Newport on cusp of berth

Bryce Alderton

One win is still all they need.

The Newport Harbor Baseball Association Bronco A 11- and

12-year-old All-Stars, attempting to reach territory rarely visited

by any team in recent memory, took a step back Saturday in their

quest to reach the double-elimination sectional tournament with a

10-0 mercy loss in five innings to Anaheim A, the only team to defeat

Newport since it began district play last week, at York Field.

But a win today puts Newport into the regional tournament, which

begins next weekend. The loser of Los Alamitos and Whittier will face

Newport at 12:30 p.m. today.

Newport, 15-6 overall in the postseason, had won five in a row,

including a 17-3 trouncing of Placentia A in the district

championship, coming into Saturday’s game against Anaheim, the

designated visiting team. But the offense suddenly went silent

against the pitching duo of Alex Mascarenas and Brian Boles. Michael

Helfrich started the fourth with a single into left field --

Newport’s lone hit -- as Mascarenas and Boles each retired the side

in order in every inning.

“The guys didn’t hit like they are accustomed to,” Newport Manager

Rich Hogan said. “They then put pressure on themselves and [Anaheim]

took advantage of the mistakes. Anaheim is an aggressive team.”

Anaheim stole eight bases against Newport pitching, three by

Mascarenas, who singled twice in four at-bats and scored four runs.

Anaheim’s speed caused havoc on Newport’s defense and it showed

with three errors leading to four runs in the fifth.

Helfrich, who came on in relief of starting pitcher Adrian

Rodriguez in the third, struck out two of the first four Anaheim

batters in the fifth.

Then came the elusive third out. Roman Lopez singled in two runs

with a hit to right field. He took second when the throw from the

infield sailed over the catcher. Lopez and leadoff hitter Brian Lopez

later scored after the catcher threw over the third baseman’s head

and the ball got past the left fielder.

“We had a bad game,” Hogan said. “I’m more upset that in the last

few innings, we looked like a defeated team.”

Anaheim grabbed a 1-0 lead in the second before scoring four in

the third. Rodriguez struck out four in 2 1/3 innings while Helfrich

fanned three in 2 2/3 innings.

Newport limited Anaheim to only one run in the fourth, getting

three outs after rundowns. Brian Lopez, who had walked and stole

second, induced a pickle by venturing halfway between second and

third. Newport executed the pickle efficiently, with Austin Wobrock

holding on to the ball to record the out despite falling to his back

on top of the third-base bag after colliding with Brian Lopez.

With two outs, Boles walked and then induced a throw to allow

Mascarenas to score from third. But Boles was tagged out by shortstop

Danny Moskovits after Helfrich, Nick Svendsen and Jacob McCann sent

the runner back and forth between first and second. Moskovits tagged

out Boles as he tried to slide into first.

Hogan emphasized that Newport, which has six 11-year-olds, has come together during its postseason run, which continues at 12:30

p.m. today against the loser of Los Alamitos and Whittier. A win

today

“The kids have to come out confident and have to forget

[Saturday’s] game,” he said. “Without a doubt, they feel the

pressure, but I want them to play their best and be happy about

playing baseball.”

A win today would provide plenty of pleasure and keep Newport

playing into more of the summer.

*

Newport opened the sectional tournament Thursday night with a 9-2

victory over Dana Point after trailing, 2-0, entering the fourth

inning. That’s when Newport sent 11 men to the plate and tallied

eight runs.

Moskovits pitched a complete game, going seven innings while

allowing four hits and two runs to go with 12 strikeouts. Moskovits

hit a bases-clearing triple in the fourth to go with two RBIs on a

single by Jack Grace and an RBI hit by Svendsen.

Six batters tallied two hits each for Newport. Blake Davey added a

walk.

In the 17-3 win over Placentia, Helfrich went 4 for 4 and scored

two runs in the leadoff spot while Grace had two RBI singles and also

scored a run.

McCann’s inside-the-park grand slam highlighted the offense. He

added a triple and scored four runs.

Rodriguez went four innings on the mound, allowing no earned runs

and Helfrich came on in relief, giving up no runs in one inning.

On Wednesday, Newport faced elimination against Garden Grove in

the district tournament, trailing, 3-2, heading into the final

inning.

But with two outs, Newport’s next six batters reached safely,

contributing to a 7-3 victory. Ryan Albert’s bases-clearing double

was the key hit in the inning.

Moskovits again threw a complete game, striking out eight,

including the final out, and allowed one run. He went 3 for 3, walked

and scored a run.

Alex Maddox and Austin Deyan each scored once.