Ocean View took on Clinton County, Pa. and their 31,000 fans Thursday night, and Hagen Danner was the hero. He was stellar on the mound, and in the third inning, he hit the first home run for Ocean View in the tournament for a 1-0 lead.
The flame throwing Danner struck out 12 of the 19 batters he faced, tossing 5 1/3 scoreless innings. After Danner reached his pitch count limit, Braydon Salzman came in to get the final two outs.
With a 2-0 victory, Ocean View advances to the U.S. final of the 65th Little League World Series on Saturday.
"It's so amazing, because all the people around California are watching this, and cheering for the little league that I play in. It's pretty cool," said Jeff Meyers of Ocean View Little League.
Hometown fan Nolann Blokdyk says it's surreal.
"The past few years, we've watched the Little League World Series, watching other kids, and rooting for teams we didn't even know. So to be rooting for our own league is just speechless, really. I don't have words for it," said Blokdyk.
Ocean View will face Billings Big Sky Little League All-Stars from Montana in the U.S. final. Billings Big Sky defeated Ocean View 1-0 in seven innings on Wednesday.
The U.S. winner will play the international winner for the Little League World Series championship.
City News Service contributed to this report.
