Gardner goes back, back, back
Rick Devereux
Mitch Gardner came into Saturday’s District 55 Little League Major
All-Star game with zero home runs on the year.
He left with three dingers in three at-bats with four RBIs to
propel the Newport Beach American Little League All-Star team to a
10-0 win over the South Irvine Little League All-Stars in four
innings at Woodfield Park.
“That was one of the greatest Little League performances of all
time,” said Newport Manager Brian Freeman. “He has hit [home runs] in
practice. I think once he was able to get over the mental barrier of
being able to hit the ball over the fence [that’s why he was able to
hit three in one game].”
Gardner hit a high fly ball to center field that kept carrying
until it landed on the opposite side of the fence for a solo shot in
the second. Sandon Griffin scored on the previous play -- a passed
play that squirted to the backstop -- and Eric Morris scored on
Griffin’s at-bat when South Irvine made a throwing error. Chris
Freeman’s infield single later in the inning plated Brian Ford to
give Newport Beach a commanding 4-0 lead.
In the top of the third, two batters after Morris belted a solo
home run to right, Gardner sent a line drive over the right-center
fence that was stopped only by trees protecting the parking lot.
Brian Ford added to the lead with his RBI double that scored Jack
Schloemer. Ford scored one batter later when Brent Lawson roped a
double to the right-center gap to make it 8-0.
With Nathan Wagner on base in the fourth, Gardner walloped a pitch
into the parking lot past the right field fence. It gave Newport
Beach a 10-0 lead. South Irvine could not score in the bottom half of
the inning ending the game on a mercy rule.
Newport was able to get out of a tricky situation in the top of
the first inning. With runners on first and second with one out,
South Irvine’s Ben Wylly hit a line drive to left field. The South
Irvine runner from second base was sent home, but left fielder Sam
Cubeino threw a strike to his cut-off man, Morris, who, in turn,
fired to catcher Brent Lawson, who blocked the plate with his leg and
applied the tag for the second out of the inning. The runner from
first base tried for third, but Lawson alertly gunned the ball to
Freeman, who applied the tag for the inning-ending 7-1-2-5 double
play.
“Lawson made a professional play,” the elder Freeman said. “To
drop to one knee to block the plate and then have the presence of
mind to throw out the runner at third, that was a professional play.
It really set the tone for us. We got out of that inning fired up.”
Morris pitched four innings, striking out six and allowing one hit
-- to Wylly in the first.
First baseman Will Morrow made a spectacular backhanded stop down
the line and touched the bag in the third inning to deny a South
Irvine batsman. Cort Hastings and Chase Favreau supplied steady
defense at second base.
Freeman said the team ended a 23-inning errorless streak in the
bottom of the fourth inning, but he was pleased with the overall
performance from his club at the plate, in the field and on the
mound.
Morris went 2 for 3 with an RBI and two runs scored while Ford
finished 2 for 4 with two runs scored and an RBI. Lawson was 2 for 3
with an RBI, and Freeman finished 3 for 3 with an RBI to highlight
the Newport Beach attack.
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.