Ocean View's magical run ends

SAN BERNARDINO --- Minutes after such a special run came to an end Thursday night, members of the Ocean View Little League 9-and-10-year-old All-Star team were smiling.

They said they'll remember the fun of staying at a hotel together in-between games. They will also remember the joy of getting to the Little League Sub-Division III South championship game. In a year when few thought they could make a return journey to that point, Ocean View won District 62 and Section 10 titles.

“We really didn’t think we would win sectionals,” said third baseman Justin Cianca. “I mean, our goal was to win the district. It was hard for us to get past sectionals.”

But what Rancho San Diego will ultimately remember is moving on to the Division III championship in the 9/10 age-group for the second straight year. And again it was Ocean View on the losing end, 11-0 in five innings this time at the Newmark Little League field.

It was too similar to last year for Hagen Danner and Nick Pratto. The only two holdovers from last year’s squad made it to the same Sub-Division tournament, against a Rancho San Diego team that returned five from last year’s squad.

Same tournament, same team and same result, even after being up, 3-0, against Rancho San Diego in Wednesday’s game. But Ocean View’s lead slipped away, 4-3 in eight innings, and Rancho San Diego came out focused on Thursday.

“It just sucks,” said Danner, who played catcher Thursday.

Added Cianca: “We thought we would win. Every time we lost [to Robinwood in district play and South Mission Viejo in section play], we mercied the team in the next game.”

Rancho San Diego, the Section 7 champion, instead broke open a scoreless game Thursday by scoring five runs in the third, the key hit being a three-run homer to left by shortstop Nick Allen. That came while pitcher Pratto was clearly frustrated, after an error behind him and a walk.

“I tried to focus, but my mind was just everywhere,” Nick Pratto said. “It’s OK. We’ll get them next year.”

Allen, whose father, Tom, manages the club, finished three for four with two doubles and six runs batted in.