Prep baseball: Sailors open smoothly

Barry Faulkner

NEWPORT BEACH - Optimism abounds for the Newport Harbor High

baseball team this season. But, no matter how many games the Sailors win

this spring, it’s unlikely any will be more efficient than their 6-2

season-opening triumph over visiting Laguna Beach Friday in the first

round of the Foothill-Costa Mesa Tournament.

Senior pitchers Joel Brown and Chris Ward required just 88 combined

pitches, 55 strikes, to advance to Tuesday’s championship quarterfinal,

against the winner of Friday’s Los Amigos-Century game. Newport will host

the 3 p.m. contest.

Brown, who earned the victory, threw three perfect innings -- and just

33 pitches -- before yielding two runs and three hits in the fourth.

He gave way to fellow right-hander Ward, who allowed just two hits in

three scoreless innings. Laguna batsmen hit just five balls out of the

infield, were issued just one walk, and made Harbor hurlers face just six

hitters more than the minimum.

“Both guys were aggressive and made them put the ball in play,”

Newport Harbor Coach Jim Kiefer said. “We got a lot of outs early in the

count.”

Laguna, plagued by wildness from starter Todd Merz, went down for the

count early.

A walk, a single and two hit batters put Harbor on the board in the

first inning, with Ward earning the RBI by taking one in the back of the

leg. A bases-loaded double play helped the Artists avert further damage.

Newport executed a delayed double steal to spark a five-run second,

with Adam Cherry drawing the throw at second and Lu Castillo beating the

relay home.

An RBI single by Mike Jones followed and, two batters later, senior

catcher Garrett Brant doubled in two runs to make it 5-0. Ward’s single

plated Brant with the final Newport tally and pitching and defense did

the rest.

Brant, expected to be the key offensive component after hitting .345

as a junior, went 3 for 4 with a pair of doubles. He served two of his

hits to the opposite field.

“(Brant) had a good hitting plan,” Kiefer said. “They pitched him away

and he didn’t try to do too much with it.”

Newport managed just five hits, just two off John Verdugo, who worked

the final 4 2/3 innings.

Senior second baseman Alan Lane walked twice and scored a pair of runs

ad Harbor benefited from five walks, five hit batters and three Laguna

Beach errors.

First baseman Cody Forsythe made two back-handed stops of would-be

drives down the right-field line.

“We took advantage of their control problems by being patient at the

plate,” Kiefer said. “We’re just trying to play the game one inning at a

time. It’s a step-by-step process.”

The Sailors received some bad news, when it was discovered junior

Etiwanda transfer Shane Glenn did not have the proper paperwork to

compete at the varsity level. He may play for the junior varsity.

Glenn must successfully appeal to the CIF Southern Section to regain

varsity eligibility under transfer rules, Kiefer said.

FOOTHILL-COSTA MESA TOURNAMENT

First round

Newport Harbor 6, Laguna Beach 2

Laguna Beach 000 200 0 - 2 5 3

Newport Harbor 150 000 x - 6 5 2

Merz, Verdugo (2) and Baumer, Packer (3); Brown, Ward (5) and Brant. W

- Brown, 1-0. L - Merz, 0-1. 2B - Brant (NH) 2.