Chargers secure playoff berth in baseball

With two contenders standing in the way of its bid to capture a CIF Southern Section playoff berth, rise in the Sunset League standings and head into the postseason on a strong note, the Edison High baseball team rose to challenges posed by Esperanza and Fountain Valley.

Coming off a key two-game sweep of Esperanza last week, visiting Edison on Tuesday secured second place in the Sunset League standings and the playoff berth that goes with it by shutting out rival Fountain Valley, 1-0.

The Chargers rode the outstanding pitching of freshman Henry Owens, who registered his first shutout win.

Owens struck out 10, didn’t surrender a walk and limited the Barons to three hits.

“It was an unbelievable effort,” Edison Coach Steve Lambright said of the way Owens tamed the Barons. “He was incredible. You’ll be hearing about this kid in the future.”

To back Owens’ performance, the Chargers gave him the only run he would need when Eric Snyder doubled, moved to second on Ryan Little’s sacrifice bunt and scored on Kyle Higashioka’s sacrifice fly to center field.

The win put Edison at 9-5 in league and 13-13 overall.

Fountain Valley slipped to 7-7 in league and 12-12 overall.

Barons pitcher Robert Johnson held the Chargers to five hits.

“Fountain Valley has been playing really, really well as of late, so this is a great win for our team,” Lambright said.

Edison will celebrate Senior Day today when the Chargers and Barons go at it one final time in league play. Senior Bryan Adams will get the start for the 3:15 p.m. game.

In another Sunset League game Tuesday, J.J. Baccari delivered a first-inning grand slam but host Newport Harbor did the rest of the scoring to post a come-from-behind 5-4 win over the Vikings. R.J. D’Cruz’s RBI double in the bottom of the eighth gave the Sailors the victory.

Both teams are 4-10 in league and play their season finales at 3:15 p.m. today at Marina.

In a key Golden West League game Tuesday, host Orange picked up a big win over Ocean View, 10-0, that ended an eight-game league win streak by the Seahawks.

It also set up an even bigger game today at Ocean View between the teams: a win by Ocean View would clinch an outright league title; an Orange win creates a tie for the crown between the Seahawks and Panthers.

Ocean View (12-2) has a one-game lead on Orange heading into today’s showdown.

Previously, Ocean View made it a three-game season sweep of rival Westminster as the host Seahawks handed the Lions a 4-1 defeat in league play. Sophomore Aaron Delgado’s two-out triple with bases loaded in the fourth inning highlighted a four-run inning for Ocean View. Sean Burleson went the distance to earn his sixth win of the season.

In Sea View League action, Huntington Beach dropped a 7-2 decision to visiting Woodbridge. Nick Watt doubled in the second inning and Adrian Conger hit a solo home run in the fourth for the Oilers’ scoring.

The Warriors and Oilers meet at 3:15 p.m. today at Huntington in the regular season finale for both teams.

In a previous game, Huntington turned a six-run third-inning into an 8-4 league victory Friday over visiting El Toro.

During the decisive inning, the Oilers combined four singles, a pair of walks and a hit batter into a six runs as they defeated the Chargers for the first time in three league games this year. Conger, Sean Clarke, Clayton Prestridge and Michael Chairez, all singled in the frame.

Prestridge had two hits and drove in three runs and Clarke and Conger each also had two hits as the Oilers worked three El Toro pitchers. Calvin Drummond got the win after working six-plus innings. Derek Neugebauer closed the game.

? Softball

Huntington won for the second time in three league outings when the Oilers beat visiting Woodbridge 3-2 Tuesday. Jenny Driver started the game with a home run, Charlene Courtney had an RBI single and Amanda Horowitz and Allison Dufault each singled and scored for the Oilers.

Horowitz also registered the win and Cory Schlinsog, who threw the seventh, got the save.

Huntington had earned its first league victory on April 29 by defeating Northwood 4-1. Schlinsog pitched a complete-game victory and allowed three hits. Horowitz had a home run, Meghan White and Vicki Galasso each had RBI hits, Schlinsog and Dufault both singled, Driver scored twice and Dufault and Lauren Stuhr also scored.

Huntington hosts Foothill at 3:30 p.m. today.

Ocean View is one win away from completing a perfect Golden West League season after ripping host Westminster 19-1 Monday.

Sophomore Melissa Carroll hit a three-run home run during a five-run fourth inning that capped the scoring for the Seahawks (9-0 league) who by then had a 19-0 lead.

Sophomore Autumn Martinez and senior Nikole Afusia each doubled twice and freshmen Sarah Craig and Vanessa Cardoza each singled once during Ocean View’s 17-hit attack.

Another freshman, Celine Fuentes (1-0) earned the first win of her career.

In two league games between the schools this year, Ocean View, which increased its win streak to 13 games, outscored the Lions 29-1.

Edison on Tuesday suffered a 7-1 defeat at Esperanza. Previously, the Chargers lost 13-5 to visiting Los Alamitos in a game which Courtney Gonzales had an RBI triple and Myranda Hoggatt a two-run home run for the Chargers.

Edison faces another big league game at 3:15 p.m. today when the Chargers host rival Fountain Valley.

“That’s the nature of the Sunset League — they’re all big games,” Edison Coach Kendra Tarrant said. “This week is a big week for everybody in this league. We can clinch a CIF berth by winning.”

In another regular season finale at 3:15 p.m. today, Marina hosts Newport Harbor in Sunset League play.