Ocean View LL wins, faces Hawaii next

SAN BERNARDINO - It took Ocean View Little League about 1 hour, 15 minutes to reach Al Houghton Stadium in San Bernardino on Saturday for the Little League Western Regionals.

Once the game started, it took only a half inning and about 20 minutes to announce their arrival to the rest of the competition.

A six-run first inning was more than enough offense for the 2010 Western Regional runners-up. Ocean View cruised to a 10-2 victory over Red Bluff of Northern California in the opening game of pool play.

Nick Pratto drove in the first run as he followed a leadoff single and walk with an RBI single that hit the third-base bag and scattered into shallow left field.

After a walk loaded the bases, Jack Furry added to the lead with a two-run single to right. With runners on second and third, Christian Catano lined a triple to right-center that cleared the bases and gave Ocean View a comfortable 5-0 lead.

Still with no outs, the seventh batter, Braydon Salzman, walked to put runners on first and third. Catano then capped the six-run inning by scoring on an errant pickoff throw to second.

Ocean View escaped a second-and-third jam with no outs in the bottom of the first by retiring the next three batters in order, two via strikeout. For the game, Ocean View collected 10 strikeouts and walked one.

The Ocean View offense tacked on a pair of runs in the fourth and single runs in the fifth and sixth. It totaled 11 hits.

Ocean View continues pool play Sunday at 8 p.m. against Hawaii, which fell to Arizona, 3-2, in their first game Saturday.

Ocean View's hopeful run to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa., continues Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. against Arizona. Pool play concludes against Nevada on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

The semifinals are Friday and the regional final next Saturday.