Ocean View's outlook still good after loss

HUNTINGTON BEACH - Ocean View’s baseball season ended Tuesday, but the Seahawks hope to be heard from again soon.

The squad, brimming with young talent, fell to visiting Downey, 3-1, in a CIF-SS Division III second-round playoff game.

Downey senior Jesse Silva (6-3) allowed one run on six hits, struck out five and walked none in a complete-game effort for the Vikings (23-6).

Junior third baseman Kevin Nance spoiled the shutout with a run-scoring single with two outs in the seventh.

Ocean View (18-10) trailed throughout the game but nearly took the lead in the first inning.

After junior Aaron Delgado and senior Kevin Mackey opened the first with singles against Silva, sophomore clean-up hitter Blake Hitchcock smashed a out-out liner that appeared headed toward the gap in left. But with runners on second and third, shortstop Alex Jimenez made a leaping snag to save likely two runs.

Silva then got a strikeout and was tough after that.

“That’s a double,” Ocean View coach Shane Borowski said of the Hitchcock’s drive. “We get two runs right there. We take the lead right there and who knows what happens. It’s a totally different game.

“Hats off to them. That guy (Jimenez) is an athlete.”

Jimenez was a thorn in Ocean View’s side throughout the game. The junior went 3 for 4 with two doubles and scored twice.

Silva got strong defensive support but also did his part by mixing a fastball, curve and change.

“He jumped ahead (in the count) and threw a lot of strikes,” Downey coach Jess Gonzalez said. “And (he) kept the guys off balance.”

Downey took a 1-0 lead in its first on a sacrifice fly by Mark Palacios, who drove in Jimenez. With one out, Jimenez reached on a deep double to left that was nearly taken away by a spectacular effort by Mackey.

Mackey raced back, leaped into the fence and appeared to make the catch but the ball fell loose.

“He has no fear of injury. He has no fear of pain. And he has no remorse of his body,” Borowski said of Mackey. “He will go after it. He had the ball. I think the fence itself sprung it out. … It’s hard to expect a high school kid to make a play like that.”

Ocean View starter Andrew Bynum (7-5) then walked two before the base-loaded sacrifice fly by Palacios.

Downey scored added another run in the third. Jimenez scored from third after Bynum threw away a pickoff attempt. Jimenez led off the inning with a bloop single, moved to second on a walk to Cal State Fullerton-bound Ivory Thomas and then took third on a double-steal.

The Seahawks caught Thomas on the play but Jimenez later scored.

“He hasn’t done that all year,” Borowski said of the Bynum’s error. “We teach aggressiveness - not only on offense but defense.  ... Unfortunately, that one got away.”

Jimenez doubled in Downey’s third run with two outs in the fourth but sophomore Blake Walker blanked Downey the rest of the way. Walker allowed four hits in 3 1/3 innings.

Bynum, bound for the Orange County all-star game, entered the game with a 0.70 earned-run average. He allowed seven hits, walked three and struck out one.

“Even with the struggle of command, he battled for us and kept us in the game,” Borowski said of Bynum.

After the game, Borowski said Ocean View’s seniors were thanked for their service to the program. The Seahawks, however, only lose two everyday players.

“I’m very excited for the future,” the coach said. “Our sophomore class is a just a great bunch of kids and great bunch of ballplayers. … Mixed in with some of the kids we have coming back with the juniors and some of our freshmen … I’m really looking at a really good squad.”

Sophomore pitcher Freddy Sepulveda earned the victory in the opening round, which put the Seahawks in the second round for the first time since their 2005 CIF title season.

Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com