NHBA Mustang: Newport ‘A’ All-Stars fall in fourth

Tony Altobelli

WESTMINSTER - Life was good for the Newport Harbor Baseball

Association Mustang Division “A” All-Stars for three innings against La

Mirada in the first round of the District 8 Tournament.

Newport led, 7-2, and the momentum was all on the side of the boys in

blue.

Then, all of a sudden, the roof caved in.

Thirteen fourth-inning runs for La Mirada, some earned and some

unearned, helped send the locals home with a 17-7 loss Thursday afternoon

at Monroe Park.

“One bad inning,” Manager Chris Hone said. “Every bounce went La

Mirada’s way and we just couldn’t get anyone out. But the kids played

hard and that’s all that matters.”

It was all Newport early. RBI singles by Alex Rios, Jeff Frum and

Scott Ward helped spark a 4-0 Newport advantage in the top of the first.

Matt Sarvak, Rios, Nick Svendsen and Adrian Rodriguez each scored in the

inning.

La Mirada answered with a run in the bottom of the first, but Newport

responded with two more runs in the second. Sarvak reached on a fielder’s

choice and Rios walked. Both would score on a multitude of wild pitches

and passed balls, giving Newport a 6-1 edge.

La Mirada’s Andrew Mackay led off the second inning with a double and

would eventually score on two Newport balks, cutting the lead to 6-2.

Svendsen was strong on the mound for the first three innings. After

Mackay’s double, he struck out the next six batters he faced.

“He’s by far our best pitcher,” Hone said. “He’s got four different

pitches and he uses all of them well. He’s a stud.”

Newport tacked on another run in the fourth when Servak (2 for 3,

three runs scored) singled, went to second on a La Mirada error, advanced

to third on a grounder by Rios and scored on an RBI grounder by Svendsen.

“Matt is a very strong hitter for us,” Hone said. “The key to his

success is that he’s very aggressive. You’ll never see him get a ‘take’

sign from me.”

Newport’s 7-2 lead would soon evaporate in a fourth inning which would

live in infamy. La Mirada used seven hits, four walks and five Newport

errors to score 13 times, taking the lead for good.

La Mirada would add two more runs in the fifth and the game was called

by the mercy rule.

Newport plays again Saturday morning in the consolation bracket,

beginning at 11:30 a.m. at Monroe Park.