field as part of All America showcase

Two members of the Huntington Beach High baseball team, Hagen Danner and Nick Pratto, will play Saturday in the Under Armour All America Game (18-Under) at Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs.

Danner, a first-team All-Sunset League and CIF Southern Section Division 1 player, and Pratto, the 2016 Sunset League MVP, were two of nine players named in June to the 40-player USA Baseball 18U National Team Trials roster.

Players in the All America Game will take part Friday in a formal workout before Major League Baseball scouts and a home run derby at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. The game, splitting the roster into a North and South team, will start at 3 p.m. central time Saturday at Wrigley Field.

The game will air on the MLB Network.

“I am so proud of those two,” Huntington Beach baseball Coach Benji Medure said. “Their dedication to their sport and how hard they work is incredible. For them to play baseball and represent our country is a huge honor and a great reward for their hard work.”

The 18U National Team Trials roster was announced following the gold medal game of the 2016 Tournament of Stars presented by MLB in June. The trials will be held Sept. 11 to 15 in Houston, TX., where the 20-player 18U National Team roster will be finalized. Danner and Pratto are two of eight alumni on the USA Baseball National Team. They were part of the 2015 USA Baseball 18U National Team that won a gold medal at the World Baseball Softball Confederation U-18 World Cup in Japan.

After the National Team Trails in Houston, the 18U National Team will participate in the COPABE Pan Am “AAA” Championships Sept. 23 to Oct. 2 in Monterrey, Mexico.

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USA Baseball also announced the 112 players chosen to participate in the third annual USA 12-Under National Open that started Monday and concluded Wednesday at the Major League Baseball Urban Youth Academy in Compton. Cole Kenrich of Huntington Beach was one of 42 players from California selected for the open, which is part of the official selection process for the 2016 12U National Team.

At the conclusion of the National Open, a minimum of 14 players were to be invited to participate in the 2016 12U National Team Trails, which start Thursday and run through Saturday at the MLB Urban Youth Academy. The final 18-player roster for the 12U National Team will be announced Saturday. After training in Compton, the team then will travel to Cuautlancingo, Puebla, Mexico for the 2016 COPABE Pan American “A” Championships July 29-Aug. 7.

Boys’ Basketball

Ocean View won the Premier Division (17-Under age group) of The Big One Tournament on Saturday and Sunday at Santiago Canyon College in Orange.

The Seahawks went 4-0 in the event, defeating club teams (high school-aged players) Bakersfield Crashers, Corona Stars, JSK Club Basketball of south Orange County, and V Stars (Los Angeles/Long Beach).

It was the second summer championship for Ocean View, which won the Point Loma Tournament in June.

“To win this club tournament is difficult, but we played together on both ends of the floor, and are excited because the potential for growth is huge,” Ocean View co-Coach Roger Holmes said. “We have many guys learned to play varsity basketball, and we feel we are in the beginning stages of our development.”