Sunset League : Barons Earn Last Berth, 8-0 : Sharpnack Beats Huntington Beach

For the second straight year, Fountain Valley High School clinched a berth in the Southern Section 4-A division baseball playoffs with a victory in its final league game, and for the second straight year, starting pitcher Bob Sharpnack was the man of the hour.

Sharpnack scattered three hits and struck out six as the Barons rolled to an 8-0 victory over Huntington Beach that clinched the final playoff spot in the six-team league. Huntington Beach not only lost the game, but it lost its share of first place with Ocean View emerging as league champion.

The surprising Seahawks finished on top with a 10-5 record, followed by Huntington Beach at 9-6 and Fountain Valley at 7-7-1. All three teams qualify for the playoffs. The pairings will be announced Monday at the Southern Section office.

Last year, Fountain Valley drew top-seeded and undefeated Notre Dame in the first round and lost, 4-3. Notre Dame was ranked No. 1 in the nation by USA Today. So if history does repeat, the Barons figure to draw Mater Dei, this year’s choice as the nation’s top-ranked team.

“I know the kids would love to play Mater Dei, but I’d rather not,” Baron Coach Tom DeKraii said. “We’ve lost in the first round the past two years, so I wouldn’t mind winning one for a change.”

It was only last week the Barons’ chances of making the playoffs appeared to be slim at best. Fountain Valley was struggling in fifth place with a 4-7-1 mark and not only had to win its remaining three games, but Marina and Edison had to lose two games each.

“I think we earned the playoff spot,” DeKraii said. “We definitely didn’t back in. We beat two quality teams (Edison and Huntington Beach) to get to the playoffs, and I hope we established some momentum today.”

Fountain Valley collected only seven hits but took advantage of five walks and a hit batsman and Sharpnack was virtually untouchable on a very windy afternoon. Third baseman Jim Doyle had three hits, including a home run in the fourth inning and a two-run single in the fifth when the Barons scored five runs.

Fountain Valley second baseman Steve Miller added two hits, drove in two runs and made a fine play on a slow roller by Ed Lidyoff. But the defensive play of the game was the last.

Huntington Beach center fielder Jeff Haack got the Oilers’ only extra-base hit when he tripled with one out in the seventh inning. The next batter, Mark Rasmussen, followed with a long fly to right field that Don Snowden caught and then fired a perfect throw to the plate to get Haack and end the game.

“Don Snowden should be the MVP of the league, but we didn’t win the league, so he won’t,” DeKraii said. “All he did was win three games and save five others as a pitcher and bat around .350. He’s the smartest player on the team.”

Huntington Beach Coach Mike Dodd might be leaning toward Sharpnack for that award. He watched his team lose to Sharpnack three times, twice in league play and once in the Loara Tournament.

Before the game, Dodd noted that his team had faced Sharpnack twice under the lights and he was hoping that a day game might be different.

“There wasn’t much difference,” Dodd said afterward. “The guy is a class kid with a lot of poise. I think he has a future in this game.”

Sharpnack will make his fifth and final recruiting trip to Brigham Young University this weekend.