Youth Scene

Newport Harbor Baseball Assn. Home Run Monkeys capture title: The Home Run Monkeys beat Team Roel, 9-7, to win the Mustang division in the Newport Harbor Baseball Assn.

The HR Monkeys had a 4-5 record midway through the season, but they recovered quickly en route to the title.

Led by their coaching staff of Robert Stefano, John Richards, Steve Coyne and Jorge Valenzuela, the HR Monkeys went on a nine-game winning streak and were tied for first with Roel at the end of the regular season.

The team’s pitchers, Jorge Valenzuela, Jake Bashore, Quinn Richards, Jack Rogers and AJ Stefano, set the tone to continue the winning streak with three stellar playoff victories, to advance to the title game.

Jack Pitchess contributed at first base. Keagan Coyne guarded the plate. Mason McPhie made a catch in deep center to render a scoreless inning. Nothing got by Mike Hoffman in right field. Ty Marking held down third base, grabbing throws from Keagan to keep runs from scoring.

There were solid hits by the entire team, but especially Mason McPhie, Alec LaMond, Ty Marking, and Jack Rogers.