Staying alive

Mike Sciacca

The Ocean View High baseball team always seems to have a big

offensive inning in every game this season, and it was the same

Tuesday at Cerritos College in Norwalk.

Taking on Warren of Downey in a CIF-Southern Section Division III

second-round playoff game, the Seahawks scored four runs in the top

of the eighth inning, then shut down the Bears to keep their title

hopes alive with a 6-2 victory.

Ocean View showed its mettle by scoring all four runs with two

outs as it extended its win streak to 13 games and improved to 22-5

overall.

The Golden West League champions will host Ontario Colony on

Friday in a 3:15 p.m. quarterfinal.

“We just didn’t give up all game, at no point,” Ocean View coach

Aaron Kavanagh said. “We were able to sneak in another big inning,

but this time, it took us eight innings to do so.”

The eighth-inning rally began when Alex Burnett drew a walk. Geoff

Klein delivered a hit-and-run single to put runners at first and

third.

John Vega then sent a double to the wall in left-center field,

which drove in Burnett and pinch-runner Steve Sawyer for a 4-2 lead.

After Vega’s two-run double, Marc Fernandez laid down a drag bunt

and reached base on an overthrow, which allowed Vega to score. Matt

Hughes completed the scoring when he smacked an RBI single into the

left-center field gap.

Ocean View struck first in the contest, getting a pair of

first-inning runs on Vega’s single to right-center field, following

singles by Jason Walker and Burnett.

Warren, the runner-up in the San Gabriel Valley League, retaliated

with two runs of its own in the second inning, only one of them

earned.

Senior right-hander Jeff Roth showed his staying power by pitching

all eight innings. He struck out 11, allowed just four hits -- only

two after the second inning -- and didn’t give up a walk.

“What can I say about Jeff, except that he did an outstanding

job,” Kavanagh said of Roth, who improved his record to 9-1. “He

hadn’t been himself in his last few outings but today, he brought his

‘A’ game, big time.”

Ocean View began the playoffs last Friday with a 7-0 whipping of

visiting California, the No. 3 team from the Del Rio League.

Burnett was his usual reliable self for the Seahawks, as he gave

up one hit in six innings, struck out nine and walked three. Derek

Martin finished the game.

James Kang delivered a leadoff home run in the first inning and

scored two runs. Walker tripled and singled, driving in a run, and

Vega continued his torrid hitting with two singles to go along with

an RBI and run scored.

In the Division I baseball playoffs, co-Sunset League champion

Marina dropped a 1-0 first-round game to visiting Bishop Amat, the

No. 3 team from the Serra League.

In the CIF-SS boys’ volleyball playoffs, Edison, tri-champion of

and the No. 1 entry from the Sunset League, hosted top-seeded and Bay

League champ Mira Costa Wednesday in a Division I semifinal game.

The score was not available at press time.

Edison, which had first-round bye, opened the postseason with a

sweep of Serra League champion Santa Margarita, as junior outside

hitter Tommy Pestolesi led the way with 15 kills. The Chargers next

went on the road to dispose of Sea View League runner-up Woodbridge

in a three-game sweep, where Pestolesi came up with 16 kills and 11

digs.

Wednesday’s match marked the first time since the 1990 season that an Edison squad had advanced to the semifinals.