Mustang A offense kicks in

DANA POINT ? The offense of the Newport Harbor Baseball Assn. Mustang A All-Star team was different.

Maybe it was the evening start Monday after an 8:30 a.m. game Sunday to open the Dana Point Summer Classic. Maybe the team expected its bats to plow through Dana Point just as it had Tustin a day earlier. Maybe it was Dana Point’s pitcher or maybe the team was just not fired up early in the game. Maybe it was a little bit of everything.

Whatever the reason, Newport Harbor’s offense reverted back to its original form because the team was down, 5-1, heading into the bottom of the fourth.

A six-run fourth gave Newport Harbor the lead and it held on for an 8-7 win at Del Obispo Park to run the team’s record in pool play to 2-0.

Shaun Vetrovec was not surprised by the slump or the resurgence.

“We weren’t fired up,” said Vetrovec, who added it won’t happen when the team takes the field Wednesday at 7 p.m. against Placentia. Placentia defeated Dana Point, 11-9, on Sunday. “We were asleep. We weren’t expecting this. Tustin was pretty easy. But we came back. We needed to get started hitting. We were rooting for each other.”

TK McWhertor saw the mood of the team change after it stepped in the dugout down, 5-1.

“We were all fired up,” McWhertor said. “We knew we could win. We weren’t worried. We were saying ‘Let’s get some hits.’ ”

With one out in the fourth and Baron Schwarz and Jason Rodriguez aboard, Jake Norton doubled in Schwarz to cut the deficit to 5-2.

“I thought ‘I can hit this guy,’ ” Norton said. “I just moved up in the box and pulled it. I just sprinted to second. We’ve made many comebacks. That’s our favorite part.”

With Norton on second and Rodriguez on third, Sean Cox doubled to center field to drive in both and cut the lead to 5-4.

“I was nervous,” Cox said. “There were men on base and I knew I had to get a hit.”

Cox stole third and Robert Lyons tied the score with a ground ball to shortstop.

“I got a [ground ball] and tied the game,” Lyons said. “I love the feeling of it. I was just thinking hit a really hard line drive and run really hard and hope you’re safe.”

After the shortstop fumbled the ball, Lyons beat out the throw to first. Vetrovec walked and Dana Point switched pitchers.

With the departure of Dana Point’s hard-throwing starter, Newport Harbor outfielder Chase Whiting knew his team would complete the comeback.

“[Dana Point’s Logan Pryzbylak] pitched into the fourth inning so he must have been a little tired,” Whiting said. “Then they put in a guy who was throwing sliders and curves. He was throwing a lot slower. [The comeback] was just all of a sudden. It started with someone hitting and kept going.”

Brad Tapfer welcomed the new pitcher with a single to load the bases and Garrett Hall’s infield single gave Newport Harbor a 7-5 lead.

After retiring Dana Point in order in the fifth, Newport Harbor added a run to build an 8-5 lead. In the end, it would be the defense that would save the game.

With one out and two on, Dana Point’s Wes Davis doubled in a run to make the score 8-6. James Yanes followed by blasting a pitch to the fence in right field, but Rodriguez was there.

“I was just thinking that if I didn’t catch it then they would take the lead,” Rodriguez said. “I really didn’t have to dive. I felt like it. I wanted to look cool. We just concentrated. We’ve [come back] before. We play clean defense. We have good hitting and we don’t give any extra outs.”

The fly ball plated a run and cut the lead to 8-7 with the tying run on third. Leadoff hitter Jake Rutherford bounced a pitch just over the pitcher and out of the reach of Schwarz who was charging from shortstop.

“I thought ‘I have to get this,’ ” Schwarz said. “If I would have stopped, he would have been safe. I had so much momentum I just threw it on the run.”

It was the final out.