Flying high

Paul Clinton

After three lopsided losses to start their Pony baseball season, the

Dodgers needed some inspiration.

They got it from Steve Tumlin, the energetic father of Robert, one of

the team’s outfielders.

Tumlin promised the team he would take them flying, if they won the

Newport Harbor Baseball Assn.’s Bronco Division championship. Seventeen

wins later, team members proudly hoisted the hardware, the league trophy

that had seemed so out of reach earlier in the season.

On Wednesday, Tumlin delivered on his promise.

Eight of the team’s 11 members took turns flying high in two

single-prop planes at John Wayne Airport. The excited 11- and

12-year-olds credited Tumlin with helping turn around their year.

“It motivated everybody,” said R.J. D’Cruz, one of the team’s star

pitchers. “We played more as a team.”

The team won the title for their division of the Newport Harbor

Baseball Assn. on June 9 in a 12-2 mercy-rule blowout.

For his part, Tumlin is happy to credit the kids for the turnaround.

“The recognition goes to the kids,” Tumlin said. “They played their

hearts out.”

Tumlin, who lives in Costa Mesa, played more than a passing role in

the team’s storybook season. The licensed pilot and airplane mechanic

also sponsored the team, writing checks to help cover the costs of

uniforms and other items.

The offer to take the team flying was an effort to share his love of

flying, as well as provide inspiration, Tumlin said.

“I’m highly active about getting young kids involved in aviation,”

Tumlin said. “I’ll rattle the cages trying to get the kids fired up.”

No motivational tools were needed Wednesday, as the kids hopped into

the airplanes when it was their turn, eagerly slipping on two-way radio

headsets.

As the plane buzzed around above Orange County, they yapped at each

other, marveling at the majestic view and giggling with joy.

The time, fuel and planes were donated by the Orange County Flight

Center, a flight instruction school on airport grounds.

“Some of these guys may want to become pilots,” the school’s

president, Gary Sequeira, said. “No time like the present to get them

hooked.”

Sequeira provided two of his single-engine, four-seat planes -- a

Piper Cherokee Warrior and Cessna 172 -- for the trips.

Tumlin’s promise may have been the spark for the Dodgers’ improbable

comeback, but other factors played into it. Dodgers Coach Ron D’Cruz gave

out fabric stars for stellar plays on the field, among other motivational

techniques.

“They worked really hard,” D’Cruz said. “They wanted to be better. I

tried to relay to them a winning attitude.”

The team finished with a 16-6 regular season record, then swept three

playoff games and the championship contest. The team was outscored 10-40

in its first three games.

In the final 16 games, the team won nine by one run, many of those

with a hit in the ninth inning.

“It was more fun winning than losing,” said Jerry Whitney, the team’s

first baseman. “We started to relax more. We started hitting the ball.”

THE TEAM

Chase “Hoover” Behr, second base

Jarrett Daniel, pitcher and shortstop

Jake Dayton, outfield and catcher

R.J. D’Cruz, pitcher and shortstop

Ian Goodwin, catcher and outfield

Trey LaGrandeur, third base and outfield

Alan Orozco, first base and outfield

Eric Paine, pitcher and third base

Robert Tumlin, outfield

Jerry Whitney, first base and catcher

Dan Winkle, third base and outfield