NHBA Bronco: Newport ‘A’ All-Stars reach finals

Tony Altobelli

GARDEN GROVE - In comparison to the rest of the games played in the

Pony District 3 Baseball Tournament by the Newport Harbor Baseball

Association Bronco Division (ages 11-12) “A” All-Stars, Wednesday’s 10-5

win over Placentia could be described as a “nail-biter.”

This has been the closest thing to a struggle for Newport in this

tournament, outscoring the opposition 58-1 in three games heading into

this contest.

But, leading 8-0 after three innings and 10-1 after four, this game

hardly raised the blood pressure of anyone rooting for Newport.

“We’ve spent a lot of time on our hitting in practice,” Manager Kevin

Heenan said. “Hitting takes time to develop and our boys are putting in

the time. We hit the ball well today against some tough pitching.”

With the win, Newport will play for the District 3 title Saturday,

beginning at 10 a.m. If Newport were to lose that game, another game

would follow.

After falling behind 1-0 in the top of the first, Newport quickly

stormed back.

Kurt Yacko and Dennis Heenan each singled, followed by a base on balls

by Billy Munce to load the bases.

Alec Martinez fought off numerous pitches and tied the game with an

RBI groundout, scoring Yacko.

Then, Nick Frazier crushed a fastball 300-plus feet for a three-run

home run, giving Newport a 4-1 advantage.

“Nick really got us going with that hit,” Heenan said. “He absolutely

crushed that ball.”

In the third, Newport took advantage of poor Placentia defense and

scored four unearned runs. Dustin Schuler and Blake Fogg each had two-RBI

hits in the inning.

“Blake’s hit really was the back-breaker,” Heenan said. “He really

clutched up for us.”

Schuler pitched five strong innings to earn the win. He allowed only

five hits and struck out four.

Heenan was also pleased with the strong defense of Munce behind the

plate.

“He caught a real good game for us,” Heenan said. “Sometimes he gets

unappreciated for his work out there, but he did a great job of handling

the pitchers.”