Sailors unable to find their way home

HUNTINGTON BEACH ? One thing went right for Newport Harbor High’s baseball team in the ninth inning Saturday, and even that ended up wrong.

One out away from salvaging a tie, the Sailors lost to Ocean View, 4-3, in the second round of pool play at the Newport Elks Tournament. Nick McIsaac’s two-out single off Tyler Parker drove in James Miller with the winning run for the Seahawks.

The game was originally scheduled to be played at Newport Harbor, but muddy field conditions forced a move to Ocean View.

Newport Harbor (1-1) squandered a golden opportunity in the top of the inning, after putting runners at first and third with one out. Drew Harris struck out looking and Jeff Moore was thrown out at second attempting to steal.

With the two-and-a-half hour time limit looming, Miller doubled to center field off Parker to lead off the bottom of the ninth. Ocean View’s next two batters were unable to move Miller over or drive him in, allowing the Sailors to intentionally walk James Kang ? the Seahawks’ best hitter.

But that plan unraveled when McIsaac jumped on a first-pitch fastball and drilled it to center field for the game-winning hit.

It was a bitter reminder for the Sailors of how many baserunners they had left stranded. In all, they left seven runners on base ? not including the three who were caught stealing and one who was picked off. Four of the stranded runners were in scoring position.

“Their guys responded in big situations and we didn’t,” Newport Harbor Coach Evan Chalmers said. “We left too many players on base in scoring position.”

After falling behind, 2-1, the Tars moved ahead with two runs in the fourth inning, but had a chance for much more. Chris Thompson led off with a double and went to third on Skylar Cozad’s bunt single. Ocean View starter Scott Baxter then walked Brett Houten on five pitches, uncorking a wild pitch on ball four.

The ball got far enough away that Thompson started heading toward home, but when Ocean View catcher Geoff Klein recovered the ball quickly, Thompson slipped on the base path and was easily thrown out.

One batter later, R.J. D’Cruz and P.J. Errington hit back-to-back singles that drove in Cozad and Houten.

It was enough to give the Sailors the lead, but not enough for a cushion ? particularly after Kang hit a solo homer in the fifth inning to tie the score at 3-3.

Newport Harbor had baserunners on in every inning after that, but was unable to get any of them home. The worst was in the sixth inning, when Houten and Brett Rogers led off with singles. The next two hitters were unable to bunt them over and the inning ended on Jarrett Daniel’s foul pop-up.

“Fortunately, our pitchers threw strikes all game,” Ocean View Coach Shane Borowski said. “If they mix in a few walks here and there, it changes everything.”

The Tars’ problems driving in runs helped spoil what had been a solid performance by the pitching staff. Philip Martin started and struck out six in three innings of work, giving up a pair of runs in the third inning. Dustin Schuler came in and allowed one run in 2 1/3 innings before giving way to Parker.

The stopper in Newport Harbor’s win over La Habra on Friday night, Parker had allowed just two baserunners before the ninth inning.

“I think our pitching was good enough to win it,” Chalmers said. “We couldn’t convert when we needed to. That’s the sign of a club that’s still learning.

“I still like this bunch, but we have to respond in pressure situations.”

Thompson had three hits for the Sailors, including a pair of doubles. D’Cruz had two hits and drove in a pair of runs, while Errington drove in one run on two hits. Cozad and Rogers each added two hits and a run.

Jason Walker picked up the victory for Ocean View (1-0), the defending CIF Southern Section Division III champion. Walker pitched 5 1/3 innings of shutout relief, striking out eight and walking none.