Ocean View Loses Ace Pitcher in Latest of Crippling Blows

Friday was a day that Bill Gibbons, Ocean View High School baseball coach, won’t soon forget.

Instead of concentrating on final preparations for today’s Sunset League opener against Fountain Valley, Gibbons spent the afternoon trying to piece together the remains of a team that was, only weeks ago, one of Orange County’s three best, and a pitching staff that was probably among the nation’s best.

Most devastating was the news that ace right-hander Brent Knackert was expelled from school Friday. Knackert, considered one of the county’s top pitching prospects, had pitched seven innings this season, allowing only one hit and striking out 13.

According to Gibbons, Knackert, a senior, was suspended from school March 13 for skipping a class and using an unauthorized pass. Gibbons said Knackert had skipped several classes earlier this year and was on probation when he was caught.

Gibbons said Knackert returned to school Friday from his five-day suspension, only to discover that Ocean View administrators had decided that the violation of his probation was grounds for expulsion.

Knackert could not be reached for comment Friday night.

John Myers, Ocean View principal, refused to comment on the matter.

Gibbons said he was not involved in any aspects of the decision to expel Knackert. He was only feeling the effects of his loss.

“Not a night goes by when I don’t get two or three calls from scouts who ask when he’s pitching,” Gibbons said. “He has an 88-m.p.h. fastball and a major league curve. We not only lost a blue-chip athlete, but it changes our prospects for the future.”

Those prospects dimmed even more when the Seahawks’ other top pitcher, senior right-hander David Holdridge, returned from a rehabilitation session with a stiff and sore shoulder.

Holdridge, trying to recover from a separated shoulder incurred over the winter, had been limited to a designated-hitter role and wasn’t expected to pitch until April.

But Gibbons said Friday that he will not pitch again this season and that he may miss several games at DH.

“If he’s not 100%, I’m just not going to play him,” Gibbons said.

To make matters worse, Ocean View third baseman Gary Christopherson had an allergic reaction during practice Friday and had to be sent home. He is doubtful for today’s game.

Gibbons said that Christopherson’s face suddenly began to swell after he had a drink of water. He added that, according to a school trainer, the reaction could have been caused by an anti-inflammatory pill that Christopherson had taken earlier in the day or by an insect bite.

“Sooner or later, things like this are going to happen, but I’ve never had it happen in one day like this,” Gibbons said. “All this on the day before league starts. It’s like a bomb dropped.”