Playoff time now for Sailors

Steve Virgen

Newport Harbor High baseball coach Joel Desguin would have rather

delivered a congratulatory speech, but as it was he issued a

do-or-die challenge to his players.

The Sailors (13-11, 7-7 in league) could not match the

aggressiveness that Woodbridge displayed while scoring a key 6-0 Sea

View League win at Windrow Park in Irvine Tuesday night. The

Warriors’ victory sets up a battle for the third and guaranteed berth

into the CIF Southern Section Division II playoffs Thursday at 3:15

p.m. at Newport.

Newport Harbor has not been to the CIF playoffs since 1990.

“I just challenged them,” Desguin said of his postgame speech. “I

said, ‘Don’t let them come into our place, the last game for you

seniors, and knock you out of the playoffs.’ That’s something we’ve

been shooting for since last May. We have to come hard and practice

hard [today]. We need to win one game to make it. They have to come

to our place.”

The teams have split this season with the Sailors earning a 4-1

victory April 2. This time around, the Warriors (12-12-1, 8-6) were a

different team. They apparently remained hot, coming off a 4-3 win

over Foothill Friday when they collected 11 hits on senior pitching

phenom Phil Hughes.

Woodbridge had 11 hits against Newport and broke the game open

with a three-run third. The Sailors came up with just three hits, as

they had trouble with Mike Anderson’s fastball. Anderson, who

improved to 3-1 and has been pitching for only the past month, struck

out nine, walked none and faced four above the minimum. He threw an

economical 78 pitches.

Anderson retired the first 10 batters he faced, until Newport

junior Sean Rowe ended the Warriors pitcher’s no-hit bid with a

double toward center field. But Anderson struck out the next batter

and induced a pop fly to center to get out of the inning.

Junior Taylor Young, Newport’s designated hitter, and third

baseman Mike McLean also had one hit each for the Sailors.

Anderson, who went 2 for 3, pounded a two-run triple to the

left-field corner in the third, giving the Warriors a 3-0 lead. Jared

Gray also was 2 for 3 and he scored two runs.

“This just means we get to play Thursday,” Woodbridge Coach Bob

Flint said.

*--*

Sea View League

Woodbridge 6, Newport Harbor 0

Score by Innings

Newport 000 000 0 -- 0 3 1

Wbridge 003 201 x -- 6 11 1

Cantarella, McLean (6) and Sanchez;

Anderson and Feicht. W -- Anderson, 3-1.

L -- Cantarella, 6-4. 2B -- Rowe (NH),

Kartch (W), Beebe (W). 3B -- Anderson

(W).

*--*