OV suffers setback

The Ocean View High baseball team had Orange’s number the first two times the teams had met in Golden West League play, and the Seahawks Friday were looking for a third win that not only would give them a league sweep of the Panthers, but also would clinch the league championship.

Those title hopes had to wait.

Orange took an early lead, fell behind by two runs but pushed across the final three runs including the winning run in the top of the eighth inning. In doing so, the Panthers handed the Seahawks their first league loss with a 6-5 victory at Ocean View.

Despite the setback, Ocean View still held a comfortable lead in the league race entering the week. Orange, its closest competitor in the standings, was three games behind the Seahawks with four games remaining.

Ocean View had an opportunity to clinch the league title with a win Wednesday against Segerstrom. The score wasn’t available at press time. The teams also square off at 3:15 p.m. Friday at Segerstrom.

The loss put the Seahawks at 10-1 in league.

“We just didn’t execute,” Ocean View Coach Tanner VanMaanen said. “It was as simple as that. It was the little things that we didn’t do that cost us. But, it’s a credit to our guys for being right there and with a chance to win the game.”

Ocean View, which previously defeated Orange by 9-1 and 11-5 scores, fell behind 2-0 after the top of the first. The Seahawks answered right back when Devin Lacy knocked in their first run with a one-out single to left field, and scored the tying run on an Orange throwing error in the bottom of the frame. They took their first lead in the bottom of the second when Jake Legg, batting in the No. 9 spot, crushed a home run over the fence in left field to make it 4-2.

The Seahawks’ final run came in the bottom of the third on an RBI into left-field by Adam Meyer.

The Seahawks and the Panthers met April 27 at Orange, and the Seahawks scored an 11-5 win. Junior right-hander Adam Carles gave up a walk and one run and struck out three in six innings for the win.

Ocean View traveled Saturday to face Rolling Hills Estates Peninsula in its final game of the Redondo Union Tournament, and again dropped a one-run game in eight innings. The Seahawks fell to 12-10 overall after a 1-0 loss to the Panthers.

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•Marina and Fountain Valley completed their Sunset League series Friday and Marina’s 2-1 victory at Fountain Valley gave the Vikings a 3-0 series sweep.

Travis Burleson homered in the bottom of the fifth to break a scoreless game and put Fountain Valley on top, 1-0, but Marina’s Cory Lewis would deliver what turned out to be the game-winning hit, a two-run home run, in the top of the sixth.

Lewis, a freshman, went two for three.

Senior right-hander Riley Ohl went the distance. He gave up three hits without a walk, struck out four, and improved to 5-3 in remaining perfect (5-0) in league play.

“Riley once again pitched very well and composed,” Marina Coach Bob Marshall said of Ohl. “He has turned out to be a very exciting pitcher to watch. Thank God he is on our team.”

Burleson, who suffered his first loss (4-1), scattered five hits.

“Our guys played hard and they gave us a great effort,” Fountain Valley Coach Deric Yanagisawa said. “We made one too many mistakes on defense and we gave Marina an extra out, and they took advantage of it. Good teams take advantage of those situations, and Marina did just that.”

In the teams’ meeting at Marina April 27, the Vikings racked up 13 hits and rolled to a 9-1 victory. Lewis, Griffin Hennessey (walk, RBI), and Will Pingle each had two hits, Joseph Waked doubled and drove in two runs, and sophomore right-hander and winning pitcher Jared Minor (six innings) threw a one-hitter, walked two and struck out four in six innings in improving to 2-1 in league. Senior right-hander Matt Clarke gave up a run and two hits in relief.

The two wins against the Barons allowed Marina to maintain its lead in the Sunset title chase and the Vikings gained a game after Edison and Huntington Beach split their two games last week. The Vikings entered the week 8-3 in league with a two-game lead with four games to play, and ran their overall record to 18-8.

Marina also moved into the CIF Southern Section Division 1 rankings for the first time this season, coming in this week at No. 9.

The two losses put Fountain Valley at 4-7 in league but the Barons improved to 15-11 overall by defeating Bellflower in a nonleague game Saturday, 9-6. Burleson again homered in going two for three, Justin Yang went two for three with a double, and the pitching win went to senior right-hander Roger Gonzalez (2-0).

“It was nice to see our offense string together some hits,” Yanagisawa said. “They did a good job executing and we hit some balls hard.

“It was nice to get playing time for other guys who deserve it. They put in the hard work and have made a commitment to this program.”

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•Huntington Beach and Edison were tied for second place in the Sunset League and two games off pace of Marina through 11 league games.

Huntington moved back into second by surging to a 9-1 over Edison Friday at Angel Stadium. The Chargers used three walks and an RBI ground out by Vince Inman to score in the first but the Oilers answered with a two-out, two-run single by Trevor Windisch to take the lead for good. Nick Lopez came up with a two-run single in the fourth, and Nick Pratto dealt a big blow in the fifth with a two-run home run that traveled over the big wall in right-center field.

Windisch went two for three with three RBIs. Pratto also drove in three runs in going two for four, and the junior left-hander (2-2) gave up just two hits and an earned run in five innings for the win.

Huntington, which twice faces Los Alamitos this week, improved to 6-5 in league and 16-9 overall.

“It was a great atmosphere and it was nice to play well in front of such a big crowd,” Huntington Coach Benji Medure said. “Hopefully we can carry this momentum for the rest of the year.”

Edison, which has a two-game series with rival Fountain Valley this week, also was 6-5 in league and 11-14-1 overall.

“While we didn’t perform near our capabilities, the experience was one that the kids will remember for a lifetime,” Edison Coach Cameron Chinn said. “The group has stayed together through tough losses throughout the season and I expect that to happen again as we prepare for Fountain Valley.”

Edison briefly held sole possession of second place and dropped Huntington to third by defeating the visiting Oilers April 27, 3-2. Connor Aoki singled in Ted Burton for the winning run in the bottom of the seventh. Inman, a junior left-hander, went the distance allowing five hits.

Hagen Danner and Ben McConnell both homered and singled for Huntington which took the league series, 2-1.

Sunset League teams played games Wednesday, but scores weren’t available at press time. At 3:15 p.m. Friday, Edison is home to Fountain Valley, Huntington visits Los Alamitos, and Marina hosts Newport Harbor.

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•Brethren Christian hosted Cypress Oxford Academy Tuesday and lost to the Patriots, 5-3, in Academy League play. Eric Alexander had a two-run double for the Warriors.

“Both teams played a hard fought ball game,” BC Coach Mike Thompson said. “Unfortunately, we weren’t able to come out on top”

The Warriors travel Friday for a 3:15 p.m. league game at Oxford Academy.

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CIF Weekly Rankings (released Monday)

Marina (No. 9, Division 1).