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…

OV Baseball Preview: San Juan Hills @ OV – Newport Elks Tournament

Ocean View didn’t qualify for the playoff portion as CDM and Beckman both emerged from their respective pools undefeated. So, OV will try and make some positive come up in the consolation bracket.

San Juan Hills is also 2-1, and will have the tough task of facing Freddy Sepulveda in his first start of the year. Right-Fielder Blake Hitchcock is out for two weeks as he undergoes ortho-scopic knee surgery.

The Seahawks and Stallions are slated to play at 3:00pm at Gibbs Field.

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.

OV Baseball Preview: Brea Olinda @ OV – Newport Elks Tournament

Sorry no preview today, but OV does take on Brea Olinda at Gibbs Field today at 3:30pm.

Ocean View will start Travis Sparks Jackson and the Wildcats of Brea Olinda will start Grant Bishop

HEAD OVER TO iscorecast.com for a FREE, live score cast of today’s game. Use the PIN: 7817715AEC

OV Opens Gibbs Field with a Dominant Victory

Bob Gibbs, long time hitting coach and Orange County Baseball Legend, was honored today with the dedication of Ocean View’s home field in his name. Now named “Gibbs Field,” the home of the Seahawks was anything but welcoming to Troy.

Troy started out the game with a run off of an error, but that was it. Blake Walker (1-0) settled into the game and shut the Warriors down- Walker struck out two, and allowed only 1 hit in his 4 innings work. His WHIP? A solid 1.00. Colton Johnson really closed the door though, striking out 6 in 3 innings, and not allowing a single baserunner in that time. And that was supposed to be the weaker of the two rotations! OV has made a name for itself as a top notch pitching team.

Offensively, OV played smoothly, jumping on Ochoa early for 4 runs in the 1st. After that, a stream of productive innings wore down Ochoa and let OV score two more runs before he got the hook. It was not an explosive afternoon, but OV was extremely efficient throughout.

OV faces Brea at Gibbs Field on Tuesday in the final pool game of the Newport Elks Tournament.

[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.