Ocean View

When the Ocean View softball team dropped an early Golden West League showdown at home to Segerstrom in early April, it forced the Seahawks to immediately play catch-up in the chase for the 2013 league crown. That 5-0 loss on April 11 put Ocean View and Segerstrom one game behind Loara, which, in a league opener two days earlier, had edged Segerstrom, 1-0. That win gave Loara early confidence, and early league lead, as they took a 4-0 record into the final game of the first half of league play.

Marina, Edison, Huntington Beach and Ocean View softball teams learned of their respective opponents in the CIF Southern Section playoffs, as pairings were released Monday. In Division 1, Marina (24-3), the Sunset League champion, plays host to Tuesday's wild-card winner in Thursday's first round. The Vikings await the winner between Corona (17-14, Big VIII League at-large) at Moreno Valley Rancho Verde (14-9, Inland Valley League No. 3) Edison (20-10), the Sunset League second-place team, plays at Moreno Valley Valley View (13-14, Inland Valley League No. 2)

The Ocean View School District has named Gustavo "Gus" Balderas as its new superintendent, several months after former Supt. William Loose retired. Balderas, who currently oversees the Madera Unified School District in Central California, beat 20 other applicants for the position. He is scheduled to start work at Ocean View on Jan. 1. Roni Ellis, the district's director of administration and community relations, said Balderas won Ocean View over with his spirit and extensive resume.

HUNTINGTON BEACH — It's been an interesting three-day work week for the Ocean View boys' basketball team, one that took the Seahawks from one end of the playing spectrum, to the other. It all began Monday with a home nonleague game against cross-town rival Huntington Beach, continued Wednesday with a key Golden West League game at Segerstrom and concluded Friday with another league contest against visiting Santa Ana. Ocean View gave up a season-high in points Monday against Huntington in an 81-72 loss.

The 2011 Little League District 62 All-Stars Tournament is about to go on hiatus for the Fourth of July weekend, but not until a few more games are played Thursday at Mile Square Park in Fountain Valley and Marina Park in Huntington Beach. On Tuesday, Huntington Valley and Ocean View continued their winning in Majors play, Ocean View and Costa Mesa National each posted their second tournament wins in 10/11 action, Huntington Valley and Robinwood rolled onward in the 9/10 division and Huntington Valley, Seaview, Westminster and Ocean View were still going strong in the Junior tournament.

HUNTINGTON BEACH - In the days leading up to the start of the boys' basketball playoffs, Ocean View co-head coach Tim Walsh was a bit wary of his team's first-round opponent. The Seahawks, the top seed in the CIF Southern Section Division 2AA playoffs, drew a Redondo Union squad that, on paper, looked anything but threatening. At just 10-16, these Sea Hawks from the South Bay figured to be a push over. Walsh, however, knew better. It was a team, he said, that had defeated Edison and gave highly-regarded Crespi all it could handle during the regular season.

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - Ben Askelson hit a massive home run in the bottom of the seventh inning Wednesday night to give Big Sky Little League a 1-0 win over Ocean View in the U.S. semifinal of the Little League Baseball World Series. "It's better to lose tonight than in an elimination game," Ocean  View Manager Jeff Pratto said. "We just didn't hit the ball. " Ocean View, the West champion from Huntington Beach, must play that elimination game at 5 p.m. PDT Thursday against local favorite Keystone Little League team from Clinton County, Pa., a team that drew more than 40,000 in its opening game last week.

HUNTINGTON BEACH — It wasn't looking pretty for Ocean View in the early stages of Thursday's girls' basketball nonleague game against Laguna Beach. No, not with the visiting Breakers starting to quickly pull away in the second half — and seemingly comfortably, too, from what had been a close game. The Seahawks were struggling on offense, giving up some easy buckets defensively, and appeared to be heading toward their ninth defeat of the season after digging themselves into an 11-point hole.

HUNTINGTON BEACH - By not being able to take care of the little things Friday, the Ocean View baseball team took a step backward in Golden West League play. Segerstrom parlayed a one-out rally in the fourth inning into five runs, used another one-out rally in the fifth to pad its lead, and went on to score a 10-1 victory over the host Seahawks. It was the second win in three days for the Jaguars over the Seahawks, and Friday's outcome left both teams at 4-5 in league play. Segerstrom posted a 12-8 win Wednesday over Ocean View.

Marina, Edison, Huntington Beach and Ocean View softball teams learned of their respective opponents in the CIF Southern Section playoffs, as pairings were released Monday. In Division 1, Marina (24-3), the Sunset League champion, plays host to Tuesday's wild-card winner in Thursday's first round. The Vikings await the winner between Corona (17-14, Big VIII League at-large) at Moreno Valley Rancho Verde (14-9, Inland Valley League No. 3) Edison (20-10), the Sunset League second-place team, plays at Moreno Valley Valley View (13-14, Inland Valley League No. 2)

When the Ocean View softball team dropped an early Golden West League showdown at home to Segerstrom in early April, it forced the Seahawks to immediately play catch-up in the chase for the 2013 league crown. That 5-0 loss on April 11 put Ocean View and Segerstrom one game behind Loara, which, in a league opener two days earlier, had edged Segerstrom, 1-0. That win gave Loara early confidence, and early league lead, as they took a 4-0 record into the final game of the first half of league play.

HUNTINGTON BEACH - By not being able to take care of the little things Friday, the Ocean View baseball team took a step backward in Golden West League play. Segerstrom parlayed a one-out rally in the fourth inning into five runs, used another one-out rally in the fifth to pad its lead, and went on to score a 10-1 victory over the host Seahawks. It was the second win in three days for the Jaguars over the Seahawks, and Friday's outcome left both teams at 4-5 in league play. Segerstrom posted a 12-8 win Wednesday over Ocean View.

Marina High and Ocean View weren't scheduled to meet during the course of the prep baseball regular season, but by virtue of what transpired during the opening of the of the Ryan Lemmon Invitational, the neighboring schools worked their way to a chance encounter on the diamond. Both the Vikings and Seahawks dropped their tournament openers on Saturday, came back Monday to win their next games which paired the teams against each other in a second-round game of the consolation bracket.

So far, so good, for the Huntington Beach boys' volleyball team. The Oilers passed their first two tests of the Sunset League season in the past week capped by a 25-20, 25-21, 25-17 sweep on Tuesday of host Marina. The win moved the Oilers, ranked fourth in CIF Southern Section Division 1, to 12-2 overall. It also kept them tied atop the league standings with Newport Harbor, a team the Oilers play host to Thursday. Senior middle blocker Emmett Ross and junior libero Jake Weiser led Huntington with five kills each.

Thursday Track and Field (2 p.m.) Edison vs. Los Alamitos/Fountain Valley Marina/Newport Harbor at Huntington Beach (3 p.m.) Westminster at Ocean View Boys' Golf (2:30 p.m.) Marina vs. Edison (at SeaCliff CC) Boys' Tennis (3 p.m.) Marina at Edison Huntington at Newport Harbor Ocean View at Orange Swimming (3 p.m.) Huntington at Marina Baseball (3:15 p.m.) Huntington Beach at Edison Fountain Valley at Marina (7 p.m.)

HUNTINGTON BEACH - The opportunities were there for the taking Friday, but the Ocean View baseball team couldn't find a way to take advantage in key situations. The Seahawks squandered scoring chances against rival Westminster in an showdown that determined the early leader in the Golden West League race. The visiting Lions, meanwhile, made the most of their opportunities and that difference gave them a 5-3 victory. The win kept Westminster perfect through the first week of league play and put the Lions at 3-0. Ocean View, which had won its first two league games, fell to 2-1. The Seahawks held a 2-1 lead through three innings but couldn't get to Westminster ace Tyler Mahle or reliever Octavio Valente the rest of the way. "We played not to lose, instead of playing to win," Ocean View Coach Shane Borowski said.

The road proved friendly to Marina, Fountain Valley and Ocean View during opening day of league play Friday. Both Marina and Fountain Valley started Sunset League play with big victories, while Ocean View held on at Santa Ana to take its Golden West League opener. Edison was the lone local team to play at home Friday, and the Chargers were defeated by Newport Harbor. Marina rode the pitching of Austin Olivas (2-0) and a late scoring push to come away with a 4-1 victory at Los Alamitos.

On a team, and league, full of talented players, Ocean View High's Kendall Small found a way to steal the spotlight, so to speak. The sophomore guard, who damaged the opposition through several ways on the court, has been named the Most Valuable Player on the 2012-13 All-Golden West League boys' basketball team. Small heads a team that includes four of his Ocean View teammates: senior Josh Mishler, juniors Dillon Reise and Jelani Jackson, and fellow sophomore, Tyler Burch. Small averaged 20.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.6 steals, and three assists per game.