Bronco All-Stars add another title

GARDEN GROVE ? It’s an age-old question: What makes a good baseball team?

There are as many answers as there are teams. Some say it’s hitting. Others say they’d take good pitching and defense any day.

Newport Harbor Baseball Assn. Bronco Division All-Stars Manager Tony Swies believes it’s a combination of all three. But he also said intangibles are involved. He believes every team needs a combination of personalities in the dugout in order to have success.

“We have a balance of superstars and role players on our team,” Swies said after watching his roster of 11- and 12-year-olds clinch the District A title with a 14-0, five-inning thrashing of Los Alamitos-based St. Hedwig on Sunday at West Haven Park. “That’s what makes us who we are and it’s why we’re here today.”

Swies said what he likes about his players is their ability to balance fun with competitive zeal.

“These kids are so unique,” Swies said. “When they’re warming up, they’re loose. They’re cutting up. They’re kids. Gametime comes and the kids are focused.

“We have to keep their intensity sometimes when the game gets out of hand, but these guys come to play.”

Newport Harbor won all three games of the tournament by 10-run mercy rule. The team ? now 12-1 in the postseason, having won all three tournaments in which it has competed ? advances to the Section Tournament, beginning Thursday in Whittier.

Swies told his players after the game that the days of invoking the mercy rule are more than likely over, because all the teams at the Section Tournament will be district champions.

Newport Harbor starting pitcher Nick McCann showed little mercy on St. Hedwig. He threw a complete-game one-hitter, striking out seven.

After a scoreless first inning, Newport Harbor gave McCann all the support he would need with a five-run second.

Conor Sweeney led off with a single and moved to third on Jake Stowell’s double.

With one out, Brett Parker singled home Sweeney, and Matt Carpenter walked to load the bases.

McCann then smashed a pitch over the left-center-field fence for a grand slam.

Tyler Kiehnle kept the rally alive with a walk and a stolen base, but St. Hedwig got out of the inning without further damage.

St. Hedwig put together its lone threat of the game in the second, when it loaded the bases with one out.

But McCann struck out Tyler Rivas and retired James Prior on a grounder to first.

McCann retired six in a row before Joseph Brisdine reached on a dropped third strike to open the fifth. The next three St. Hedwig hitters were retired to end the game.

Newport Harbor put up another five-spot in the third. With one out, Stowell, Parker and Ethan Cochran each drew walks to load the bases.

A two-run single by Carpenter and a balk extended the lead to 8-0.

Carpenter and McCann, who had singled, came home on A.J. Swies’ double into the gap in left-center to make it 10-0.

Christian Ochoa singled and Daniel Albert was hit by a pitch to open the Newport Harbor fourth. Hamilton Randle’s groundout plated Ochoa and Vincent Aqueveque’s sacrifice fly drove in Albert.

Parker singled and reached third before a flyout ended the rally.

McCann, who went three for four to pace Newport Harbor’s 13-hit attack, opened the fifth with a triple and scored on Swies’ single.

Swies scored the final run on a one-out single by Ochoa, who went two for three.