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.