Vikings hold on for key win

Marina Coach Shelly Luth called it an ugly win.

At this stage in the 2011 Sunset League softball race, a win is sweet any way you get it.

Marina picked up a key league victory Tuesday by holding off late-charging Fountain Valley to score a 5-4 victory.

The Vikings seemed to be cruising to their fifth league win and 16th overall after taking a 1-0 first-inning lead before scoring twice in both the third and fourth innings. Yet Fountain Valley didn’t quit and a four-run outburst by the Barons in the top of the fifth put the score at 5-4.

Jamie Sullivan and Tera Blanco each went two for four to pace Marina’s offense. Blanco, who tripled, also went the distance for the pitching win.

Sullivan also was a big factor April 28 when Marina downed Newport Harbor, 10-4. The senior second baseman went four for four and, after picking up three hits including a home run against Edison on April 26, finished last week’s two-game swing going seven for nine.

The Vikings (16-5-1, 5-2) play a key Sunset game at 3:15 p.m. Thursday against league-leading Los Alamitos. The Griffins (7-0) on Tuesday shut out Newport Harbor, 8-0.

Fountain Valley travels to face Huntington Beach at 3:15 p.m. Thursday .

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In other softball action:

Edison 11, Huntington Beach 4: Rachel Vitali drove in four runs and Casey Africano produced three runs batted in Tuesday as Edison rallied from a four-run deficit to get past visiting Huntington Beach.

Huntington (1-6) used a two-run home run by Vicky Galasso in the first inning to grab a 4-0 lead and the Oilers were up, 4-2, heading into the bottom of the fifth. Edison (23-3, 6-1) scored a run in the fifth and then took the lead in the sixth by scoring eight runs.

In previous league play April 28, Edison posted a 7-0 shutout of Fountain Valley. Sammy Cordova threw a five-hit shutout with five strikeouts and also shined at the plate by going three for four with two home runs to account for six RBIs.

At 3:15 p.m. Thursday, Edison hosts Newport Harbor and Huntington Beach is home to Fountain Valley

Ocean View: The Seahawks ran their Golden West League record to 5-1 by scoring easy wins over Santa Ana and Orange.

Ocean View racked up 20 hits April 26 in a 16-0 victory against Santa Ana. Vanessa Cardoza drove in six runs and Brittany Hitchcock threw a one-hit shutout.

On Friday, the Seahawks (15-5 overall) scored their second shutout of the week by blanking Orange, 9-0. Cardoza, Hitchcock, Sarah Craig, Tobi Salzman and Kristin Nance each had two hits and Celine Fuentes pitched a shutout.

Ocean View travels Friday (3:30 p.m.) to face Westminster.

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Baseball

Edison: The Chargers (20-2, 11-0) raced to a 10-0 lead on visiting Newport Harbor on Friday and closed out a 13-3 Sunset League victory over the Sailors. Eric Snyder’s home run in the bottom of the second gave Edison a 1-0 lead. Jon Torres’ three-run triple in the second highlighted a five-run inning and Snyder also doubled during a three-run third. Torres (4-1) also got the pitching win.

It was the second one-sided win the Chargers posted over the Sailors in two days. On April 27, Edison racked up 17 hits and Henry Owens (10-0) took the win in a 9-1 triumph.

Fountain Valley: The Barons (6-5 league) scored the game’s final four runs Friday to emerge with a 5-1 Sunset League win at Huntington Beach. Senior Taylor Martin got the win to improve his record to 5-4.

Fountain Valley also beat the Oilers, 11-8, on April 27. Dan Jimenez hit a three-run home run in the opening inning to give the Barons a 3-0 lead and also doubled during a seven-run third inning. Turner Clouse (3-0) got the win.

Fountain Valley plays at 3 p.m. Friday at Newport Harbor.

Huntington Beach: The Oilers (2-9 league) fell at home Friday to Fountain Valley, 5-1. David Stone homered in the second inning to tie the score.

Sean Anderson tripled and doubled for Huntington in an 11-8 loss at Fountain Valley on April 27.

Huntington plays at Marina on Friday.

Marina: The Vikings split two Sunset League games in the past week with Los Alamitos.

Marina committed four errors in the fifth inning that allowed the Griffins to score five runs and go on to a 5-0 victory April 27. The Vikings got even on Friday by winning, 3-1. Trevor Megill hit a pair of solo home runs and pitched five innings to claim the victory. Mitch Huffman got the save.

Heading into the week, Marina (15-8, 7-4) was in second place in the league standings.

The Vikings host Huntington Beach at 3:15 p.m. Friday.

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Ocean View: The Seahawks stayed in contention for another Golden West League championship by taking two games from Westminster. Needing to win two to stay in the running for the title, Coach Shane Borowski said his team had a good week.

In the April 26 meeting between the teams, Ocean View blanked the Lions, 3-0. Colton Johnson was strong in pitching 5 2/3 shutout innings and Freddy Sepulveda completed the shutout with 1 1/3 relief innings. Sepulveda also keyed the offense by going two for three with a double. Borowski said that Timmy Robinson continued his “RBI tear “ by driving in a run on a double to right-center field off of the league’s top pitcher, left-hander Greg Mahle. Runs were added on an RBI double by junior first baseman Chad Hackworth and an RBI single by junior catcher Robert Fogarty.

In the second game played Friday, Sepulveda overcame a shaky first inning where he walked the first two batters and gave up a run to settle in for a complete-game victory that included 12 strikeouts.

“Freddy has grown up some these last couple of weeks,” Borowski said. “He hasn’t been 100% this entire year for various reasons, but his arm is starting to get hot as of late and it’s the right time for it. I was proud of how he hung in there and got stronger as the game went on. It’s just what we needed.”

Ocean View faced Tyler Mahle, younger brother of Greg, in the second game. Borowski said that the two pitchers have combined to throw 90 of 119 innings this year for Westminster, with Tyler holding a 0.93 ERA and Greg a 1.19 ERA.

“They (Westminster) have a terrific one-two punch with the Mahle brothers,” Borowski said. “I was proud of how our kids handled themselves against them. We showed a lot of heart in these games. We are still learning how to win the close ones, and these past two were great for our confidence.”

Westminster and Orange entered the week tied for the Golden West League lead with 8-3 records. Ocean View and Loara were tied for second at 7-4.

The Seahawks host Segerstrom at 3:15 p.m. Friday.