Newport Beach Little League: Giant steps

Bryce Alderton

NEWPORT BEACH - They say defense wins championships.

Nowhere does the phrase hold more true than at Wednesday’sNewport

Beach Little League AAA championship game, as the 15-7-1 Giants defeated

the 19-2 Red Sox, 6-2, at Lincoln #2 Field.

The Giants flashed the leather, making the plays when they had to,

while the Red Sox lapses in the field in the first inning proved to be

their downfall.

The Giants jumped out with four runs in the first inning, cashing in

on Red Sox throwing errors.

Jack Gerdau and Beau Attyah (single) reached base to set the table for

Eric Chebil, who singled them both in.

Josh Harrison then reached on an error. Next came starting pitcher

Jamie Heinecke, who grounded out to third, but two Red Sox throwing

errors led to Chebil and Harrison both coming around to score.

That was all the runs the Giants would need as Jamie Heinecke and Jack

Gerdau, who both went three innings, giving up one run apiece, stymied

the Red Sox, allowing just six hits.

Peter Weidner, who singled in the fifth, gobbled up ground balls that

came his way and raced to the bag to record the out on two occasions.

After the game Giants Manager Ken Gerdau gave two words for the key to

the game, “good defense.”

“That’s what it comes down to,” Gerdau said. “Jamie (Heinecke) kept it

low to get the ground balls and they made the plays.”

Heinecke and Gerdau combined to force 10 groundball outs, limiting the

Red Sox to six hits.

Facing first and second with no outs in the bottom of the fifth,

Gerdau pitched out of the jam, striking out the next three batters, two

swinging and one looking.

“You don’t see that happen too often,” said Ken Gerdau of Jack

striking out the side.

The Red Sox other scoring chance came with two outs in the fourth, as

Chris Freeman, who finished the game 2 for 3 with two singles, singled to

center and Will Morrow walked. Both stole bases to set up second and

third with two outs, but Gerdau struck out Risser to end the inning.

The Giants defeated the Red Sox for the second time this season. The

teams split their two regular-season matchups.

After the game, Red Sox Manager Bart Thomsen gave credit where credit

was due.

“(The Giants) played fantastic baseball from the first pitch to the

last pitch,” Thomsen said. “They played fantastic defense. We crushed the

ball but they came up with the big plays. Our pitchers pitched well, but

our defense had some lapses so we weren’t at our best. But that’s the

great thing about sports, you never know before the game is played who

will win. That’s why we play six innings instead of deciding it on

paper.”

Wednesday’s game was the first time the Red Sox had scored less than

four runs all season, Thomsen said.

Parker Werline and Blake Thomsen (single) combined on the mound for

the Red Sox, with Werline allowing four hits and Thomsen striking out

three.

In the second, Risser threw from his catcher position to Thomsen at

short to nab a Giants’ runner trying to steal second.

The Giants’ John Cazort had the only extra-base hit in the game,

tripling in the third.

Eric Hansen, who reached on a single, scored the Red Sox’ second run

on a wild pitch in the bottom of the sixth before the Giants settled down

to record the last two outs in the inning.

In practice, Ken Gerdau said he simulates game situations and works on

defense 75% of the time, which paid off for his players and him in

Wednesday’s game.

“They were so excited (about playing in the championship game),”

Gerdau said. “We’ve been talking about this since February. I’m totally

jazzed, I’m just proud of the kids.”

The Red Sox settled down after a rocky first, collecting a run in the

second when Risser, who had reached base on an error, scored on David

Rabosky’s groundout to short.