Hartsell’s quick instincts pay off

It hardly mattered that Preston Hartsell wasn’t African American. He knew he wanted to dress up as Jackie Robinson and perform an oral report in front of teachers, classmates and parents back in January at Newport Coast Elementary.

Preston, a 7-year-old second grader, learned so much about Robinson and wanted to share that information with others. Preston also took what he learned and has been using it as inspiration while playing for the Pirates of the Newport Beach Little League this year.

That inspiration was put to good use in a recent game. Preston completed two unassisted triple plays in one game against the Cubs at Lincoln Elementary School on March 28.

Sure, it may not seem like much in the first- and second-grade machine-pitch division, because the young players become confused after a line drive is caught, especially when parents are shouting from different directions. But Preston impressed everyone by reacting quick and making the plays.

“He was just so definite about it,” Pirates Coach Dan Mickelsen said. “When something happens in a Little League game you have three coaches and about 12 dads screaming what to do. Preston managed to sift through all that. I thought it was remarkable the second time. He just had a good innate sense of what to do.”

In the second inning of the game, Preston made his first triple play as the shortstop. He caught a line drive near second base and touched the bag for the force out on the runner that was trying to advance to third. He then chased down and tagged the runner trying to go back to first base.

“It was quite an exciting game,” said Mark Hartsell, Preston’s dad. “The first one was hard to grasp. After the second one, it was just fun. Everyone looked at each other and kind of said, ‘Has anyone seen that happen?’ ”

In the fourth inning with the bases loaded and no outs, Preston made another triple play as the first baseman. Preston caught another line drive, then ran down the runner attempting to advance to second base. Preston stepped on second base to get the force out because the runner went to third.

“It was important for the rest of the team because he applied some baseball smarts,” said Mickelsen, who has been pleased to coach Preston. “He’s a really good kid. He’s like a coach’s dream. He does what he’s supposed to do. He’s easy to coach.

“I certainly had never taught him to make a triple play and he did it.”

After his second triple play, Preston was mobbed by his teammates in the dugout, as they celebrated. Preston said it was a feeling he had never experienced before. He reveled in the moment, too.

Preston loves the game. He follows Major League Baseball closely. He likes the Angels and the Nationals. He’s also big on collecting baseball cards and has a knack for reciting statistics of certain players.

On long road trips with the family, he spends a lot of the time sitting with his younger brother Chase, 5, and rearranging his baseball cards, a collection that includes about 1,000, Mark Hartsell said.

Sunday, Preston plans to watch the Dodgers-Padres game on television. At the game, the Dodgers will honor Jackie Robinson, as all the players will wear No. 42. It will be Jackie Robinson Day, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of his first game, when he broke baseball’s color barrier.