Hank Conger

He has been a hit on YouTube and next week, Hank Conger hopes to hit it big at a local youth baseball camp. Conger will be a special guest at a summer baseball camp that begins Monday at Ocean View High. The camp, run by Sluggers HB and Mizuno USA, is a place where a young Conger took instruction. The Huntington Beach High grad, who caught Collin Balester of the Washington Nationals for two years when the two played for the Oilers and then went on to become Gatorade?s 2006 State Player of the Year during his senior year, is now playing for the Angels?

Seven years ago, it was routine for Collin Balester and Hank Conger to discuss all aspects of the game on the Huntington Beach High baseball diamond. Balester was a star on the mound for the Oilers and during the final two years of his prep career, it was Conger who provided the target for his pitches behind the plate. At the end of that 2003-04 school year — which included a successful 2004 season for the Oilers — Balester was drafted by the then-Montreal Expos. Conger, meanwhile, was getting ready to play summer ball before starting his junior year at Huntington.

Sluggers HB and Mizuno USA will present a summer baseball camp for local youth beginning Aug. 18. The camp runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. through Aug. 22 at the Ocean View High varsity baseball field. The camp?s special guest will be one of its former campers, Hank Conger, who played at Huntington Beach High before being drafted by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Conger currently plays for the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. The camp is open to youth ages 8 to 14 and costs $200 per camper.

Mike Sciacca, Independent There might no stopping Ocean View Little League's march to the 2000 District 62 All-Star Tournament Majors Division crown. Granted, the tournament is but two games old for each of the eight competing leagues, and there's plenty of baseball to be played. But since Saturday, if you were to label any of eight the favorite, it would have to be Ocean View. Both Huntington Valley and Costa Mesa American can attest to that. Tuesday in a winner's contest played at Huntington Valley Little League's Inspiration Field, Ocean View tagged a Mercy Rule defeat on Costa Mesa American by a score of 10-0.

Mike Sciacca, Independent Making a statement early in the tournament and proving that it should be considered one of the teams to beat in the Western Regional, Ocean View followed up Wednesday's 13-1 rout of Laramie with a 3-0 blanking of East Dale of New Mexico on Thursday, in what Manager Yun Conger termed a "hard-fought game." The winner's bracket contest was scoreless entering the bottom of the fifth inning. It was there that Ocean View finally broke through, with Chris Palmer, the game's winning pitcher, breaking the ice with a leadoff double.

Mike Sciacca, Independent The Ocean View Little League Major Division All-Stars rolled back into town last Friday morning, hoping to get a brief respite from the hoopla surrounding the 2000 Little League Western Regional tournament. The Ocean View entourage left San Bernardino early Friday, and arrived back on its home playing field in Huntington Beach sometime around 9:30 a.m. They left the players compound for cooler grounds - and sanity's sake.

Mike Sciacca, Independent The Road to Williamsport, home of the Little League Baseball World Series, began to seem a bit closer to the Ocean View Majors All-Star team last Wednesday night. Ocean View made its debut in the Western Regional tournament in grand style, needing just four innings to put a Mercy Rule spanking on Laramie (Wyoming), 13-1. Starting pitcher Dallas Walters was needed for just two innings, and the right-hander struck out six of the seven batters he faced (he walked the other)

Ocean View Little League repeated as District 62 Majors Division champion, but this time, it was the Reds who won the Tournament of Champions, beating the Robinwood Brewers, 6-3, in the division final played June 28 at Ocean View. Last year, it was the Mets who brought the district banner to Ocean View. The 2000 championship game pitted teams with outstanding pitching staffs. Jeff Van Doornum started on the mound for Ocean View and gave up three runs in three innings.

When the phone rang late Tuesday morning, Hank Conger knew he was about realize a childhood dream. Surrounded by his family and a few friends in his family's home in Huntington Beach, Conger took a call from Major League Baseball scout Bobby DeJardin of the Angels. "As soon as I heard his voice, I knew," Conger said of the 10:30 a.m. phone call from DeJardin who informed the Huntington Beach High senior that he was the Angels' first-round selection in baseball's amateur draft Tuesday.

"Oh, I almost forgot — we flew up to Sacramento to meet Gov. Brown, too. " So chuckled Ocean View Little League manager Jeff Pratto to me recently as we spoke about the head-spinning series of events that have rolled out in the wake of his team's recent Little League Baseball World Series championship. Yes, there was just a thrilling seven-game major league contest between Texas and St. Louis. But here in Huntington Beach, Ocean View's feat is still the one people are talking about, and no doubt will continue to remember for generations.

Seven years ago, it was routine for Collin Balester and Hank Conger to discuss all aspects of the game on the Huntington Beach High baseball diamond. Balester was a star on the mound for the Oilers and during the final two years of his prep career, it was Conger who provided the target for his pitches behind the plate. At the end of that 2003-04 school year — which included a successful 2004 season for the Oilers — Balester was drafted by the then-Montreal Expos. Conger, meanwhile, was getting ready to play summer ball before starting his junior year at Huntington.

Recently, Angels skipper Mike Scioscia told the Los Angeles Times, "What we've seen we've definitely liked. If he wasn't doing the job defensively, this would be a moot point. But he is and that's giving him an opportunity to get a little more playing time. " He was talking about Huntington Beach's own Hank Conger, who is finding himself starting behind home plate more and more. I spoke with Conger in 2008. Then, the up-and-coming catcher was about to return to Arizona for some rehab work before heading off to play either with the Cedar Rapids Kernels or with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes.

The wide divide between Williamsport, Pa., and Huntington Beach, has closed significantly for the Ocean View Little League (12-year-old) All-Star team. That 2,289 mile gap has been reduced to a mere two steps. Ocean View went 3-1 in pool play at the Little League Baseball Western Regional in San Bernardino in the past week to reserve a spot in the tournament's semifinals. Southern California champion Ocean View, which won its first three games before being bumped off Tuesday by Northern California champ Napa National Little League, will play at either 2 p.m. or 8:30 p.m. Friday, depending on the semifinal seed the locals receive.

He has been a hit on YouTube and next week, Hank Conger hopes to hit it big at a local youth baseball camp. Conger will be a special guest at a summer baseball camp that begins Monday at Ocean View High. The camp, run by Sluggers HB and Mizuno USA, is a place where a young Conger took instruction. The Huntington Beach High grad, who caught Collin Balester of the Washington Nationals for two years when the two played for the Oilers and then went on to become Gatorade?s 2006 State Player of the Year during his senior year, is now playing for the Angels?

Sluggers HB and Mizuno USA will present a summer baseball camp for local youth beginning Aug. 18. The camp runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. through Aug. 22 at the Ocean View High varsity baseball field. The camp?s special guest will be one of its former campers, Hank Conger, who played at Huntington Beach High before being drafted by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Conger currently plays for the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. The camp is open to youth ages 8 to 14 and costs $200 per camper.

When the phone rang late Tuesday morning, Hank Conger knew he was about realize a childhood dream. Surrounded by his family and a few friends in his family's home in Huntington Beach, Conger took a call from Major League Baseball scout Bobby DeJardin of the Angels. "As soon as I heard his voice, I knew," Conger said of the 10:30 a.m. phone call from DeJardin who informed the Huntington Beach High senior that he was the Angels' first-round selection in baseball's amateur draft Tuesday.

Mike Sciacca Ocean View High School baseball coach Aaron Kavanagh called Santa Ana High School a "tough place" for a team to play. And that's where the Seahawks had to open their Golden West League schedule. Ocean View, however, had few problems with a young Saints team. The Seahawks launched their league schedule with an impressive 10-0 victory, a win that Kavanagh said was "all about Alex Burnett." All the senior did was hit a grand slam in the first inning, and then proceed to throw a complete game.

Mike Sciacca, Independent They have traded pins with their fellow competitors, shared camaraderie at an opening day barbecue, were bunk mates and became good friends with their rivals from Montana, created a makeshift ping pong court, and, overall, seemed a bit blown away by all the media attention. They even escaped the madness for one brief moment, last Friday. Sometimes, during the course of the regular season, on their home field in Huntington Beach, these same players displayed their talents before half-empty stands.

Mike Sciacca, Independent Making a statement early in the tournament and proving that it should be considered one of the teams to beat in the Western Regional, Ocean View followed up Wednesday's 13-1 rout of Laramie with a 3-0 blanking of East Dale of New Mexico on Thursday, in what Manager Yun Conger termed a "hard-fought game." The winner's bracket contest was scoreless entering the bottom of the fifth inning. It was there that Ocean View finally broke through, with Chris Palmer, the game's winning pitcher, breaking the ice with a leadoff double.