[Updated w/ Stats] OV Bested by Beckman, Falls to .500

Just as OV gained some momentum, the Patriots take it away. OV fell to the Patriots today by the score of 8-4, but statistically, one could make the claim that OV played “better” than the Patriots. Pitching-wise, OV had a lower ERA (3.86 to Beckman’s 4.00) and a lower WHIP (1.714 to 2.143), OV also had a higher OBP (.457 to .424), hitting average (.296 to .269), and even had more hits than the Patriots at 8 hits to 7, but the box score is only for show; the Patriots won in the line score and that’s what counts.

You have to give credit to the Seahawks as their bullpen only allowed another two runs after surrendering 6 runs in the first two innings.

The turning point in the game came early: two outs, bases loaded in the bottom of the first- Will Barring swings on a 1-2 pitch and sends a chopper to third as Freddy Sepulveda throws the ball across the diamond and it one hops the backup first baseman Chad Hackworth and bounces past him, yielding two runs and opening the door for another 2 runs to score in the first.

First mistake goes to OV, first capitalization goes to Beckman.

OV loaded the bases on walks, and looked like they would answer right back in the bottom of the 1st, but back to back punch outs sent OV back into the dugout, and Alex Knowles’ 1.1 inning performance spiraled out of control as Justin Hazard hit a monstrous double to left-center bringing in another run. Forest Turner quickly shut the door, but OV couldn’t over come the huge 6 run deficit that Beckman gave them early on.

Again, Beckman would score another 2 runs again late in the game, but they were just for insurance as OV could only draw themselves within two.

OV stranded a whopping 10 men on base, often with the bases loaded- last year, it didn’t hurt the Seahawks, this year, it did. While the score didn’t indicate the true competitiveness of the game, one could say “what if Freddy had thrown Will Barring out to strand the bases loaded and end the 1st inning?” Alas, two competitive baseball teams have traded wins with that same principle- taking advantage of mistakes.

Familiar Faces: OV to Face Beckman in CIF Quarterfinal Rematch

OV Hawks Podcast: Episode 1

The last time the Patriots of Beckman High School walked off the field after facing Ocean View, you could sum up the reaction of the South-County Powerhouse in one word: shocked.

The previously 27-1 Patriots were all but guaranteed to take advantage of a relatively weak bracket and march right on to 2010 OC Varsity Coach of the Year Kevin Lavelle’s first CIF Championship. Ocean View, on the other hand, had some other plans. You can read all about the game here and here.

Last year, though, was last year. The differences between the two ’10 and the ’11 teams are rather trivial though. Let’s start with Beckman- the Patriots lost two of their biggest offensive tools- Reyn Araki in Center-Field, and Brandon Trinkwon at Shortstop. As documented in the past, Ocean View lost the biggest piece to last year’s team Aaron Delgado at Shortstop and Center-Field, but also lost Nick Schulenburg, and Kevin Nance at the corners.

But as I’ve said in the past here, Robert Fogarty and Colton Johnson fixed the holes that Aaron left offensively and defensively.

That being said, expect a very similar game compared to last year’s matchup.

Ocean View has lost games here and there, one to El Dorado after getting 1-Hit, Westminster after getting 3-Hit, and when they’ve faced superior pitching, they have struggled offensively. However, when they aren’t ice cold, OV has the same offensive potential as any team in the division.

Beckman, at the very least, just isn’t undefeated on paper, they lost to CDM in the Newport Elks Tournament after starting the “B Team,” and lost the second game in their double-header against Katella, again, clearing the bench in that night game.

Let’s look into individual unit match-ups after the jump…

[Updated] OV Baseball Preview: OV @ Irvine – Newport Elks Tournament

[OV's line is -3 over Irvine today]

In the opener to the 2011 season, OV start the Newport Elks Tournament with a game against the Vaqueros of Irvine High School at 3:00 pm. Usually teams from South county can put up a fight against the teams in the north, but this Irvine team has struggled for quite some time. They won a mere five games last year and the intramural team from the Pacific Coast League has been the stomping mat for teams like Beckman for the past few years.

Irvine’s flaws really were magnified when Irvine’s best player, Brennen Leitao, transferred to Woodbridge this past season. Aside from that, the biggest returner for Irvine is their Junior middle-infielder Cole Moeller. Moeller batted .358 last year, and behind him is Matt Russell, a Senior 3rd Baseman/Pitcher who batted .333 last year.

The bottom line is, Irvine isn’t very good and should be vouching for the 4th or 5th place spot in the PCL (out of 6), OV should start the season 1-0, and hopefully the position players can shake off some rust in this game before competition escalates.

2011 OV Baseball Preview Part 5: CIF-SS Division 3 Preview

 

Travis Sparks Jackson and OV look to be back on top this season

 

 

Another season, and five-part preview is in the wings as we look ahead to the 2011 OV baseball season, which will get underway on March 3rd when the Seahawks take on Irvine High School. As we look to 2011, we started with Part 1, a general 2010 review and 2011 preview with a look at the schedule and key notes. And Part 2, which covered Pitchers. Part 3 covered the position players will and Part 4 previewed the Golden West League.

I’m going to get right to it, there is no reason why OV shouldn’t be in the chase for another CIF Title. The competition in league is at a low, the challenges out of league are attainable, but challenges none-the-less, and this roster is the most talented since 2005.

Let’s be cautious though, the last time an Ocean View team had monstrous expectations this happened.

I am saying that expectations are a terrible burden for any team to carry. Considering everything else in High School Sports; family, grades, friends, practices, fatigue, injury, etc., the expectation that you have to win a [CIF] championship is something that is [extremely lofty].

Let’s go over pre-league tournaments first. OV’s first tournament is in a matter of days; the Newport Elk’s tournament boasts a talented “Foothill” Bracket, with the #1 ranked team (Ocean View) and #3 ranked team (Beckman). Here are the remaining brackets.

OV then participates in their annual double-header with El Dorado; I would be very happy to see OV be competitive in that matchup, winning aside.

OV then goes into league play for a little, followed by their early April break where they’ll participate in the OC Nissan Tournament. OV is slated to play Beckman again in the second round of play (if both teams win their first round matchups) and (again win permitting) can play #4 ranked Woodbridge in the Semi-Finals of the tournament. Pretty good field if you ask me.

The real question is how can OV keep the #1 seed. It really has three parts:

1. Preseason
2. League
3. OC Nissan Tournament

I’d be surprised if OV can win their first tournament as Borowski coached teams usually take true shape during League play. But, should they be in a “marquee” matchup (against Beckman or Woodbridge) they need to win it, pretty simple. Another rule of preseason tournaments is no early exits. This shouldn’t be a problem in both tournaments, but not qualifying for the playoff portion of the Newport Elks round-robin, and leaving before the 3rd round of the OC Nissan Tournament would be considered disappointing.

Winning league is also a “must-achieve” task. Not much explanation needed there.

Postseason outlook is a little too blurry as of now, but Bonita should be storming back to the finals with a vengeance this year.

OV Baseball Ranked #1 In Division 3 Preseason Rankings

As expected, the talent loaded Seahawks will be holding the #1 Ranking at the beginning of the season: (via OC Varsity)

1. Ocean View

2. Bonita

3. Woodbridge

4. Beckman

OV is slated to play both Woodbridge and Beckman in out-of-conference tournaments.

 

2011 OV Baseball Preview Part 1: General

 

Can OV defend their CIF Title in 2011?

Another season, and a five-part preview is in the wings as we look ahead to the 2011 OV baseball season, which will get underway on February 26th when the Seahawks take on Valencia High School. As we look to 2011, we’ll start here with Part 1, a general 2010 review and 2011 preview with a look at the schedule and key notes. Part 2 will look at the pitchers and Part 3, the position players. Part 4 will preview the Golden West League and Part 5 will be a look at the country and where OV fits in the regional/postseason scene.

OV opened up last season with a record of 2-5. During that seven game stretch, OV went through 6 pitchers, 4 didn’t throw another pitch for the remainder of the season, and 7 different lineups. On the contrary, OV pitched three different pitchers, 2 lineups, and won a CIF Championship in the final 7 games. The Seahawks were probably the biggest surprise in the league, without a doubt.

The season began with a loss, as Troy defeated OV 9-4, the starting pitcher? Alex Knowles, and in relief for him? Andrew Medrano. OV defeated Carter 7-6 a day later, but then dropped two games to CDM and Pacifica and got outscored by 19 runs in those two games. OV turned things around with a victory over Irvine, but then got swept by El Dorado in their annual double header. In out of league play, as mentioned before, OV went 2-5, and averaged 9.43 Runs Against.

League play was a different story though, OV won 8 consecutive league games before finishing 13-2 in the Golden West League. OV finished the regular season with two 10+ run victories over Saddleback.

Postseason time came quickly for the Seahawks, earning the #8 overall seed in the bracket poised for a first round match up with La Quinta High School. The Aztecs boasted a pretty good starting pitcher in Michael Hill, but OV overcame 5 errors to top the Aztecs 3-1. OV advanced to the second round against Bell Gardens.

The Bell Gardens game started off shaky for the Seahawks, as Bell Gardens opened up the game with 4 runs in the bottom of the 1st, but OV never lost focus and came storming back to tie the game and then take the lead in the top of the 5th. OV scored another 4 runs in the top of the 6th, but Bell Gardens responded with a 2 run bottom of the 6th. OV was held off the scoreboard in the top of the 7th, and in one of the most dramatic finishes of the season, held off Bell Gardens for the final score of 9-8. Ocean View squeaked by… with the then 27-1, top seeded Beckman Patriots coming up next.

More after the jump: