Reds

The bat of Billy Marion went a long way Saturday for the Pirates, who rode hit offensive performance to a 10-7 victory over the Rangers in Ocean View Little League Minor A Division action. Marions singled twice, doubled, and finished with two RBI to pace the Pirates on offense, while Finn Jensen pitched two solid innings to help keep the Rangers in check. The Pirates scored two runs in each of their five innings on offense. In other games: Reds 7, Pirates 6 In a showdown for first place, the pitching of Albert Breitwieser and Daniel Williams helped the Reds get by the Pirates.

The Dodgers racked up two more Majors Division victories during the past week, beating the Cardinals, 4-2, and the Reds, 15-1, at Seaview Little League. Dodgers 4, Cardinals 2 The Dodgers scored all of their runs in the third inning. With the bases loaded, Greg Davis hit an RBI single, and then Bryan Visnoski delivered the big blow, a bases-clearing triple for a 4-0 lead. The Cardinals scored their two runs in the fourth inning, and were threatening for more, but a nice relay from Nick Duchene to Mike Lucas, to Tyler Chapman, cut down Cardinals baserunner Mark Brooks as he attempted to score from first base on a double by Carl Eberts.

Dustin Stewart and Matt Oakley, two Huntington Beach athletes, earned top finishes at two recent prestigious track meets. At the Southern California Championship meet put on by the Southern California Municipal Athletic Federation at Gahr High in Cerritos, Stewart finished in second-place and Oakley placed third in the boys' 50-meter dash. The two were also one place apart in the boys' 100-meter dash, as Stewart finished fourth and Oakley finished fifth.

The Pirates and Cardinals emerged with a pair of victories last week in Majors Division play at Seaview Little League. The Pirates toppled the Dodgers, 7-4, behind the complete game pitching effort of Nick McEachin, which included five hits and seven strikeouts. Offensively, Cort Ross singled and doubled to lead the winners. Mark Cassidy and Greg Davis shared pitching duties for the Dodgers, and the duo combined to strike out seven and allow five hits. Jayson Hayes paced the offense with two hits.

The Huntington Beach Sun Devils headed north to San Jose to play at the California Amateur Hockey Assn. State Championships, and they returned to Surf City with the Midget A Division title in tow. The Sun Devils went 4-0 in division play, which was open to 15- and 16-year old players. The three-day tournament attracted teams from northern and southern California, and four teams competed for the Midget A Division crown. In their tournament opener, the Sun Devils downed the Oakland Bears, 4-2, with Andrew Doherty scoring a hat trick.

In a slugfest that was limited to time constraints and lasted five innings, the Dodgers and Angels fought to an 11-11 tie Saturday in Seaview Little League Majors Division action. The Dodgers were led by Logan Strook with a double and single, two singles by Tom Stadfelt, and pitchers Jayson Hayes and Mark Cassidy combined for eight strikeouts. Angels pitchers Nick Leone and David McLaughlin also recorded eight strikeouts between them, Johnny Schoenberger doubled twice, Zach Duehring and Nick Leone each doubled, and both Sean Richards and Jake Pinkham had two singles.

Behind the solid pitching of Brett Sterbens and Chris Palmer, the Cardinals posted an 8-0 shutout victory over the Mariners last weekend in Ocean View Little League Majors Division play. Sterbens and Palmer each pitched three innings, and scattered four hits. Sterbens also starred on offense with a solo home run to center field. Tomas Yoo singled twice and Light Walleman and Matt Archer each had a hit for the Mariners. In other games: Reds 8, Angels 3 Hank Conger delivered a two-run home run and Jeffrey Van Doornum had an RBI double during a four-run sixth inning as the unbeaten Reds broke open a tight game; Scott Melchert had two hits and an RBI, Thomas Burns had a hit and RBI, and Jon Groth had two hits and scored twice for the Angels.

In a seesaw battle between a pair of teams vying for sole possession of second place in the Minor A Division standings, the Pirates outlasted the Brewers Thursday in a wild 14-10 game played at Ocean View Little League. In a game where offense dominated the scene, Albert Breitwieser had three hits, two RBI, and scored three runs, John Tomasek also had three hits along with two RBI and two runs scored, James Miller hit a pair of singles and scored twice, and Finn Jensen collected to hits to lead the Pirates.

The Giants and A's started the 2001 Ocean View Little League Majors Division season in the right direction. Giants 5, Yankees 2 Pitcher Kyle Hughes had two hits and an RBI to help his own cause, and combined with Ryan Schulenburg for the win. Brian Roberts and Joseph Park pitched well for the Yankees. A's 5, Dodgers 4 The A's rallied with two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to pull out the win. Pitchers Davey Hughey, Scott Baxter and Nick Orendorff combined to strike out 12. Randy Guite had a hit and two RBI and Brian Van Arsdale began the sixth inning rally with a single to lead the A's. Aaron Chatigny doubled with an RBI for the Dodgers and James Miller and Matt Ayster shared pitching duties.

The Dodgers came up with a five-run sixth inning and needed every one of those runs to outlast the Yankees, 11-9, in a Majors Division slugfest at Seaview Little League. It was the third consecutive victory posted by the Dodgers, who defeated the division's top two teams in the process. They overcame Yankee leads of 2-0, 6-4 and 8-6 and finally won the game on a triple by Zack Campbell. Matt Fockler doubled among three hits, Kenny Miller went three for four, Nick Duchene had two hits including a triple, Billy Judd doubled and Nate Barrett, Kurt Heyer, Jordan Luevano and Mark Miller all singled for the Dodgers.