NHBA visitors make themselves at home

Tony Altobelli

DANA POINT - According to Manager Brian Gowdy, the key to the

Newport Harbor Baseball Association Mustang Division C All-Star team’s

success is losing the pregame coin flip to determine the home team.

“Every time we lose that coin flip, we’ve won,” Gowdy said. “Now, I go

up and try to lose it.”

Friday’s game continued that trend, as Gowdy lost the flip and watched

his team deliver a resounding 21-11 victory over Dana Point at Del Obispo

Park in the Dana Point Invitational Tournament.

“That was, by far, the best we’ve hit the ball so far,” Gowdy said.

“Everyone in the lineup, one through 12, contributed tonight and they’ve

been contributing every game. It’s really great to see.”

Newport’s 9-year-olds pounded out 20 hits and had zero strikeouts in

the victory and despite losing a seven-run lead early, the locals still

managed to invoke the 10-run mercy rule after only four innings.

Blake Davey led the offensive attack by going 2 for 3 with five RBIs.

Dillan Freiberg and Alex Maddox each had three hits and three runs, while

Austin Deyan, Chris Gowdy, Daniel Norris and Elliott Kaufman combined for

eight hits, six runs and five RBIs.

“This is a team loaded with baseball skills,” Brian Gowdy said. “They

show up to practice and they’re ready to learn something. All of them are

there every day, so that makes my job very easy.”

Newport opened the game with a “touchdown,” scoring seven times as the

first six batters, Deyan, Justin Todd, Davey, Ryan Albert, Freiberg and

Alex Maddox, reached with hits. Davey and Maddox each had two-run doubles

in the frame.

But back came Dana Point with seven runs in its first at-bat. The two

teams combined for 14 runs, 15 hits and 13 stolen bases in the opening

inning alone.

Showing no signs of being rattled, Newport quickly returned fire in

the second, sending 12 batters to the plate and scoring nine more times.

Again, batters 1-6 in the lineup reached base safely, while Davey, Connor

Curry and Kaufman each had two-run hits.

“It was amazing,” Goudy said. “Everything they hit, they hit hard.

There weren’t too many cheap hits out there tonight.”

Deyan pitched two effective innings of relief for Newport, holding

Dana Point’s explosive offense to only one run. He also retired the side

in order in the third inning.

Newport piled it on in the fourth, expanding its 17-8 cushion.

Back-to-back doubles by Freiberg and Maddox, followed by a two-run

single by Josh Jaye helped increase the lead to 19-8.

Three straight hits by Gowdy, Norris and Kaufman, as well as a walk by

Brett Olinger, helped conclude Newport’s four-run frame, giving the

locals a football-like 21-8 advantage.

Dana Point “rallied” for three runs in the fourth, but that would be

as close as the game would get.

Newport will take on Fountain Valley B today at 2 p.m. “We’ve been

playing teams with 9- and 10-year-olds and we’ve been pretty successful

against them,” Brian Gowdy said. “This tournament will be a good

indicator of how well we will do at the District Tournament (which begins

July 11).”

Dana Point’s Aaron Payne went 2 for 2 with a run and several nice

defensive stops behind the plate. Brandon Mulhall, Chris Simmonds and

Gustafson each scored twice, while Cameron Murphy contributed two key

hits.