Newport Harbor Baseball Association: On a roll

DANA POINT - These Mustangs know how to come back.

Newport Harbor Baseball Association Mustang B 9- and -10-year-old

All-Stars overcame deficits of 6-3 and 12-9 in the previous two games of

the Dana Point Invitational at Del Obispo Park to stake them to a berth

in tonight’s championship game at 7 p.m.Down three runs in the bottom of

the sixth inning Sunday, Newport Harbor bats caught fire, as they scored

four runs to win, 13-12.

Preston Wheeler drove in the winning run after clutch hits from Nelson

Simons, Parker Norton and Spencer Rautus.

Jack Yeager had three hits and pitched three strong innings as Kyle

Holgate and Jason Harris also pitched well and contributed key hits.

Richie Lowery, who has gone 6 for 7 in the tournament, Angelo

Angelides and Eric Heimstaedt played well in the infield.Newport defeated

Los Alamitos, 8-7, Saturday after trailing 6-3 heading into the bottom of

the sixth.

Harris drove in the winning run as Newport received strong pitching

from Austin Wobrock and Gabriel Gomez.

Newport had an easier time in Friday’s tournament opener, downing

Irvine, 14-3, in four innings with the 10-run mercy rule.

In other Mustang B tournament action:

The Newport Harbor 9- and -10-year-old All-Stars took fourth place in

the St. Hedwig Invitational baseball tournament June 20-24.

The team reached the consolation round by beating Dana Point B, 16-4,

and Fountain Valley C, 15-5.

Newport lost a see-saw battle with Fountain Valley B, 10-9, in the

consolation round, despite out-hitting Fountain Valley, to earn the

fourth-place medal.

Newport, managed by Steve Harris with coaches Doug Holgate and John

Yeager, took an early 2-0 lead on singles by Richie Lowery and Gabriel

Gomez.

Fountain Valley came back in the second and third innings to take a

4-2 lead before Yeager led-off the fourth with a solo home run over the

center-field fence to bring Newport within one run.

Then in the top of the fifth, Harris sent a 0-2 pitch over the

center-field fence following a Simons walk to take the lead. Newport

added another run in the inning on a single by Rautus to take a 6-4 lead.

Fountain Valley then stormed back with four runs in the bottom of the

fifth to take an 8-6 lead, but Newport regained the lead in the top of

the sixth with singles by Holgate, Simons and a Wobrock home run.

The lead was short-lived as Fountain Valley came back with two runs in

the bottom of the sixth for the win.

Newport had solid pitching from Wobrock, Holgate, Simons, Jack Yeager,

Harris and Gomez. Norton, Angelides, Heimstaedt and Wheeler all

contributed to Newport’s tournament success.