Baseball:

Joseph Boo

MORENO VALLEY - The Newport Harbor Baseball Association Bronco

(11-12) All-Star Baseball team has gone farther than any team in league

history, literally and figuretively.

Not only is this year’s NHBA squad the first team to advance to the

PONY League Sectionals in league history, it gets to travel all the way

to Moreno Valley in Riverside County for its next series. Newport’s first

game is today, 5:15 p.m., at Sunnymead Park against Riverside’s No. 2

team.

But unlike the Orange County Regionals, where Newport got out as the

No. 3 team, only one team advances to the Zone Regionals at Whittier.

Teams from other Western states show up at next week’s Zone for the

chance at the National Championships at Irving, Texas.

“Our guys are a little excited to play,” Heenan said. “It’s a new area

and a lot of our kids haven’t been this far. I don’t think they’re

nervous, though.”

Although this is Newport’s first trip to the Sectionals, its odds of

advancing to the Zone are good. Newport was the only team to come

anywhere close to beating powerful Fountain Valley, coming within two

outs of a win in the semifinals. Before that, Newport won every game

comfortably in district and regional play.

“If we keep getting solid pitching and defense,” Heenan said, “we can

compete with any team. I just hope we keep it going.”

In a sign of how long Newport has played, two players, starter Dustin

Schuler and Brendan Salisbury, left the team after the Regionals because

of prior commitments. Newport is down to 10 players, but most of its core

remains.

Dennis Heenan is coming off a six-inning one-hitter in a 12-1 victory

over Anaheim that clinched Newport’s spot in the Sectionals. On the

mound, he is 7-0 with a 1.26 ERA in All-Star play. He also leads the team

in batting with a .536 average.

Newport’s leadoff hitter, Kurt Yacko, has been the catalyst for an

offense that scored over five runs in all but one game. He is currently

batting .407, and he has a 2.40 ERA as a pitcher to boot.

Catcher Billy Munce is tied for the team high with four home runs with

right fielder Nick Frazier. Second baseman Donnie Hunt has been torrid

ever since he joined the All-Star team. He carries a .464 batting

average.

Newport’s cleanup hitter, Alec Martinez, the team leader in RBIs, is

solid in left field. Davis Pemstein is 6 for 12 at the plate and he is

one of Newport’s top pitchers. He has the team’s second-lowest ERA with a

2.21.

First baseman Blake Fogg has been a defensive wall, collecting errant

throws deftly. He also has a .359 on-base percentage. Utility player Tim

Cramer had a key hit in the Anaheim game, and Kevin Gowdy is a versatile

fielder and team leader for Newport.