Sailors happy to get win at Beach

NEWPORT BEACH ? A victory against a team with only two victories isn’t exactly something to crow about, but Newport Harbor High baseball Coach Evan Chalmers wasn’t about toss it aside, either.

The Sailors got a strong performance from Philip Martin on the mound and scratched out enough runs to make it stick in a 4-2 victory over Rancho Alamitos in the first round of the Beach Pit Classic on Saturday.

The win sends Newport Harbor into a second-round game Monday against Westminster La Quinta, a 4-0 winner over Beckman on Saturday. The game is scheduled for noon at Newport Harbor.

Until Saturday’s game, it had been more than two weeks since Newport Harbor (8-7) had last won on the diamond. In between, there was a pair of losses to Woodbridge, a rainout and an 11-0 loss to Foothill on Friday night.

“It’s been a long time since we played and a real long time since we got a win because we lost those back-to-back close ones to Woodbridge,” Chalmers said. “This is beautiful for us to get the win today and get back on that horse.”

The first inning proved to be a rollercoaster ride as Martin loaded the bases on three first-pitch singles, all with two outs. The right-hander settled down to strike out Andy Little on a big breaking curveball.

In the bottom of the inning, P.J. Errington drew a one-out walk and Skylar Cozad followed with a bloop single to right field. One out later, Dustin Schuler dropped a looping hit into left field to score Errington and sending Cozad to third. An errant pickoff throw allowed Cozad to score, giving Newport Harbor a lead for the first time since beating Laguna Hills on March 24.

The generosity of Rancho Alamitos (2-13) continued in the third inning as Brett Houten reached on a two-base error and scored on Schuler’s opposite-field single.

That was about all Martin needed. The senior was nearly unstoppable through the first five innings, allowing five hits ? three of them coming in the first inning ? and getting five of his six strikeouts. He even had a three-pitch inning in the fourth, giving up a leadoff single before Rancho Alamitos’ Brett Vertigan lined into a double play and then getting Little on a chopper to third.

“He had kept the ball down well all day and his curveball really kept them off balance,” Chalmers said. “It’s a big breaking curveball and it’s hard to hit when he keeps it down.”

Martin came within one out of a complete game, but left after giving up single runs in the sixth and seventh. With runners at first and second ? including the potential tying run ? and two outs, Chalmers opted to bring in Kris Packwood, who struck out Matt Rodriguez to end the game.

“I felt good the whole day,” Martin said. “I wanted to finish it so bad.”

The Sailors probably would have liked to have finished some more of their scoring opportunities too. They left runners in scoring position three times and had another erased on an unsuccessful hit-and-run.

On the plus side, Schuler had three hits and drove in two runs for Newport Harbor. Chalmers said he was happy to see Nick Frazier’s sacrifice fly in the sixth inning, which drove in a crucial insurance run.

“Overall, we want to try to connect more hits together,” Chalmers said. “We get one or two and then tend to not make it happen. We’re still waiting for that A game on offense.”

The Sailors will try to avenge a 7-1 loss to La Quinta in the season-opening Newport Elks Tournament.