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.
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