Briefs: Danner, Pratto win gold in Japan

The USA Baseball 18-Under National Team, which includes Hagen Danner and Nick Pratto of Huntington Beach High, captured its third consecutive world championship by winning the World Baseball Softball Confederation U18 Baseball World Cup championship Sunday in Osaka, Japan.

Team USA capped its tournament run with a 2-1 victory over Japan before a crowd of 15,000 at historic Koshien Stadium.

Pratto started on the mound and retired the first 11 batters he faced and was outstanding in 6 1/3 innings pitched. He allowed only one run while scattering six hits and striking out nine to earn the gold-medal game victory.

Pratto was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. In 14.1 innings pitched, he gave up just two earned runs while striking out 17. He finished with a 2-0 record and a 1.26 ERA. In his first victory, an 11-1 win over Australia, he allowed two hits and a run and struck out eight in eight innings.

Danner recorded a save in Team USA’s 5-2 win over Brazil.

Team USA finished the tournament with an 8-1 record and Sunday’s gold-medal clinching win allowed the U.S. to avenge an early tourney loss to Japan.

The U.S. previously won world titles at the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) AAA World Cup championships in 2012 (Seoul, South Korea) and 2013 (Taichung, Taiwan). The U.S. also won the COPABE Pan American Championships last year in La Paz, Mexico.

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AVP Championships at HB Pier

The Assn. of Volleyball Professionals 2015 season tour ends this weekend in Huntington Beach with the AVP Championships at the Huntington Beach Pier.

The four-day event starts Thursday with men’s and women’s open qualifying tournaments starting at 8:30 a.m. The top four men’s and top four women’s teams advance to main draw. The competition resumes at 9 a.m. Friday through Sunday, with Main Draw play starting Saturday and continuing Sunday. The men’s and women’s semifinals and finals will run between noon and 3 p.m. Sunday.

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Volleyball tryouts, clinics

Ohana Athletic Club will hold a series of boys’ volleyball tryouts at Los Caballeros Racquet and Sports Club in Fountain Valley (17272 Newhope Street) starting Friday. and running daily through Monday.

Opening tryouts Friday are for players in divisions 12-and 14-and-Under and will run from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Saturday’s tryouts are for divisions 15U and 18U (4-5:30 p.m.) and 16U and 17U (6-7:30 p.m.) and Sunday’s tryouts are for divisions 12U-14U (2-3:30 p.m.), 15U and 16U (4-5:30 p.m.), and 17U and 18U (6-7:30 p.m.). A commitment meeting for all players will be held Monday at the club for divisions

12U-14U (6-7 p.m.) and 15U through 18U (7-8 p.m.).

Ohana Athletic Club also is running a girls’ Volleyball Clinic Series each Saturday through September at Los Caballeros Racquet and Sports Club. The cost is $5 per clinic.

For more information on the boys’ tryouts and girls’ clinic series, write ohanaathleticclub@gmail.com.

— From staff reports