[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.

Lost Opportunities, OV Drops its First Game to Brea

In a dogfight, OV came up short by the tally of 8-5. The game started off like any blowout would- Travis Sparks Jackson makes quick work of the Wildcats in the Top of the 1st, going 1-2-3 to start the game. OV then loaded the bases, but only brought 2 runs in off of Robert Fogarty’s single- no big deal right?

Travis went through the middle of the Wildcats lineup unscathed, but in the 3rd inning, a 2 out rally followed by a 3 run homerun put OV in a 2-4 hole. OV got another run in off of a Freddy Sepulveda single. Travis pitched a short 3+ innings, but Forest Turner finished off the 4th inning no-problem. In the bottom of the 4th, OV tied the game up at 4-4. Forest allowed 1 run in the top of the 5th, but yet again, OV fired back and tied the score at 5-5 in the bottom of the 5th.

The game was broken open when Alex Knowles came in to pitch in the 6th inning. The situation at hand really called for Freddy Sepulveda or Colton Johnson- someone that can get outs quickly while sacrificing stamina. Alex allowed back to back hits, but finished the run in just 4 batters. OV’s offense didn’t respond in the bottom of the 6th, despite getting two runners on. Alex allowed a home run to start the 7th inning, but got back-to-back strikeouts and a ground ball to finish the day.

When it was all said and done, Ocean View came up with too little, too late. The good news, it wasn’t the “real rotation” with our pool of the Foothill Bracket clinched, Coach Borowski may have wanted to “save” Freddy and Colton and Blake for the upcoming playoff portion of the Round Robin, but the bad news, OV’s backup bullpen wasn’t exactly stellar. Travis showed some flashes of dominance, and as the season progresses, he should fill in to his “ridiculous upside.”

This loss was painful, ending one of the most exciting win-streaks that OV Baseball has ever had, but compared to last year, OV is head-and-shoulders beyond the escapades of OV’s 2009 early season struggles.

One Down, and The Road Begins: OV 6, Irvine 3

The 2011 season is officially underway, and it started as perfectly as anyone could have asked for. OV topped Irvine 6-3, with only 1 of OV’s runs allowed counted as “earned runs.”

Offensively, the game started very similarly to how games started last year- hit, RBI, hit, RBI. Colton Johnson reached first to start the season off, stole 2nd, then Blake Walker opened his Senior season with a Triple and an RBI. Hitchcock also started off with a single and an RBI. Timmy Robinson led the team with 3 RBI’s, followed by Walker’s 2, and Hitchcock’s 1.

While some innings had their cold parts, the offense seemed to pick up right where it left off.

The real story of today’s game though was Alex Knowles- throwing 5 innings, striking out 3, and only 1 hit. Also, no earned runs. Alex’s biggest problem last year was leaving pitches up, but this year, Alex seems to have much better command of his pitches, getting tons of ground-balls, and all around is just a better pitcher. Sure, the competition wasn’t high, but Alex is no longer a liability while on the mound.

Freddy pitched in the 6th, and he allowed two hits, but struck out 2 and didn’t allow the runners to score. He was having “an off day” to say the least, but still retired the side. Freddy hasn’t lost his touch to say the least.

Forest Turner pitched in the 7th, but he allowed 1 run to come around. He wasn’t in command from the beginning, so I’ll mark that off as a bad outing, as Turner didn’t record an out.

Colton Johnson finished the deal off  in 13 pitches, and that was all she wrote.

Ocean View faces Troy High School tomorrow at 11:00 am. Be sure to head over to Ocean View High School for Opening Day, there is a special event planned that you won’t want to miss.

2011 OV Baseball Preview Part 2: Pitching

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 February 26th when the Seahawks take on Valencia 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. 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.

For the first time in my time here at Ocean View, there are no doubts about how good OV’s bullpen is this year. OV should return to its typical Wednesday-Friday 2 man rotation this year as OV will have two of the best pitchers in the GWL on their team in Freddy Sepulveda and Blake Walker.

Blake was the Postseason ace, starting in every game of the playoffs, and boasted a season ERA of 4.18 in a team leading 77 inning pitched. Freddy held a 2.62 ERA in 21.1 Innings pitched, having only pitched the final few innings of each of the games he played in, and missing the entire first half of the season due to injury, with the team best of a .198 batters faced average. During league play, Colton Johnson filled the “Friday” starter role having 43.2 innings pitched, along with a 3.69 ERA, Johnson trailed Freddy slightly with the team’s second best BA at .233.

But aren’t we missing anyone from last season? The answer, shockingly, is no. The astronomical ERA’s from the beginning of the season were either held by Seniors, players that aren’t on the team any more, or players that most likely won’t be warming up in the bullpen this season.

But this year bodes what could be a more “traditional” year for the Seahawks. Truth is, and I apologize to both of them, Blake Walker and Colton Johnson aren’t true pitchers, and unlike last year, the defense is arguably better with Walker at his natural Shortstop position. That mentality alone should leave the rotation to a limited Walker and Johnson along with a “Friday” Freddy, but the truth is, OV could possibly use Alex Knowles as their Wednesday starter.

More after the jump