Final destination attained

LOS ALAMITOS ? Two tournaments. Two championship-game appearances.

The Newport Harbor Baseball Assn. Mustang A All-Stars have made reaching tournament title games look easy.

Newport Harbor opened its all-star season by advancing to the final of the Irvine Memorial Day Tournament.

Friday’s 6-2 victory over the Whittier A All-Stars in the semifinals of the St. Hedwig Tournament means Newport Harbor will make its second consecutive championship-game appearance.

Newport Harbor is slated to face Fountain Valley today at 11 a.m. in the title game.

“Fountain Valley is a whole different level,” Newport Harbor Manager Pat Cox said. “They are really good. It’s going to be tough.”

Newport Harbor will be shooting for its first tournament title today. The team lost to Charter Oak, 11-9, in the final of the Irvine Memorial Day Tournament.

After today’s final, Newport Harbor will compete in the Dana Point Summer Classic, where the team will try to make it three title-game appearances in three tries.

Friday against Whittier, Newport Harbor took a 3-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back.

Connor Seabold got Newport Harbor started on the right foot both offensively and defensively.

Seabold, who started on the mound, allowed a leadoff single to Whittier’s Kyle Goethe in the top of the first inning, then retired nine of the next 11 batters.

He allowed just one hit and one walk, and he hit one batter in three innings, before giving way to Sean Cox, who was nearly as effective in three relief innings.

“They were both keeping the ball low,” Pat Cox said. “That’s all we ask for. When they do that, they’re effective.”

In the bottom of the first inning, Seabold, not content to merely dominate on the mound, led off with a double to right-center field.

Barron Schwarz followed with a laser beam down the left-field line that one-hopped the fence. It was hit so hard, Schwarz was held to a long single, but Seabold was able to score from second base without a throw home.

Schwarz moved to third base after two wild pitches by Whittier starter Brendon Barragan, then scored on Jason Rodriguez’s ground ball off the first baseman’s glove.

Newport Harbor added a third run in the inning when clean-up hitter Jake Norton hit a high fastball over the left-field fence for a solo home run.

Robert Lyons, who scored two runs on the day, helped Newport Harbor add to its lead in the second inning by leading off with a ground-rule double to left field.

Lyons took third base on Sean Vetrovec’s ground ball to shortstop and scored on Brad Tapfer’s ground ball to second base.

Seabold cruised on the mound in a scoreless third inning before giving way to Cox, who allowed three hits ? two of the infield variety ? a walk and hit a batter in three innings.

Cox mixed an effective fastball with a dancing knuckleball. He used his knuckleball to strikeout a Whittier batter looking to end the fourth inning, then went to the knuckleball again to produce the game-ending groundout.

“He has a knuckleball that is devastating batters up there,” Pat Cox said. “Sometimes it confuses umpires. It moves so much they don’t know whether to call it a strike or not.”

A defense led by Seabold and Schwarz at shortstop, Rodriguez at third and Garrett Hall at second base made just one error.

Norton led the offensive charge for Newport Harbor, going two for two with a home run and two runs.

Lyons went two for two with two runs and a stolen base.

Schwarz had two hits, a run and an RBI while Seabold added two hits and a run.

Cox, Vetrovec and Hall all added to Newport Harbor’s 10-hit attack.dpt.24-bases-4-BPhotoInfoTJ1SAJKD20060624j1ceacnc(LA)Newport Harbor pitcher Connor Seabold delivers to the plate in Friday’s 6-2 triumph over Whittier.dpt.24-bases-1-CPhotoInfoTJ1SAJIF20060624j1cea2ncPHOTOS BY MARK DUSTIN / DAILY PILOT(LA)Newport Harbor Baseball Assn. Mustang A All-Star Robert Lyons, right, slides safely into second as Whittier’s Dom Rodriguez, prepares to apply a late tag.