Red Sox rally for triple-A title

Bryce Alderton

Dominic Disano put his hands flat on the grass, extended his legs and

began doing push-ups Wednesday afternoon, though not for any physical

fitness test.

Another exam took place at Boras Field on the campus of Lincoln

Elementary -- the Newport Beach Little League triple-A championship

game -- won by Disano’s Red Sox, 14-5, over the top-seeded

Diamondbacks.

The Red Sox, ranked third out of the 12 teams heading into the

postseason tournament, came back from a 4-0 deficit to plate 14 runs

in the final three innings, clinching the championship and a spot in

the District 55 Tournament of Champions for Manager Jim Lawson.

The D-backs (19-5-2) came into Thursday’s game undefeated (3-0) in

the playoffs, while the Red Sox needed to beat the Yankees on Monday

in the final game of the loser’s bracket to advance to the title

game.

“These kids have faced challenges the last two weeks and they

refuse to lose,” Lawson said. “They have learned how to control their

emotions and channel it on the field. They stayed focused and left

nothing out there.”

The concentration Lawson spoke of showed in the Red Sox’s timely

hitting, alert baserunning and virtually mistake-free defense. They

committed only one error.

The D-backs committed five errors, helping to add fuel to the Red

Sox fire, D-backs’ Manager Duane Hastings said.

“The whole game was unearned,” Hastings said. “Nothing seemed to

go right. [The Red Sox] scored five runs without hitting the ball out

of the infield. We didn’t make the plays on defense.”

Leading, 4-0, the D-backs encountered rough seas in the top of the

fourth inning when the Red Sox plated five runs.

Spencer Haly, playing for the first time in two weeks after

fracturing his right elbow, led off and reached first after he was

hit by a pitch. Brent Lawson, Nathan Wagner, Jake Starnes, Alexander

Morrison and Zachary Morrison all reached on infield singles with

Haly, Lawson, Starnes, Morrison and Dylan Varner all scoring.

Lawson, who went 2 for 4 with four RBIs and two runs scored while

pitching the first three innings, hit a grounder that deflected off

of D-back starter Sandon Griffin’s shoe and caromed into shallow

right field. An errant throw past the third baseman allowed Haly to

advance to third and when a subsequent throw got past the catcher,

Haly attempted to score, which he did, but he had to make sure.

At the urging of his brother, Tyler, Spencer Haly -- already near

the backstop -- ran back to touch the plate.

“I thought I touched it, but my brother yelled, ‘You missed the

plate,’” Haly recalled, holding his championship trophy. Haly caught

the fly ball off the bat of Chandler Mitchell for the final out,

sending the Red Sox and their fans into jubilation after the D-backs

scored one run in the sixth.

The D-backs rattled off three runs to open up a three-run lead in

the top of the first with Cort Hastings, Paxton O’Brien and Ben

Greiner all scoring. Greiner reached base twice and hit a bloop

single that fell just in front of the charging right fielder to plate

O’Brien, who beat out a grounder to third for an infield hit.

With two out in the third, O’Brien singled to center to plate

Hastings, who scored three runs and added a single.

That was all the runs the D-backs would get until the final inning

and the game in firm control for the Red Sox, who scored nine runs in

the top of the sixth in sending 13 batters to the plate.

Three walks and five hits produced the Red Sox’ attack, with

Lawson blasting a three-run double over the left fielder’s head to

clear the bases. Lawson, who struck out three in three innings as the

starter, scored in the inning along with Donald Dalton, Wagner,

Alexander Morrison, Wagner, Brandon Loo, Conor Kort, Disano and Haly.

Brian Smith, Edward Burgner, Zach Haber, Rodney Keller and Austin

Barvin each got two plate appearances Thursday.

With the win, the Red Sox also advance to the TOC, which begins

this weekend.