Orange County Prep Baseball : Ocean View Wins Despite Losses : DeBrouwer Dropped, 2 Others Suspended After Incident

Playing without three starters, including catcher Blaine Debrouwer, because of disciplinary reasons, Ocean View High School gained sole possession of first place in the Sunset League with a 9-3 victory Tuesday over Fountain Valley in Huntington Beach.

DeBrouwer, an all-league player as a junior, was kicked off the team by Seahawk Coach Bill Gibbons on Monday after an altercation with an umpire on Saturday in a 10-5 win over Westminster.

DeBrouwer earlier had been suspended by Gibbons for three games for disciplinary reasons, but he was subsequently reinstated. He was also suspended from the Seahawks’ basketball team for two games last season after he allegedly bumped referee Al Hackney after a loss to Capistrano Valley in the Tournament of Champions.

“I felt the decision to drop Blaine was in the best interest of the ballclub,” Gibbons said. “He was on a probationary status following his first suspension. He apologized to the players, so I reinstated him. But he did not meet his obligations, so I dropped him from the team.”

David Leonhardt and Tim Tembreull also missed Tuesday’s game after Gibbons imposed a one-game suspension for disciplinary reasons. Five players were ejected in the Westminster game.

Three new players in the Ocean View lineup--Victor Fresca, Jeff Sherwood and Eric Christopherson--combined for five hits as the Seahawks moved into first place with a 4-1-1 record. Sherwood had two doubles, Fresca scored twice and Christopherson also threw out two runners.

“I don’t think there’s that much of a dropoff,” Gibbons said. “We’ve hit the ball well our last two games (19 runs). I was really pleased today.”

Dave Holdridge, combining a good fastball with a curve, changeup, sinker and slider, gained his fifth win without a loss by striking out 11 batters. He allowed only three hits after the first inning.

Fountain Valley, which fell to 3-2-1 in league play, was the victim of poor base running. The Barons had taken a 2-0 lead in the first inning, but the Seahawks scored six runs in the sixth inning on five walks, three hits and an error.

“We ran ourselves out of a couple of innings,” said Tom DeKraai, Fountain Valley coach. “This was the poorest game we’ve played all year.”

In Empire League action:

El Dorado 4, Cypress 3--Jeff Petredes hit a two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the seventh inning to lift the Golden Hawks (3-2, 11-4) to the win over the Centurions (0-5, 9-8) at El Dorado High. The Golden Hawks trailed, 3-1, going into the seventh and scored their first run of the inning when a grounder went off of Cypress shortstop Mark Steinent and out of play.

Esperanza 9, Katella 3--Kevin Clancy hit a three-run triple in the third inning and Dave Moralez had three hits and scored two runs to help the Aztecs (5-0, 13-1-1) defeat the Knights (3-2, 11-6) at Esperanza High. Tim MacNeil allowed three hits in six innings to earn the victory.

Los Alamitos 10, Pacifica 0--The Griffins (2-3, 12-6) had 16 hits, including a two-run homer by Mark Wolfe, in their win over the Mariners (0-4-1, 5-10-1) at Los Alamitos High. Wolfe went 3 for 4 with 3 RBIs and J.T. Snow added 3 hits. Randy Hacker allowed four hits in six innings to earn the win.

Kennedy 9, Loara 5--Robert Wilson had three hits and three RBIs, and Toby Wong added three RBIs to help the Irish (3-2, 6-8-2) defeat the Saxons (2-2-1, 11-5-1) at Loara High.

In Century League action:

Canyon 6, Foothill 3--Mike Sliemers, Phil Gasca and Matt Miller each had three hits to lead the Comanches (4-1, 9-5) past the Knights (4-1, 9-5) at Canyon High. Wayne Elmore pitched 6 innings to earn the win, as Canyon moved into a three-way tie for first place with Foothill and Tustin.

El Modena 3, Santa Ana Valley 2--The Vanguards (3-2, 6-5) scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, the first on Ross Bauer’s suicide squeeze and the second on Dennis Brooks’ RBI single, to defeat the Falcons (0-5, 4-12) at El Modena High. Chris Gallego pitched the seventh inning to earn the win.

Santa Ana 5, Villa Park 2--John Hefler allowed five hits in 6 innings and to earn the win and added two RBIs to lead the Saints (3-2, 10-4) past the Spartans (2-3, 5-14) at Villa Park High. Chris Bell had two hits for the Spartans.

Tustin 6, Orange 4--Ken Lynch had two hits and scored two runs to lead the Tillers (4-1, 11-2) past the Panthers (0-5, 4-11) at Orange High. Steve Surico pitched three innings of no-hit ball and struck out seven, and Larry Hausner, who followed with two scoreless innings, got the win.

In Academy League action:

Liberty Christian 8, Cal Lutheran 0--Senior right-hander Brian Gilliam pitched a complete-game, one-hitter and struck out 15 to lead the Minutemen to the win at Costa Mesa’s Tewinkle Park.

Newport Christian 5, St. Michael’s 2--Ron Jones went the distance on a one-hitter and struck out 13 to lead the Conquerors to the win at St. Michael’s High in El Toro.