Baseball: Newport bombs San Clemente for record-breaking win

Joseph Boo

LAGUNA NIGUEL - Unlike its previous game against Laguna Beach, the

ball bounced in favor of the Newport Beach 9-10 “A” All-Stars Little

League baseball team.

Newport went through its lineup in the bottom of the first to put six

runs on the board, and that started a 12-2 five-inning victory over San

Clemente “B” in the District 55 All-Star tournament Thursday at

Chaparrosa Park.

The win is the third for Newport in the tournament, the most the NBLL

had at the 9-10 level. It is three wins from the championship game, with

a rematch against Mission Viejo next on Saturday. Newport defeated

Mission Viejo, 8-6, in its tournament opener.

“Things really happened for us today,” Newport Manager Van Holland

said. “We really took advantage of our opportunities.”

The balls were certainly cooperative for Newport. In the second, a

wild pitch turned into a break when the ball caromed off the backstop

straight to Newport catcher Blaine Neilsen, who threw out the San

Clemente runner trying to scramble back to first base. It was the second

runner Neilsen picked off at first.

“Blaine is a real solid catcher, and he creates a lot of outs for us,”

Holland said.

In the third inning, a sharp ground ball ricocheted off Newport

shortstop Thomas Dialynas and bounced toward second baseman Kevin

Holland. He picked up the ball while standing on second base for the

force out.

Those plays were indicated that things weren’t going San Clemente’s

way, that and the six-run first. Neilsen drove in Newport’s first two

runs with a single that scored Andy Rovzar and Garrett Amoroso.

Patrick Marin-Finn also hit a two-run single in that inning. And

Newport picked up two more runs when Scott Thomsen’s ground ball scooted

underneath San Clemente’s third baseman.

San Clemente pitcher Bradley Curtis then retired 10 Newport batters in

a row until Amoroso tripled in the fifth. He scored when Newport’s next

batter, Connor Whalen, doubled down the left field line.

With a 7-2 lead heading into the fifth, Newport didn’t give San

Clemente another chance to bat by pounding out five runs for the

mercy-rule win.

Dialynas led off with a triple, and he scored on a single by Holland.

After Marin-Finn hit a single, a run came in on an error when Michael

Page’s grounder went under the first baseman’s glove.

Thomsen singled to drive in yet another run, and a groundout by Rovzar

scored Newport’s fourth run of the inning. Whalen then singled Page home

to end the game.

On the mound, Newport starter Rovzar overcame control problems and

only gave up one run and one hit in three innings to pick up the win.

Reliever Whalen closed the game out for Newport.

“We hit the ball very well today,” Manager Holland said. “We hit the

ball hard, and that led to a lot of runs. Our pitchers did a great job,

and we made the defensive plays. Overall, everybody played well and

contributed for us.”